A 'make-it-yourself' birthday card

I'm quite pleased with this. It is a birthday card for my youngest niece, who is adopted and has been with our family for just 16 months. Having had 7 homes in 7 years, and a good deal of neglect from her biological family, she is quite behind in her development. When she came to my sister she could neither dress herself nor use a knife and fork. But she loves making and doing, so I thought I would make her a birthday card that she could decorate and finish herself.

I didn't have any card of the right thickness, that wouldn't crumple under small hands but be strong enough to be sewn, so laminated two thinner layers using spray mount. Quite waxy coloured pencils for the outlines, and a fine wad punch to make the sewing holes. I had plenty of coloured embroidery silks to choose from, and the gems for the corners are taken from this year's mothers' day card. A snowflake shaped cutter made sparkly bits out of some shiney wrapping paper to stick onto the background. I've drawn in where the sewing should go very faintly in coloured pencils, so that she can see which hole to go to next.

I've tried to keep it simple enough that she will be able to do it with minimal help from mum and dad.

What a lovely idea.

Wow! That's a lovely idea. I don't think there's anything like that out there on the market.

Beautiful! She will have such a sense of achievement when it's finished. It would look great in a frame.

I used to have sewing cards which worked in a similar way when I was little - a simple picture of something like a duck, with holes all the way round, and laces which had a stiffened end to push in and out of the holes. I thought about trying to make some when my own children were small, but couldn't think how to make the holes - now I know!

Yes so did I - I think that's probably where the idea came from. I had intended to do an outline of something, but couldn't decide what. Then I thought about illuminated letters, and decided to design something very loosely based on the medieval concept of decorated initial letters in decorated boxes.

Is a wad punch a bit like a leather punch?

Yes, sort of. The only leather punches I have seen are the ones with various sized cutters on a rotating wheel, which you operate by squeezing the jaws together.

A wad punch is just like a single one of those cutters but rather longer, so that it can be held in the hand. You use it by applying downward pressure with a twisting movement.

If my explanation isn't very good, I'll take a photograph of mine.

that's a great idea....i'm sure she will love it

My daughter has the sewing cards also she loves them. After reading this i may be able to make some more personalised ones