Portugese Card Inspiration

Last year when I was in Lisbon, Portugal, I found this gorgeous embroidered card. The stitching looks as if it had been done by a machine and then a plain paper backing stuck to the back to finish it off. Here's a detail shot.
Card stitching is something I've been wanting to try for quite a while, but haven't gotten to it yet on my list of crafts.


Does anyone have any hints on tips from their card stitching experiences?

• Do you hand sew or machine sew?


• What type of needles are best?


• Should you take the sewing machine foot off before sewing so it doesn't leave marks on the card?

Awards & Inspirations

Thank you so much, Rkdsign88, for the "Lovely Blog Award". This is a real compliment because she shows such beautiful work on her site & shop. She’s an artist who makes such simple, happy pictures and I can’t help but smile whenever I see them. That’s one of her laughing little girls above. She’s recently created a lovely “My Moo Moo” print which I will let you go take a sneak peak at on her site here. Thank you also Shirley of Nannieflash for the Lemonade Stand award. Shirley makes really adorable cards, the one below is hers. They're always so vibrant with detail and often have 3D elements like the flowers.

Right, so the general rules for the awards are to pass them on to other bloggers that inspire and delight. I am nominating the following blogs for both awards:

1 Maroinette a Kauai artist who paints gorgeous paintings and silk scarves based on the inspiration of her Hawaiian home. That's hers below.

2 Clare for raising awareness about the wonderful work the Royal Marsden hospital is doing. She has a really cool slide show, but you will just have to check out her blog to see it!

3 Sheena for the unique cards she makes. Check out the bees she has sewn below.

4 Bei Tesori for her lovely lovely pictures. That's hers below. I think she's even cuter than the Little Mermaid!I hope all of you Extremely Crafty readers find inspiration from the wonderfully diverse work of some of these cool crafters. Seeing them, I just want to sew cards, silk paint, and create wall hangings.

If you have any suggestions of other unique sites you've recently found, please post about them so we can all take a look. Thank you heaps!

p.s. - Check back tomorrow when I announce the winner of the "How to Sell Greeting Cards" pdf e-book!

Bag Pattern Magically turns into a Mosaic Table

I'm so excited, I had to post again. My new friend, Nancy, used my evening handbag design as her inspiration to mosaic table. She's almost finished the table and I only emailed her the pattern late Monday night! She works quick. Take a look at her cool blog as she explains the process. She also has lots of other cool crafty ideas on her blog.

Here's the bag
Here's her mosaic table!

Photograph coutersy of Nancy McCarroll's blog

Brilliant!