Christmas Cards of 2014

Hi all. I'm alive but still struggling to find more time for blogging but hey, here I am here today with some more crafty news. I know, I know it's way past Christmas and most of us are already thinking of Easter days but I still wanted to show you my festive cross stitched cards into which I  had put lots of time and effort so it would be shame not to mention them. 

So here they are. Ta Dah!

A set of 6 Christmas cross stitched cards. Patterns for the motifs come from an archival issue of Cross Stitch Cardshop, issue no. 81. I liked these as soon as I saw them and knew I'd have to stitch them one day.

It takes at least 6-8 hrs to stitch a single motif. There are satin and metallic threads in them too. They give  those nice shiny light effects. Buttons add an extra dimension too. A few close-ups:

I think the Christmas tree with tiny cute buttons is my favourite in this card collection :) I may feel tempted to stitch this motif again sometime.

The elf boots are sweet too, I think.

All in all it has taken me 2 years to finish these cards. I lost my motivation and patience half way through and came back to finish them off 2 Christmases later. I'm very pleased how they turned out.

I obviously couldn't resist embellishing the aperture cards as well. Not too much though otherwise the embellishments would overshadow the cross stitch itself.

And this is what they looked like when put on my still festive window. They look quite good as a group, don't you think? :)

In the meantime I couldn't stop myself from starting another big project - a gorgeous Christmas sampler. This one will be stitched throughout the whole year and hopefully finished by Christmas 2015. 

The canvas is navy which means stitching this piece of work requires a great deal of sunlight and I can only stitch it while I'm sitting in my conservatory without risking an eyestrain. Too cold at the moment but it will be more pleasant later in the year and I'm really looking forward to see how this sampler is coming on. The pattern requires a lot of Anchor Reflecta metallic thread so I predict some battles with fraying threads. The stitching with metallic threads is slow but the design is stunning so eventually it will be worth all the effort. 

Currently I'm busing myself with knitting some Easter bunnies as gifts and a bit of crochet too. I'm thinking of trying some new projects, some being a little out of my comfort zone. Lots in plans, just need to stretch my day a bit... by a few hours at least ;)

Hope you are all ok and thanks for stopping by here x x 

Even more Nordic Spring cards :)

Yes, yes, yes, the cards again :) I still keep making them as it's great fun to mix and combine all those stamps, inks, punched shapes, papers, backgrounds and die cuts together and it's also a perfect opportunity to stretch and exercise your imagination and creativity (the sky is the limit, so they say) :) I usually make one or two cards after hours, in the evenings and then I end up with a few by the end of the week. Here are my recent Nordic Spring cards for this Easter season.

The "Norwegian sweater" style eggs on aperture cards - my idea for Easter 2013 and one of my favourite type of cards. I tried to keep them simple - the knitted pattern speaks for itself. Pastel colours are a must here! 

In the card below I had an opportunity to use my new polka dot embossing folder :)))) Been looking for one for a while!

All 4 apertures together :)

I've also made some pink/purplish cards with folky eggs, they have been inked and shaded with the blending chalks.

And side by side :)

A couple of aperture cards in yellow-green-orange colours:

And one with a cute yellow bunny :)

Voila! It has been a very crafty week! :)

Well-deserved Hand-made Monday blog fun! 

Cards with owls

Two trendy owls "glass painted" on a piece of acetate and made into cards :)

A Christmas owl surrounded by stamped snowflakes :)

Both cards, side by side