Have you ever embroidered on paper? It's a great alternative to stitching on fabric with a hoop. It's simple and I like that.  I love that it's very intentional in that you need to poke the holes and place the stitches in specific places, vs embroidering on fabric, where you can pretty much put stitches where ever you want. If you've purchased our Pink and Green Spring Floral Kit here are a few more tips and tricks to embroidering on paper. If you haven't bought it yet- go grab one! Grab 6 and have a stitching party with your friends!

Download my Stitch Guide!      
Click here to download my stitch guide that includes a page on how to get started AND a guide to 12 of my favorite stitches. It also includes different ways you can finish embroidery projects. Most of these are for fabric projects. 

Before you start.           
Think about the stitches you want to use to embroider the card. I'd suggest grabbing another piece of card stock and doing a few practice stitches. For this card I used mostly back stitches or straight stitches and some chain stitch/ detached chain stitch for the green parts. Throw in a few cross stitches, which are basically straight stitches. 

Efficiency                     
My advice is to try to be as efficient with your stitches and thread as you can. Simply work your way around each leaf or stem.  Similar to stitching on fabric, you don't want to have huge long tails on the backside.

Punch Holes               
Start by punching holes in the card stock. You can pick one leaf to start with and punch those holes, or punch all the holes anywhere you want. Here is a diagram of what your hole punches might look like. 

In addition to the threads and needle that are included in your kit, there are a few other supplies that you will need and a few that will be nice to have but not necessary. 

Need these Supplies  

• 1/4" tape such as washi. Washi is not permanent, can be moved around and comes in some REALLY fun colors and patterns. I like this best for using on these paper embroidery projects. 
• Small scissors. These can be embroidery scissors or small craft scissors. Just need to be sharp enough to cut the thread cleanly. If I'm travveling, sometimes I will use the cutter on my dental floss! It's not perfect, but it will do in a pinch!

Nice to have Supplies  

• Piece of thin Foam or Cardboard-this will be nice to put under your paper when you are punching holes in it. 
• Beads, Sequins, Sparkly thread- these can add a nice pop of sparkle to your finished piece! Depending on what size beads you are using, you might need a very thin needle specifically for beading. These are called  Beading Needlesand you can find them at craft or bead shops. 
• Thimble: Nice to have for punching holes with needle or helping to push the needle through the paper when stitching. There are lots of different kinds you can try out like metal, rubber or leather/ fabric. 
• Frame- a nice frame that will fit a 5"x7" piece of art will be perfect for finishing this project. I like gold ones you can find at Ikea or craft stores like Joann or Michaels. You can use an old one a paint it a fun color like pink too! Try a really ornate one and paint it bright pink for a fun way to fancy it up and bring new life to it. 

Punching Holes:  

You can use a thimble and needle like the photo below. Or you can purchase a tool that is nice to have. This one is a punching and scoring tool I bought from Crafters Square. 

You can download the image below here. Print it at 8.5" x 11" size as a reference.

For Paper Stitching I usually use simpler stitches like backstitch, straight stitch and chain stitches. French knots are good to use too, but if you find them too fussy, then just do small seed stitches. 

Here I'm using 6 strands of thread for extra texture! For smaller details you can try 3 strands or 1-2 strands. But generally I use 3 strands for most of my stitches.

Here I'm using 3 strands of thread for these detached chain stitches. 

When you are finished with the thread, tape it firmly to the backside of the paper. I use a piece of tape about 1/2"-3/4" long. Press it firmly with your finger so it doesn't pop off. If you are having trouble stitching through tape, you may need to re-punch the holes covered by the tape. 

And if you accidentally stitch too much and put a hole in the paper that is too big, just tape the back of the paper together and that should be enough to stitch through. 

Let me know in the comments if this has been helpful or if you want me to add more photos! I'm happy to help and would love to see your finished or in progress work. Tag me on IG at @kellerdesignco