back to school means mmmaking!

Back to school means back to cozy fall crafting! Looking for a project? May I suggest my Twelve Days Ornaments? (Shown here in cheerful Benzie Design wool felts and DMC flosses, but choose any colors you like!)

A set of these heirloom wool felt ornaments made by your own clever hands will be such a joy to bring out each year at Christmas. And they are easier to make than they look because of the magic of Sulky Stick n Stitch!

Find the patterns in my Etsy shop:
mmmcrafts.etsy.com

time for Christmas crafting!

Christmas is coming! Do you have your fall crafting planned? May I suggest a nice coffee, a good movie, and a handsewn woolfelt ornament project? They make lovely gifts and are always treasured heirlooms brought out each year.

I have beginner friendly and intermediate PDF pattern downloads in my Etsy shop! All with detailed, step by step instructions: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

SHOWN ABOVE: Intermediate level 'Twas The Night ornament patterns:
1 - Santa Claus
2 - Mrs Claus
3 - Little Elves
4 - All Through The House

Sewn with my curated @benziedesign felt palettes: Classic and Retro. Detailed color guides:

https://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/.../benzie-color-guide...

i like michigan

Hey guys! I’ve been on break for a bit. We took a family trip to Michigan before our two girls left for college. I’d never been to Michigan! Conclusion: I’d go back. 

Lovely summer weather (75 as opposed to 96 at home) and it’s generally gorgeous. I learned what a Yooper is. I learned that hostas and hydrangeas and every kind of flower get ginormous and are super happy there. I learned there is a very large Christmas store in Frankenmuth (see photo above, I really wanted to buy more pink glass Christmas joy but was constrained by the size of my carry on). 

I looked across the river at Canada. Hey, Canada! Maybe next time, Canada! I learned that Lake Huron has very clear water and wondered why water shoots spectacularly out the backs of the ferries. I learned where the good coffee is on Mackinac. I viewed lots of puzzling sculptures, saw more antique cars than you can shake a stick at, fled from yellow jackets, made friends with koi (I miss you, Spotty and Orangey), and toured a Frank Lloyd Wright house.

In short, it was fun. And now the girls are safely settled in at their schools and it’s back to 96 degrees and an empty nest. And designing stuff.

#mmmcrafts #travelisfun #michigan #stignace #saultstmarie #mackinacisland #grandrapids #butididnttryapasty

not even a mouse: prototype - year is in, chip is out

More prototype photos. I've found a placement for the year that I like the best – on the cup bottom where the maker's mark would be. Because the ornament hangs from the front rim edge at a slight angle, the cup bottom is at the back of the ornament.

 
The chip – meh. I don't think it adds much to the finished look, it's a pain to manage across the three sewn layers of the cup, and it seems to cause the cup rim to pull out of round. Three strikes – it's out. Maybe an optional embroidered crack instead.

I do like the embroidered ticking stripes on the pillow, but I'm going to try another version with more. Side Sleeper Mouse is the winner! But not happy with Mouse yet because eight year old inner Larissa insists that he can be removed from the blanket (because fun) and therefore he needs optional tiny arms and legs and a wee tail and the blanket needs to be secured somehow for easy in and out.

 
I envision small fingers tucking Mouse in bed with Teddy on the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature should be stirring, not even a mouse. A fun tradition to do on Christmas Eve?

 
But of course if your inner 40 year old says NO way to that because you don't wish for carefully handsewn Mouse to go MIA every year, you may certainly glue him and Teddy in place.

Several have mentioned a tiny tiny stocking, and you may be unsurprised to know that one had already been included in the pattern for trying out on the previous round. So far I haven't gotten to try the stocking because I'm still working out the bigger stuff. It may go the way of the chip. LOL

maybe a chip in the cup?

This teacup in progress will have a chip in it. If I like the chip I'll make it an option in the pattern. Little known fact: House mice are commonly known to repurpose your discarded china cups as their tiny little beds. Actually, that is not a little known fact nor a generally known fact because I just made it up, but it sounds true. 

The chip is part of another round of revisions and samples I'm making as I fine-tune all of the pattern pieces. I think I like this teacup embroidery pattern better than the previous coral pink cup (see earlier post), but I'll wait to see how it all looks sewn together. I can't believe I forgot to include the year on the cup somewhere. Doh! I'll have to work that in somehow. More photos to come!

This Not Even A Mouse pattern is the upcoming 5th pattern in my 'Twas The Night ornament series. 

not even a mouse: prototype

Couple of prototype photos of my new 'Twas The Night pattern in development: Not Even A Mouse!

 
This sample is by no means final, as I'm still experimenting with details. Cheese wedge was a fail. Not included. Teddy bear was lifted directly from my Wee Mouse pattern and it will be included for sure. I think the side sleeper mouse looks so cozy and snuggled in, so he will probably be the final mouse rather than back sleeper mouse. (But I find back sleeper mouse pretty charming and wanted to do another round of changes on him later, maybe a one-off ornament. Cute little guy with his stumpy legs. Needs fattening up though, bless him. And arms.)

The felt pillow is currently too small. I love the cotton ticking pillow from my Wee Mouse pattern, but I don't want to oblige you to buy special fabric for a less-than-2-inch pillow, so I'm trying a hand embroidered ticking stripe. I'm not currently happy with the embroidery designs on the cup or blanket, and blanket isn't the right size yet...Blah blah blah and about 50 more details I'm dithering about. On we go!

Not Even A Mouse is the upcoming 5th ornament in my 'Twas The Night Ornament Series. Shop all my patterns here!

LodeStar Tree Topper: detailed Benzie color guides

LodeStar Tree Topper is the first in a short series of two wool felt Christmas star patterns. Here are the detailed Benzie felt plus floss/sequin/bead color guides for each of the samples I made, so that you can easily make LodeStars that look just like mine.

Benzie Design has long been one of my favorite places to purchase wool-blend felts (and they also have 100% wools, metallics, and glittered). They have stellar customer service, quick shipping, and their felt, floss, sequins and beads are an absolute joy to work with! They will be very happy to help you with what you need, including a good many of the tools and other notions you'll need for these patterns. They also have a .com if you prefer, but their kits for my patterns are only sold via Etsy.

First, some handy links to get you started:

To buy the LodeStar Tree Topper pattern: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

To buy the felt colors referenced below:

Benzie's handy Lodestar listings tailored to my guides below. You can choose suggested options in the drop down menu.

Shop all of Benzie's Metallic or Glitter felts
Shop all of Benzie's sequins & beads: Benzie Sparkle & Shine page

Below I'll tell you exactly what I used from my stash – all felt is Benzie, but some notions are Benzie's but some are not. For instance, I used bulk silver lined 10/0 beads for most, but Benzie's 11/0 beads also work wonderfully well. Feel free to make substitutions!

Here you go:

Aqua/Silver LodeStar  

BENZIE FELT COLORS:

Aqua: A and D 
Silver metallic: B, C, and E

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

• A: DMC White, 5 mm translucent iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• B: DMC White and 958, 5 mm aqua sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• C: DMC 958
• D: DMC D168, Benzie 5 mm silver sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• E: DMC 958, Benzie 8 mm silver sequins, 5 mm translucent iridescent sequins

*All sequins/beads sewn with silver sewing thread

Note: Feel free to sub in 11/0 beads for 10/0, or use 5 mm sequins wherever I've used 4 mm.

White/Silver/Gold LodeStar

BENZIE FELT COLORS:

White: A and D 
Silver metallic: BB and E

Gold metallic: C

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

• A: DMC D3852, 5 mm translucent iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• BB: DMC 832 (outlines) and D3852 (middle veins), Benzie 5 mm gold sequins, Benzie gold seed beads
• C: DMC 04
• D: DMC D3852, Benzie 5 mm and 4 mm silver sequins, Benzie silver seed beads
• E: DMC 832, Benzie 8 mm and 5 mm gold sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads

*All sequins/beads sewn with gold sewing thread

Note: Feel free to sub in 11/0 beads for 10/0, or use 5 mm sequins wherever I've used 4 mm.

Mustard/Bronze/Gold LodeStar

BENZIE FELT COLORS:

Mustard: A
Bronze metallic: B, C, and E

Gold metallic: D

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

• A: DMC White, 5 mm clear iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• B: DMC White and 3845**, Benzie 5 mm silver sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads, Benzie Aquamarine seed beads  
• C: DMC 3845**
• D: DMC White, 6 mm copper sequins, Benzie 4 mm Copper sequins, Benzie Rose Gold seed beads
• E: DMC 3845, Benzie 8 mm silver sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads

*All sequins/beads sewn with gold sewing thread

**Blue not your thing at Christmas? Try subbing in another color for the blue stitching: bright red, mustard yellow, white, silver, or gold.

Note: Feel free to sub in 11/0 beads for 10/0, or use 5 mm sequins wherever I've used 4 mm.

Burgundy/Red/Gold LodeStar

BENZIE FELT COLORS:

Burgundy: A and D
Red metallic: BB, C, and E

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

• A: DMC 666, 5 mm red sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• BB: DMC D3852, Benzie 5 mm gold sequins, Benzie Gold seed beads
• C: DMC 154
• D: DMC 666, Benzie 5 mm and 4 mm Gold sequins, Benzie Gold seed beads
• E: DMC 154, Benzie 8 mm gold sequins, Benzie Gold seed beads

*All sequins/beads sewn with gold sewing thread

Note: Feel free to sub in 11/0 beads for 10/0, or use 5 mm sequins wherever I've used 4 mm.

Iridescent/Silver 'Easy Button' LodeStar

BENZIE FELT COLORS:

Iridescent metallic: A and D
Silver glitter: B, C, and E

SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

• A: 8 mm and 5 mm white iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• B: 5 mm white iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads, Benzie Foxglove seed beads**
• C: 5 mm white iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads, Benzie Foxglove seed beads
• D: 5 mm smoky translucent iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads
• E: 8 mm white iridescent sequins, 10/0 silver lined clear seed beads

*All sequins/beads sewn with iridescent sewing thread

**I used pink Foxglove beads because my iridescent white sequins appear mostly pink.

Note: Feel free to sub in 11/0 beads for 10/0, or use 5 mm sequins wherever I've used 4 mm.

I hope these guides have been helpful! Questions? Contact me at mmmcrafts.etsy.com

LodeStar Tree Topper pattern is now available!

 

‘Lodestar' means guiding star. This hand sewn, sparkly, heirloom wool felt Christmas star is a lovely way to top your own tree or bless someone with an impressive handmade gift. I was inspired to design it because of my own fruitless search for the perfect star for my tree. If you are like me and do not love the useless cones attached to retail stars, you will love this pattern. The LodeStar lollipop stick is very easy to attach to your tree with pipe cleaners or zip ties, and will stay straight! Yay!

The skills needed for this pattern are not advanced, it just takes patience. If you can sew basic hand stitches (whipstitch and backstitch), cut shapes with precision, and work with seed beads and sequins, then you can make this project and make it well. I've even included dashes on the embroidery lines so you don't have to guess at stitch lengths (but you can certainly set you own lengths if you'd like).

The secret to making this project easily and accurately is Sulky Stick 'n Stitch, which is a wash away printable stabilizer. Just print my pattern in on the stabilizer, peel and stick it to the felt, and stitch right on the lines. So awesome.

The Lodestar Tree Topper pattern includes two secondary ray styles (single-point and fancier triple-point) and options to make pendant, ornaments, mini ornaments, mini tree topper, garland, and an 'easy button' version of the topper. Basically, you can bedeck your world with sparkly Christmas stars.

All samples shown were made with Benzie Design wool blend and wool metallic/glitter felts. (They also have a lovely new selection of 5 mm and 8 mm sequins in really great mixed colors for you to check out. So shiny!)

 
Other materials you need to make a topper are a 12-inch 3/16 dowel, paint, floss, thread, seed beads, sequins, Sulky Stick 'n Stitch, Fabri-Tac glue, and Pellon 70 Peltex. That's not a complete list, but those are the highlights. Check the Etsy listing for more details. 

Happy sewing! :-)