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]

Charts and Stuff is a small but fun Etsy shop with a cartoony style to its designs. Let’s take a closer look.

This shop’s designs are mostly silly and full of color. The rainbow colored hair is a common feature of a lot of characters, from a dancing woman to a reindeer, dogs and chickens.

As you scroll back through their designs (there are no categories but they also have fewer than 100 designs as of this writing, so it doesn’t take too long to explore) you’ll also find a series of patchwork designs that use similar bright colors but in a very different way.

For instance, this patchwork teddy bear cross stitch pattern. The pattern notes are low on details but it says the pattern comes out about 7 by 7.5 inches (that’s 17.78 by 19.05 cm) I assume on 14 count fabric. There’s clearly a good bit of back stitch involved as well as regular cross stitching.

These colorful designs would be a great way to use a lot of thread left over from other projects, because they don’t have to be the exact colors called for in the pattern. I could see the teddy bear with a ribbon that is the favorite color of the person you are stitching it for, for instance, and you can use pastels or more saturated colors, or a mix depending on what you have on hand.

In addition to the patterns already mentioned, there are a few blackwork designs, a set of season themed quotes, some word art in the shape of a heart and a cat, and some Christmas themed designs with the rainbow characters wearing Santa hats. There’s also a few of Santa riding a motorcycle if that’s something you’re into.

These cross stitch patterns are a lot of fun and look like they’d be great to stitch, so check out the pattern shop at Charts and Stuff on Etsy to see more.

[Photo: Charts and Stuff]

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