if you want something done right...

I was having a hard time finding what I wanted to fill various greeting card needs, so I just went ahead and made some myself. They're cute and minimal; made with cardstock purchased expressly for the purpose combined with various bits that were already floating around the house:

They couldn't have been simpler to make. I poked some holes with a headpin ahead of time, then used an embroidery needle and thread and my very rudimentary embroidery skills to apply either little chains or [I think it's called] satin stitch. Some got leaves, some didn't. Buttons and cabochons were glued on to finish. Et voila!

by-products

When I frogged my Academia Vest, most of the yarn got a bath and went on to greener (better fitting) pastures.  Some of it, however, was hopelessly kinked, discolored, and in bits too short to bother futzing around with.  The stranded work produced some unusually interesting Ramen, with kinks at regular intervals depending on the row of colorwork it had come from.  We happened to also have some empty picture frames laying forlornly about the apartment, waiting to be filled with some weird wall art and, well, this happened:

See? ...It's a jellyfish.

The body is made of medium-weight cardstock inexpertly embroidered with a darning needle.  I played around with the tentacles until I was happy with their arrangement, then sandwiched the whole thing together and secured the frame before it could slide out of place.