Christmas Cards

I didn't have the time this year to embroider Christmas cards for the family, so I cheated a little. I saw these die cut reindeer at Hobbycraft - one of the few things I saw that inspired me on my recent visit - and had a little fun with glue and stuff. The joggle eyes, felt and beads all came from stash, and these little chaps worked up very quickly - the most time consuming part was tieing the necklace of beads, they just didn't want to knot in the right place!

Birthday Cards

July and August are always manic months for birthdays in my family. First of all, there's my sister, then my brother in law, then my mum, then my partner's sister and finally, my partner.

I've already posted a picture of my sister's card which I made using ribbon embroidery, but here are the others:


It's really hard to find cards for men that aren't a bit of a cliche - cars, football, fishing or sailing seem to be about the limits! This was a card from a kit to which I added peel off lettering. I can't say I recommend stitching with raffia, it's a bit of a struggle :o)

Stitching with silk organza is much more pleasant and it grows so quickly! I do get a bit tangled up with the sticky tape on the reverse, but fortunately, no one needs to see that! Again, this was a card from a kit, and I embellished it with additional lettering, which not only makes it more personal, but I think it balances the design better. I'm all for blank space in designs, but there can be too much of a good thing! The needleroll was an earlier finish which I also gave to my mum. It's all her fault I stitch anyhow LOL


This is another card from a kit - I bought the kit locally on sale, but I think the designer/maker is a Dutch company. It wasn't the best stitching experience ever. First of all, I had to prick every single hole - they weren't pre-punched, unlike the ribbon embroidery card. And then, to get the effect pictured (and which had been on the picture on the packet) I had to fudge how I folded the whole thing and incorporated the liner. I wonder if everyone else had to do that, and thta's why they were so cheap? :o) I'm pleased with the effect though, and it was nice to make something for The Hermit in his favourite colours, as I rarely stitch anything blue - it really is a colour I dislike!

Butterflies Birthday Card

This isn't a particularly good picture, but it gives you an idea of the card I made my sister for her birthday.

The butterfly wings are organza ribbon, so are 3-D in effect. The card and ribbon came in a kit, but I added my own peel-off lettering, and a butterfly peel-off inside. The card came pre punched, so it was a little like going back to my childhood, when I had lacing cards to play with :o)

My sister loved it - she's a great card maker, so creative, so neat. She said 'and you say you can't make cards!' - so I did get a scolding too :o)

The kit included 8 cards of 4 different designs, so I've used another one for my mum's birthday card - I'll post it after the event. She's unlikely to find my blog, but I won't take the chance!

Goldfinch Card

Design: Goldfinch

Designer: Not known, from a British Cross Stitch magazine of the 90s

Threads: DMC

Fabric: 28 count evenweave

This card is a companion piece to the card I gave my dad for his birthday, but this time it was Father's Day.

Goldfinches are another bird that flock to my parents' garden - drawn by the seeds they put out, and the sheltered spot they have, with plenty of trees and shrubs. I love finches, they are so perky and cheerful!

I have two more birds stitched up, so that is next year sorted... (Lord willin' an' the creek don't rise...LOL)

Wren - Birthday Card

Design: Wren

Designer: unknown, from an old edition of Cross Stitcher (UK) - I think

Threads: DMC

Fabric: 28 count evenweave, cream

To go with the gift, I also stitched my dad a birthday card. This had been lurking in my finishing pile for ages, and was going to be part of a patchwork cushion as there are three other birds in the series. However, my mum isn't keen on birds in art, so I thought it might be better to have the little jenny wren only on temporary display!

I chose the wren for the birthday card as there is nearly always a nesting pair of wrens in one of the hedges that form the boundary to my parent's garden. They are such sweet and perky birds, and I think that the designer has captured that very cleverly - before the backstitch went in, the bird was just a beige blob, but the outlines really brought it to life.

Mother's Day Card - DMC

Title: Honeysuckle Mother's Day Card
Designer: DMC (kit)
Fabric: 14 count aida, antique white
Threads: DMC

I don't often stitch from kits, but I saw this on one of my charity shop trawls and had to buy it. My parent's house had - until recently - the most amazing honeysuckle growing over one wall. Last year, it got pruned back rather drastically, as it was in danger of bringing down the guttering and phone line, and it's a shadow of it's former self. So this was a little reminder.

The card was part of the kit, as you can tell by the way that the motif echoes the stitching. My mum really liked it - UK Mother's Day is always before Easter, so she's had it already.

Christmas Bells - Janlynn

This was the Christmas card I stitched for my parents. The kit came from a charity shop, and although it wouldn't necessarily be a design I'd choose to stitch again, I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. I substituted beads for the charted red and gold french knots, and they added a bit of Christmas sparkle to the design, as well as looking neater. I can't stitch french knots - technically, mine are colonial knots, and they can look a tad baggy!

The card mount had embossed holly leaves on it which was a nice touch, I thought.

Design details:

To be added.

The Holly and The Ivy

This was the Christmas card I gave my sister and BIL this Christmas just gone. The design was a free cover kit from one of the UK stitching magazines (Cross Stitcher, I think) back in the 90s. I mounted it in a better quality card, and used peel-offs for the greetings inside and out. I'm not very good with peel-offs, even manipulating them with tweezers, so the writing got a bit distorted!

Only a few more Christmas pieces to post about, then I can get onto this year's stitching!

Bless This House - Cathy Bussi

I'm not really sure why I stitched this, because even then it wasn't really my style - but I did, about eight years ago, and it's languished unloved in my finishing box ever since. I finally made it up into a card which I will be sending to a friend who has recently moved home.

Celtic Stones - Textile Heritage

This looks really nice as a card, so I don't think I'm going to frame this either! I think I will save it for my dad for his birthday next year!