Thursday, November 4, 2010

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 :-)

20 comments:

Belinda said...

That is so perfect for Mom's with small young'uns. What a great ornament!

Katie said...

This is beyond precious!!! I really love creating special ornaments that mean something and I'm going to have to give this a try! Not sure if my kiddo can really draw anything good for this year so it might have to wait for 2011 though. I love that you incorporated the name and year into the design. Thanks for coming to A Crafty Soiree and sharing:) I hope you'll come back next week too, we love to see familiar faces!

Cris A said...

These are just fabulous!!! It makes me wish my boys were little again! I might have to dig up some old art work!

Anna said...

these are so adorable! what a fun idea. love the mini hoops! can't wait to start making christmas ornaments this year (I ran out of time last year). :)

Fresh Poppy Design said...

Oh my gosh Kristie!! Those are ridiculously cute!! I am going to force my 3 year old to color something in a shape :) Really so stinking cute!!

Anonymous said...

So gorgeous! What a wonderful idea - love them :)

Elizabeth Dackson said...

So cute! I will definitely be bookmarking this idea!

Lauren said...

What a cute idea. I don't have any kids to make any artwork. Maybe I could get my cousins to do it. Thanks for the idea/tutorial!

mommy Orkid Belle said...

Oh boy! Oh boy! These are just so cute. I wanted to make some Christmas tree decor that are not breakable since I have a 2-year old son in the house. These would be perfect and I have a bunch of embroidery hoops from rummage sale. yaye! :) Thanks again! New follower of yours!

Katie said...

Adorable! What a cute idea! I'm coming from Fabric Tuesday... Here's ours:
http://www.sewmanymamas.com/2010/11/prima-papa.html

Papgena Made It said...

I saw you on Craft gossip! This is just perfect! Thank you for sharing!
(I think that would work also if we use a jar's cover, don't you? it's an item more at hand for me)

Leonie said...

they are sooo gorgeous. My kids will be making those to send to my parents who we live overseas from... CUTE!!!

Anonymous said...

LOVE this idea! I am a teacher and am thinking of having my students each make one for their parents!!!

pink and green mama MaryLea said...

These are adorable!! Can't wait to make some with my own girls : )
Great presents for Grandparents and teachers indeed!!

Terri in BC said...

Wow! I have something my grandson made last year, and I'll have him make something this year and give both to his parents.

mommy2luke2008 said...

Love this idea!!! I featured it on my friday favorites!
http://lilbitofus.blogspot.com/2010/11/friday-favoritesornaments-edition.html

Bec said...

AHHHHH!! This is DEAD SET THE BEST THING EVER!!! xxx i MUST try em!! Oh theyre gorgeous! xx

Julianna said...

I love this and I would love for you to link up on my blog!
http://singingthreelittlebirds.blogspot.com/2010/11/christmas-ornament-link-up-singing.html

jensully said...

I just wanted to thank you for sharing these. I just did a modified version with my daughter's first grade class...we made 22 of these cuties! They turned out really great! I hope the parents love them! Thanks again for sharing these!!
jen

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