STITCH YOUR OWN STATIONERY!

     I have a confession to make. I'm a paper addict! It's true. Journals, stationery, books...I hoard them like crazy. Yet at the same time, I'm incredibly stingy and I never want to shell out my tiny bit of money for packs of generic stationery. Instead, I prefer fancying up regular paper with my own little details! It's really very simple to do. This particular walkthrough is for stitching up your own stationery with whatever cutesy headers or decals you'd like! 

Here's what you'll need:

1. Paper. Any type will work, though from what I've tried, heavier paper will hold up better with all the poking and pulling. I had way more knots and tangling when working with lighter papers. 

2. Push-pin. 

3. Needle and Thread. Use as many colors as you'd like, make sure your needle isn't too much smaller than the pushpin holes, or the thread will just slide right on through. Embroidery floss would also work really well here. I just doubled my thread since all my embroidery floss is packed somewhere in the garage. 

4. Cork-board (optional). Just makes it easier to poke into. Cardboard, carpet, foam...anything else will do. 

     First off, trace out your design very lightly with a pencil. Then, place your paper on the cork-board and use the push-pin to poke out your design. This makes sewing through easier and reduces the amount of wrinkles you would get otherwise. 

     Thread your needle and get sewing! Make sure to start so that the knot of your thread is on the back of the page. Keeping your letters or design connected in a single line is faster, since you don't have to stop and rethread/knot multiple times. 

     Continue stitching through until your design is complete! Be wary of your thread tangling and knotting along the way! That'll ruin your work pretty quickly and doesn't look nearly as nice. Feel free to add more along the page. I'm thinking of stitching in lines to write on across the whole thing. Off to make more! Hope you enjoyed!
Jean.