Sweater Tree Ornaments

November and December are very busy crafting months.  I'm still working on fall/Thanksgiving projects, yet need to get started on Christmas.  This week I made up some little tree ornaments made from sweaters.  I love to recycle sweaters.  :)

They are just SO cute!  I sewed some antique buttons on them for tree ornaments and added a gold cord for hanging.  Looking through my craft supplies for something that I could use for a trunk, I had the amazing idea to use thread spools!

I found some vintage spools in various sizes and stained them darker to look more like a tree trunk.  Then I glued them onto the bottoms of my sweater trees!  I am so impressed with how cute this project turned out.  :)

I used a 60 degree triangle ruler to cut out the trees and then just sewed them leaving a small hole in the bottom for turning.  I made 2 sizes - the larger trees stand up with a bigger thread spool.  The smaller ones have a mini spool and are a little more top heavy for standing.

I finished up 11 of the little trees.  Now what?  I "need" to make more.  

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Heart Ornaments from Sweaters

Anyone who knows me knows that I LOVE to make things from old sweaters!  There are bins of used sweaters all over my house.  This year I made more of the heart sweater ornaments.  I mean, like a LOT more.  Probably over 100 of them.  

They are fun and easy to make.  Part of the joy of making them is going on the "hunt" to find the used sweaters that you can use to cut up.  I like to go to some second-hand shops and rummage sales to find just the right colors and textures for my crafting.  I'm always on the look-out for that special find.  

My favorite sweaters are the ones that have a pattern on them, but they are hard to find unless you are willing to pay a lot for them.  And I like using ones that have wool in them so that they shrink a bit and don't unravel as easily.  

To make them, wash your sweater in hot water and dry on a hot heat setting so that the fibers meld together.  I use a heart cut out shape and sew them right sides together leaving a one-inch space to turn them inside out.  The best thing about working with the sweaters is that the fabric is very forgiving.  You can stretch it back into shape.  Stuff with fiber fill and sew closed the opening.  I used a thick gold strand for the hanger.  They can be used as ornaments or as bowl fillers for your table display (just cut off the hanging loop).

I like to give them in groups of three or four so that the colors coordinate well together.  They make beautiful hand-made gifts around the holidays.  :)

What sort of things have you made from used sweaters?  

 

Buffalo Checked Deer Ornaments

Every year, I make some handmade ornaments to give out to my family and friends.  This week I made these Buffalo-checked deer ornaments using Peaceful Prints designer papers that were in the summer's Sale-a-Bration catalog.  I bought the punch that coordinates with the deer and put these together.  I got the idea from one of my stampers, Melissa McClellan.

To give to my daughter, I made a set of three of these ornaments.  I used coasters for the base, trimmed them and rounded the corners and then added the designer papers.  They measure approximately 4 x 2 3/4 inches.  

Here is the third one.  I cut out the snowflakes from the designer paper by hand.  Then I added some red twine and rhinestones for embellishments.  The tree is from In the Pines set and the sayings are from various Christmas stamp sets.  I also added some washi tape on the edges and a tag topper from the Tailer Made Tag die cuts.  

I decorated the backs of each of the ornaments, as well, using some more sayings and snowflakes.  

I love how they came out.  I originally wanted to make more of these, but they were a bit more labor intense that I thought they would be when I got started!  

My daughter will love them and perhaps when I have a bit more time, I will make more of these.  I can imagine them in different colored papers with snowmen,, Santa or other holiday images.  

I love them as a set - kind of like a Trio of Tags for the tree.  :)

 

Tree Ornaments Using Fig Tree Fabrics

Every year I host an Ornament Exchange with some of my crafty friends.  For this year's ornament, I made some quilted trees from my Fig Tree Christmas fabrics.  I've made some things before using these fabrics, and I love them because they are bright and cheery.

To make them, I cut 1 3/4" strips from 4 different fabrics.  After I sewed them together, I cut them out into triangles using some of my triangle rulers.  I started with a 60 degree angle, but then kept trimming them into smaller triangles. 

I folded and sewed a brown strip for the trunks and then trimmed it into 2" pieces to make the trunks.  After I sewed them together, I added some little buttons to make them look decorated.  I used thick gold twine for the hangers.

I made extra trees to give away and packaged them up into homemade bags with a tag and some chocolates.  I put together an assortment of trees in different colors and sizes for the gifts.

I love having homemade ornaments to take out each Christmas to decorate my tree(s).  It's fun to remember our Ornament Exchanges and who gave each of them to me.  

Which ones do you like the best?  Strangely, my friends all chose the red tree ornaments for their ornament in the exchange.  I wasn't sure if the red tree idea was going to over well, but I guess I was wrong!  

I'm off to make some more.  They're fun to make and kind of cute.  What do you think?

 

Okay, I'll Start on Christmas!

 Some of you know that I resist making Christmas cards and projects in Aug, Sept and Oct.  But I've finally given in and taken out some Christmas stamps and papers!  My holiday classes have begun.

I used the new oval framelits to accent the saying on the card and on the gift bag.  I just love how the scallop oval frames the sayings.  I think it adds a lot of class to the projects. 

I love the little grapevine ornament!  I got the idea from the Stampin Up holiday catalog.  It's hard to see in the photo, but I put the musical note designer paper inside the wreath to give it a slight vintage look.  I used a circle punch for the circle shape and a glue gun to adhere it to the wreath.  The rest of the embellishments are held with assorted sized glue dots. 

The gift bag can be used to hold a cookie, a gift card or a note.  You could also put some cash in there for a special recipient.  Pretty much, anything small can go in it.  :)

I wasn't sure if I liked the card in the off-white colors, so I re-made the projects using white cardstock.  Usually I'm not a big fan of the vanilla, but this time I do like it better than the white. 

I used the stamp set, Peace this Christmas and got my ideas on Pinterest from Jennifer Frost.

Which do you prefer, the card and ornament made with the vanilla or do you like it in the white?