Bird and Foliage Embroidery

I've got soo many projects on the go and can't seem to stick to one, but I've been itching to post, so I thought I'd share my progress on one of them. I've never really done embroidery in the style I'm doing it, although I did some cross-stitch when I was younger.
Anyway, all I did was draw straight onto the fabric with pencil a design I liked - a bird sitting on a cherry tree branch (inspired by the cherry tree in my garden) - and have been stitching according to that sketch. I'm sort of making it up as I go. This all white, but I'm already pondering the possibilities of realistic stitchings of birds with all their natural colours. Could be wonderful methinks.
Well here is the half finished piece. I'm a bit proud really :)
The idea right now is to make it into a cushion.

More and better pictures to follow when I'm finished.

Paper Cherry Blossoms

 This is another craft that requires a bunch of patience but I think it really paid off. I think cherry blossoms are just so beautiful and have that sort of oriental zen factor that gives them simplicity even though they're so detailed and dainty.

Click here to see the tutorial I used to make the flowers. I used plain printing paper that I swirled pink watercolour paint onto, this way none of my blossoms are quite the same as one another.

Before I began this craft I had found this square black vase for cheap and it gave me the inspiration to put something contrasting into it, I decided on the pretty intricacy of cherry blossoms. I was lucky in finding some branches I thought were perfect that were dead on a tree in my backyard. I tied them together (with yarn, my handy tool that I use for everything) so they sat just how I wanted them to and slid them into the vase. I stuffed around them with newspaper to hide my very messy blue yarn tying.

With them arranged I glued my flowers on, with some general craft glue. I guess you can arrange the flowers on the branches however cherry blossom look in your head, but I had an idea that they look great grouped together and towards the ends of the branches.

The finished product. I feel a little bit proud each time I walk past it.