Talk Crafty To Me Just another WordPress weblog

Looking for some alternatives to your traditional cedar branch holiday wreath? Check out these creative ideas, and let their great instructions inspire you to create your own.

1. Fabric Wreath from ModaBakeshop | 2. Felted Sweater Wreath from Betz White | 3. Ribbon-Poinsettia Wreath from Martha Stewart | 4. Button Wreath from Craftapalooza | 5. Paper Leaves Wreath from The Red Thread | 6. Ribbon Wreath from The Long Thread | 7. Christmas Ornament Wreath from Eddie Ross

For those of you too busy with holidays parties to craft you’re own ornaments… here are a few of my favorites already created by some crafty folks over at etsy.

1. Wooden Snowman | 2. Country Wooden Santas | 3. Felt Wreath | 4. Stewart the Owl | 5. Felt Reindeer | 6. Santa Rooster | 7. Rag Balls | 8. Felted Wool Acorns

In case yesterday’s felt ornaments weren’t enough, here’s a few more.

Felt Ball – Inspired by one of those paper party decorations that fold into a ball… but instead made of felt.

Retro Ornaments – Decorated with ricrac and ribbons, these classy ornaments are sure to spruce up your tree.

Triangle Trees – These are quite similar to the trees I posted the other day, but they’re still cute so I thought I’d post them anyway.

Jingle Mice – Pimp Stitch has a great tutorial for this little squeaker.

Quilled Candy Cane – Wrap red and white paper strips around a toothpick creating spirals to make this candy cane ornament.

I love felt, it’s so easy to work with, and the fact that unlike fabric you can leave the edges showing and it wont fray makes me happy. Here are a couple of really simple tutorials for making some cute felt ornaments.

Molly’s Star Ornaments – Grab a glass of eggnog or a cup of hot chocolate and spend a cozy evening making stars.

Half-eaten Gingerbread Man – This little guy is so adorable. You could also use this pattern as inspiration and make a half-eaten gingerbread woman, or even several intact gingerbread people.

Holiday Mittens – These little mittens are cute as one offs, but I also like Liesl’s idea of making them into an advent calendar.

It’s December 1st, and you know what that means… Christmas is just around the corner. I’m kicking off a month of Handmade Holiday goodness, with some ornament inspiration. Over the next few days I’ll be posting some great ideas for handmade ornaments, including a few tutorials & patterns as well as some links to a few ornaments you can purchase, in case you run out of crafting time.

First up are a couple of felt ornaments I made a few years ago for a charity auction at work. These were really easy and fun to make, and were a huge hit at the auction.

For the Snowmen: Cut the snowman shape out of white felt, and stitch the two pieces together with colored embroidery thread (pick something that matches the color of felt you’ve chosen for the scarf). When you’ve almost finished stitching around the snowman, stop and fill it with stuffing, then continue stitching him up. You can add the face first if you’d like, but I found it easier to add after.

For the scarf, cut two strips of colored felt, one to go around your snowman’s neck and the other to loop over and hang down. I originally tried tying a longer strip like you would a regular scarf, but found that it didn’t lay very nice. Wrap one piece around the neck of your snowman, and use the second piece to cover the seam and hang down. Don’t forget to cut a little bit of fringe on the bottom too!

Then simply sew on a few tiny buttons and make a loop at the top with thread so you can hang him on your tree.

For the trees: Cut the tree shapes out of green felt, using pinking shears. Sew around the edge using colored embroidery thread (something that matches the ribbon). When you get to the top, insert the two ends of the ribbon making a loop, and continue sewing. Remember to leave a little hole to stuff it before you sew it all the way up. Then simply sew on a few multi-colored buttons to make the ornaments. I was lucky enough to find little star shaped buttons at my local craft store, but you could use anything.

Stay tuned for more Handmade Holiday goodness all December long.

These cute acorn cookies are from Amy Atlas’s Thanksgiving Dessert Buffet.

_{This Jack ‘O Ghost is from Etsy’s ‘Out of Our Gourds‘.}

Looking for some last minute Halloween decorations? Here’s a quick project I designed that you can download for free!

Print the pdf onto card stock, cut out the circles and thread them along a piece of ribbon or string. Feel free to use the pieces any way you like. Spell out “Happy Halloween” across your mantel, or sting individual circles from your ceiling. You could even shrink them down, attach them to toothpicks and use them as cupcake toppers! The sky’s the limit, so get creative.

- Download the Garland

The pdf contains 5 spooky illustrations, all the letters to spell “Happy Halloween”, and a few assorted patterns to break things up.

(p.s. feel free to send me photos of your finished garland!)

I love this Halloween print from Sara Harvey. You can see more of her great work in her Etsy shop.

No knives required, just your fingers and your imagination! Hallowcarver is a download-able app for your iPhone or iPod Touch. You can select from several different pumpkin shapes and backgrounds, and then start carving. When you’re done you can upload your creation for a chance to win a new iPod Touch.

- Download Hallowcarver
- Check out the gallery