Christmas inspiration

In terms of crafting, Christmas is really just around the corner. Looking for some inspiration for some fun Christmas crafts?


The folks at All Free Christmas Crafts have put together and eBook of some of Holiday crafts. It is a free download and can be found here. They have included my Mini Monet Christmas ornaments :) They also have a slew of other free Christmas crafts to try on their site.

Ho ho ho!

p.s. speaking of inspiration....happy birthday today to the best dad ever! You inspire me every day, Dad!

Gifts revealed: More Christmas Hoop-lah!

I know what you are thinking- enough with the hoops already! I promise this is the last you will see of them for a bit. I have to get my quilting mojo back to finish (I mean START) my son's quilt in time for his birthday in, umm, 2 weeks! But here are a few hoops that I gave over the holidays that I thought I would share with you.
First up, a 10 inch wall hanging hoop with a scrappy Christmas tree. I cut the strips on the bias, adhered them to linen with Heat and Bond Lite, then top stitched them by machine with black thread. I added red felt circles topped with green buttons as ornaments, and a sparkly gold button on the top of the tree.
I made a few, and hand stitched a different word on each one- "merry" or "believe."
I ended up having to make one to keep- it looks so cute up there on the wall with my best tree ever hoop!

Made a couple more styles of Christmas tree ornaments in addition to the Mini-Monet ornaments and the stitched snowflakes.

A little tree on a snowy slope, under a snowy sky with the North Star shining in the night. Inspired by this ornament. Used some crystal beads to add some shimmer. All done with hand stitching.



Some pretty presents tied up with bows. This version was done by machine, including the script (need some practice with that).

Love the twine bow best!
I made a few copies of these to give to some of my girlfriends for the holidays :-)

Using the same basic premise, I made a 6" hoop for my partner in the Holiday Traditions Exchange at Sweet Bug Farms this year (one of 2 Christmas swaps, second one to follow once it is received!). It is a simple, lovely exchange where you share a handmade Christmas ornament, a recipe, and one of your holiday traditions with your partner. Lauren has 2 sweet children, so I appliqued 2 gifts onto linen, tied them with bows as on the ornaments, but added a tag to each with their first initials. Then, I hand stitched "love is the greatest gift."




I think I made over 20 hoops over the Christmas season...it was fun! But time to move on...we will see what 2011 brings in crafting inspiration!

Stitched Snowflakes

I spent some time curled up on the couch, fireplace lit, hand stitching these little ornaments.

I used some off-white embroidery thread on linen, and included some crystal beads to add some sparkle. Framed in wooden embroidery hoops, with a little bit of lace to hang on the tree. Just nice, soft colors.

Guess you could say I have been a bit inspired in the snowflake department, lately!



Happy December!

Christmas Wreaths- one way

Feeling a little festive over here....Let's hope it lasts because I have a huge pile-o-crafts planned to get done before the Big Day!
Found the tutorial for these lovely yarn wreaths here. I love them. So many color and texture combinations with the yarn and ribbon!

(can't find the beautiful aqua ribbon I had bought to go with this wreath....maybe it is hiding somewhere with my still-missing sewing ideas notebook??)

They take a bit of time, but now that I have my yarn-wrapping-rhythm, it's all good. And aren't these felt flowers wonderful?
Hang 'em on your front door, rest them on your mantle....and if all else fails, The Middle Child also thinks they make a great fashion accessory!
I have another set of different wreaths planned....will be back! Linking these up at Sew and Tell.

Just wanted to say thanks for a bunch of great blogs that have been featuring my stuff lately! Craft Gossip and One Pretty Thing both featured my Mini-Monet Christmas ornaments, Katie's Nesting Spot showed my rendition of Noodlehead's Mail Organizer, and Sew Mama Sew is featuring my Messenger Bag Tutorial on November 22, as part of their annual Handmade Holidays roundup. Thank you so much!

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 :-)