Trim the Tree Handmade Ornament Swap

Here's a look at the three ornaments I sent out for this year's Trim the Tree swap.  One is still on it's way--it has a long way to go--but the other two are happily in their new homes!  Each is based upon that partner's favorites in Flickr and their inspiration collage, so each is very different from the others.  I like that, keeps it interesting.

Made with homespun, quilter's cotton, some vintage ivory satin piping, three vintage buttons and some simple applique, this little house ornament is my own design.  You can make one easily too.  Just cut two rectangles for the house, two triangles for the roof, one rectangle with fusible for the window and one for the door (I rounded the top of my door and fussy cut so the flower works for a doorknob.).  Fuse the window and door to one of the house rectangles and applique with a straight stitch for outlining.  Next sew one roof to one house and then repeat for the other (if you're adding a trim, simply sandwich it in the layers and sew).  Now attach a ribbon or, like I did, a sewn muslin loop, to the top of one roof for the ornament to hang from.  Next, sew the two layers together, being careful to tuck the loop inside and not catch it in the sewing, leaving a few inches on the side for turning and stuffing.  Turn, stuff to desired fullness, and stitch the side closed (I used a ladder stitch, but any non-visible type closure stitch would work fine.)  Done!  For this one, I made a small loop and included one of those metal ornament hooks, but you could make a larger loop to go over the branch of the tree.  Easy peasy.

For this partner, I decided to make a bird--specifically a dove.  So I used two different tone-on-tone white fabrics for the body and some white satin ribbon for a long loop.  I also cut a simple leaf from some green felt which I sewed to the beak at the end.  The ribbon is also handsewn to the top.  For a pattern I used this fabulous one from Spool Sewing.  The pattern is very simple with very pleasing results.  Definitely one to try!

This final ornament is made entirely of felt.  I was going for a retro handmade ornament look and the red, lime (I know, I know, the photo shows a different shade of green--the camera lies!) and white is the combo for retro Christmas.  The white and green layers are attached using embroidery floss in a blanket stitch.  I used this fun reindeer pattern, added to the Hoop Love Vintage Transfer Flickr group by Doe-c-Doe, to create the siloheutte seen--warning, all those curves on the antlers involves a lot of handstitching, not hard, just a lot.  I then cut the green and red pieces to outline the reindeer in a larger less detailed shape.  I also added a 1/4 inch seam allowance to the red as I machine sewed the red layers.  I used some white satin ribbon for the loop.  This one is not hard, but does involve some handstitching.

I hope you make at least one handmade ornament this year--and have lots of fun!