Appliqued, Embroidered and Beaded Christmas Tree Skirt

Back in the 80's while I was still working full time before our oldest was born, my sister and her family lived right in the same town with us. I would spend many late afternoons and evenings at their little place, playing with the kids, swimming, enjoying their company while my husband was taking college classes at night. I had sewing and craft projects that I worked on at home and a few volunteer activities that I was involved in through the library or church. I stayed busy enough. Then my sister broke the news that she and her family would be moving half way across the country for her husband's job. I didn't realize how much I would miss them at the time, but after they were gone, I surely did miss them terribly. So I pulled out a project I had only just purchased, set it up on the card table in the living room and worked on it for hours at a time every day and on weekends sometimes all day long. I poured myself into this project to keep my mind off of my sad loss.

When it was finally finished, which took months, we so proudly placed it under the Christmas tree and admired it. Then we heard a sound, like something being chewed, coming from somewhere under the tree. My husband noticed one of our cats lurking back there and realized what was happening. He lunged at the cat, she took off running, and we examined the damage. She liked the beads and sequins, that bad old cat! We caught her before she could do too much damage, but we couldn't risk leaving the tree skirt out with her unattended all day long, so it got packaged up and put away. I am happy to report, for so many reasons, that the cats are no longer with us and the tree skirt has taken its rightful place under our family room Christmas tree for the past several years.

Here it is...



This was a kit by Bucilla as I recall which I had purchased at some long gone craft store on clearance after Christmas one year. I think I paid a whopping $8 for it! That was quite a chunk of change for me to spend on a craft kit back then! I'm so glad I splurged though. It came with all the felt, sequins, beads, embroidery floss, wool yarn, ric-rac and detailed instructions for placing each piece in the proper order. The design repeats three times around the skirt going from the doll on the left over to the rocking horse on the right.


Here you can see better that Santa is reaching up to place the star on top of the Christmas tree and his little elf is helping. If you look closely at the pom pom on Santa's hat, you can see a loose thread hanging there. That is the damage that darned old cat did that day! If we had not caught her so quickly and put the tree skirt away, I am certain that not one bead or sequin would have been left on the tree skirt. She was THAT bad! But she was my favorite cat and I loved her. Her name was Sandy.


Anyway, here's the little elf carrying the drum and the cute little rocking horse with the yarn tail and mane. You can see here that the arm of the elf is stuffed and sewn on just like Santa's arm with the star and the other elf helping him. Each face is embroidered and every sequin is sewn on with a bead to secure it. The elves also have yarn hair peeking out from under their hats.


Here's the little doll with yarn pig tails and red bows. The teddy bear's little embroidered face is so happy and his fat little stuffed arm sticks out of Santa's bag.

The ric-rac was sewn on by hand using white thread and then I backed the entire piece with a piece of red felt that I purchased separately and embroidered my name and the year onto. This was whip stitched to the top using red thread all around the outside edge and up the slit opening and around the little circle in the middle where the tree goes. I also added three little flaps with snaps on them to close the skirt and secure it around the tree.

In the first picture, you can see the candy canes around the little circle in the middle with little green holly leaves. These were felt pieces appliqued like the rest of the designs and the red stripes were embroidered using satin stitch.

I love putting this tree skirt underneath our tree every year. It gets buried once the wrapped gifts start appearing, but once the Christmas morning mayhem is over, it becomes visible again and adds a nice sparkle and cheerfulness until it gets put away on January 6th for another long year.

Just so you know...

This is Sandy, the bead and sequin chewer. She was my very favorite cat and she loved me more than anyone in the world. We got her as a kitten a year after we were married and she lived to the ripe old age of 17. She really was a wonderful cat.


And this is Sandy's partner in crime, Sunny. We got her as a kitten about a year after we got Sandy and they were best buddies all their lives. Sunny lived to the ripe old age of 18. They were both sealpoint Siamese cats and sounded like crying babies when they meowed. They both loved curling up on top of the computer monitor to keep warm. That was back in the day, eh?

I just wanted you to know I'm not as heartless as I seemed when I mentioned that the cats are no longer with us!

Happy Stitching!

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Appliqued, Embroidered and Beaded Merry Christmas Wall Hanging

When my husband and I first married, we both worked full time and he also went to school at night so I spent most every evening by myself in our little one bedroom basement apartment. Of course I had plenty to keep myself busy with all my handwork. Back then, it was more contained though. One project at a time and no big stash in a sewing room to pick through and get inspiration from. How things change in 26 years! Now the sewing room I have is probably bigger than the kitchen we had in that little apartment. And my work area outside my sewing room is probably bigger than the whole apartment! Of course that apartment was perfect for us at the time.

Anyway, one of my projects that kept me company was a Dimensions Felt and Sequin Appliqué wall hanging kit that took me many months to complete. It is still one of my favorite decorations to hang in the house each year and it has a special place in the front hall.



Here it is in all its glory! Isn't that just plain cheerful? Every piece of felt was cut and stitched and embroidered. Every little sequin was sewn on and secured with a little glass bead on top.


Santa is such a jolly looking guy with his rosy cheeks showing over his fluffy white mustache.


I love the uncomplicated lines of the background embroidery, all done in simple outline or stem (I can never tell the difference but I know there is one!), satin and straight stitches in white.


There are a few little French knots inside the round berries.


The snowflakes on the background are done with lazy daisy stitch along with some straight stitches and clear glass beads for sparkle. The Merry Christmas writing is also in either outline or stem stitch with white embroidery floss.

I hand stitched the white rick rack around the entire piece, and then I backed the whole thing with another piece of red felt that I purchased myself, attaching it by whip stitching around the edge using red sewing thread. On the backing piece before I attached it, I embroidered my name and the year I completed the piece...1984!

I hope Santa visits your home tonight and leaves you something nice!

Happy Stitching!

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Handmade Vintage Christmas Ornaments

My grandmother was a pretty crafty lady who lived with my family all the years I was growing up until she died when I was almost out of high school. She was quite an accomplished seamstress, crocheter, cook, and had many other talents as well. She taught me how to crochet when I was quite young, probably 8 or 9 years old.

Gram, as everyone called her, liked to make pretty Christmas ornaments from kits, similar to what we might buy today from Herrschner's or Mary Maxim or your local craft store. Dimensions is the brand that comes to mind when I see her felt and sequin ornaments.

Here are a few of the ornaments that my grandmother made which I was able to remove from my mother's Christmas tree and add to my own. I'm not quite sure my mother knows about this, so let's keep it our little secret, shall we?


This bell is made of straight pins, sequins, beads, gold trim and some glue. Its core is a dense styrofoam-type material that holds the pins securely once the glue they were dipped into dries. I love the sparkle it adds to the tree.


This colorful bird has felt pieces sewn onto the main green bird base and is decorated with sequins and beads that are also sewn on. The gold trim is sewn as well and the whole thing is stuffed and about 5 inches from beak tip to tail. It is decorated the same on both sides.


I remember Gram made several of these little drum ornaments and over the years a drumstick or two went missing. When I absconded with this patriotic little gem, it was the last one still sporting both drumsticks. I do recall my mother telling me I couldn't take it for that very reason...it still had both drumsticks. Of course I reasoned with her, saying that was precisely why I wanted that one. And here it is hanging on my tree so many years later. I wonder if Mom really thought I would put it back on her tree and take one of the others with only one drumstick.


And this lovely Snowlady has always reminded me of my grandmother. She could tie such beautiful bows with the sashes on our fancy dresses and in our hair. And she used to wear fancy hats too!

So these are some of my vintage ornaments made by my grandmother's hands many many years ago. Every stitch and pin and sequin and loop were perfectly placed. I always hang them on the front of the tree so they will be seen by everyone and if someone asks about them, I can tell them about my grandmother. Sometimes I wonder if the little things I make to decorate my home and Christmas tree will be treasured years from now the way I treasure these ornaments. I guess only time will tell.

Happy Stitching!

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Another No Sew Christmas Project -- Easy Felt Snowflake Ornament

Here is another fun, easy and inexpensive no-sew Christmas project that even the most craft-challenged person can make beautifully.

The supplies are very few and can be purchased at your favorite local craft store like Michael's or AC Moore for literally pennies.

All you need to purchase, or find in your stash if you have them, are a piece of white soft felt and a piece of colored eazy felt which is felt that has been stiffened. All other supplies you will probably already have at home.


Inspired by Kristin's recent paper snowflake project over at Craft Leftovers, I got out my paper and scissors and started cutting. I had almost forgotten how fun it is to fold up paper and cut pieces at random from the edges, then unfold a masterpiece. So anyway, that's what you need to do to start. You can follow Kristin's designs, or do what I did and just wing it.


Then I pinned my paper snowflake onto my piece of white soft felt so it wouldn't move.


Using a super fine Sharpie, I traced around the snowflake and all the little cut out sections.


Using my very sharpest little scissors, I cut out the shape of the snowflake and all the little openings on the inside until I had a felt snowflake that looked just like my paper snowflake. Then I glued it onto the colored eazy felt using tiny dots of white glue at the tips and evenly spaced throughout the snowflake.


After cutting around the outside of the snowflake leaving a little of the blue around the edge, I threaded some gold metallic sewing thread through one of the points for a hanger.

These would be nice ornaments for your tree or to hang in windows. They would make pretty little gift tags too. You could let your children cut out paper snowflakes in their own unique designs and then use that as a pattern to turn their artwork into a nice little teacher gift or a very thoughtful gift for special friends or grandparents. Another way to use them would be to hang them from a wide ribbon like a banner or bunting over a doorway or mantle. The possibilities are endless. Be creative!

Don't forget to sign up for my Christmas/200th post Celebration Giveaway. It ends a week before Christmas, so you better hurry!

Happy Stitching!

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