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.

Thanks

Tis the week before Christmas and all through the house there's a flurry of wrapping, baking and crafting...it's not quiet as a mouse! 

In between the hustle and bustle of holiday hoopla, I'm making time to craft thank yous and Valentine's too.This card went out in the mail yesterday, created with my favorite Pebbles' Front Porch collection.

So what's happening around your home this week? I'm eating entirely too many sweets and enjoying every morsel! ;)

Last Minute Gift

I can almost hear Santa's sleigh! We're just days away from Christmas! No need to panic if you find yourself in need of a last minute gift or two. How about a Starbucks gift card and reusable cup decked out with a bit of ribbon and some die cuts from Top Dog Dies? 

I used the gorgeous Madison Doily Die, the Bird Cage Album Finishers Set, and the Snowflake Trio Set along with some pretty papers and accents from Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection to make this gift festive. 

What do you think? If you want to give several of these to teachers and neighbors you could skip the reusable cup and ask the lovely folks at Starbucks for paper cups to decorate instead. 

Whatever you do...don't panic, gift giving is all about fun and the season is meant for spending time together. Yesterday I went to a Christmas treats and sweets exchange....oh so yummy and a great way to catch up with the neighbors!

Holiday Gift Giving

Finding the perfect gift for Christmas is no easy task! Personally I love giving gift cards so that my friends and family can get exactly what they want or need. To make gift cards more fun to receive I'll make a small handmade gift to go with them. 

For this gift card project, I used a cut file to make a simple pillow box from white card stock and then dressed it up with some pretty patterned paper and accents from Bella Blvd's Christmas Countdown collection.

See the little spool ornament? Recently while on Pinterest I saw a similar one made by Linda Aclair, design team member from Epiphany Crafts. I wanted to make one of these myself using Bella Blvd's colorful buttons.

For my next gift card project I dressed up an unfinished wood frame in more Christmas Countdown goodness and then used a thin metal die to create a matching envelope for the gift card.

Long after the gift cards are spent, my recipients will have pretty little holiday decor pieces to deck their halls with each year!

To see more gift card giving creations, head over to Bella Blvd.

Before I rush off I have more gifting projects to share with you over on the Pebbles blog. It's the post I mentioned yesterday...there was a small glitch, but it's available now. Enjoy!

T.G.I.F!