At last I have some new cards and have restocked my etsy shop! If you are not already familiar with my cards, they are made by 'upcycling' my favourite magazine images into cards and matching envelopes using recycled card for the interior. The images are non-toxic glued & wrap right round the back of the card, and the envelopes fold round and seal with a sticker - so no glue on them!
I take a long time choosing the images, matching them to their envelopes, getting them really flat, and then finding 4 that go together before they pop in their (now) biodegradable wrapper! I'm going to add a little detail of a twine tie and small label, for those people who'd like to give them as a handmade gift.
More to come... I feel gift tag making session coming on - watch this space!
In the background there you can just see one of my latest finds from the charity shop...
...this lovely green linen with lilacs embroidered all over - it was a bargain for £3.99 - how could you compare the price with the work that has gone into it?
I have also been doing some sewing with one of the sashiko kits -
it does feel a bit of a cheat, rather like doing dot-to-dot which I used to love as a child.
It's quite therapeutic just following the stitch marks, and lets me practice and regulate my stitch length. The kit comes doublesided so you are stitching 2 layers together which is quite a nice quality. I think the pattern would have been quite a complicated one to draw out for a beginner - so actually it is quite a good idea despite my slight guilt.
Now I have to decide whether to do the infill patterns in another colour, or do the whole in turquoise. Hmm.
On the stitchery front I found this book in the Oxfam bookshop on Byres Road. They have a good used craft section, a whole shelf - even two - filled with embroidery books. I thought some of the patterns in here were quite cute and bought it for my mum - perhaps with the hope that she might do some of the decorations in there for me! : )
Such as this family of sparrows - who in real life have taken over the garden as a favourite food-stop!
This is a lovely post, filled with creativity, from the beautiful imagery you've selected for those packs of cards, through the measured delicacy of sashiko embroidery and then through that marvelous embroidery book's imagery.
Hoping that someone will stitch those birdies for you!
The Japanese stitching intrigues me too, and I have seen some examples close up. Might just have to try it. Where do I find the time? No answer! xo
Posted by: frances | June 20, 2009 at 01:47 AM
Lovely to catch up on your blog. I like the look of your cards and I'm intrigued by the simplicity of the sashiko kit - it looks good but,as you say, also gives the benefit of practicing the measure of your stitches. That's something I'm not awfully consistent at!
Debs x
Posted by: Debs | June 20, 2009 at 07:35 PM
The lilacs are beautiful! Why can't I have such luck with charity shops ;0)
Posted by: dottyspots | June 21, 2009 at 07:08 PM
you're very lucky with your charity shop finds!!
Posted by: Péitseoga | June 23, 2009 at 10:06 PM
Still looking ,I like what I see,----- cottonreel
Posted by: Kathleen Solomi | July 03, 2009 at 12:09 PM