Domino Effect Makes for Christmas Fun!!

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Linda Mullins

I thought this Christmas tree would make anyone smile – A tree covered with dominoes and domino “people”. It’s name is “Domino Dance”.

Check out these dancing dominoes!

It appears that the dancing dominoes were made by drilling holes into the side of the dominoes and then threading the pipe cleaners through to make the limbs. I wonder if the heads are glued on. Probably…

Anyway, it makes a for a fun tree for domino lovers everywhere! Thanks to Don and Barbara Alexander and Dr. and Mrs. Shawn Smith for creating it and entering it in the 2011 Festival of Trees.

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Elves Helping Get Ready for Christmas

Posted on April 11, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Goodness, are there only 8 months left before Christmas? How will I ever be ready? I think I will need some helpers…..

Who couldn’t use some of Santa’s elves about the house to prepare for Christmas? Well, perhaps I don’t need help with the ironing!

Some help with the knitting would be great!

An extra seamstress around the house would be superl!

And an elf or two to help make Chrismas treats would be sweet!!

I am always looking for help when it comes to the wrapping!

Of course, not everyone is so helpful, and might be found loafing about!! Lucky for him that he is sooo cute!!

Savannah Granny,The Graphics Fairy,Keeping It Simple,
Making The World Cuter,Home Stories A to Z,CraftoManiac,Boogie Board Cottage,Embellishing Life,Lines Across My Face,Home Savvy A to Z,The Kurtz Corner,The Girl Creative,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy,Strictly Homemade,Sugar Bee Crafts,Tip Junkie,Not Just a Housewife,Coastal Charm,HomeWork,LadyBug Blessings,
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Three French Hens Tutorial

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Presented by Tutorial Tuesday at OrnamentPlace.com :

On the third month of Christmas, OrnamentPlace gave me,

three french hens, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!!

It’s finally March, the third month of Christmas!! I am so excited to roll out my latest ornament tutorial- The Three French Hens!! I hope you have as much fun making them as I did!

Materials:

You will need the French Hen pattern found here

Burgundy felt

Burgundy/gold brocade fabric

Gold embroidery thread and needle

Gold beads and red beads

Special red bead for the wattle

glue-on eye

tacky glue

small amount of batting

gold elastic cord for hanging

heat bond product

First, cut out the pattern pieces as directed on the pattern. Use a heat bond product to bond the brocade to one felt body as shown in the photos. Then use heat bond to attach the felt wing to the brocade.

Use a small amount of tacky glue and glue a beak onto the hen made of a scrap of gold felt. Now, take the decorated felt piece and start to bead the wing. I used the blanket stitch to go around the edges, as shown in the picture on the wing, adding a bead to each stich as I went. Attach the looped elastic cord at this point, attaching it to the back of the front piece as shown. This is the best placement for the hen to be balanced on the tree.

Put the two body pieces together. Embroider the two pieces together, beading around all the edges as shown. You can click on the picture to enlarge it for a better view. I used a running stitch to bead the feathers on the tail. Leave a small area open and stuff the hen with a little batting.

Glue the eye on. Glue the two layers of felt that make the feet so that they will be stronger. Sew the wattle in place.

Now, make two more and you will be in the Christmas Spirit!! Yahoo!!

How to Tie a Full Bow

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Do you love to see full, beautiful bows on gifts and decorations; but need a little help to know how to create them? This tutorial will help.

First, select your ribbon. I always like to use wire-edged ribbon for this type of bow since it will hold its shape well. I used 1.5 inch wide ribbon for this project. Cut a piece of ribbon 9 feet in length.

Hold the ribbon at about 20 inches from one end. Loop it back on itself 5 inches, leaving a 10 inch tail.

This picture shows a second loop being made.

Continue looping the ribbon back and forth until you have approximately 15 inches of ribbon left.

Tie in the center of the loops with a piece of wire.

Make a small center loop. Tie the wire around the center loop.
Pull the wires to the back.

Fluff out the loops of the bow into a nice shape. Use the wires to secure the bow to a package or Christmas tree branch.You are done! Congratutations!

Classy Christmas Bows

Posted on February 26, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Bows! Bows! Bows! So many ways to decorate for Christmas with bows! Nothing adds the finishing touch quite like adding bows to Christmas trees, wreaths and gifts. This post shows you some wonderful examples of how to use ribbon and bows.

This bow is simply tied, as with Linda’s Simple Tree Bows. It is made more elegant with two types of ribbon tied together.

What a fun, bold green bow! Want to learn how to tie a bow like this? Be sure to check out my Tuesday Tutorial on February 28th for a photo tutorial!!

This is a very full bow, and it makes a striking topper for this Christmas Tree with the other trims encircling it! The green dots on the red ribbon tie things together perfectly!!

Here is another tree topper utilizing ribbon with a bear placed in the center of the bow. It makes for a fun and inexpensive way to top a tree.

Here is another simple bow made with satin fabric or ribbon. It makes a bold statement on the frosted tree.

This bow adds a fun touch to this tree!

Combining three patterned ribbons together in this full bow is the perfect touch for this wreath!

Don’t you love how the long tails of this bow encircle the wreath?

This fantastic bow combines two solid ribbons of different widths to make a bold statement!

Another red bow makes for a simply elegant focal point of this wreath.

Christmas bows come in every shape, size and color!!

Look how fabulous this “Merry Christmas” ribbon looks as it encircles this Snoopy Tree!!

Here is a fun way to make a simple ornament. Combine a pez container with a bow and you have an instant super hero ornament!!

Here is another example of how the tails of the bow can encircle a work of art; this time on a Christmas cross stitch. See you in a couple of days when we tie those bows!!

Savannah Granny,The Graphics Fairy,Keeping It Simple,Making The World Cuter,Home Stories A to Z,CraftoManiac,Boogie Board Cottage,Embellishing Life,Lines Across My Face,Home Savvy A to Z,The Kurtz Corner,The Girl Creative,My Uncommon Slice of Suburbia,Confessions of a Stay At Home Mommy,Strictly Homemade,Sugar Bee Crafts,Tip Junkie,Not Just a Housewife,Coastal Charm,HomeWork,LadyBug Blessings,
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Basic Embroidery Stitches Tutorial

Posted on February 14, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Backstitch
Bring the threaded needle to the front side of the fabric. Reinsert the needle one stitch length to the right and then the left of the thread as shown in the diagram. Repeat.

Cross Stitch
Create diagonal crosses like those pictured. For one cross stitch, bring the thread to the front of the fabric in the bottom right corner and then through to the back at the top left. To do the second stitch of the cross, put the needle through to the front at the bottom left and then to the back through the top right corner. When making several cross stitches in a row you can make diagonal stitches all in one direction first, and the come back the other direction and do the opposite stitches afterwards.

Star Stitch
Work several straight stitches from the outside of the star to the center, as shown. Six or eight stitches are a good number to use when making a star.

Daisy Stitch
The daisy stitch is similar to the star stitch in that the individual stitches are arranged into a circular shape to form the finished product. To form one of the petals of the daisy stitch, bring the needle up through the fabric near the center of the daisy and then reinsert it at the same point it came up from. Leave enough thread on the front side to create the size of petal that you want. Bring the needle back up through the fabric inside the loop (at the outer edge) and secure it with a stitch, as shown. Then, bring the needle up again near the center of the daisy to create the next petal. Once again, six or eight stitches are a good amount for the daisy.

French Knot
Bring the needle to the front of the fabric. Wrap the thread around the needle two or three times very near the point where the thread came up through. Push the needle back down through the fabric; very close to the original point (but not exactly in the same spot.) A knot will form on the front of the fabric.

Satin Stitch
This stitch is good when you want to create some solid color. It is a good way to do lettering or fill in a leaf as shown. Make side by side stitches very close together so that no fabric shows up through. (It should look this way on the front and the back.) It is best to not make the stitches too long, so it will remain smooth.

Blanket Stitch
This is my personal favorite stitch when stitching the edges of felt. Bring the threaded needle to the edge of the front of the fabric. Move back a short distance from the edge and insert the needle. Come back up at the edge as shown.

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Here’s a Linky Follower Blog Hop, Thanks to the Artsy Girl Connection!

Posted on February 10, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Show-It-Off Thursdays Party #6

Posted on February 9, 2012 by Linda Mullins

We had some fun link-ups this week at Show-It-Off Thursdays!! Here are a few favorites:

These Valentine Cookies look so cute and yummy! Created by It’s Overflowing!

This tutorial is especially well done for making origami hearts. Thanks to Moment’s with the Montanos.

These Sweater Pillows from Alderberry Hill turned out really nice!

The “X” and “O” add a fun touch to this Valentine’s Day Wreath from That’s What Che Said.

Time for you to “Show-It-Off” at this weeks party! Oh, and please take a button from the sidebar and add it to your post. You can also follow me on Facebook and the new Linky Followers! Thank you!

Two Turtle Dove Ornaments

Posted on February 7, 2012 by Linda Mullins

Presented by Tutorial Tuesday at OrnamentPlace.com :
On the second month of Christmas
OrnamentPlace gave me, two turtle doves and a partridge in a pear tree!!

I am soooo excited that is it February (the second month of Christmas) so that I can publish my next ornament in the Twelve Days of Christmas Series: Two Turtle Doves!!

You will need the following materials to make one dove:

Pattern for Turtle Doves
Cream colored felt
Cream and gold colored brocade fabric
Gold glass beads
One star bead
One glue-on eye.
Small amount of batting
Very small piece of gold felt
Needle and cream embroidery thread
7 inches of gold elastic cord
Heat bond product

Or: Pick up a pre-cut and measured kit for two turtle doves here.

First cut out two full birds from the cream felt. (for two doves, cut four).
Cut out one smaller bird section (the piece that does not have the second wing) for one bird (for two birds, cut two).
Attach the brocade to the felt with a heat bond product.

Give the dove a “necklace” made of gold beads and the gold star. Attach it on the backside of the piece that has the brocade.
Put the two pieces of felt together.
Tie a square knot in the ends of the elastic cord and position it inside the bird. If you look at the picture you will see where I attached it to have the bird be balanced on the tree.

Embroider the felt sections together using the blanket stitch. Attach the gold beads as you go. Use the picture of the finished product as your guide. Leave a space open to stuff with batting. Glue on the beak and eye. Close it up and enjoy!!

Beautiful Birds for the Christmas Tree

Posted on February 4, 2012 by Linda Mullins

I love to see birds on display on Christmas trees! There are so many fun choices to go with!! Here are a few that I saw on the trees of others at the Festival of Trees in 2011.
Take a look at this dove in flight!

Cardinals are my favorite red bird!

Here’s a whimsical bird complete with shoes to help you celebrate. Fun!!

This little one sports a tophat!

Take a gander at this lovely bird!! It’s a Phoenix (of Harry Potter fame).

This red bird sports some spotted brown feathers.

Penquins work well under the tree

Or even on the mantel!

These birds were photographed on the following trees at the 2011 Festival of Trees: Merry Christmas, Candy’s Cozy Cabin, Woodland Wonderland, Eternal Magic, Winter Redbirds, Family Reunion, Winter Dreams and Wings of Love.