Wednesday, December 8, 2010

best tree ever

One of our family Christmas traditions is to bring home a fresh Christmas tree. The first year we did this was 7 years ago, when I was pregnant with Big G, and we joined some friends having no intention of getting a tree for ourselves. Now this tradition is one of the favorite parts of our holiday. We go to a place just outside the city that has sleigh rides, bonfires and hot chocolate. Invariably, every year we leave saying, "This year we found the best tree ever!" So, inspired by these collective moments, I made this:

Can you see us? We are all tucked into the Monaluna minivan there, cold, tired and happy. My husband is feeling like Paul Bunyan after the kids cheered as he chopped down the biggest and best tree around. We are belting out Christmas carols as we drive. Our cheeks and noses are rosy, but our hearts are warm!
I am loving the hoop ornaments of late (have you noticed??). Blame it on pilli pilli and Three Red Apples. I have a bunch more I have been working on for holiday gifts, but those will have to wait to be revealed :-) Some are tree ornaments, 3" and 4", but this one is 6" for the wall, and is staying home with us! I appliqued the Monaluna fabric to some linen with Heat and Bond Lite, then hand stitched all the details using a combo of embroidery thread and Perle 8. My favorite detail is the red bow that holds the tree to the car!
I added a couple black buttons to serve as tires for our "minivan."
And again, those famous words.....
Here it is with our tree, which remains half decorated....I guess Mom's too busy sewing costumes!

And here we are in "real life," as we picked our tree this year. Life is good!

20 comments:

Elizabeth Dackson said...

So ridiculously adorable! Wow, you've got some serious embroidery skills, this ornament is just gorgeous!

Laura said...

I love it! So cute! Wish I knew of a fun place with sleigh rides and Paul Bunyons wandering around! Hehe. I can't wait to see your other ornaments.

Little Blue Mouse said...

Your hoop ornament is divine. I love the van fabric. That blue, with the green of the tree is gorgeous.

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, that is so adorable! I've been drooling over the pilli pilli ones lately, too, and yours is right up there with those.

*kate said...

I want that ornament so badly I could cry. :-P

It is so perfect. It needs to be in my husband's stocking. I used to cross stitch in elementary school and I keep meaning to reteach myself. Sure wish I was versed enough to whip something like this up! You should sell it. I would buy it.

Anyway, we also have the same tradition and love it. I am also convinced that this year we got the best tree ever.

May said...

I love those embroidery hoops - they are so detailed yet so simple and delightful. Well done!

Emily said...

I usually don't get too excited about embroidery projects, but this is so unbelievably awesome!!

Little Island Quilting said...

I'll ditto the last comment - Oh, and I don't know who Paul Bunyan is!

Lee said...

Cutest. thing. ever.

I wish my Christmas tree shopping trip was more like yours! My 19-mo-old was having a meltdown at the time, so I was super frazzled and demanded my husband just grab the first one that looked halfway decent. Then we were so outta there. : )

Anna said...

so so cute! love the minivan. :) your kids are adorable, too!

Amy Friend said...

I tried to leave a comment yesterday and it got all messed up somehow. Anyway, I just had to say that I love, love, love, love, love this one! We cut our tree each year and this sums up our experience for me too!

Dianne said...

LOVE this! What a cute idea! Adding this to the pile to shamelessly copy : )

Kara Forristall said...

Wow, I just love this! We had a similar tradition when I was a kid... sleigh rides and all. Cutting down our own Christmas tree is a tradition I want to pass on. I may get around to crafting about it one day too, thanks for the inspiration!

Sarah said...

This is so cute! So glad I found your blog! I'm off to keep searching!-Sarah from Create Studio
www.createstudio.blogspot.com

Holly said...

This is just perfect! The idea is great and the execution is so cute! We always go to the tree farm with the grandparents. Would you mind if I used this as inspiration to make one for them?

Katie said...

You have the best ideas for embroidery hoops! I love how it commemorates a family tradition, and am featuring it in tomorrow's A Crafty Soiree. Thanks for linking up:)

Mary said...

Oh my goodness, your hoop is just adorable! Love, love, love it!!! I seriously need to learn how to embroider :-)

Ashley Nichole Designs said...

Hopped over from Katies Nesting Spot...Super cute, I love how you used buttons for the wheels too! Thanks for sharing!

Jill said...

I LOVE this! In fact, I love it so much, it inspired a shirt for my son... http://madeitonmonday.blogspot.com/2010/12/getting-handsome-for-christmas.html
Thanks for the inspiration!

Quiltstory said...

Okay, now I am just depressed! Seriously that is the cutest thing I have ever seen... must go eat my sorrows! Thanks for linking to quiltstory!