Spring Cards of Encouragement

Hello there! It’s Mendi here today with a heartfelt set of encouragement cards perfect to brighten a friend or family member’s day!

Today’s cards were all about focusing on the sweet sentiments found on Happy Day Phrases & Labels Cardstock Stickers sheet. Up first I have a card using the darling “Hello” banner stickers on the diagonal, paired with the adorable birdie and bicycle images from the companion icon sticker sheet. I was able to make this card in a matter of minutes and yet it turned out to be my daughter’s favorite.

Up next is a card using the short pennant sticker with the word “smile”. I love how the shape of this sticker is super easy to lengthen into a longer pennant with the help of a little patterned paper, becoming the base for the focal point image of my card! This card also came together quickly with the fun flower bouquet sticker and some epoxy dots.

As soon as I saw the “Insta-Awesome” sticker I knew it would make a great card sentiment for a teen. To complete the phrase I added the “UR” stickers using the woodgrain thickers from the collection. A grid design with the cameras and matching tone-on-tone patterned papers were the perfect embellishments to finish off my card.

Up last I thought it would be fun to create a one-of-a-kind paper-pieced wavy background using the “Be You” sticker. To create some separation between the wavy design and the bottom portion of the card, I temporarily adhered hand-pleated ribbon across the transition and stitched it into place.

I thought I would share how I created this fun wavy design and give you some tips on how you can easily create one yourself! 🙂 To start off I cut a piece of printer paper to 5.5″ x 3.75″. Next I lightly sketched out a wavy pattern with a pencil, having each wave end at the same point, roughly 1/3 from the right edge. I then cut them apart and labeled them with the paper color I wanted to cut them from so that I could keep them straight as I traced and cut.

To hide pencil lines, flip your desired patterned paper over (as well as your pattern) and trace the shape from each of the coordinating patterned papers. As you cut, leave approximately a 1/4″ margin to the left of each piece.

This is what all my pieces looked like after I cut, leaving that margin to one side.

These 1/4″ margins make piecing your shapes back together a breeze. It means you don’t have to worry about cutting them out perfectly and seeing slivers from your base as you piece them back together. Taking another piece of printer paper sized to 5.5″ x 4.25″, draw a pencil guide line .75″ from the bottom. Next, layer your pieces starting in that bottom, left-hand corner, working your way around each of the 4 corners. When your paper piecing is complete, you can add stitching if desired and top with a 5.5″ x 1″ strip of paper along the bottom.

Here’s on last peek at the completed cards. I hope I’ve inspired you to pull out your supplies to make a card of encouragement for someone special on your mind this week. Nothing beats getting a good old-fashioned card in the mail when it’s least expected. 🙂