This is both my first hand embroidery and my first laser project!
While coming up with ideas for the Spring to Life swap, I came across this butterfly embroidery pattern. It is intended to be embroidered on wood, but I changed it up. I used my laser cutting/engraving machine (finally!! I’ve had it since Christmas and have been really looking forward to using it!) to etch the butterfly design onto a cotton/linen fabric blend (the etching turned out pretty light and next time, I’ll definitely make it darker. Thankfully, I had some bright lights to help me see as I embroidered). I constructed the front of the flag, then got stitching!
The Etsy file came with instructions on how to do each stitch (thank goodness, since it was all new to me!). I had some difficulty at first with the French knots, but after looking through some YouTube videos, I was able to pinpoint my problem and fix the issue. Once I had the butterfly finished, I outlined the border, then sewed the flag together and added a handmade label as well as the swap information to the back. The swap info is done in a holographic heat transfer vinyl, which makes it difficult to read when the light hits it, but that also means it does decent job of blending into the background.
The Etsy file came with a bookmark design, as well. I used my laser to cut it out (I’m so excited to be able to do that!!), then proceeded to stitch it. I had a hard time stitching this and felt like the holes were too small for the floss to pass through multiple times. I later realized that for some reason my laser software opened the file at a smaller size. Since, I was about midway through the stitch out though, I just kept going and forcing the needle through until it was done. This picture shows the size it was supposed to be, vs the size I ended up with.
I had a small test piece of linen that I decided to put to use rather than toss.
I stitched out the design and made myself a mini flag. Then I glued a magnet inside and stitched it closed. The holes cut by the laser definitely degraded the linen weave, but since the magnet is just for me, it’s not a big deal and my little magnet makes me smile 
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What a ray of sunshine! This sunny project is featured this week!