Christmas Octopus Ornament

 

When I found this octopus key chain at Hobby Lobby, I was planning to give to gift it as a key chain, but then it occurred to me that I could dress it up for Christmas and turn it into an ornament. Initially I thought about putting a Santa hat on it, but it has a big head, and the key chain part didn't help. I am very pleased with the results. It is about 3.5" wide.

Glitter Foam Tree

My glitter foam tree did not come out looking quite like the template I followed. I am not sure I used the same size circles, but it ended up looking much more tightly glued together.

Reindeer Glitter Wreath

I used these 3" wreaths years ago to make simple ornaments with fake flowers glued to the top where the button is in this one, so I've probably had this one left over since about 2006. I had some glittery reindeer from the fireplace Christmas "ornament" of 2017. I tied on the beads, and the reindeer fit nicely in place, but once I glued on the bow and the heart button, I decided to glue everything in place.
 

Weihnachtswichtelchen

"Weihnachtswichtelchen" is my new favorite word. I made a set of these little elves for Amanda and knew I would have to make a set for myself as well, so I used different beard shapes. I did not bother blanket stitching the faces, thought I did blanket stitch the edges of the bodies on the machine. I cut a couple layers of quilt batting to fit to use as stuffing. Conveniently I had matching felt, star buttons, and twine on hand.

Finished size: 2" wide at base x 5.5" tall

Reindeer Stockings

This is my favorite stocking design from this year's batch. I still have plenty of this fabric if I come up with another use for it.

Christmas Tree Stockings

 

As I was making these I was really regretting choosing so many applique designs, but I really like this one.

A Trio of Stockings

The appliques on these stockings all came from the same fabric. I had prepared the designs for applique when I made stockings in 2019, but I never got around to finishing them because applique is a bit of hassle.

Snowmen Stockings

 

I have previously made stockings with snowman fabric, but this one is a little cuter. I debated how to center the snowman design and ultimately decided to try to fit as many on the stocking as possible, rather than put one in the middle.

Penguin Stockings

I made some mini stockings in 2019, but I last made mini stockings for Claire and Lucy in 2017. Even then, I had enough for 2017-2021, so there wasn't a lot of motivation to make more, even though I had plenty of potential fabric. As it turns out, Lucy was obsessed with the mini stockings this past Christmas. I included the annual stocking as their first "Countdown to Christmas" gift, and she was sad when she didn't get another one the following week, so that motivated me to finally makes some more. I'm now good through 2028, so I've got to stop. This penguin matches the red set I made in 2017. 
 

Flamingo Santa

This is a nightlight, so it's more of a decoration akin to the mini-fireplace from two years ago than an ornament, but I wasn't about to pass up something that lights up, was on sale, and was a shaped like a flamingo. I strung it with garland, attached some colored bulbs, and glued on a Santa hat, and despite this lack of much fabrication effort on my part, it is by far my most exciting contribution to the Ornament Exchange this year.

Bird Stockings

More stocking mania! These stockings will be sent to friends.

Gingerbread Stockings

These gingerbread stockings will be for my twin nieces. Despite making a stocking for Claire and Lucy each year at my sister's request, I haven't made any for the twins.

Christmas Stockings in July

A year or two ago, I bought a bunch of Christmas fat quarters. I planned to make them into stockings last year but just ran out of steam, so when motivation struck in July to make a bunch of stockings, I took advantage of it. Now I'm planning little Christmas packages to mail to friends.

Log Cabin Santa Ornament

I really wanted this air mail fabric, but it was expensive. Finally it went on steep enough clearance so I could justify buying a half yard to make something for Amanda. Then I needed an ornament that would show it off. Hence, this very large log cabin Santa. You make a log cabin block and cut it in half, which will yield two ornaments. My block was 8". It's one of the larger ornaments I've made, but it does flatten, despite being very long. My ornaments are usually much smaller, but it's cute and it does show off the fabric nicely!

Selvedge Tree Ornament

In 2015, I made a selvedge tree mini quilt. On the day we left for vacation in November, I woke up at 5:30am with the idea to make a mini one as an ornament for Amanda. Since I was already packed and we didn't need to leave for the airport until 10am, I was able to complete it before we left.

Finished size: 4.5" x 5"

Mini Fireplace Christmas Decoration

Since the book cart and then the bus, I have been determined to make Amanda an ornament that lights up. This is not technically an ornament since it doesn't hang, but I think this is as close as I am going to get. Unfortunately, you can't really tell the difference between the photos with the lights on and off.

Lights off

This ornament/decoration required more assembly than actual creation. I made the tiny stockings and the felt fire, but everything else is store-bought. The fireplace is from the doll house section of Hobby Lobby. I bought the string of lights first, determined to figure out something to do with them, but it's hard to create an ornament around a 9' string of lights and a battery pack that requires 3 AA batteries.

Lights on

Penguin Stockings

My sister is having another baby in November! This meant doubling all the stockings I made earlier this year. I found these cute penguin brads and knew they would be perfect for stockings. The set also had blue and green penguins, so those may show up in later stocking designs.

The blue snowflake fabric was the only one I didn't have enough of to duplicate, so that will be for Claire this year, and the new baby will get a different design.

A Flurry of Stockings

These stockings will be for 2017-2020. Apparently I have a lot of snowflake fabric. The blue snowflakes have been used for ornaments, and the snowmen have been used in ornaments and a stocking. The green snowflakes showed up in my yo-yo tree, but this is the first time I used the red snowflakes, which is my favorite of the snowflake fabrics.

Heart Stocking

I've decided the Santa stocking will be the 2015 stocking and this will be the 2016 stocking, since it matches the purse and ornament I made for Claire this year.

Penguin Stocking

Last year I made Santa stockings for Claire and her friends. When I went home for Christmas, my sister thought it would be nice to have a stocking for each year. So I came home and started churning out stockings with every kid-friendly holiday fabric I had. Turns out I had 6 fabrics that met the criteria. I had to backdate two since this is her third Christmas, and I figured four years into the future was plenty. This is will be the 2014 stocking, to match the baby-friendly penguin ornaments I made for her first Christmas. I love these penguins!