Hello again :)

Hi. I haven't been here a while. Dunno why. Time flies so fast that I found it difficult to get round to posting on my blog. But I'm back. Oh no! I haven't been loafing around though :P I've been busy with my cross stitch projects and here is the outcome of my prolonged blog silence:

This is a hanging decoration with a wedding sampler motif - two folky birds - just as I like it :)  the design is by Joan Elliott and comes from the book "Cross stitched Greeting Cards. 70 Stunning Designs for Every Occasion". Originally, it meant to be a sizeable cross stitched card but I thought a cross stitched cushion like that would be even more eye catching :) It took a while to stitch this one due to large amount of details, which is characteristic of all samplers. but it was worth it, I think. This decoration is going to be sent over abroad to my cousin and her husband to commemorate their wedding day.

The cushion has got a backing fabric in coordinated colours and so is the ribbon :)

Well this is not the end as I've been also stitching these:

 and these:

This is what they looked like a week ago :) There's been some progress and now the stitches look like this:

Now all I need is to iron my stitches, stuff them, sew them up, attach some red beads and enjoy! :) They are going to be a part of Christmas decoration for the mantlepiece. 

In the meantime I also made this card, welcoming my colleague's son into this world:

And I've also started another project - I'm turning some little black metal framed garden lanterns into white christmassy tealight candleholders with some red and white glass painted motifs, Scandinavian ones, of course ;)

The black metalwork has been sprayed with some white gloss paint and now the glass panes are waiting to be painted :) I'm hoping to get round to it soon!

For my crafts I've recently bought some lovely books :D (Gosh, I can't ever resist them, can I?)

My latest "faves" - little booklets with absolutely gorgeous cross stitch designs from Rico Designs:

This book has a wonderful collection of Nordic designs :D Surely, I'm gonna stitch some of them this year!

I fell in love with these wintery blue gloves!

Aren't they gorgeous???

Well, the cherry on the cake among my crafty shopping are these two buys from Sewandso: 2 Christmas table cloths to be stitched. The moment I saw these red prancing reindeers, I knew this table cloth would be mine! Dunno how I'm gonna do this, but I'd love to stitch both for Christmas this year! .... or at least one of them!

Well, I think I'll stop here although there is more to show and brag about :P Let's not forget that it's Handmade Monday at Wendy's so get clicking guys to see some great crafty stuff others have made. I'm joining in tonight. 

Thanks for dropping by and leaving some warm comments behind. x x x

Festive Cards

Hi all! Another week has passed with me being busy and stitching away my next new Nordic cards, a theme continuation to my previous series :)  and now it's time for Hand-made Monday linking-up fun - click HERE and join the fun or to see some lovely craft creations. 

So here are my hand-made creations from this week:

2 new Scandinavian  festive cards:

The christmas tree chart on its own comes from Aurelle's blog. I added the frame, lettering and the "snowflakes" according to my own liking to fill up the stitch area. 

Another card is first attempt at being a thrifty stitcher - I tried to save a small strip of aida and I came up with this little stitch with Noel chalets :) Stitched, stamped, embossed and embellished with festive confetti :)

And the two cards side by side:

I guess I could count my home-made baked stuff as hand-made too! :)

I love experimenting in the kitchen and trying out new recipes. On Friday I made a plum crumble (one of my favourite desserts) with a hint of cinnamon and raisins. Served with custard :) Nom! nom!

Then on Saturday I had a go at my new baking toys: V.I.P - Very Important Pastries cookie cutters by Birkmann and I made these biscuits in a form of angel wings, that can be used to decorate a cup. Cute, aren't they? ;-)

Thank you for your kind comments you leave under my posts. Pleasure to read them! x x x

So what?

So what? So what it's summer now and still a few months to go to Christmas and I'm already stitching away my Christmas cards? Hot or not, I feel like making my Christmas cards right here and right now! :) And it doesn't bother me at all! :) This year I decided to be well-prepared for my Christmas, well ahead of time :) and started my cross stitch projects as early as possible. You know...a stitch in time... and everything will be ready for you to enjoy this lovely festive season :)

Recently I've been fostering my growing interest in Scandinavian crafts by stitching some sampler-style Nordic greeting cards. And here is the whole series of 6:

the cards in 3s:

and altogether :)

I really enjoyed stitching and mounting them. Simple, symmetrical, easy to stitch, folky look and festive mood. Voile! The charts come from Cross Stitch Card Shop magazine, issue 74, Oct/Nov, 2010.

I'm planning Scandinavian theme for my Christmas this year so more designs of this type are to come soon! 

Let's not forget that it is also a Hand-made Monday time. The 30th edition of this linking blog fun. Check out Wendy's place to see some lovely crafty stuff :) or simply join in! 

Due to my travel to Scotland last week, I've got some hand-made Monday posts to catch up with so I better be off now! 

To  whoever comes here : take care and thank you for your kind words :-)

For the love of sea

I love sea! I love going to the seaside, sitting on a beach, walking on sand, picking up shells and all that stuff you can do when you go there. I also love all sorts of nautical accessories for home and seaside craft projects. I've always dreamt of a room decorated in a marine style and hopefully this dream will come true one day :) 

Recently I've felt like making some nautical greeting cards so this week the first four have been made (and I still feel like making more!). I used water colours paints, drawing pen, some nautical stamps I managed to collect over time :) and some freebie digi-papers and digi-badges downloaded from White Sheep's blog (2nd, 3rd and 4th card). For the background on the 1st card I used Tim Holtz's alcohol ink - Stream to create this shad-y-stain-y effect. 3 of these cards have been machine-sewn and distressed. Oh and I like to keep my cards simple when it comes to this theme :)

For my craft stash I recently bought some lovely nautical stamps! Most are deals from ebay, like these for example:

The first free sets are Inkadinkado stamps, the last stamp set comes from Personal Impressions.

I've also bought some little ones from local craft shops:

And now the cherry on the cake: this gorgeous stamp set is my fave and it came all the way from Poland! Ordered by one of my Polish friends on my request. I adore this vintage map and compass as much as the lighthouse and other bits :)

Bored? Hope not! Cause this is not the end! :P For my future marine projects (nautical cross stitch pictures framed in some shabby chic frames) I also bought this pack of shells from a local garden centre. When I'm ready with my cross stitch designs, I'm going to decorate the frame with some real seashells :D

Obviously shopping for shells doesn't rule out picking up my own shells from the beach! These are my sea treasures from the last trip to the seaside in Prestatyn. My favourites are those with blue and white stripes! :)

And last but not least my marine glass :D As a glass painter I just couldn't miss a shop shelf stocked with such lovely votives in aquatic colours. Don't the air bubbles trapped in the glass remind you of sea water? :) Initially I thought of decorating them but then I decided to leave them be. Just like the way they are :)

quick edit: LOL I've forgotten to show off my new lovely nautical fabrics!!! :D

I don't know what exactly I am gonna make out of them yet! It may be a cross stitched beach hut doorstop with a nautical backing fabric.... I wonder :)

Sunday eve is time for Hand-made Monday at Wendy's. Tonight I'm linkin up this blog party and submitting my greeting cards. Guys, check the other places for some lovely craft stuff!