Spring Sampler (2) Yarn shopping.

Hi all. Spring is coming on nicely... well at least on my cross stitching frame :) Here's is my progress. I'd say it's about 1/3 done by now. I'm going to stitch the upper part now and then finish with the bottom of the project. I'm really enjoying stitching this sampler and I'm lovin' how the font came out too. 

In 3 days Welsh schools break up for a weekly half-term break. This means the whole week and actually 9 consecutive days of crafting bliss :) I'm soooo looking forward to this free time and I'm hoping to make even more progress with my sampler. In the meantime I ordered another Riverdrift House sampler to stitch. I've kept my eye on this Easter sampler for a while now. I've missed stitching with some pastel colours. 

With the Valentine's Day last Friday and all things nice to celebrate, last Saturday I treated myself to a big crafty shopping :-)))) Finally this gorgeous set of circus font stamps is mine, mine, mine!!! :D

This set can be teamed with a complementary set of cutting dies, which arrived at my place today! :D I can't wait to lay my hands on this set. Naturally, I couldn't miss the shelves with yarn:

Some mercerized cotton in energizing colours: Wendy Supreme:

Sirdar Simply Recycled yarn

 more of Freedom Sincere organic cotton:

Some Sublime Egyptian cotton - never had one so wanted to have a go at this type of yarn:

and all the yarn "loot" together :)

in Lidl, again, I found the remaining orange cotton yarn and a set of dpn:

All these vibrant spring colours inspire me to try some projects for home like coasters, mug hugs, mats, Easter chicks, floral garlands etc. Hopefully I'll find some time to have a go at them. 

Now a good news for all nutty knitters who love all sorts of fonts and words: This gorgeous new book Knit the Alphabet by Claire Garland is hitting the shops at the end of March. I've already pre-ordered my copy on Amazon and I'm awaiting it impatiently :) I have a feeling it will be a big hit in the world of crafty books, just like Knit 55 Christmas Balls by Arne & Carlos.

And to finish off, a few photos of my little furry not-so-patient model - Cookie. I was trying to photograph him on the windowsill but he kept catching the strap of my camera and chewing on it. His attitude towards the cat modelling didn't help at all! Just see for yourselves :)

He can be naughty but he's a totally sweet and adorable little bugger <3

Stamps. Stamps. Stamps - Confessions of a stampaholic.

Crafters have a lot of their own sweet, "guilty pleasure" addictions. One of mine is collecting and using all sorts of stamps. I could have millions of them and I can never get enough :) I'm a real sucker for all sorts of quirky and whimsical stamp designs and I find the Yellow Owl Workshop stamps to be so. They are good quality traditional wood block-mounted rubber stamps, each set being sold in an attractive box. Perhaps you remember this stamp set from one of my previous posts.  And I've recently treated myself to these festive sets:

I love these simple geometric designs. It's the simplicity of the designs that captures my heart. The Christmas bauble is lovely but it is the bell I really really really wanted to have in my collection. 

The mistletoe and the pine cone have also been long on my must-have list. I fancy making some Christmas cards with floral symbols of Christmas. 

And this scenery building stamp set has been on my wish list for weeks. Finally it's mine! :) 

I couldn't wait any longer and I had to have a go at this reindeer set:

I also added 2 extra stamps for this scenery - the curly Christmas tree is a stamp from The English Stamp Company and the wording comes from The Waltzing Mouse Stamps set - Nordic Winter.

The designs of these stamps are so simple, yet the stamping possibilities are unlimited. The colours, the arrangement, the intensity, the whole composition - it all depends on you. Let yourself get lost in the stamping fever :)

And a version with a small mistletoe stamp (also from The English Stamp Company)

Experimenting a bit, I used some textured watercolour cardstock for these impressions. I like how this paper absorbs the ink and how the stamped images overlap with each other.

With these new stamping toys I feel like my crafting passion is being rekindled now. Good :) as I'm going to have more stamping fun later this week.

Have a good weekend and thank you for your comments. x X x
Linking to Hand-made Harbour tonight for a Hand-made Monday blog hopping party. 

Background builders

This week in the evenings I've been busy making (again!) some more vintage Scandinavian Christmas cards as well as making my own stamped backgrounds using my inks and stamps. This is such fun! I'm thoroughly enjoying myself at the card making paper production. There's a new trend in the stamping world - a new type of stamps sometimes called "background builders" or "backgrounders" - these are sets of stamps coordinated in style/theme that are used to build your own scenery on a card. They allow for the personalization of a card - you choose where and how to stamp and in what order and how much. So I've had those 4 gorgeous stamps sets with the Nordic theme from The Waltzing Mouse Stamps and the knitted pattern stamps from  WPlus9 Studio Design and it was a perfect moment to put those stamps into practice. So this week I've been stamping these:

I experimented with various colours and shades. By accident, using a thick chalky ink that didn't stamp too crisp, I discovered how to achieve a shaded knitted pattern by stamping two patterns - one on top of  the other. One fills it with a faded colour, the other gives it a defining outline. I thought the coffee brown knitted pattern will look cosy and warm on my cards ;) I really look forward to making cards with these impressions. 

I was very pleased with how these images came out on card as it can be tricky to get a good even impression from the big-sized stamps. I had to use super long acrylic blocks for these borders. I also used some stamping advice from the stamping expert The Waltzing Mouse website and it did work for me this time. I'm going to cut those papers up into smaller backgrounds and perhaps use some cutting dies and punches on them. The thing I love about those background builders is that there are so many possibilities with these stamps. You can make monochromatic patterns as well as multicoloured ones. You can use the papers as backgrounds, punch various shapes out of them or simply cut them up into decorative borders or create your own gift wraps too!

Shopping for goodies :)))))

When I check my blog statistics I very often see that my blog comes up in search results when some key words like Nordic, Scandinavian, Nordic cross stitch, julekuler, etc are typed in the search machines. So I'm writing this thinking of some of my blog visitors coming here looking for various Scandinavian stuff available online. I know they are out there and perhaps they would like to know what craft resources with the Nordic theme have been recently on the market. 

Thursday was an extra special day for us. We went out to visit some local shops which are our favourite shopping places. Coffee at Costa (It's always a nice treat. I just love it there!) WHSmith's for craft magazines, HomeSense for some American Crafts products (Goodness me! The bargains they've got there!) and finally one of my favourite craft shops - The Purple Butterfly in Daleside Garden Centre. Just imagine the bags I brought home. Definitely the best moment was an unexpected discovery at that shop - some newly launched Scandinavian craft products on the market from DoCrafts Papermania. The collection is called Christmas in the country and features cross stitched and knitted themes - something I can never get enough of. I was overjoyed! 

The Christmas in the country line includes among others:
cross stitch kits - I got myself two Scandinavian hearts to cross stitch, stuff and hang. Naturally, I can't wait to start on these.

Next, my new stamps with a trendy knitted jumper pattern (<3 I love them! Love'em! Love'em!) I'm particularly happy about the borders - they will be great for building backgrounds. I also love the big knitted heart stamp and stocking.

No Nordic product line will be complete without a reindeer!

Ribbons and bows to complete your craft work. Notice how everything is nicely colour and style coordinated :) This line of products actually combines a few motifs: knitted pattern, cross stitch, Nordic theme and tartans/ginghams. 

 Paper pad:

Add ons: Tags and stickers:
Front:

Back:

I got myself some extra bits like self-adhesive fabric papers from Papermania, a gorgeous product line from last year: Home for Christmas

These are really interesting. They have sorta fabric texture and I'm dying to try them on my cards :)

and my last thing: another two washi tapes in my collection plus some gorge ribbons <3

And the cherry on the Nordic cake for me has been this:

when one of my Polish friends has presented me with the pattern for this ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS cross stitch ornaments. I'm sooo in love with these little Nordic characters. The cross stitch is from Prairie Schooler and is called "Nordic Holiday". You can find it at 1-2-3 Stitch shop. (by the way, they have an amazing choice of samplers and quakers there). It's a MUST-DO project for me and I shall be ordering the threads tomorrow. 

Well what can I say? I'm so pleased that these days the craft manufacturers have a good sense of what's trendy and they are really meeting our, crafters', needs and I'm also excited and dire to sit down and craft, craft, craft...

Dala Cards - Nordic Spring version

Hi all. I've got a couple of more Dala cards to show. This time they could be labelled as Nordic Spring due to the cheery floral papers I used on them :)

The Dalas have been stamped with a Noolibird dala stamp and heat-embossed.

I really enjoyed making these cards and it was a kind of challenge to try and coordinate the styles and colours the backing papers and the stamps.

Apart from card making I'm currently enjoying quite intense reading and about to explore some novels with the Arabic theme. I just love this gorgeous autumnal cover of this book.

I'd had this book on my to-read list for a while and then I managed to stumble upon it at a car boot sale :) and got it for less than a £1. Lucky me! :)

Linking up my cards to Hand-made Monday tonight.

Card making books reviews and Dala stamps.

Hi all. Hope you are all ok and enjoying your weekend. The British weather can be a real roller coaster. Yesterday it was like this:

Gorgeous sunshine and a pleasant breeze. Today is rain and gloom. I was so happy yesterday to pull a chair out into sunshine and enjoy reading a book. Today it's reading on the sofa. Luckily there's always something nice for me to do at home - have a crafty session of card-making or knitting or stitching. I'm one of these people who always have crafty fiddly fingers. 

But today I wish to write about something else. About the card making books. Do you buy them? Do you like them? Because I do. And it's a "DO" with capital "D". The card making books that arrived yesterday had been on my wish list for a while. I happen to know them from my workplace (we've got book people coming to us and selling all sorts of books) and from a local library. These are really good card making books, bursting with ideas, techniques, full of pretty photographs and worth recommending. I bought both off amazon.co.uk. Now, guess the price of them.... Watch out!... 1 p! Yes, they are used books (but in a very good condition). Add the amazon charge for the postage and you can make it under £3.00! This is one of the greatest things about Amazon - lots of crafty books for less than a pound. 

Cheryl Owen - The practical handbook of card making. This lady has got lots of ideas in her head! And thank God for that, otherwise this book wouldn't be here! A few exemplary photos for you to have a peek at :)

Hey! What have we got here?! I spy with my little eye something beginning with "s" - yes, a Scandinavian valentine's card with a Danish heart! Right in the centre of the book cover. I'm definitely going to make this one! Below, a simple but cute reindeer card which with a bit of imagination can be easily made into more Scandinavian-looking :) 

And how about a Russian doll? I just love these! Another on my to-make list.

Fancy some floral embroidery on card? Why not!

I've always liked when cards have beaded embellishments. Perhaps it's time to have a go at this one!

And what about those cute chicks in the grass? A lovely attempt at playing with textures and layers.

I'm thinking of celebrating autumn this year. I love its colours. Cards like these could decorate my mantlepiece.

Channukah card anyone? Love this beaded candleholder!

Peace Doves for Christmas... Don't they just look great on that topiary tree?

 I surely can't miss this little fella...

Classic cards with elegant look...

A Swedish bird motif - another one on my list!

 Creating your own stationery...

Moving over to the 2nd book. This is another great book presenting simple easy cards with a great look and elegance. Emma Hardy - Fast, Fun Cards.

Just for a start, I love that retro-looking card with circles. Will definitely have a go at this one! It's all about the colour, shape and arrangement. And what about those gorgeous leafy cards?! My style and another idea for autumn.

Retro again... cheery tissue paper cutouts...

Patchwork anyone? Perfect way to use those scraps of fabric you don't want to get rid of. I would add some hand stitches or cross stitch on those hearts for a more country look.

Uaaah! I'm definitely going for these festive cards with raffia. Again, they can be made into more Nordic-looking ones (I already feel ideas are budding in my head!)

Simple valentines? Why not? It's all about the colour again! Need no more than a simple punch and some coloured card and glue. No need to run to a shop to buy an expensive card either!

And autumn card again! So simple but so effective. Just the beauty of stamping itself to admire and look at.

The great thing about these books is that apart from a great host of ideas they also introduce a reader to such clever card making solutions like stamping on balsa wood, painting with bleach, using metal polish on textured wallpaper cut outs etc. I'm a sucker for such original techniques. 

Now, on the stamping front. Lots of happening here. A few days ago, scouring the internet for some Scandi inspirations I came across this quirky and lovely set of rubber stamps by Yellow Owl Workshop. It came from Etsy and it was the last one in stock! (Phew! Relief!) There was no other way - I just had to have it in my stamp collection! The stamps arrived yesterday, with the books. Bliss! 

A Scandimaniac like me just cannot miss such opportunity. I am soooo looking forward to stamping with those stamps and it's gonna happen this week. Apart from the stamps there was a cute message for a buyer in the box too. 

More happiness to come! Last week, Nula from noolibird.com simply made my day by sending me those two gorgeous dala stamps as freebies together with my order! More treasures in my treasure trough. I am so happy to have them. 

Actually, I'v already started working on some new cards with Dalas, as you can see in the photo the stamps have been inked. The cards will be published very soon. Keep in touch and stay Scandi-tuned :)

Hope you've made it through all these photos today :) Thank you for your visits and kind comments you leave behind. I appreciate your presence here, especially you, my regular commentators. x X x