Mini-Monet Christmas Ornament Tutorial

Searching for the perfect heartfelt Christmas gift for that special grandparent, aunt or teacher? Look no further! These ornaments are the perfect personalized gift from your child. Using a piece of their art, you can make a very special keepsake to cherish for a lifetime.



Here is what you will need:
-white paper and colored markers for your Mini-Monet artist to work their magic!
-a scanner, color printer, and heat transfer paper (I got mine here)
-minimal picture editing know-how to add text to the art
-wooden embroidery hoop (mine was 3")
-hot glue gun and glue sticks
-a piece of white or natural colored muslin, cotton, or linen- to transfer image
-a piece of Christmas-y fabric for backing to image (note- I used an assortment of polka dots and stripes from my local fabric shop, plus some Moda Figgy Pudding)
-a piece of felt to finish the back of your hoop
-embroidery thread or Perle 8 thread in a coordinating color
-a piece of coordinating ribbon
- some jute, yarn or raffia for hanging


Time to create!
(Note- I have to apologize for the terrible photo quality, these were all taken in the wee hours of the night when there is no natural light to be found!)

1. Have your little artist create a holiday themed picture

2. Scan the picture and save to your computer

3. Use your computer's editing program to add text as desired (note- I used bold "teen light" font). I suggest a name for the art, the name and age of your little artist, and the date.

4. Open Microsoft Word (or equivalent). Click "insert" and then "picture" and "picture from file". Select your saved image. Scale this image by clicking and dragging on the corner until it prints out about 2" square. Make sure your text is still large enough to be readable!

5. Print onto transfer paper- be sure to select "print mirror image". Note- you may want to print a test-run on regular paper first to be sure of scale/size.

6. Transfer image to white fabric using iron according to transfer paper instructions.

7. Use a circle cutter or scissors and a steady hand to cut around the image in approximately a 2.25" circle.



8. Cut the backing fabric in a 5" circle. Center on hoop and tighten screw of hoop in place.
Use hot glue gun to fold over on back side and secure in place.

9. Hand stitch image white fabric with image onto backing fabric using embroidery thread or Perle 8 thread.
10. Cut felt or other back material in circle measuring 3.2" in diameter. You may want to add a tag like mine before attaching. Glue in place using glue gun, and use scissors to trim any excess.


11. Tie on a piece of ribbon to the screw of the hoop. Add a string for hanging.

You are done!

I hope you and your "Mini-Monets" enjoy hanging this special ornament on the tree for many Christmases to come!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial. I would love to see your creations in my Flickr pool! Please feel free to blog about them, but do link back to this post, please! Thank you!
Linking up to some of the great parties on my sidebar like Crafty Soiree , Sew-and-Tell Fridays and Quilt Story :-)