A Very Cross-Stitch Christmas

Amanda has a long track record of creating cross-stitched ornaments for our exchange. After several years of procrastination, I finally made two tiny cross-stitched ornaments for Amanda, so naturally she sent me two much bigger cross-stitch creations! She selected the succulents because I have a bad track record with plants and managed to kill the succulents I bought earlier this year. She titled this ornament "Succulents you can't kill (a terrarium in cross-stitch)" or "How I spent 30+ hours of my life in December 2022." She estimates it actually took longer than that. I appreciate all her time and effort because they will last me forever!

Cross-Stitched Metal Discs

I found these 2" metal discs on clearance at Joann's three years ago, because I know at least two Christmas ornament making seasons have gone by without using them. The first year I didn't even really try. Last year I did settle on the mail box design, but then I just couldn't bring myself to get started or commit to colors or something. This year, I finally sucked it up and it really wasn't too bad! After that, I was motivated to pick out and execute the cactus design fairly quickly, though I decided not to bother with a background. I glued felt circles on the back to finish them off.

Ornament Exchange 2017

Amanda actually bought this ornament for last year's ornament exchange. It ended up being more appropriate once I moved back to the cold north, and she decided to do a "warm thoughts" ornament theme this year. The frame was originally plain black, but the pink glitter really spruces it up!

Typewriter Cross Stitch

Amanda cross stitched this typewriter for me last Christmas and I didn't post it because it wasn't an ornament, but technically neither was the unicorn she sent me last year. Since neither of the "ornaments" I sent her this year were designed to hang on a tree, I decided to go ahead and post it. This was actually a notebook, but I decided to frame the cover rather than risk the stitching getting snagged.

Christmas Ornament Exchange 2016

Amanda, who must have the patience of a saint, cross-stitched me a unicorn on wood! It sits on a little stand, and will definitely be displayed in the craft room year-round!