Gingerbread Man (Christmas) Cross Stitch

Well, it's only 292 days til Christmas! In reality, I finished this cross stitch last year, but helpfully didn't get it finally mounted until earlier this year... But, it's ready for next Christmas! The Gingerbread Man is made with a Christmas Characters cross stitch kit from DMC - a lovely little gift from my husband :) I mounted it in a wooden embroidery hoop that I painted gold, and added a little gold bell and a red hanging ribbon. I really love it when I walk by the tree, knock a branch, and hear a little jingle, so I couldn't resist that addition.

Winter Teddy Bear Decorations

The Cricut Explore Air 2 has pros and cons. One of the pros is they have a huge number of templates and projects available to you as part of their design space. One of the cons is that to access it you need a subscription! I bought myself a months subscription in the Autumn in order to get lots of little projects made, including these cute teddies for the Christmas tree.

These teddies are from the Cricut range 'Teddy Parade', and it features these adorable teds in a range of different outfits! I mixed and matched a couple of them to get this hat and scarf look, before cutting out in the colours I wished and attaching coordinating thread! I cut an extra teddy shape out and glued it to the back so that the thread is enclosed and the bears are a bit more sturdy. They're super cute :)

Little Angel Cross Stitch Decoration

When I saw this free Little Angel cross stitch pattern online I knew I had to make it! I used clear plastic aida and various threads from my stash. I changed the hair and the bird so it was only one tone, changed the halo so that it would be easier to cut out, and outlined the wings in the same gold thread as the halo for added sparkle. I made the cord by twisting cream and gold thread together, and backed it with white felt. It was quite a quick and easy pattern to do, and there are so many colour options! The pattern comes in a few designs too, so it's worth having a look.

Festive February: Large Beaded Snowflakes

A couple of years ago I made these small beaded snowflakes, and I love how sparkly they look on the tree! So when I was in a bead shop and found similar snowflake bases that are approx. 22cm in diameter, I just had to buy some.

They are a bit big to hang on the tree really, but they look lovely hung around the house, and the beads catch the light so beautifully.

I can imagine an impressive wall display of these snowflakes in a whole range of sizes! Just think of all the beads! This is the last post in Festive February, but thanks for sticking round for this belated Christmas round up :)

Festive February: Cross Stitch Penguin Decorations

I wanted to stitch a little penguin decoration for a dear friend of mine for Christmas, and went to Google to find a pattern. Well, I didn't quite find a pattern, but I found this, an image of a completed cross stitch, which just happened to be simple enough to use as a pattern! Very useful :)

I ended up falling in love with these little dudes, and so made one for our tree too!

Made on plastic canvas they came together quite quickly, and I attached a ribbon and a felt backing using my glue gun. I really need to get more plastic canvas in time for next Christmas, I'm always finding last minute projects for it!

Festive February: Butterfly Ornament & Behind the Scenes

Happy Christmas! Well, maybe not quite. But welcome to Festive February! Normally in the run up to Christmas I fill this blog with seasonal creations, but as I mentioned on my Facebook page last December was very much focused on my health and my family, rather than blogging. That didn't mean I didn't spend time creating though! So I thought we'd have a little mini-series sharing all the things I didn't get a chance to blog - it made more sense than waiting til November!

The first project I want to share is possibly the most important, and also fits in with why Christmas was quiet. Our baby daughter, Youngling, was stillborn just days before Christmas, and we were in and out of hospital with difficulties. Even though she's not with us, she's a Christmas baby, and I wanted to make an ornament to remember her every year on our Christmas tree. The room where I gave birth was filled with butterflies, and it just seemed right to blend a butterfly motif with the pure white of a new born child. It doesn't scream of grief or loss, but just something that brings her into our Christmasses for years to come.

It is made from two pieces of white felt, one with cut out shapes. There is a layer of interfacing and a layer of angel hair sandwiched in between, and hand sewn together. I added a hanging ribbon, some sequins and beads, and embroidered her name on the back.

Cross Stitched Wonder Woman Ornament

This year, my husband and I decided to join up with a Secret Santa linked with an online community we belong to. The person we were paired with mentioned DC Comics in her interests, and so I set about creating this ornament for her to decorate her Christmas tree. I searched Google for free cross stitch patterns and found this helpful image. Frustratingly I cannot find the original source - if you know who created it let me know in a comment and I will update here! I was able to use this graph to cross stitch the design on to some plastic canvas using threads from my stash. I backed it with felt and attached a ribbon hanging loop. It could really be hung up all year round!

Silver and Blue Kusudama

Last December I shared with you my Cream and Gold Kusudama, mentioning I had another one in the works... Well, I did in fact get it finished before Christmas was over, but never had a chance to photograph or blog it. So, here we are!

It's been nearly a year since I made it, so I don't exactly have much to say about it, although wrapped in bubblewrap it has held up just fine in storage. I used the same tutorials as last time, the details of which are in the post linked above. I really love the intricacy of these decorations, though the amount of effort involved is currently ensuring I do not start another one!

[The blog is a bit quiet at the moment due to personal reasons. But I have a huge selection of inspiration for Christmas decorations in my Christmas tag!]

Felt Penguin in Rudolph Disguise [Free Pattern!]

I wanted a little extra something to slip in a Christmas present for a friend who loves penguins, and designed this decoration - a penguin dressed as Rudolph (obviously!), complete with antlers and a bright red nose.

If you want to make one, cut two bodies out of black felt, a round tummy out of white felt, a small nose out of red felt (or you could made a yellow triangle for a beak), four antlers from brown felt and a pair of feet from yellow felt. (The feet are optional, but help anchor the design as a penguin and not a confused reindeer!) Stitch the tummy and nose on to the front body piece, and embroider some eyes. Stitch down the centre of each pair of antlers to hold them together, and then stitch the two body pieces together inserting the feet, antlers and a small piece of hanging ribbon as you go. Get the template below, and let me know if you have any questions :)

Cream and Gold Kusudama

This marvelous ball of flowers made from folded paper is called a Kusudama. I am not at all knowledgeable about it, but it is beautiful! It is relatively simple to make, though quite time consuming - that tends to be the way with origami! The tutorial I originally followed was on a site called Folding Trees, however this appears to have been replaced by a new site, PlanetJune. The basic petal/flower tutorial is still available here, but a donation is now required to view the full instructions. I suspect a Google about how to assemble an origami kusudama could help you find your way :)

I made this kusudama with half cream flowers and half gold flowers. because my gold paper was single sided, and thus had white edges, I applied gold ink to the centre folds for more colour and sparkle. I hung the kusudama using organza ribbon and some lovely complimentary beads from my stash. If you're wondering about adhesives, I used pritt stick to form the petals, double sided sticky tapes to form the flowers, and then my glue gun for final assembly. Despite it being a rather larger task than I anticipated, I already have another one in the works! Here it is on the Christmas tree:

Cross Stitch Snowflakes

These snowflakes are another project I found in the Handmade Christmas magazine. There are two different designs, and I stitched them in thread colours from my stash that complemented each other. I snipped round the edges of the plastic canvas, and used my glue gun to attach a hanging ribbon and a felt backing. I love how these look on the tree! The patterns were a bit fiddly (two stitches here, one stitch there), but enjoyable and quick to make. Any snowflake cross stitch pattern found on the internet could be created on plastic canvas (I used 14 count) to make similar ornaments! The possibilities are immense.

Christmas 2015 - Pinecone Gnome

This is another little project that I am so pleased to have completed. I think most family trees have a little gnome made from a pinecone and some felt! I used a small pinecone, a felt ball, some scraps of purple felt and a little silver bell. The hat, bell and eyes are handstitched, though for the most part I went the lazy glue gun route! I also made the cord I used to hang him from - I'm hoping to show you how in a Tried & Tested Tip next year...! I think this little fella sits right at home on our tree :)

Christmas 2015 - Beaded Wire Heart

This was another one of those ideas that had been floating around my head for a long time... Filling in the empty space of a shape with beads which will catch the lights of a Christmas tree oh so beautifully. I like things that sparkle on the Christmas tree! 

To be honest, my execution of this has disappointed me slightly, as rather than the wire being nice and smooth, I have lots of little wiggles and cricks throughout as I tried to convince the wire to sit where I wanted it to, and not slip off as it felt like it! On the Christmas tree these unique quirks are thankfully less noticeable :)

Christmas 2015 - Felt Gingerbread Couple

 

I've been meaning to make some gingerbread men ornaments out of felt for years, but I have struggled to find felt in just the right colour. This colour is not quite what I pictured in my head, but I have accepted it for now!

Both Mr and Mrs Gingerbread are made from two layers of felt, blanket-stitched together by hand, with a smiling hand-embroidered face, and a tartan ribbon to hang from. Mrs Gingerbread features a small skirt made from red stretch lace (leftover from another project) with a lovely Christmassy bow. Mr Gingerbread has a matching bow which he wears as a bow tie, and two smart gold sequins as buttons. They add some lovely cheer to our Christmas tree!

Christmas 2015 - Fircones

I seem to have developed quite a collection of fircones over the years, and decided that is was about time I had a go at doing something with them for Christmas! 

I tried two different techniques. The first, above, I glued glitter on the inside "branches" of the fircone. I like that it is subtle but definitely sparkles when hanging from the tree.

The second, below, I painted the tips of the fircone white, before adding a very fine white glitter. Whilst it is certainly striking, I find the white a bit overpowering for my liking.

I have two giant fircones still sat on the side, as I cannot quite decide how to decorate them... Any ideas? :)

Christmas 6 || Crochet Star

I love these stars over at Little Woollie! I adjusted them slightly to have 6 points, as I thought they went together better, but that may have just been because I was using a very random selection of wools!

I finished this one off with a vintage gold button, and it is hanging on the Christmas tree. I am making more in a different colour scheme in multiple sizes to hopefully be a stand alone decoration. I will share if when they're finished :)

Christmas 4 || Crochet Christmas Pudding

This is a bit of a mish mash of patterns and made up bits of crochet, but I like the finished piece!

I made the brown pudding following this pattern, which I also used for my robin! As I worked it, I randomly picked up a strand of a second shade of brown to add a speckled effect. This could obviously just be stitched afterwards, but I preferred to do it this way. The icing is a simple circle increase in sc, with hdc, dc and tr to create the random curves.

I used this pattern for the holly leaves, and I think they came out quite nicely! And for the berries I did 12 dc into a ring and then pulled it tight.

Christmas 3 || Beaded Snowflakes

Oh gosh, these have been on my to do list for a while!! I am so pleased with how they have come together. They were a quick make, a great excuse to play with my beads, and look fabulous on the tree - they catch the light beautifully :)