Zodiac Pisces February 19 - March 20 cross stitch design

Zodiac Pisces February 19 - March 20 cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
Dark blue	518	1039
Blue	939	152
White	5200	1

Hello everyone
This is a card sized design for all of the lovely Pisces people having their birthdays soon.
The colour scheme of this design represents that Pisces is a sign of the water element. I think these little circles look like a whole collection of bubbles or the scales on a beautiful fish.

It seems that water signs are very variable just like their namesake. Water can be calm, boiling, frozen or turbulent which makes water signs, not only a mixed bunch but can experience emotions in very different ways.

For more Zodiac themed cross stitch designs here are some links:

Zodiac cross stitch design Aquarius January 20 - February 18
Zodiac cross stitch designs - Capricorn December 22 - January 19
Zodiac cross stitch design Aries - March 21 - April 19
Zodiac cross stitch design - Taurus April 20 - May 20
Zodiac cross stitch design Gemini - May 21 - June 20
Zodiac Cancer June 21 - July 22 cross stitch design
Zodiac cross stitch design - Virgo August 23 - September 22
Zodiac cross stitch design Libra - September 23 - October 22
Zodiac Scorpio October 23 - November 21 cross stitch design

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

How to make wool covered letters - fun kids crafts

How to make wool covered letters - fun kids crafts

Hello everyone
Today is an easy make to use up spare scraps of wool, it can be made with kids with a little adult help.

The lovely little house in the photo is my super cute cottage from Cutsie Cottages. Here's a link to their Facebook page: Click here
This cottage now has pride of place on my mantle piece and thought it would be a super cute way to hang up these colourful letters.
I have also done a little unboxing post on my cottage Check it out here

What you will need:
Wool (I used a few scraps from different colours which was left over from knitting a rainbow scarf)
Cardboard
Glue (PVA works just fine for this make)
Scissors

Step 1:
Decide what word you want to make, this can be anything you fancy. I chose the word Love since its near Valentines day but this also works great with names or other sentiments.

Cut out the letters from your cardboard and make a little hole somewhere near the top of your letter for hanging it up. This is the step which will definitely need adult supervision if the kids involved in this make are not used to using scissors.

Step 2:
Thread a piece of the wool through the hole and secure it. Leave the ends loose for now as this will be where the letters will be hung from.

Step 3:
Now for the fan part :)
Cover your letter with a thin later of glue. It may help to use a glue spreader for this but if you don't have one a small scrap of the remaining card can be used instead.
Then wrap the wool around the letters. You can make solid colours or stripes, just mix it up with the scraps you have until you have covered the whole letter.

Step 4:
Depending on what letters you have in your chosen word or phrase you may end up with letters such as this E where it is hard to completely cover some areas in wool.

However this is a perfect opportunity to cover this gap with a matching charm. I chose a nice button but you can always use other charms or make a tiny pom pom out of your spare wool.

The last thing to do is to hang up your letters somewhere where they can look pretty, dont forget to pop them in the right order :)

Thank you for joining me on this simple kids tutorial I hope you all have lots of fun making this one. I definitely had a blast using up some of my wool scraps. My lovely Niece Chloe wants to use up a little more wool to make a name sign for her door, I think this is a fabulous idea :D

For more fun things to make here are some links:

Christmas Bauble Upcycling

Upcycling worn out Christmas Baubles
Spiderman Halloween decoration
How to make a Bloody handprint Halloween decoration from an old Christmas bauble
How to make a dripping bauble Halloween decoration.
Pokemon Gastly Halloween decoration
How to make a Wrapped sweet Christmas decoration.

Other Upcycling

Upcycled bunting from left over wrapping paper

For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.

Love cushion with flowers cross stitch design

Love cushion with flowers cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Pink	891	29
Yellow	3827	311
Blue	798	137
Light blue	3747	120
Green	906	256

This design was drawn originally with Anchor colours in my cross stitch design program. Use Anchor threads to get the closest match to the picture. I used a conversion chart to get the DMC numbers.

Hello everyone
This year I was asked for something a little bigger than a simple Valentines card. So I got out all of my favourite coloured pencils and sketched this simple design. Its just the right size for a cross stitched cushion to provide a little bright colour to your sofa. 
Since there are only a few colours it should be very easy to switch up your embroidery thread choices to match the room you want to display your finished piece in or just to use your favourite threads. 

I hope to get some more valentines themed designs up before the big day. 
Much love and happy stitching :D

For more cute cross stitch designs here are some links:

Valentines themed

Large Simple rose
Valentines motif collection
Simple, modern Valentines day Card designs
Love cushion with flowers
Fancy pink heart
Two hearts become one
Envelope with hearts

Animals (pets)
Peanut the cat in a box
Border Collie Puppy
Simple Beagle puppy

Fairy baby birth sampler
Pink and purple baby girl birth sampler design
Little Rainbow over the Hills Cross stitch design
Small pink and purple princess castle
Simple baby feet birth sampler design
Mummy's princess - heart with a crown
Cute bear in a hot air balloon


 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Cute bear in a hot air balloon - Cross stitch design

Cute bear in a hot air balloon - Cross stitch design

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
Pink	957	50
Blue	598	1062
Yellow	745	300
Brown	975	371
Light brown	3776	1048

Hello everyone
This week we have a cute cross stitch design of a teddy bear riding in a Hot air balloon. I used some bright colours in this one so could be a fun wall hanging or cushion. However the balloon can be any colour you like so why not just use your favourite threads for this one?

This little design was inspired by watching hot air balloons fly by with my nieces, they were very excited by the colours on each of the balloons and how gentle they seemed floating in the sky. So when we got home we cracked open the box of colouring pencils and set about designing a whole bunch of our own hot air balloons. This one is a collaboration from all of us. We all picked a favourite colour and agreed that a cute teddy should definitely be riding inside of it.
According to the girls the Teddies name is Jasper and he is flying to pick up his friends on the way to a nice teddy bears picnic. The picnic will have cakes and fizzy pop as well as little triangular sandwiches, though there was much discussion about what teddy bears like to have in their sandwiches. Though Honey is a definite favourite, I imagine the girls think that because we have been watching Winnie the Pooh lately. :)

If you like this design here are a few more bright colourful designs which can appeal to children.

Kids animal counting: 1 Hippo
Kids animal counting: 2 Giraffes
Kids animal counting: 3 Monkeys
Mummy's princess - heart with a crown

Supercuties - Little horse
Pretty circle of Butterflies and Flowers
Make a Wish - Dandelion seeds turning into Butterflies

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Beagle puppy portrait - simple cross sitich design

Beagle puppy portrait - simple cross sitich design

Colour	Anchor Thread numbers	DMC thread numbers
Black	403	310
White	1	5200
Dark Brown	380	838
Light brown	901	680
Dark grey	235	414
Light grey	399	318

This design was originally drawn in Anchor threads. A conversion chart has been used to get the DMC thread numbers. To get the closest match to the picture use Anchor threads.

Hello everyone
This year I have challenged myself to draw a few more animals in particular different breeds of dog since they are recognisable but all so different.
Today is a simple sketch of a Beagle puppy, while a beagle may have more shades of brown in reality I used the minimum amount to make it easier to sew. If you have a particular dog in mind it should be easy enough to change the shade of brown or the shape of the stripe on its face to match the lovely dog you know.
This design also has whole stitches only to make it good for a beginner who is looking for a larger project to sew.

For more animal themed cross stitch designs here are some links:

Peanut the cat in a box
Border Collie Puppy

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Spring cleaning my craft stash - Uncovering craft oddities

Spring cleaning my craft stash -  Uncovering craft oddities

Hello everyone,

I'm taking a little break in cross stitch design to Spring Clean my craft stash. After being knee deep in fabric I realized just how cluttered the average stash can be. Inspired by the Junk I found there heres a list of things to maybe keep an eye out for in your own stash! How many do you have? 

• Dried glue
• Scissors too stiff to move
• That cross stitch kit you brought a few years ago and probably will never get round to.
• The thimble that is way too small for any of your fingers
• That old chair you were going to refurbish but never did
• Craft book on Mongolian wax weaving (or other obscure craft) would you can't remember why you picked up
• Paint which has long since dried up
• A craft stamp in the shape of an angry gorilla. It only really looked good on one card anyway!
• Those pins where all the balls fell off the end
• Clothing in your repair pile which is gone out of fashion before you'd finished sewing on buttons or fixing up that seam. 
• That really pretty little jar which is too small for actually storing anything in.
• Those massive by piles of scraps would you swear you'll do something with one day, but it's been a few years now
• Felt tip pens without Lids and Lids without the pens
• Those hundreds of cute little boxes. Yes they look lovely but they are simply everywhere. 
• Extra pincushions! I know they were fabulous gifts but after placing one on every work surface and tying one to every chair, you might have to admit you have enough. 
• That craft set designed for a three-year-old your friend bought you for Christmas several years ago because you're into crafts. 
• An ink pad which is dried to dust. 
• More knitting needles then you'll probably have projects to use with them
• A pair of scissors which have been 'Borrowed' by a friend or family member and is now too blunt for fabric.
• That's stationary set which is so pretty you can't bear to use it.
• A stamp with a very specific message. It was the perfect thing when you got it but you don't think anyone will have a graduation, a birthday and pass their driving test on the same day again! 
• That craft set you bought the kids but they've never touched, much preferring the art program on their smart phone anyway. 
• Those hundreds of emergency sewing kits people keep giving you and a few from Christmas crackers with cheap thread and blunt needles.
• That birth sampler you are sewing, it would be great if you could finish it considering that the child is 18 years old now. 
• That thing you were crocheting ... You can't remember what it's supposed to be but it's been in storage so long it's just one giant knot. 

Phew! I'm off to try and de-tangle my entire ribbon box! I swear I sorted all those but they seem to have all woven around each other in such an intricate pattern this may take a while. 

Bye for now and Happy crafting :)

For a few more crafty musings here are some links:
Using paint for cross stitch design
Tips on Teaching children to cross stitch
Cross stitch kit review: Camper vans by Fido Stitch Studio
Things to consider when choosing a cross stitch design
Upcycling worn out Christmas baubles
My Stitching New Years Resolutions

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here. 

Zodiac cross stitch design Aquarius January 20 - February 18

Zodiac cross stitch design Aquarius January 20 - February 18

Colour	DMC Number	Anchor Number
Black	310	403
White	5200	1
Blue	3753	1031

This design was originally designed in Anchor colours, for a closest match to the Picture use Anchor, a conversion chart was used for DMC.

Aquarius is an air sign. People who are within the air element are known to be intelligent and great at communication.
I represented the tranquility of the air sign with the calming blue colour and the tendency to be creative amongst air signs with the light swirls.

I found it suprising that Aquarius is an air sign, I thought that it was a water sign but research proved me wrong. However the zigzag associated with this sign could be seen to represent water being blown by the wind. Thats what I feel that it looks like anyway.

More Zodiac themed designs:

Zodiac cross stitch design Aquarius January 20 - February 18
Zodiac cross stitch designs - Capricorn December 22 - January 19
Zodiac cross stitch -  Pisces February 19 - March 20
Zodiac cross stitch design Aries - March 21 - April 19
Zodiac cross stitch design - Taurus April 20 - May 20
Zodiac cross stitch design Gemini - May 21 - June 20
Zodiac Cancer June 21 - July 22 cross stitch design
Zodiac cross stitch design - Virgo August 23 - September 22
Zodiac cross stitch design Libra - September 23 - October 22
Zodiac Scorpio October 23 - November 21 cross stitch design

 For the Buzy Bobbins Index page Click here.