Quick Stitch for Father’s Day

Stuck for ideas this Father’s Day? Why not stitch this quick QR Code for your Dad. He can scan it with his phone and the message reads “Happy Father’s Day”. Mount it on a card or frame it for a …

Perfect Chemistry

It’s been a while since I last added something new to my Etsy Shop but I’ve finally had a chance to finish off this chemistry-inspired chart for a geeky couple in your life…

 

The perfect gift for any chemistry couple…

 

So, what do you think??

You can change the colours to suit your decor and it would make a very different wedding gift than those flowery cross stitch charts you usually see. Adding a date and some names underneath the design would be a great way to personalise it too.

You can find the chart here and it’s available for instant download so you can start stitching straight away… It’s only £4.49 (+VAT where applicable).

Anyway, I’m on a roll now and have some other periodic element designs in the pipeline and I’m aiming to add something new every month. If there’s anything you’d like to see then just drop me a note. I’m always looking for quirky new designs to add to my range!

Quick Stitch for Chinese New Year

Every January my Etsy Shop sees a surge in sales of my Chinese Zodiac Symbols as the Chinese New Year approaches.

New Year is the biggest Chinese holiday of the year, with celebrations lasting around two weeks!

Unlike the zodiac we are used to, having 12 signs within 12 months, the Chinese Zodiac has 12 signs that each last one full Chinese year. The date of the New Year also varies from year to year as the calendar is based on the cycles of both the sun and the moon – a lunisolar calendar.

So for 2017 the New Year starts on 28 January 2017 and ends on 15 February 2018. This year is the Year of the Rooster, and more specifically, the Year of the Fire Rooster (as every sign can be divided into one of the five elements used in Feng Shui – fire, water, earth, wood or metal). This means that the last Year of the Fire Rooster was 1957 and will not repeat again for another 60 years!

People born in 1957 or 2017 are extremely strong willed. They have many leadership qualities and have the ability to rise to the top of their profession. They can be shy but are also fun and exciting to be around.

In celebration of the Fire Rooster, all Year of the Rooster purchases from my Etsy Shop will automatically include the 2017 Year of the Fire Rooster bonus chart. And it’s only £1.99 (+VAT if applicable).

And if you want to stitch all 12 Chinese Zodiac symbols then you can find them in a special 12 for 10 pack in my Etsy shop too.

My Favourite Stitches from 2016

I love designing cross stitch charts for my customers and I love it even more when I receive a photo of their completed creation. So, here are just four of my favourite photos I received during 2016…

Most are from my personalized Name Sampler & Wedding Sampler range with the ‘Nerdy’ Chemical Element stitch available to buy & download straight from my Etsy Shop along with lots of other quirky stitches.

I’m looking forward to designing even more cross stitch charts in 2017 and even have a new name sampler design in the pipeline – the first for a couple of years as other events have taken my attention!

Wishing you a wonderful New Year and see you on the other side…

H x

And now for something positive…

After my earlier rant about people not reading my website. Here is a lovely photo I received from a happy customer of her finished Fairy Name Sampler.

I do have some amazing customers and just wanted to finish today on a positive note.

H x

What am I doing wrong?

When I first started designing cross stitch charts I used to provide all of the materials for each design. I also lived in an enormous house at the time and had the space (and time) to do this with ease.

However, 10 years on and a massive downsize later I now only provide charts via email and most of my customers understand this and sales are still great.

I think that my website explains this pretty clearly. In fact it is mentioned on EVERY SINGLE page and section and within every item that you click on. It is also in the FAQs and T&Cs that customers tick during checkout to confirm they have read – and it’s right at the top of those so no trawling through reams of junk first. AND, finally it’s in the confirmation email they receive once they have ordered. So that’s at least 6 times it is written for customers to see.

And yet, I still have customers who complain once they have received their bespoke, personalised chart saying they didn’t know what they were buying. One customer recently even admitted that she hadn’t bothered reading the website but still expected me to do something about it!

So, my question to you is this… Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong? Is there another way of making this completely idiot-proof or do I just have to suffer the backlash of unhappy customers as I am unwilling to refund their money for a job I’ve already done??

Your thoughts would be appreciated on this one, especially if you order online. What do the words ‘Cross stitch chart via email‘ mean to you??

It really is soul-destroying when I put so much effort into all of my designs and still have people not value them for the work that goes in…

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