A Special Gift for You...

Dear friends,

Here's a special little gift just for you - a tutorial on how to make two sweet little felt ornaments, a mitten and a stocking.....

These cute little ornaments are simple and quick to make and even though they're fairly small, you could fill them with candy canes, sweets or maybe even tuck some money inside for someone very special!

Here's what you'll need:
 Felt, embroidery thread, seed beads, disappearing ink marker, craft glue - the kind that dries clear, flat toothpicks, some sparkly glitter and a ruler.  And a 7 inch length of crewel embroidery thread, narrow ribbon or thin yarn for the ornament loop.
:  Download and print the pattern, which you can find here.  For these little ornaments, you'll need basic embroidery stitches such as whip stitch, blanket stitch, back stitch and straight stitch.  Here's an awesome site where you can find photos of the different stitches:  Sarah's Hand Embroidery Tutorials.
:  Cut out pattern pieces.  Lay pattern pieces onto felt and carefully cut out. If you like, use a pair of pinking shears to cut out the bottom edge of the stocking cuff.
 : I've used one strand of embroidery thread/floss to embroider, attach seed beads as well as to sew up
seams. Keep your stitches small, neat and evenly spaced.

:  Use your disappearing ink pen to draw a simple snowflake on the mitten front.  For the stocking front, gently lift the paper pattern piece up (while it's still pinned to the felt) and transfer the markings along the edges around the stocking.  Remove pattern piece and connect the markings with a ruler and your disappearing ink pen.
:  Embroider snowflake onto the front side of the mitten with a back stitch.  .
:  For the stocking, use tiny straight stitches to embroider each marked line where the lines meet to form and 'X'.  Do not make a full 'X', with your thread, instead, make each little line separately, keeping the very center of each 'X' open. I did not worry about embroidering the top row of the marked 'X's as the cuff will overlap that area.  Please click on the photo for a better view of the stitches.

:  Sew seed bead at the center of the snowflake and onto each marked dot on the mitten.
:  Sew a seed bead at the center of each little 'X' on the stocking.
:  Place front pieces of mitten/stocking onto back pieces, wrongs sides facing and whip stitch all the way around.

:  Pin top edge of cuff to top edge of mitten/stocking, placing edges of cuffs on the 'heel' seam of the stocking and the 'little finger' seam of the mitten. 

 :  Blanket stitch top edge of cuff onto top edge of mitten/stocking.  

:  Whip stitch the two cuff edges together.

 :  For the ornament loop, fold length of ribbon/yarn/crewel embroidery thread in half and knot ends as shown above.

 :  Position knotted end of ornament loop onto the inside seam and sew in place, keeping your stitches small and neat and invisible from the right side of the ornament.

 :  Spread a fine layer of craft glue onto the cuff with a flat tooth pick.

 :  Sprinkle glitter onto cuff and allow to dry thoroughly before gently tapping excess off.

You now have a wonderful little ornament that you just might find very hard to part with!  I'd suggest cutting out a bunch at a time - it may be easier to give some of them away that way ;)

Many thanks to all of you for visiting my blog, facebook page and on-line shops!  I cannot tell you how much your support means to me! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

Happiest of Holidays to you all!
~Shelly xo

12 Days of Gifts Special!

Happy Holidays dear friends!!  

  It's that wonderful time of year again and to celebrate, I'm having a 12 Days Of Gifts Special in my Etsy Shop again! Each morning I'll post an announcement on my facebook page with the Gift of the Day ~ a different pattern or pattern set will on sale for 50% off the regular price!! 

So, if there's a particular pattern you've had your eye on, please be sure to visit my page every morning as this special will only be on for a limited time!

Best Wishes,
~Shelly xo

Visions of Sugarplums Giveaway

Hello friends!  

Today I'd like to welcome you to the third annual Visions of Sugarplums! It's a blog event created by Lori Hairston from:  http://lorihairston.blogspot.ca/, where bloggers and unique companies share Christmas ideas, packaging, recipes, and traditions.  The best part is that there are giveaways every day!!

This is a very exciting week in the crafty blog world with so many great designers sharing and giving away wonderful things and ideas.  

For my part of this event, I'll be sharing a pattern for a darling little Santa ornament that is super easy and fun to make. Please click here to find the pattern tutorial.

I am also giving away a copy of my Gingerbread Folk pattern, just in time for Christmas!

Please make sure you visit everyone to get some great ideas for the Christmas season and don't forget to leave comments in order to win!!

Lori – lorihairston.blogspot.com/

Debbie - debssimpletreasures.blogspot.com/
Maria - joyfulstamper.blogspot.com/
Mitra - mitralee.blogspot.com/
Lauren - www.laurenhairston.com/
Jane - jane-janesjournal.blogspot.com/
May - mayshappydaze.blogspot.com/
Shelly – gingermelondolls.blogspot.com/ - You are here.

Giveaways:

1 set of choice - Paper Sweeties - www.papersweeties.com/
1 set of choice - Moonlighting by Mary - www.etsy.com/shop/MoonlightingByMary
Christmas Creation - Mitra - Mitra - mitralee.blogspot.com/
Into the Woods Stamp Set - Lawn Fawn - www.lawnfawn.com/
Gingerbread Folk Pattern - Gingermelon - www.etsy.com/shop/Gingermelon

Best wishes and have fun!
~Shelly