All you need is love...and chocolate

I am so pleased to be able to show you my two latest cross stitch pieces. I had these both professionally framed and all I can say is...wow. Would definitely recommend professionals doing this as it really finishes off the piece.

The first piece was a gift for my partner's grandparents. They have recently celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary - what an achievement!

The floral motif was from a sampler book by Donna Kooler, the text was from a book by Helen Phillips about keepsakes and I designed the numbers myself. It is now in pride of place on their wall!!

My other piece was taken from Naughty but Nice Cross Stitch by Claire Crompton (available on Amazon). It's so decadent and just a really great piece of fun! I'm not sure whether to keep this myself or give it away as a gift yet...

Would love to hear what stitchy things you've been doing!

Moving on

Still waiting for my cross stitch pieces to be framed but in the meantime I created this card for one of my best friends who has moved house. Used some gorgeous papers from Craftseller magazine!

Are you making any cards or gifts this weekend?

Weddings and Birthdays

I completely forgot to upload my two most recent card makes. I couldn't put them on the blog at the time as the recipients hadn't opened them! 

The first is this 18th Birthday card for my (not so) little cousin. I really liked the glitter numbers, which I got from an independent card shop in the Great Western Arcade, Birmingham. Went a bit OTT on the polka dots theme, but I don't think it's too bad!

The next is this card I made for my friend's wedding:

I visited Stratford-upon-Avon a couple of weeks ago and was lucky enough to find this gorgeous paper wedding scene from a market stall there. Their eBay shop is  - http://stores.ebay.co.uk/Crafty-cows-paper-parlour - well worth a visit! The pink tag isn't visible in this photo but reads 'On Your Wedding Day'.

Have you been making any special cards or gifts lately?

Happy Bank Holiday!

Hi everyone,

Hope you're enjoying this lovely sunny Bank Holiday. Unfortunately I haven't been able to do much crafting this weekend :( I'm waiting for two of my cross stitch pieces to be framed - one is a gift, the other is just a fun saying. Once these come back I'll upload them onto the blog so that you can see!

In the meantime if you're looking for something to occupy you during your day off, I've come across two great blogs.

The first is Claireabellemakes. Claire's blog features DIY makes and recipes - perfect for your day off! Just visit the blog here: http://claireabellemakes.com/ to find out more.

The second is Sasha Cole Design. Sasha designs her own stitching projects - well worth a look at! http://sashacoledesigns.wix.com/sashacoledesigner

Happy Monday and hope you have a fabulous week!

Festival of Quilts

Yesterday I decided to go along to the Festival of Quilts at the NEC, Birmingham. I'm always interested in learning about new crafts and I'd heard that quilting was popular in America and something of a tradition. 

After a long week at work, it was exactly what I needed. I absolutely loved the exhibition and was so pleased I'd decided to go along. Val Shields of The Quilters' Guild held a workshop on quilting for beginners and I was amazed to see and hear about all of the different techniques that could be used to produce quilts. 

There were several displays of quilts - all very varied but all by very talented people. The quilt below was produced by various quilters from Iceland. I loved the fish and the lovely blue colours which match the country's landscape so well. So much love and hard work has gone into these pieces!

Quilting is definitely something I'd like to try my hand at - once I've learnt how to use my sewing machine that is!!

(For more information about The Quilters' Guild visit http://www.quiltersguild.org.uk/)

Washouts and Woodland Animals

This weekend I attended the Little Aston Village Fete with one of my best friends, Natasha. Although the day was a bit of a washout we had a great time selling our products and chatting to other stallholders. You can see Natasha's evaluation of the day and some of her gorgeous frames and embroideries on her blog http://natashacaronpowell.blogspot.co.uk/

I'd also like to share this little fella with you. I've just made him as a gift for my partner's little brother:

He was made by adapting a chart in Cross Stitch Crazy Issue 177. What do you think? Do you think he needs another woodland friend to keep him company?

Butterflies!

Hello everyone, as you've probably gathered by now I'm quite into my cross stitched keyrings at the moment! 

I found this gorgeous design in one of my cross stitch books and thought it was too pretty not to go into a keyring:

I love butterflies and thought it would make a lovely gift for a little girl. Who knows what the next cross stitched keyring will bring...has anyone got any ideas for designs they'd like to receive in a keyring?