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Sunday, November 5, 2017

November Papertrey Ink Stitching Focus

Lizzie Intro Photo

Hello, everyone, and welcome to this month's Stitching Focus! I'm Lizzie Jones, your Stitching Ambassador, and this month I'm continuing the holiday preparations with a garland project. It should come as no surprise that I love creating garlands - I've shared several in the past (like this one, and this one, and this one...and those are just the Christmas ones). I may be running out of places to hang these things, but I'm not going to let that stop me! So I thought it would be fun to create a new stitched version for this year. Let's take a look at what I used to make that happen.

Something Old Title

The Stitched Ornaments in last year's line up are all so fun and unique! Each one brings something special to the table: beading, sequins, embroidery, appliques. These dies make it easy to create handcrafted keepsakes for your tree or as gifts for your loved ones. And the handiest thing about the simple shape is that it's so easily transformable.

Stitched Ornaments Round Up

1. Kay used the Stitched Ornaments: Topped Die to create this lovely color blocked gem. Her contrasting blanket stitching stands out beautifully and the addition of the Sweet Dreams: Pajama Patches hearts is such a charming touch!

2. Laurie used the Stitched Ornaments: Sequins Die for her festive bauble. Her clever use of tasteful French knots dressed up her sparkly sequins. She even added a Saddle Stitched bow and cheerful jingle bell to kick things up a notch.

3. Erin created her stunning ornament with the Stitched Ornaments: Embroidered Die. The detailed design shines with her choice of bold red thread against Vintage Cream felt.

4. Amy paired the Stitched Ornaments: Classics Die and Stitched Ornaments: Beaded Die to create her gorgeous ornament. She even stacked buttons at the bottom and top to give her ornament a bit more presence on the tree.

5. Dawn went with the Stitched Ornaments: Classics Die to create a flat stunner in an unconventional-yet-dazzling color scheme. You can always count on Dawn for eye-catching color!

6. Betsy used the Stitched Ornaments: Woven Die to make her charming pastel gift. The satin bow and Sewing Staples: Floral Cluster blooms give her ornament such a sweet, feminine feel. She even used the Tiny Town Basics Die to create the perfect gift box presentation. How wonderful would these be for hostess gifts this holiday season?

Something New Title

So like I mentioned before, I was itching to make a new garland for this month's Stitching Focus. I thought the ornaments would look great turned on their sides and strung with wool felt balls (or pom-poms if you would prefer). After all, they already have small openings at the top and the bottom, so I figured stringing them would be a snap. Lucky for me, it worked out perfectly!

Stitched Ornament Garland

I began by die cutting the body of the ornaments using the Stitched Ornaments: Classics Die. I did nine ornaments for the garland, so that meant I needed 36 sides with the "holes only" diamond shape inside of each one.

Stitched Ornament Garland 2

Next, I die cut 18 of the scalloped pieces from Limeade Ice and 18 of the snowflake embroidery diamonds from Pure Poppy.

Stitched Ornament Garland 3

On the alternate sides, I knew I wanted to stitch on Pure Poppy buttons layered with Ocean Tides felt. I searched though my die collection and found that the Buttoned Up #2 Die had a button that would fit splendidly!

Stitched Ornament Garland 4

I used a three strands of embroidery thread to stitch the snowflake design on each Pure Poppy diamond. I even added a clear seed bead to the center of each snowflake for just a hint of sparkle. Then I used two strands of red thread to stitch each diamond to the Vintage Cream base.

Stitched Ornament Garland 5

On the alternate sides I used three strands of green thread to stitch the diamond pattern. Then, I used three strands of red floss to stitch the buttons, both felt and plastic, in the center.

Stitched Ornament Garland 6

I stitched all of the ornaments together with white floss and stuffed them with poly-fil so that they were nice and plump. All that was left was to string my stitched ornaments with wool felt balls. I used heavier white crochet thread to do the stringing to make sure the garland would be able to withstand years of use. I also strung the balls with just a tiny bit of space to make sure the garland would be flexible enough to be used anywhere. If you string it too tight it feels a little stiff.

Stitched Ornament Garland 7

It turned out exactly as I had envisioned and I can't wait to display it throughout the upcoming holiday season! I just have to figure out where...

Thank you so much for joining me for this month's Stitching Focus! I hope I've inspired you to stitch up some fresh decor for this year. Have a wonderful day and I'll see you again soon!

Supplies:

4 comments:

  1. Your garland is absolutely darling! I can only imagine how long it took you to make it. Well worth every minute! What size felt balls did you use? I'd love to make one too. Thanks for the link, because I had no idea you could purchase felt balls in so many colors. My brain is spinning with ideas. I don't have the stitched ornament dies (yet), but I do have the quick stitch kit with the stars and other dies. Maybe I can use those!

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind words! I used the 2cm balls and I think they were a great size. The garland probably took a total of about 12 hours, but i broke it up in chunks so it wasn't overwhelming (plus, i'm a slow stitcher). Have fun with your own garland!

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  2. Lizzie, this is lovely! I just looked at the website for the felt balls...so many to choose from! Thanks for sharing!

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  3. LOVE this!
    Was just looking at some felt balls garland the other day and wondered if I could do it myself...and I definitely love the ornaments mixed in...so this is a definite DIY project now!

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