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! :-)

final lodestar sample almost done

Final Lodestar Tree Topper sample is almost done. This time in Benzie Design bronze metallic, gold metallic, and mustard with splashes of bright blue DMC floss. I'm a sucker for that particular color combo (as you can see), but you could very easily substitute gold, olive green, or deep red DMC floss for the blue stitching if that matches your Christmas vibe better. This one would also look next-level luxe if you subbed gold metallic felt in for the mustard felt. Oooh.

You can see in the background there^ some other samples attached to the mini trees I have set up in my studio for testing. It is really easy to attach these toppers, y'all. Just feed the lollipop stick down along the trunk and twist the tip-top branch around the stick just under the star. Then secure the stick to the trunk with a pipe cleaner or zip tie. For a live tree you would just trim the tip-top branch if needed and tuck the remainder between the lower points of the star. No more wrestling with stupid cones! *kermit arms*

After this sample is finished, I'll need to do a final (hopefully) round of changes and edits to the instructions and then start photographing all the samples. Believe me, I cannot WAIT to get this pattern in the shop. 

two new lodestar samples done, two more to go

Two more final Lodestar Tree Topper samples completed, with probably two more to go. I need to make at least one pendant version to show you, and I think I may do that one as a simplified star, without the embroidery. 

I'm working on edits to the PDF pattern instructions on the fly. Progress is slow but steady, y'all!

Shown: Benzie felts: Aqua, Julep, White, silver metallic and gold metallic

Happy Easter!

Romans 6:4-7

May this Lord's day find you healthy, happy, and surrounded on all sides by the blessings and love of God. It would not go amiss if you were also surrounded by a variety of desserts at some point with a frothy cup of coffee to top it off.

Lodestar ornaments

The upcoming Lodestar Tree Topper pattern will include a few variations, like the Christmas ornaments you see here. Out of this one pattern you will be able to make a fancy tree topper, window pendant, garland, ornaments, mini tree topper, and mini ornaments. 

I forgot to post this photo to my blog, which shows the very poinsettia-like red tree topper with the fancy new alternate 3 point rays in place. Those are also included as an option in the pattern, or you can use the original 1 point rays.

It's still going to be a while until I can release the pattern, but it's going well. I have written and illustrated the first draft, and am now making final samples and edits. The sample making will only take 1000 years. LOL Fewer if I have more coffee. It's slow stitching, y'all.

repurpose your patterns for Easter!

Introducing my new Easter patterns... Just kidding! You guys said to remind you when you can repurpose the existing Christmas patterns for other holidays, so here's your reminder for Easter!

 
French Hen and Goose a-Laying are both especially appropriate for Easter, but if you choose springtime colors really any of the bird patterns work well IMO. Even Snow Bird works! But especially if you replace the stitched snowflakes on the wings with flowers! (Embroider a simple one with Lazy Daisy stitches or maybe steal the felt flowers from the hen or swan wings?)

Get the patterns here: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

PS I'm working hard on Lodestar. I'll update on that as soon as I can.

i heart you

happy heart day!
may there be chocolate

Shown: True Love Heart ornament from my Lord a-Leaping pattern made with Benzie Design wool-blend felts, Sulky Stick n Stitch, DMC embroidery flosses. Pattern: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

Lodestar Tree Topper 2.0 and still revising

Here are the two samples of upcoming pattern #lodestartreetopper I’ve made so far. The second prototype is the pink/white one on the right. Hard to tell by looking, but I made a bunch of minor adjustments, changed the construction to be better, and made it slightly larger overall. 

hmmmmm I don’t know about that pink/red color scheme though. Something about the red stitching in the arms bothers me — they look like a circulatory system or something? LOL I may rethink the embroidery colors for the final pink version. 

What I do love on both prototypes are the pretty metallic felts from @benziedesign. They add holiday *glimmer.* I have to take a break for a couple of weeks to do other stuff but then I’ll be back with the next version. Which will hopefully be the final version. And then the real work begins to make the samples, write the instructions, draw the diagrams, etc... 

More experimental color combos coming up!

a more detailed look at the Lodestar Tree Topper

Here's a look at the completed Lodestar prototype. I posted a video of it on my IG and Facebook pages if you'd like to hop there to see it twirl.

• Size of the star itself is 11 in. wide x 11 in. tall x 2 in. deep (28 cm x 28 cm x 5 cm) and including the painted dowel lollipop stick it is 17 in. tall (43 cm).
• All hand sewn and embroidered using the Sulky Stick N Stitch wash-away stabilizer. Materials needed are wool felts, DMC flosses, thread, 5 mm and 8 mm sequins, glass beads, Pellon 70 Peltex, FabriTac permanent fabric glue, 3/16" wood dowel, matte green paint (or whatever color best matches your Christmas tree)
  
• This topper should coordinate well with any MmmCrafts ornaments. You can make it with or without the embroidery/metallics and choose coordinating colors to achieve any look you'd like. I do not have any plans to design series specific toppers, but I won't rule it out.

Included in the pattern will be a pendant version to hang in your window or doorway, which will not have a dowel (obviously) and will have the missing point of the star included in place of it. Also pondering including a matching Christmas tree ornament, but I may make that a separate pattern because it would be a good beginner project. In that case, I'd include the suggestion for how to do it in the tree topper pattern (it's basically the three outermost stars with a hanging loop added and the year on the back.) 

If you have a mini tree, for a topper you might just want to buy the future ornament pattern and squash two ornaments together over a couple of pipe cleaners or a thin dowel for the topper. And then you can make mini ornaments using only the outermost star.

The completed one shown above was made with Benzie felts: Aqua and silver metallic. I'm working right now on a new pink/white/red sample after some tweaks to the pattern (shown below). It's Benzie white wool blend and pink metallic felts.

DIFFICULTY: While this is not difficult to make by any means, it does take patience. It uses a basic backstitch for all the embroidery and a whipstitch to put it together. I suggest taking large embroidery stitches to make it go faster. I'm using about a 4 mm stitch here (3/16"). There are one million pieces and 6 pattern pages so far. LOL. If you use Sulky stabilizer for all the pieces (including the Pellon) you'll get two tree toppers from one 12 pack of Stick N Stitch. It saves a lot of time with tracing, but it does use up a lot of stabilizer.

 
I will ponder how to organize a version which will save pages of Sulky by excluding all of the non-embroidered and interfacing pieces so that those who wish to can just trace and cut out those pieces the old school way or with freezer paper. :-)

lodestar tree topper prototype

New design underway for a tree topper! I like how it's coming together so far. It's not complicated to make, but it sure takes a while. There are lots of pieces and lots of stitching, y'all.

 
It will have the same 3D layered star design on both sides so it can be viewed from either direction. (Or you can skip the back side if your tree is always against the wall. That's the lovely part of DIY.) Where's the cone, you say? I don't like dealing with those, as they never seem to work well or stay straight. This one will have a 3/16" wood dowel instead (painted to match your tree). So it will be like a star lollipop which will be secured to the tree top with your choice of pipe cleaners or zip ties and the dowel will disappear under the needles against the trunk. Easier to secure and straighten, IMO.

This design has been living in my head for a good long while, so it's nice to let it out. Lodestar means guiding star. I think it will be a nice topper for any sort of tree, because you can make it however you like in whatever colors you like, with stitching or no stitching, sparkle or sans sparkle. 

I have a few adjustments to make for the next sample, but this version is fairly close. Materials needed are wool felts (any combo of regular, metallic, or glittered), flosses, sequins, glass beads, Pellon 70 Peltex or stiffened craft felt, FabriTac glue, matching threads, 3/16 wood dowel, and paint which matches your tree color. Lots of frothy coffee, chocolate, and a nice long dialog heavy mini series you've been meaning to watch are recommended.

humbug for my schmoopie - handmade gift 2022

I'm married to a tall, slender, wonderful man who does not love the hurry scurry flurry of December. He's all about faith, family, humor, and good times, but he is just so not about the long train of sparkly events and gift wrapped expectations around Christmas Day. 

In contrast, that poor man is married to me, a procrastinating perfectionist Christmas addict who loves everything about the holidays, even the hurrying, scurrying, and especially the flurrying. So much so that I often create more hurry and scurry than strictly necessary. 

He does his best to put up with the yearly cavalcade of Christmas crazy with no comment and only a little bit of good natured grinchiness. Bless him. So this year I crafted him this specially made-with-love Humbug ornament. Cute little guy! With his grumpy wumpy face and curly green antennae. So fun to make – I was smiling the whole time.

I put it together (at the 9th hour of course!) by modifying the head of Mr Scrooge, the body of Mr Marley, and the hat from Lord a-Leaping. I used a 22 mm head instead of 20 because I wanted to exaggerate it a bit, and I elongated and slimmed down the legs to look more like my beloved real-life six-feet-four-inch Christmas curmudgeon. 

His hair, insect feet, and hands are made from mini green chenille stems, which just do not photograph very well. They are not this neon bright in real life but somehow that particular shade just really blows out in my photos.

It will be so fun to put this Humbug up on our family tree year after year! And I hope it brings a grinchy smile to my sweetie's face every time he sees it.

Ghost of Christmas Present: detailed Benzie color guides – kits available!

Ghost of Christmas Present is the fourth pattern in my Ebenezer Ornament Series. Here are the detailed felt/floss/sequin/bead color guides for you so that you can easily make spirits that look like my Benzie felt samples!

Benzie Design has long been one of my favorite places to purchase wool-blend felts. 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.

First, some handy links to get you started:

To buy the Ghost of Christmas Present pattern: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

To buy the Modern Pastel or Victorian felt palettes shown here:

Benzie Ebenezer felt palettes and notions kits

To shop their sparkle and shine:

Benzie sequins and beads and also their metallic felts

OK! Here are the color guides:

MODERN PASTEL GREEN GHOST

BENZIE FELT COLORS:*

Peach: body, urchin heads and hands

Ecru: robe/sleeve trim, urchin hair

Turquoise: robe, sleeves, and robe liners

Julep: skirt

Fern: holly leaves

Coral: urchin clothes
Gold Metallic Bellwether:** torch

Bronze Metallic Bellwether:** belt and scabbard

*Note: You will need matching floss or thread colors

**Substitute wool felt if you do not have metallic felt

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

Robe/sleeves: DMC 3851, D3852, Blanc. 5 mm red metallic sequins, Benzie 4 mm Red metallic sequins, Benzie 4 mm Rose Quartz sequins (layered on top of a few of the red), Benzie Red seed beads

Fur trim: DMC D3852. 5 mm translucent iridescent sequins, Benzie Moonstone seed beads, Benzie Red seed beads

Robe liners: DMC White, D3852

Skirt: DMC 937, 3705, D3852. 5 mm gold metallic sequin, Benzie Gold and Red seed beads.

Urchins: DMC 310, 3705

Belt: Benzie 4 mm Copper metallic sequins, Benzie Rose Gold and Teal seed beads, 5 mm apple green sequins, 8 mm Kelly green sequin, 5 mm aqua sequin. 

Scabbard: DMC D301, 5 mm kelly green sequin, Benzie Red seed beads.

Torch: DMC 3705. Benzie 4 mm Gold sequins, Benzie Gold seed beads.

Year on back: DMC 3705

*All sequins/beads sewn with gold sewing thread

OTHER NOTIONS:

Ghost hair: DMC 918

Ghost beard: copper chenille stem

Ghost mustache: reverse side of Benzie Copper Brown glitter felt

Holly crown: olive green chenille stem, green metallic tinsel stem

Torch flame: clear iridescent chenille stem

Scabbard ornament: aged bronze 6 mm mini jingle bell

Hanging Loop: DMC 5282 Metallic Pearl

*****************************

MODERN PASTEL YELLOW GHOST

BENZIE FELT COLORS:*

Peach: body, urchin heads and hands

Ecru: robe/sleeve trim, urchin hair

Ochre: robe, sleeves, and robe liners

Pink: skirt

Turquoise: holly leaves

Julep: urchin clothes, torch

Bronze Metallic Bellwether:** belt and scabbard

*Note: You will need matching floss or thread colors

**Substitute wool felt if you do not have metallic felt

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

Robe/sleeves: DMC D301, 783. 5 mm pink sequins, Benzie 4 mm Copper sequins, Benzie Rose Gold and Rose Quartz seed beads

Fur trim: DMC D3852. 5 mm translucent iridescent sequins, Benzie Moonstone, Rose Quartz and Lilac seed beads

Robe liners: DMC 991, D301

Skirt: DMC 500, 3705, D301, D3852, Benzie Red seed beads, 5 mm gold metallic sequin, Benzie Gold seed bead

Urchins: DMC 301, 3705

Belt: Benzie 4 mm Copper metallic sequins, Benzie Rose Gold, Lilac, and Teal seed beads, 5 mm iridescent translucent sequins, 8 mm pink sequin, 6 mm teal sequin.

Scabbard: DMC D301, 6 mm teal sequin, Benzie Red seed beads.

Torch: DMC D3852, Benzie 4 mm Jade Green sequins, Benzie Teal seed beads

Year on back: DMC 991

*All sequins/beads sewn with gold sewing thread

OTHER NOTIONS:

Ghost hair: DMC 434

Ghost beard: brown chenille stem

Ghost mustache: Benzie Nutmeg

Holly crown: white iridescent chenille stem, pink metallic tinsel stem

Torch flame: clear iridescent chenille stem, pink metallic tinsel stem 

Scabbard ornament: aged bronze 6 mm mini jingle bell

Hanging Loop: DMC 5282 Metallic Pearl

*****************************

VICTORIAN BLUE GHOST

BENZIE FELT COLORS:*

Peach: body, urchin heads and hands

Swan: robe/sleeve trim, urchin hair

Peacock: robe, sleeves, and robe liners

Burgundy: skirt

Copper: holly leaves, urchin clothes

Bronze Metallic Bellwether:** belt and scabbard

Silver Metallic Bellwether:** torch

*Note: You will need matching floss or thread colors

**Substitute wool felt if you do not have metallic felt

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

Robe/sleeves: DMC D168, Blanc. 5 mm pink sequins, Benzie 4 mm Magenta and Lilac sequins, Benzie Magenta, Lilac, and Amethyst seed beads

Fur trim: DMC D301. 5 mm translucent iridescent sequins, Benzie Moonstone, Lilac, and White seed beads

Robe liners: DMC D301, Blanc

Skirt: DMC 761, 3846, D301, Blanc. 5 mm iridescent translucent sequin, Benzie 4 mm Copper sequin, Benzie Rose Gold seed bead and Aquamarine seed beads

Urchins: DMC 310, 3705

Belt: Benzie 4 mm Copper and Silver metallic sequins, Benzie Rose Gold and Silver seed beads, 8 mm pink sequin, 6 mm silver sequin.

Scabbard: DMC D301, 6 mm teal sequin, Benzie Lilac seed beads.

Torch: DMC 154. Benzie 4 mm Copper sequins, Benzie Rose Gold seed beads

Year on back: DMC 761

*All sequins/beads sewn with silver sewing thread

OTHER NOTIONS:

Ghost hair: DMC 898

Ghost beard: brown chenille stem

Ghost mustache: reverse side of Benzie Bronze metallic felt

Holly crown: silver metallic tinsel stem, pink metallic tinsel stem

Torch flame: clear iridescent chenille stem, pink metallic tinsel stem 

Scabbard ornament: silver 6 mm mini jingle bell

Hanging Loop: DMC 5283 Metallic Pearl

*****************************

VICTORIAN PINK GHOST

BENZIE FELT COLORS:*

Peach: body, urchin heads and hands

Copper: robe/sleeve trim

Blush: robe, sleeves, and robe liners

Bronze: skirt

Turquoise: holly leaves, urchin clothes

Bronze Metallic Bellwether:** scabbard

Silver Metallic Bellwether:** belt and torch

*Note: You will need matching floss or thread colors

**Substitute wool felt if you do not have metallic felt

FLOSS/SEQUIN/BEAD COLORS:*

Robe/sleeves: DMC 734, 831, D168. 5 mm iridescent navy/green sequins, 5 mm teal sequins, Benzie 4 mm Marine sequins, Benzie Marine and Teal seed beads

Fur trim: DMC D168. Benzie 4 mm Rose Quartz sequins, Benzie Teal and Marine seed beads.

Robe liners: DMC 3750, D301

Skirt: DMC 3750, 3708, 919, D168. 5 mm iridescent translucent sequin, Benzie 4 mm Copper sequin, Benzie Rose Gold bead and Lilac seed beads

Urchins: DMC 310, 3705

Belt: Benzie 4 mm Copper and Teal sequins, Benzie Rose Gold and Teal seed beads, 8 mm brass sequin, 5 mm iridescent navy/green sequin.

Scabbard: DMC D301, 6 mm teal sequin, Benzie Lilac seed beads.

Torch: DMC 3708. Benzie 4 mm Copper sequins, Benzie Rose Gold seed beads

Year on back: DMC 919

*All sequins/beads sewn with silver sewing thread

OTHER NOTIONS:

Ghost hair: DMC 645

Ghost beard: gray chenille stem

Ghost mustache: matching gray card stock

Holly crown: clear iridescent chenille stem, olive green chenille stem

Torch flame: clear iridescent chenille stem, pink metallic tinsel stem 

Scabbard ornament: silver 6 mm mini jingle bell

Hanging Loop: DMC 5283 Metallic Pearl

*****************************

I hope this was helpful! These color guides can be followed exactly, but feel free to vary the choices to match your tastes and make your own unique combos. The way I've combined the Benzie Victorian and Modern Pastel felt colors are just a few of the possibilities! I'd love to see what you make. :-) #ebenezerornamentseries