All Through The House pattern is now available!

All Through The House, the fourth pattern in my ongoing 'Twas the Night Ornament Series, is now available! These ornaments are inspired by Clement C. Moore's 1823 poem, A Visit from St. Nicholas, better known as The Night Before Christmas. The first three patterns were North Pole citizens and now we are finally into the actual text of the poem! Yay! 

'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse... Wrapped in a blanket of new fallen snow, this hand embroidered wool felt house is quiet and still on Christmas Eve, awaiting the arrival of St Nicholas. Open the little paneled door and you'll see the tiny Christmas tree inside has been carefully decorated and all is ready for the joy of Christmas morning. There are even Christmas lights decking the hall!

While this pattern is not meant for beginners, it does include two difficulty options for intermediate crafters. The harder version has a round window and curvy shingles and the easier option has a rectangle window and angled shingles. Easiest of all, save time and omit the interior and functional door altogether to make a still very charming house ornament!

(If you are a confident beginner, my Twelve Days ornament series makes a great primer, and once completed you will be ready to jump into the 'Twas the Night series.)

And because I could not resist, I included a gingerbread style option which features candy canes, gumdrops, and a round little Santa inside. Because CUTE! 

The gingerbread version is included in the pattern as a standalone option and is not intended as part of the ongoing 'Twas the Night theme, however, I will be posting color guides for the two gingerbread samples you see above, just like I do for the TTN palette samples from each pattern. Also for you gingerbread enthusiasts, I'm working with Benzie to possibly provide a standalone kit which will include the gingerbread colors/notions you will need. They are working on that option and I will update as it's available.

Mix and match styles and colors to create a whole tiny neighborhood for your Christmas tree! It takes me about three crafternoons to make an All Through The House ornament, and if you have the materials for previous 'Twas the Night ornaments already in your arsenal, you have a lot of what you need to make one. Here's a helpful post detailing some of the supplies needed. (And of course Benzie Design will be providing lovely wool felt, floss, and notions kits which coordinate with my Classic and Retro color guides.)

The 25 page detailed PDF pattern comes with an extra pattern sheet containing 15 years worth of dates to customize the back, if you are like me and appreciate the years noted on the backs of special ornaments. Just like my Twelve Days Ornament Series, these ornaments also utilize Sulky Stick 'n Stitch to make the embroidery, cutting, and pattern assembly a snap. 

More ornament designs are to follow in this series, so stay tuned. With the way the last two years have gone, I do not dare to mention specifics. I will leave it at 'as soon as I can'. For now, I will be back to working on the Ebenezer series to get the Ghost of Christmas Present underway. You can be sure you will see any updates about that right here and on my other channels.

To purchase the All Through The House pattern and any of my other heirloom Christmas ornament patterns, hop over to my Etsy shop.

All Through the House – some items you'll need

Here are some handy crafting supplies you'll need for All Through the House besides the usual wool felts, floss, and Sulky Stick n' Stitch, etc... which are used in most of my patterns. The craft stores near me are Michael's, Jo-Ann, and Hobby Lobby, and I found most of the list below at all three stores. Benzie Design also carries many of these items if you are already shopping your felt there. 

1) STIFFENED CRAFT FELTS (not to be confused with Korean hard felt - not the same)

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For either version you'll need black and white, plus:
Original: Some in your door, interior wall, and welcome mat colors (colors needed to match my original samples are bubblegum pink and red)

Gingerbread: Red and brown. If you have trouble finding brown, you can sub in more red. 

Stiffened felt is typically found in the same section of the craft store as the regular synthetic craft felt sheets. The colors are usually limited to basics. Benzie Design stocks white and black, and check with them about other colors which may come soon. The label on some of my local stash says "Kunin Felt/Friendly 9x12". It's made from recycled plastic bottles but not all stiffened felts are. Don't buy the kind with adhesive backing!

NOTE: on two of my samples I subbed in wool felt for the door, but if you do that you'll also need some stiffening spray, like Aleene's Stiffen Quik.

2) HEAVY-ISH GLITTERED CARD STOCK

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Glitter card stock is usually found in the scrapbooking section at your craft store. Avoid thin, floppy sheets. You want it to be substantial, 80-110 lb. I like the glitter to have an iridescent effect with multiple colored reflections, but crystal (no colors) also looks great.

The brand I ended up using was "Doodlebug Design Inc. 1539 Cupcake, sugar coated card stock." It is a crisp white, a nice substantial weight, and has a lovely fine ground iridescence. The other brands in the photo were lovely papers too, I just couldn't find white in those brands when I looked.

IN A PINCH: If you can't find a nice glittered card stock, choose a heavy matte white and then add fine glitter on those parts after your ornament is completed. 

3) IRIDESCENT GLITTER, MEDIUM GRIND

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Speaking of sprarkle, you'll need white iridescent glitter. A nice, medium grind is my preference because there's bigger sparkle, but some folks like finely ground. Either works. Glitter is always available at your local craft store, Wal-Mart, any store with a craft aisle, kid's crafts, etc... but you can also order it online.

4) TACKY GLUE AND FABRI-TAC

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You probably already have Tacky Glue, but you'll also need Fabri-Tac glue for this project. I can find both of these at Wal-Mart, Target, local craft/fabric stores, Benzie Design, and other online vendors. (Aleene's Quick Dry Fabric Fusion is a good substitute if you can't get Fabri-Tac, but be sure to get the QUICK DRY, not the regular. Regular won't work!)

5) A FEW SEQUINS AND GLASS BEADS

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You may already have some of these on hand from my other patterns. You'll need a few for the wreath, door knob, interior Christmas tree and light strings, and Santa's belt buckle. Either 5 mm cupped or 4 mm flat sequins work well. Size 11/0 for the beads is good. I used Benzie's glass seed beads on my samples. They come in such fabulous colors and are a joy to work with, but seed beads and 5 mm sequins are easy to find at your local craft store also.

If you are looking for 4 or 5 mm cupped sequins online in a wide variety of colors, I've ordered from this shop before and was pleased.

6) SCRAPBOOKING WEIGHT CARD STOCKS

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You'll need small scraps of various scrapbooking weight (around 80-100 lb) card stocks for the chimney, inside door cover, and hidden roof braces. I used the shimmery red stock shown above for a few of my chimneys and enjoyed that effect. Flat works great too. Look for a wide variety of these card stocks at your local craft store in the scrapbooking section.

NOTE: If the card stock you choose for the chimney is uncoated or a little flimsy feeling, consider buying a small bottle of matte Mod Podge to strengthen it with after the chimney is complete. I recently grabbed a tiny bottle of it at The Dollar Tree! Score.

7) IRIDESCENT WHITE CHENILLE STEMS

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You'll need two 12 inch iridescent white chenille stems for the exterior trees on the original version only (they are not needed for the gingerbread). Benzie carries a variety of chenille stems, including iridescent. As you can see from the above photo of my local craft store sources, these babies vary wildly. Some have white fibers included, some only have iridescent filaments. Some have a lot of white fuzz and not much sparkle. Some are thin and wispy, some are heavy and substantial. I go for the most sparkle and sturdiness if given the choice.

NOTE: If yours are kind of thin/wispy/flimsy you can opt to fill the inside of the trees with regular white chenille stem pieces instead of iridescent so the trees are not so see-through and to add more fluff. 

8) OTHER CHENILLE STEMS/PIPE CLEANERS

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If you are making the original version, you'll need a metallic tinsel stem for the Christmas tree. For the gingerbread version you'll need two cotton pipe cleaners for the candy canes/icing and a white chenille stem for Santa's beard/hair/bones and also stems for the gumdrops.

Benzie carries all of these types. I usually get my cotton pipe cleaners off Amazon because I buy lots, but you can check with your local vape/pipe store to see if they stock them also. The metallic tinsel and white chenille stems are readily available at any craft store in abundance, usually in the kid crafts section.

9) WOOD BEADS

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You may have some wood beads already from previous patterns. If you are making the gingerbread version of the house, you'll need two 8 mm wood beads, three 12 mm wood beads, and one 20 mm wood bead. I have used 8 mm and 20 mm on my people ornaments, but 12 mm is a new size. Awesome Benzie carries all three of these sizes, as it happens. You may luck out and find the correct sizes in your local craft store too. There are various online sources also, especially on Etsy.

NOTE: You will also need the paint/permanent fabric markers to color the beads for the gumdrops and Santa's body, and black, pink, and red colored pencils for his little face.

10) X-ACTO KNIFE AND RULER 

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X-Acto or similar type of craft knife with sharp blades, and a ruler to cut along. A cutting mat is great too, but you can also use a handy piece of chipboard or cardboard to protect your surface, no problem. Just don't cut right on your work surface. Ask me how I know. 

Find X-Acto knives, refill blades, rulers, and cutting mats at your local craft store, art supply store, or office supply store. Also readily available online at your major retailers and Amazon.

11) OPTIONAL:  METALLIC DMC DIAMANT 

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DMC Diamant is just lovely for metallic embroidery. If you want a little glinty glint on your Christmas tree garland or the strings of lights on the original version, I recommend this embroidery thread. Way easier to use than DMC Light Effects, IMO. It's a bit different than the cotton floss because it's one twisted thread instead of 6 strands, so sub in a doubled strand on the garland and lights. It is not needed on the gingerbread one.

I have found Diamant at my local fabric store, but not always. Benzie carries some, and of course you can find it online at DMC and other vendors. 

NOTE: Don't get the Diamant Grande. It's too thick for this.

 

I think that covers most of the unusual stuff you may not have already from working with previous patterns. Contact me at mmmcrafts.etsy.com if you have questions! Happy making, mmmakers!

*Of course, of course, wonderful Benzie Design is currently working on possible notion kits for you in addition to their 'Twas the Night Classic and Retro felt palettes, so you may be able to just add some of these as options to your wool felt order. And remember they already stock many of the needed items a la carte! I'll keep you updated re: kits.

shop news: small price increase Aug 1st

Hey wonderful Mmmakers, heads up! I'm letting you know ahead of time that starting August 1st I will be increasing the prices on my patterns for the first time since opening my shop back in 2008.

Etsy has increased their fees multiple times during the years, including just recently, and inflation is certainly not helping my costs. This last rate increase has made it impractical to keep my prices the same.

I will be posting the small increase in prices shopwide on August 1st. For instance, the cost of a single Twelve Days pattern will be $8.75 US.

I will still have my 20% off yearly sale coming in November at Thanksgiving, so no worries there. Thanks so much for your understanding and support!

Photo: a shot of some delicious Benzie felt haphazardly piled on my worktable in my usual orderly and neat-as-a-pin fashion during a pattern design. ;-)

All Through the House – new surprise inside

 

Original and Gingerbread versions are included. 
Here's a peek at the new Santa surprise inside the gingerbread house.

Three difficulty levels are included:

Harder (curvy shingles/round gable window), Easier (angled shingles, rectangle gable window) and easiest option of all – omit the interior altogether for a faster and still adorable result! Combine the style/difficulty options in any combination.

Hey guys! You might have been wondering why I've dropped off the SM planet. It's been a tough time healthwise for me and my family (several issues, won't bore you) and also with some good but time-consuming life events thrown in. I'm still working when I can. 

I've revised the pattern a number of times because I'm a crazy person and cannot help myself. After a frankly ridiculous number of hours and many reject samples, I'm now in the final stages/samples of the All Through the House pattern (number 4 in my 'Twas the Night series), which includes three difficulty levels for you (harder, easier, and easiest) and also two styles: Original and Gingerbread, which you see in the photos above.

 
NEW REVEAL shown: There's now a tiny Santa option inside the gingerbread house. I was really wrestling with that for a while trying to make it charming and still doable, and am so happy with result. Eeeeee! Cute meter pegged. My inner 8 year old Larissa is so delighted with him. I'll update you guys when the pattern is ready for release. I hope you are all doing well!