A Cute Idea for a Cross-Stitched Scene

I was poking around on Etsy recently, as I do, and I came across this cute little cross stitched scene made to go in a mint tin.

The one I saw was this seasonally appropriate ghost tin, but the designer, Murder Puffin, as of this writing has nearly 20 of these cute little projects, ranging from crytpids and aliens to gnomes and mermaids.

This is such a cute idea and would be a great way to present a tiny cross stitch world to a little kid or an older person who loves whimsy.

To go back to the ghost project in particular, this one uses 14 count fabric in black and white depending on the part of the project. It uses 23 colors and is sized to fit a regular Altoids tin. (Raise your hand if, like me, you’ve got a stack of these you’re sure you’ll find a project for some day? This just might be the project!)

On this project there is a nighttime graveyard scene that sits in the inside of the top of the tin, and a little skeleton in its coffin for the bottom. The ghost, its blanket and RIP pillow are all removable, and there’s a little piece for the top of the tin that says Beware. The skeleton and the ghost can be worked with glow in the dark embroidery floss to make them even creepier.

I love these little projects and all the details that are included, and it would be a super cute way to give a gift of cross stitch to someone. You could even still make it a little sewing kit or art kit (which is a classic Altoids tin reuse) but line the tin with cross stitch minis or other little designs. These would be fun to do for different holidays, too, and you could change out the display every month or with different holidays.

Don’t you just love it when random scrolling turns inspirational? What kind of cross stitch would you do in a mint tin?

[Photo: Murder Puffin]

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20 Snow Globe Cross-Stitch Patterns

Cute spooky and fantasy cross stitch patterns is how the designer behind Haunted Frames describes their shop, and I have to agree with them. These designs are cute and Gothic and a little bit spooky all at once. There’s a heavy focus on book themes, which you know I am a fan of, so let’s get into it.

Stopping first in the books section, there are lots of designs that are literally on book shapes, but if you know my love of both books and cats, you’ll know I had to share the Midnight Book Cart cross stitch pattern. As the name suggests it’s a design with a witchy book cart, complete with a spiderweb, bats flying out of a book and what it describes as a ghost cat (though I would have to make a black cat instead of a white one since I have a black cat, and that fits with the vibe).

The design is 65 by 97 stitches and is worked in 17 colors. It’s shown on 16 count fabric, which makes it 4.1 by 6.1 inches, or 10.3 by 15.4 cm.

I also love the winter themed little free library design, which would be perfect to stitch up for the little librarian in your life (or to drop at a neighborhood book space).

Projects with a book theme make up the majority of the patterns that are categorized in this shop, but you’ll want to scroll through all their patterns to see what else is available, since it doesn’t look like everything is in a category. You’ll find castles and dragons, more cats of course, some more obviously Halloween and Christmas themed projects and those that would suit for spooky season or any other time of year.

If cute and dark is your aesthetic, you’ll want to check out all the patterns at www.etsy.com/shop/HauntedFrames, which you can find on Etsy.

[Photo: Haunted Frames]

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