Pretty cards - A 5 minute craft

First a little story of how this post came about. We were watching TV after dinner and I keep moving around, going to get things and so on... when husband said "Can't you bring your embroidery or something so you stay put?" 

I cannot watch TV and keep my hands quiet... I need to be doing something crafty at the same time! So quickly got my travelling sewing case and sat put to finish watching the film. So I decided to grab a few bits and pieces of Aida fabric I had lying around at the bottom of my sewing box, and this is what came out of it.

These cards are lovely, personalised and did not take longer than watching a film on TV to make!
For these two I used some patterns from Cross stitcher magazine that I picked up on a family visit to the UK. My letters are from a handy alphabet booked that I picked up in a flea market for 1 Euro a few months ago (that was money well spent!)

Here are a few close ups of the designs. A tall giraffe for Salvador (for his first birthday that's coming soon):

And a little dinosaur... for my expecting friend (I hope she does not change her mind with the chosen name, or I will be unpicking quite a bit):

I generally prefer to buy the pre-made blank cards from any paper or craft store to then attach the pretty cross stitch or embroidery to. I generally buy the simple one fold ones and the "little window" ones. 

If you prefer simple fabric embroidery, I have made this lovely birthday cake before, using on of the birthday cake patterns from Aimee Ray's book, Doodle Stitch the motif collection.

I have warned my friends whose kids will be getting these cards not to look at the post today, as it will spoil the surprise, but don't think they will listen to me, as they love knowing the next gift is coming their way!

I am linking this post to my tutorial series The 5 minute craft, as it is really a very quick idea that you can make in an evening while watching your favourite series (as I did).

If you enjoy this series, we often have quick, easy crafts for all levels. Don't forget to stop around and check out the other crafts already in the series.