Birthday Cross Stitched Card for a Friend

I have finished my newest cross stitched card! It's a birthday card with a friend motif for my best friend E., who lives in Pl. Took a while to stitch this one but I enjoyed switching from colour to colour. There's lots of backstitch in this one too! This design comes from a lovely book (a must-have for all cross stitchers who like stitching motifs for cards by the way) by Joan Elliott Cross stitch greeting cards. 70 stunning designs for every occasion.

 

and some details of the cross stitch:

Teapots are my favourite tea accessories so no wonder I loved stitching this one! :P Not to mention litres of tea drunk during the process of stitching this card :)

The Red vase with back dots (French knots) is my another favourite bit in this stitch :) The intense red makes it clearly stand out in the design.

I kept the embellishment of this card to a minimum as the stitch itself  makes a statement and is in the centre of focus. I mounted the stitch on a highly textured paper (Indian hand-made paper) and I put some little crocheted flowers in the opposite corners :)

and here is my progress with the bookmark for my mum :)
you can recognize the flower outlines, can't you?

I think I'm still feeling a bit royal :) so my collection of blue-white-and-red stash is noticeably growing :)
I've been prepraring stuff for some patriotic projects :)

Recently I bought this:

... some wide gingham  and red dotted ribbons as well as some buttons. I've been thinking of stitching a hanging decoration in home sweet home style :) using these ribbons :) Anyway, we shall see. See you soon and thanks for your comments :)