It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like . . .

A good many years ago, there was a shop in my little town called The Stitchery.  It was owned by a very accomplished woman who lived just a block away from me.  In her shop, she sold needlework supplies of all sorts.  Each Christmas, she placed a tiny tree filled to overflowing with intricately sewn felt Christmas ornaments in the window.  It was a highlight of my every Christmas to visit her shop where I marveled at the ornaments.  I fell hard for those little beauties and determined that I would have a tree just like that some day.

The shop has long since ceased to exist, and these many years later, I now have a cherished Christmas tree full of handmade felt ornaments.  Every year, I make at least one new ornament for the tree, some years, six or seven.  Each Christmas, with some help from the boys and their girls, the ornaments are tenderly taken out of the tissue in which each is wrapped and placed on the tree.   

The majority of the ornaments that decorate the tree were made from kits by Bucilla. There are a bear family, the Twelve Days of Christmas, Christmas at the Beach, Santa and Mrs. Claus, their reindeer, Scandinavian style ornaments, stockings, snowmen, clowns, animals of every sort, and angels. A recent addition is a gingerbread house, which nestles in the branches of the tree.

  There were, however, a number of years when I was unable to locate the kits, so I began to improvise by designing my own ornaments.  I turned to my children's books and TV shows for inspiration.  That brought to the tree characters such as Big Bird, Oscar, Bert and Ernie,  Snow White and her 7 dwarfs, Mickey, Minnie, Goofy and Donald, along with the cast of the Wizard of Oz.

Even Ivey and Orion made their way to the Christmas tree. Ivey is wearing the Christmas sweater, blue jeans, and topsiders.  Orion is wearing his favorite Ninja Turtle pajamas.  They think it a little weird that I turned them into Christmas ornaments, yet each Christmas they eagerly search for themselves on the tree.

Having become a grandmother this past July, I would like to craft, for my granddaughter, a felt ornament each year.  I began to look for inspiration last night, and was thrilled to find so many ideas.  Etsy features the work of many gifted artists who craft felt ornaments.  The ornaments are lively, bright and modern. 

These adorable trees were sold by The Container Store.

Bright birds by Dimensions Needleworks would be a welcome addition
to any Christmas tree.

These ornaments were made in Budapest, that being the only word I was able to read on the website.  I especially love the deep, rich colors and the beading.

These whimsical ornaments will absopositively make their way to my Christmas tree
this year. They will bring brightness, fun, and they look super easy to make. They may need a shot of bling with a few sequins along the edge of the bulb holder.  We'll see.


The mistletoe, below, is such a soft, modern ornament.  And, it requires no sewing.  What could be easier?  Draw the design, cut it out, hot glue on the berries, and tie with a bright red ribbon. It would also be easy to produce a holly ornament in this same manner.

The partridge and the pear tree, however, stand at the other end of the skill spectrum, requiring both sewing and embroidery skills.

         

Lastly, I came across this fabulous collection of fanciful birds. I think they are charming.

I don't know what ever became of the wonderful woman who owned the Stitchery. I wonder what she would think of the range of creativity that exists today.  I am inspired.  Much to think about as I move toward a design for baby granddaughter's first Christmas ornament.