Made It: Christmas Ornaments 2015

Hello! I make Christmas ornaments every year for my nieces and
nephews. Last year's ornaments (seen here) seemed to go over very well (at least among the parents, who clearly thought the ornaments were harder to make than they actually were). I knew it'd be hard to top those with this year's ornaments, but I think I came up with something pretty good:

I made a few changes to a pattern called "Nordic House Ornament", designed by Karin Darocha. Her project was among a set of over 100 projects purchased for a couple of bucks at a thrift store a few years ago. As the set wasn't in its original packaging, I don't know what name it was sold under. (the projects were organized as a  calendar, with each project representing several days in a week. The Nordic House Ornament covered Dec. 16-19.)

The photograph accompanying Darocha's directions showed off a red-and-white color scheme, which I guess is the Nordic part. I used a variety of colors. She embellished her ornaments with embroidery; I did that as well, but also added vintage rickrack and vintage buttons. 

A couple of close-ups:

Looks like a blue Christmas. 

The muslin used for the house base isn't vintage, but most of the other fabrics used for this project are. I like the slightly mismatched look I gave these ornaments - more fun than having everything completely coordinated!

And speaking of fun, these were fun to make. My only challenge was to make sure I crafted a few that weren't too "sweet", in honor of my nephews. They are long past the little-boy stage, so no prints with little flowers for them. I do hope I succeeded in appealing to their sensibilities. If not, well at least I tried. 

These ornaments measure about 2 3/4" x 6 1/2". Darocha also included a pattern for a house that's 3 3/4" x 8 1/2". I'm thinking of making one of these in the larger size to use as a small accent piece in my newly-redecorated family room. 

Now all I have to do is pop these ornaments in gift bags and they'll be ready for gift-giving. It's always a good feeling when I get this project done each year. I've been doing this for over 20 years by now!