Hi everyone! Nancy here today with a crafty tutorial featuring embroidered tags. Nothing says handmade quite like sewing. I also love the personalized aspect of embroidery.

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I started this project with muslin tags from the Happy Things collection by Pinkfresh Studios. I love the dipped dye look of the fabric tag. I took it one step further and added an embroidered ombre letter to each tag.  

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I chose “C” and “A” to represent California which is the topic of my page. You could do family initials, numbers or simple icons to customize them to your own story.

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1. Start with an embroidery template (this alpha kit by Amy Tangerine is a favorite), a piercing tool, mat, and 2 skeins of embroidery floss in a medium and dark shade of one color and 1 skein in a cream color that matches the tag.

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2. Use the piercing tool and template to poke holes through the fabric to create a sewing guide. I started with the outside portion of the letter first. Begin stitching at the top with the cream color floss, then switch over to the medium shade and finally end the letter with the darkest shade.

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3. Next, line up the template and poke the center outline of the letters. Repeat the sewing technique above start with the top of the letter in cream and ending at the bottom with the darkest shade.

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4. Use Versafine or Staz-On ink to add a stamped image to the fabric tag. The trickiest part of this technique is piercing the holes with a wide enough needle so that you can still see the pattern when you remove the template.  TIP: You could carefully use a very sharp pencil to mark small dots where the sewing lines would be. Just make sure they are very light marks. 

Happy customizing your embroidery to your stories. It's easier than it looks!

~  Nancy Damiano

DAY 17 GIVEAWAY

Day 17 already! The time is going fast but we are far from over. Today we are so pleased to featured Carta Bella. And we love Carta Bella for so many reasons.  The feel of this rich paper, the classic, sophisticated designs and a very talented team make this a great company to work with! When we told our friends at Carta Bella that we would be celebrating them this month it took about 3 minutes before they said they would love to be a part of the celebration and offer YOU a great prize! Take a look!

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  The Soak Up The Sun collection and ice cream stencil are perfect for all your summer crafting! Designed by Alisha Gordon, it boasts a beautiful assortment of fun summer memories. Who can resist that sweet ice cream truck? Not us! For an opportunity to win today's prize, be sure to leave a comment below by September 2nd! Winners will be randomly selected and announced on September 4th. Good luck!

Thank you to everyone who has left a comment each day on our sponsors Facebook pages. They see that immediately and love that you've taken a minute to do that! And we thank you too! Please continue that by joining Carta Bella on their facebook page and give them a hearty "SCT thank you!"  Then you can find all sorts of Carta Bella inspiration by clicking the links below:

On their website:   Carta Bella

On their blog:        Carta Bella

On Facebook:         Carta Bella

On Pinterest:          Carta Bella

On YouTube:           Carta Bella

Thank you for joining us today! We loved Nancy's project and we loved celebrating Carta Bella.  Now, go soak up the sun and enjoy a wonderful Wednesday! 

~ Catherine