Recently, my Mom bought me a beautiful quilted card she found at an art store in Boulder. I love the pairing of cloth and paper. Add a little sewing and embroidery to that and you have not only a card but a keepsake. I love that a card can become a piece of artwork to treasure and/or frame. That special card inspired me to create one of my own.

To start you will need:

1. A PIECE OF FABRIC. I chose a tulip print for mother's day. You will only need little pieces so this is a great way to use scraps.

2. BLANK NOTECARDS. I used 4 X 5.5, 5 x 7 and a 4.75 inch square in this example but there are no rules so use whatever size suits your needs the best. You will need one card to make the fabric cut out. If you want to cover the back, you will need another card of the same size.

3. A PAPER PUNCH. This was the easiest and quickest way to make an opening in the card.

*OR*

4. A STENCIL. If you don't have a paper punch, you can use a stencil. You can even just use something from around the house to trace around. Pictured above is the ball jar lid I used. A letter "M" for Mother's Day would be nice, too. If you are going the stencil/tracing route you will also need: A PENCIL to trace with and AN EXACTO KNIFE to cut your stencil. It is also handy to have A CUTTING MAT on which to do the cutting. Just make sure to protect the surface of whatever you are cutting on.

5. An ADHESIVE. You will need some type of glue to adhere the fabric to the paper. I used fabric glue which can be purchased at any fabric store or online and I used plain old school glue which worked fine, as well. If you don't want to mess with glue, another option is to use double sided sticky tape. Lastly, you could sew the fabric to the card.

Get your blank card and center your paper punch on the card and make the cut.

If you are using the stencil/trace method, center your design on the card and make your tracing.

Now use the exacto knife to cut out the tracing. Make sure to use a very sharp blade. Mine was a little dull so the circle is a little jagged.

Once you have made an opening (either by paper punch or stencil) line up your fabric underneath. You will be cutting a piece that is big enough but cover the shape but also overlap onto the card so that you can sew or glue the overlapping sides to the card.

I just eyeballed and made my cut but if you are not comfortable doing that, you could turn the fabric over and make light pencil lines as a guide. If you are using darker fabric a chalk pencil works well. Just make sure your line marks are very light so you do not see them on the 'right' side of the fabric.

Once the cut has been made you can center it under the opening in a way that looks the most pleasing to you.

Once you are satisfied with the placement, it is time to adhere the fabric to the card.

I used an old paintbrush and fabric glue. I brushed around the edge of the opening and then placed my fabric on it. The key to using any kind of glue is to do so sparingly. Too much glue tends to warp and ripple the paper.

If you don't want to deal with glue, double-sided tape is another option.

If you want a more finished look on your card, you can cover the back of your work. Get another blank notecard of the same size and cut it in half.

Use the piece you just cut to cover the back of the card. Now either glue or tape the edges.

I put mine in a heavy book to lay flat and dry.

If you want to get really wild and crazy, here are some other creative ideas:

Get a pin or needle and poke some holes for some embroidery or sewing.

French knots are always a nice touch. If you want to learn how to make french knots click HERE for a tutorial and free printable to practice on. You could also do a running stitch. If you would like to learn the running stitch, click HERE for a tutorial and free printable to practice on.

Another idea would be to cut a piece of fabric leaving a border around the card and use the zig zag stitch on the edge of the fabric. A nice contrasting thread gives it a cool decorative element. You can use some carefully placed double sided tape to hold the fabric in place while you are sewing. Be careful not to put the tape where you will be sewing. Keep it more toward the middle. The sewing machine does not like to sew through double-sided tape.