Wednesday, March 29, 2017

Enchanted Red Rose Bookmark


For months I have been excited for the live action version of Beauty and the Beast. I also bought the cartoon version in the fall, and have watched it a few times since then. So, it is not surprising that an idea for an enchanted red rose cross-stitch bookmark pattern came to me.

I decided to try something new for this bookmark; I used metallic thread for the backstitching. In the first version I stitched, the colors were too close, and the backstitching did not provide enough definition for the pattern.


I next tried blending the floss of the rose, stem, leaves, and background with metallic threads and backstitched with black. This made the colors of the rose, stem, and leaves too dark and the background too light for my tastes.


The third time was the charm. I used a light green metallic to outline the stem and leaves and silver to outline the rose. Finally a design I felt looked satisfactory.


When showing the bookmarks to people, each had their own preference of which they liked best. So, in the pattern, I am making all three color schemes available. You can purchase the pattern on Etsy.

Stay tuned for more rose bookmarks...

Friday, March 24, 2017

One Year of Cross-Stitch Patterns


This week last year, I released my first ever cross-stitch patterns, my Owl Sitting on Books series. Since then, I have released seven more patterns, and I have two more patterns that are almost ready for release.

These are the patterns I have released in the last year:
Owl Sitting on Books
Spring Owl Sitting on Books
Graduation Owl Sitting on Books
Autumn Owl Sitting on Books
Christmas Owl Sitting on Books
Owl Sitting on Books Combo Pack
Christmas Alphabet and Holly Icons
Christmas Tree Alphabet
Merry Christmas Books and Holly Christmas Ornament
Books and Holly Christmas Ornament
Blue Nutcracker
Old Book Spines
St. Patrick's Day Bookmark

I have enjoyed creating these patterns and look forward to creating more.

Wednesday, March 1, 2017

St. Patrick's Day Bookmark


St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays. Something about a day dedicated to a color mixed with the symbols of rainbows, pots of gold, shamrocks, and leprechauns somehow speaks to me. So, when the idea for this bookmark popped into my mind, I knew I had to make it.

The idea first came to me while at aquacise. When I got home, I sketched down the idea.

My initial sketch

Over the next few days, I worked on designing the pattern. I went through a lot of variations, but finally settled on one, taking my husband's advice about which one he liked best.

A lot of variations

I decided to stitch this design on some Charles Craft gold dusted aida cloth I bought years ago but had never used. I chose to use Kreinik Japan gold thread for the border and the gold coins because I loved its yellow gold color. This thread is not as soft as the regular Kreinik gold, and it is harder to stitch with, but still easier to stitch with than the DMC metallic thread.

The picture doesn't fully capture the beauty of the cloth.

As I thought more about the rainbow background, I decided to modify the design a bit to take the best of two of my designs. Rather than have the rainbow going all one direction, I had the rainbow radiating out of the pot of gold.

I could sit and look this bookmark for hours.

I enjoyed designing and stitching this project. It is my new favorite of my cross-stitch designs. This pattern is now available on Etsy.