Handmade Felt Ornament

I love to make things! Shocking admission, I know! Every Christmas, for at least the past 15 years, I've made ornaments for our tree and to give as gifts. Weeks ago when I was trying to decide on this year's creation, I created this felt heart and star design. 

I ended up going with another style because I thought I might not have time to stitch a bunch of these. I like how it turned out so I wanted to share it with you.

I used a heart die from My Favorite Things and a star die from Papertrey Ink.

I always add a little tag with our last name and the year it was made for those who want to remember where and when they received it.

Here's our lovely tree...full of handmade ornaments from years of crafting and our Hallmark collection along with ornaments given as gifts...it's a slice of Christmas history.

A Top Dog Dies Christmas

Hello, hello! I have a couple Top Dog Dies projects to share with you today using one of my favorite die sets, the Ornament and Tags #1 Die Set. 

A lot of gift giving goes on during the holiday season which means you'll probably be needing some tags at some point. To create a these ornament shaped to/from tags simply fold a piece of paper in half. Then lay your die on your cutting platform and place the folded paper just inside the die's cutting edge.

After I cut my tags, I used the Snowflake Trio Die Set to make colorful snowflake accents.

These pretty patterned papers and rhinestones are from Doodlebug Designs' Home for the Holidays collection.

For my next project I wanted to show you how beautifully Top Dog Dies cuts felt.

Using the same ornament die set and some good quality felted wool, I cut two of the ornament shapes along with the decorative top layer then blanket stitched them together, filling with cotton.

I love how every little detail of this die cuts easily and makes such a pretty little ornament. A little baker's twine and a shiny jingle bell complete the project.

For years, I don't even remember how many now, I've made ornaments for my friends and family. I think this design will be the one for 2013. Does anyone else do a yearly ornament? 

Hope you have a super day! :)

2011 Christmas Ornament

Hello!

One of my favorite things to do during the holidays is to make an annual Christmas ornament for our tree and to give as gifts to some of our family and friends. Some years I dream up something on my own and then other years I see the perfect ornament in a magazine or blog. This year, a couple weeks back, I was blog hopping and found this year's ornament compliments of Laurie Schmidlin of Just Give Me Stamps.

Isn't it darling? Love! Thanks Laurie!

If you have a circle die, a snowflake die, like this one from The Cat's Pajamas, and some felt...you're good to go! Not only is this ornament cute, but I already had the tools and supplies. Gotta love it when there's nothing else to buy!

While Laurie machine stitched her ornaments, because she's probably a whiz at the sewing machine, I opted for a blanket stitch because my sewing machine hates me! ;) I also used some twine for my hanger while Laurie used jute, I think. And I added a little tag for the year. Both versions lovely! I bet you could get creative and use something different for the center, like another smaller snowflake, and use a different color felt. Imagine pink, cream and blue! I have only a few colors and a deep purple didn't seem to fit the spirit of Christmas!

Do you make ornaments? You can always start a new tradition this year! In all your spare time! ;) If you need some ideas, I've seen a lot on Pinterest! Thanks for stopping by today!

Kathy :)