New Additions to the Periodic Table

Back in June 2016 the  International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) announced the proposal of four new chemical elements on the periodic table:

• Nihonium and symbol Nh, for the element 113,
• Moscovium and symbol Mc, for the element 115,
• Tennessine and symbol Ts, for the element 117, and
• Oganesson and symbol Og, for the element 118.

These are currently under consultation with ratification due in November 2016.

So, it was also time for me to update my popular Periodic Table of Elements chart on Etsy.

As you can see below, the chart is now fully up to date with the new symbols and the 2016 version is now available in my Etsy Shop.

Many customers buy the chart and use it to make up their own words for smaller projects instead of stitching the entire thing – a whopping 450 x 240 stitches – and the new element names help a little with this. Moscovium would be useful for ‘Mc’ names and Tennessine gives you a ‘Ts’ to finish words such as RaTs and FArTs…

I hope you enjoy this new addition to the shop and there are more to come shortly.

H x

My Free Charts

Hello & welcome to 2015!

OK, so it is nearly the end of January, but at least it’s not March or even later!  I don’t update this blog very often, but it seems to still be a real hit mainly because of my free charts.  I will be adding more during the year, but in the meantime I thought I would list all of my free chart posts here so you can find them easily:

• Christmas Owl – my favourite and definitely my most downloaded file on ‘tinternet
• St Patrick’s Day – it’s almost that time of year again!
• Happy Halloween – plenty of time for this one too

And finally, because today is Australia Day and I am a very proud Aussie, I have included a special AustraliaDay chart for you to stitch too.

H x

H x

Cross Stitch-a-long

I was thrilled to be contacted earlier this week by a Facebook group admin who has chosen my Flags of the World Cross Stitch design as one of their Stitch-a-Long projects for 2015.

Emma runs the Cross Stitch Crazee group and the idea is that people from all over the world purchase the chart and share their progress with others in the group throughout the year.  There is also a gorgeous Owl project for the year too – so you can choose to do one or both of them.  A great way of being social and sharing your love of cross stitch from the comfort of your own lounge!

I was so impressed by the idea (and Emma’s commitment to help her members with materials packs for the charts) that I am offering group members a 20% discount on this chart until 1st January 2015.  If you want to get your hands on it, then pop over to Facebook and ask to join the group.  You will then see an Events tab and full details of this chart are given in the “Year Long SAL 2” event, plus the code you’ll need for the discount.

Happy Stitch-a-Long everyone!

H x

Stitch all 200 of these flags of the world in the Cross Stitch Crazee Facebook Group Stitch-a-Long for 2015!

 

How much fabric do I need?

Hello everyone!  Today I’m answering a question that I get asked quite often in my Etsy shop and online:

“How do I know how much fabric I need”

Halloween Stitching

It’s almost that time of year again & if my kids had their way we would have the house covered in ghosts and pumpkins already!

But, there is still time to get stitching and this Happy Halloween design is my spooky gift to you today…  Just click on the image above to open the PDF chart.  It would look fabulous stitched on black fabric don’t you think????

H x

P.S. – if the link there doesn’t work then click on this one instead: HappyHalloween

How to make your own fabric labels for craft projects

I love sharing ways of keeping your costs down when selling handmade goods, but it is still important to make your items look professional and give your own personal brand a unified look and feel.  So, when I decided to start selling some crochet items recently, I decided to create my own labels and share both the process and the result.

But first, a bit of history… Back in the day when I made lots of bespoke cross stitch bunting, I stumped up for some woven labels to sew into the back of the bunting that included my company name and website.  These worked really well but were quite expensive (around 50p each) and couldn’t match my font or exact colours.  They did their job and I was happy enough, but once I stopped stitching bunting (too time consuming for the return), I was also left with a bunch of them!

Fast forward to 2014 and I now concentrate on selling cross stitch kits and charts via my website and Etsy shop and it forms a large part of my income so definitely not a hobby anymore.  

I still love making things and crochet is something I really enjoy at the moment and I want it to remain a hobby.  However, there are only so many kindle cases I can have so I’ve decided to sell some on Etsy (just to let me buy more wool really!). So, I am setting up a shop and wanted some labels I could attach to my products and decided to make them myself.

Luckily I came across a fantastic company called The English Stamp Company and they created a bespoke stamp for me – it only took a day and I was really thrilled with the result.  It cost £19 and I also bought some Versacraft ink from them which is suitable for fabric and lots of other surfaces (total cost £25).  I attached the stamp to a small acrylic block I bought from ebay for £5 and bought a 20m roll of ribbon for £6 also from ebay.

To make my labels I simply stamp along the ribbon leaving enough room for cutting with pinking shears and folding over the edges and will get approximately 265 out of this roll (cost approx 14p each).  This cost reduces the more I make because I never have to replace my stamp.  It’s also great because my font matches across all of my invoices, shop and labels too.  

Just remember to iron all of the labels before attaching them to your product as this makes the ink colourfast.  I do it while they are still on the roll as it makes it easier.  I then cut and fold the edges under before attaching them to my products by hand.  Here’s the finished label attached to one of my kindle cases.  

So, now that I have my brand sorted, I just have to get on with making lots of covers for different tech to fill my shop!  Wish me luck…

H x

 

 

Back to my geeky beginnings

I love trying out new styles of cross stitch design, and so far this year I have been obsessed with the Periodic Table.  So much so, that I have released a number of charts using chemical elements to spell out words and have been featured in the latest issue of The World of Cross Stitch magazine for doing just that!  All very exciting.

But my big news is that after putting it in the ‘too hard basket’ of design, I have finally completed the full Periodic Table of Elements and now have the chart available for sale in my Etsy Shop. 

So, here is the finished beasty in full glorious colour – and I hope lots of people enjoy stitching the whole enormous lot (32 x 17 inches or 82 x 44cm) or picking out individual letters to make their own words and names…

 

And here’s the link to it in my Etsy shop in case you just have to buy it for yourself or someone you know: https://www.etsy.com/uk/listing/197931982/periodic-table-of-chemical-elements.

H x

Name Sampler Design Winner 2014

Yesterday I chose my 2014 Name Sampler Design Competition winner!  That lucky person is Melonie Pickering from Sheffield here in the UK and she wins the first kit of her design.  Melonie’s entry said:

“I’d love my name done in the colours of the flowers used on a canal boat….and maybe a little canal boat and some roses…so lots of strong colours, ie, red, yellow, greens, etc…..”

It is such a unique suggestion and one that instantly got me excited about designing.  Most of my samplers are aimed at young children but this one is bound to become a popular choice for older generations and those with a passion for the gorgeous canal boats that chug up and down the canals here in the UK.

I have already designed a bespoke canal boat sampler for Melonie’s husband so this one for her will make a great matching pair!

I can’t wait to get designing this one so watch this space when it’s ready.

H x

Supporting Independent Designers

Good morning folks!  I thought I would share 3 of my favourite independent designers from the cross stitch world. Although I purchase my threads directly from DMC as I love their quality and colours, I try to purchase kits and charts from other designers not linked with big companies to support their work just as so many customers support mine.

1. Sparklies – this UK based company not only designs and sells their own kits, but has an amazing range of hand-dyed fabrics and threads for sale too.  Most bespoke fabrics that I have lusted after come from the US so it is lovely to find a company here providing such a great range too.  I have my eye on a couple of fabrics for my next big project (see below) and can’t wait to start!!
2. Ink Circles – I have just found this designer and all I can say is WOW!!!  Their Cirque des Cercles has now become my next big project (and I might even have to hide my WIP away until I’ve done this one).  I have a whole house to renovate and stitching this in muted blue tones will fit perfectly with my guest room colours and make a gorgeous feature for the room.
3. The Nutmeg Company – you’ll find a unique range of 3D cross stitch kits designed by Meg Evershed here and this Blue Bandbox is definitely one of my favourite items.  You can stitch everything from cottages to penguins to Christmas trees and it is a great way of getting your stitching off the wall (especially if you are running out of space).

 

So, there you have them – three wonderful independent designers who would love you to pop over and check out what’s on offer.  As a seller on Etsy, I’m putting together a list of my favourite instant chart downloads to share with you next time.

H x

Love my Chemistry!

Having an Etsy shop is allowing me to add charts that I would never dreamed of having on my website along with my very prim & proper name samplers!  I have this past few weeks been adding some Chemical Element charts that spell out words and with 5 uploaded already, I am looking forward to creating more.

Not only do I get to figure out more words as I go, but I am also revisiting my happy days at school and university studying geology (yes, a bit sad I know, but I am most definitely a nerd and very proud of it!).

So, if you fancy stitching any of these, pop over to my Etsy Shop’s Chemical Element section and have a browse – and if you think of any wonderful words that I could add that would be great too…

Until next time, happy stitching folks!

H x