Stitchable Cards

For this set of winter designs I used a palette of bright reds and greens which are traditionally associated with Christmas and the festive season. To expand the colour range I added shades of turquoise and gold and of course a snowy white. Around Christmas time my mum often buys a poinsettia plant and I love their bright red colour.  They look lovely in a pot on the window sill and they brighten up any grey wintery day. Strangely the yellow centres of the poinsettias are its flowers and what we think of as the flowers; (the red ‘petals’) are...

For my latest set of cross-stitch designs for Stitchable Cards I wanted to go for motifs that just shout out summertime, so I based them on sunflowers, as these beautiful, bold, bright yellow flowers do just that. To begin, I put together a mood-board featuring some of my artwork, photos and previous cross-stitch sunflower designs, to set the tone of what I was after; this helps me to focus and pull together ideas. Below:  My sunflower designs and illustrations from the past. I wanted this set of designs to have a vibrant range of colours made up of sunshine yellows...

Above: my moodboard for my ‘Ahoy matey’ designs – some nautical themed designs and ideas. My latest set of designs celebrates Father’s Day, with the main themes being nautical and “the great outdoors”. The set includes a camp site set in a mountainous landscape, a lighthouse under a starry sky, a jaunty pirate - and for those who prefer to stay in and snack and watch a film with a cheeky box of popcorn. However, the designs aren’t necessarily gender-specific, so you could stitch them for someone for a birthday card or a thank you card – they don’t have...

Above: Moodboard for ‘Home Sweet Home' theme. All artwork and designs by Susan Bates. As Dorothy in ‘The Wizard of Oz’ says, “there’s no place like home” - home is a place of comfort and safety where we can truly relax. So this set of designs, all based around the theme of the home, is intended to reflect a sense of happiness, calm and tranquility. When designing I often start by thinking about all the types of imagery associated with the theme that I‘m working on. In this case, the theme of the home suggested images related to relaxing things...

Hello everyone! Susan here! I was so pleased when Nina from Waffle Flower Crafts approached me and asked me to do some cross stitch designs for her company; she produces beautiful card-making products and designs on her website. Nina described to me her idea of combining cross stitch and card-making. Her idea about her stitchable cards creations intrigued me also. My cross stitch designs blend the contemporary and the classic. I’ve always loved textiles and I am naturally drawn to print and pattern. I love floral designs but also enjoy turning my hand to many other subjects as well. I’m...

Hello and welcome to Day 3 of our introduction to Stitchable Cards! Day 1 - Stitchables Day 2 - Needle and Thread Today, we focus on the basic supplies for finishing your stitched projects into mailable cards! Card Bases All of our stitchables are designed for cards that fit into an A2 sized envelope. The card bases are usually 4.25" wide and 5.5" tall when folded. There are two basic ways to fold the card bases. Side-folding When the fold is along the longer edge of the card. Top-folding When the fold is along the shorter edge of the card. The...