DIY Yarn Embellished Cards

I never did a lot of paper crafts as a kid. Oh sure, there was the occasional project in elementary school for occasions like Mother’s Day or during the holidays, but never much beyond that. Over the years I’ve wanted to try my hand at paper crafts, but I’ve not had much to inspire me. That is, until recently.

One of my inspirations, quite honestly, is this blog. Having a forum to write about creativity in the home has motivated me to learn more and create more 🙂 But another, more visual inspiration happened as I was walking through Home Sense (the Canadian equivalent of Home Goods) and came across this book.

Leafing through its pages gave me a jolt of excitement at the sheer possibilities of paper crafts:  from cards to art to jewelry to bowls to containers and even furniture and home accessories. I just couldn’t put the book down, even taking it on the bus with me on my way to work to pour over the tutorials. While others were reading the morning paper, I was reading about what to do with that paper after it’s been read! Although the following tutorial does not come from this book, it was the book that inspired me to start experimenting with paper crafts in the first place.

Today, I thought I’d share with you a project I did using one of my favourite materials: yarn! With so many colours to choose from and with so many shapes to conform to, yarn is one of the most versatile crafting materials I know. For those of you who have been following the blog, you already know my love of yarn crafts, from weaving to embroidery to macrame and more.

For this DIY yarn embellished cards project, you will need the following materials:

• yarn
• plain white cards
• glue gun
• pencil
• eraser
• ruler (or anything with a straight edge)
• scissors
• crafter’s knife

First, sketch out the patterns you wish to create on your card. For this project, I decided to create simple colour blocked patterns.

Next, pull out your glue gun and the first colour of yarn to prepare for gluing. Before you begin, determine the start and end points of the yarn for the block of colour you will be creating. In this first block, I started from the bottom edge in order to work my way up.

Start by add a thin line of glue along the bottom edge and secure the yarn, gently pressing down.

Hot glue dries within seconds, so don’t wait long before securing the yarn.  You can press down on the yarn using your fingers, though be prepared to get some glue on them! It easily comes off, so not to worry.  However, if you prefer to work clean, then use the back end of a pencil as pictured below.

Continue with this process, moving back and forth, working your way up. Once you have filled in the colour block, cut the ends off with scissors.

For the yarn pieces that are in the middle, you can either cut these with scissors or use a crafter’s knife by dragging the sharp edge very carefully over the yarn using gentle strokes, being careful not to cut through the paper.

It is a delicate procedure so if you are concerned about cutting into the paper, then use your scissors. This is what the first block of colour should look like.

Because the remainder of the colour blocks were clear-cut triangles, I started from the outer edges and worked my way inward. Snip off any excess.

Once the colour blocks are filled in for each of your cards, you are ready to add your greetings on the front cover. Whether it’s a holiday card, birthday or any other type of card, choose whatever word or words reflect the occasion.

First, outline the word in pencil,

and then begin gluing in small sections.

For best results, use cursive writing so that the lettering is fluid with fewer cuts to be made.

If needed, clean off any excess dried glue either by picking it off with your fingers or snipping off bits with your scissors.

Once that’s done, stand back and admire your sweet little DIY yarn embellished cards.

I hope these cards inspire you to experiment more with paper and yarn crafts. Combining the two was fun to do and added that personal touch.

Go ahead and pin now so you can save this craft for a lazy Sunday afternoon. Hope you give it a try 🙂