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! :-)

Ghost of Christmas Present pattern now available!

I'm so happy to say that Ghost of Christmas Present is now in my Etsy shop. This pattern is the fourth in my Ebenezer Ornament Series, which is inspired by my love for Charles Dickens' spooky Victorian novella, A Christmas Carol. 

You'll find the difficulty level to be intermediate – not for beginners. If you've completed my Twelve Days Ornament Series, you are likely ready to step into the Ebenezer series! (Twelve Days is a great primer as it builds your skills when you do the patterns in order.)

Skills needed for this particular pattern are backstitch, whipstitch, French knot, drawing on the face, precision cutting/sewing/glueing of very small pieces, and working with chenille stems, beads, and sequins. This one is more complex because of the many small details, not to mention the hidden figures of Ignorance and Want inside the robe! 

As with the rest of my ornament patterns, Ghost of Christmas Present is organized into detailed step by step instructions with scads of diagrams and tips.

The pattern includes 17 years to trace and embroider on the back, if you like.

This short lived spirit is the favorite of many Dickens devotees because of his cheerful demeanor and the fact that he represents the joy, peace, and plenty of Christmas day itself. He is written as a jolly giant, wearing a long, fur-trimmed green robe and holding a magical horn-of-plenty shaped torch with which he sprinkles Christmas joy. He is wearing a holly crown and a jeweled belt, from which hangs an empty, rusty scabbard which represents the absence of war and brotherhood of man. And the best part for Dickens fans: Inside his robe are hidden the pitiable figures of Ignorance and Want, which make their startling appearance toward the end of Scrooge's time with this spirit.

Because of the many pieces, it takes about three crafternoons to make a Ghost of Christmas Present. Put on a good movie or podcast, make a hot cuppa, and enjoy the journey. All 101 steps. :-) 

Don't forget the Victorian gleam! Choosing metallic embroidery threads, tinsel/iridescent chenille stems, and metallic wool felt accents will add even more holiday sparkle to the already glittery sequins and beads.

This ornament is best constructed using Sulky Stick 'n Stitch, which makes the process much faster, easier, and more accurate. If you already have the materials on hand to make Scrooge, Marley, or the Ghost of Christmas Past, you might just need a few more things like metallic wool felt, tinsel and regular chenille stems, and an optional mini jingle bell. There's a full materials list on the first page of the pattern shown below. Click to zoom:

The sparkle of spirits you see above were all made with the same two Benzie Ebenezer color palettes I curated for the rest of the series. I exercised a bit of artistic license in the color of the robes and crowns #becausecolors. I wanted to show you some possibilities with different hair colors too. (Did you know the spirit's hair is initially brown but turns gray with age by the time he disappears?) I also wanted to show the option to make the mustache from card stock (zoom in on the gray haired spirit) if you don't want to purchase a sheet of wool felt just for that tiny mustache. 

Pro tip: If you are buying it anyway or have some already on hand, check out the wool sides of Benzie's metallic and glitter felts for possible mustache colors. The back of the Bellwether bronze metallic felt is a nice warm brown and made excellent mustaches for both of my brunette samples, and the mustache on my redhead is the back of the Bellwether copper glitter felt. As a bonus, the backing makes the tiny tiny pieces less likely to fray apart.

Because chenille stems come in limited colors, I recommend buying the chenille stem for the beard first and then choose matching DMC floss hair and felt (or card stock) for the beard to match. 

I will be publishing detailed color guides for these samples soon. Ish. Those will coordinate directly with the amazing felt/floss/notions kits put together for your buying convenience at Benzie Design! 

To purchase the instantly downloadable PDF pattern, visit my Etsy shop. :-) 

handy tips to troubleshoot your Etsy downloads

Having a bit of trouble? Here are a few tips which will make your Etsy purchasing and downloading experience go smoothly!

1) Avoid signing in to Etsy with other apps, like Facebook or "Sign In With Apple"
Instead, log in using your actual email address and password. 90% of the troubleshooting messages I get are due to these two issues:

a) A shopper has purchased via a second Etsy account which they created accidentally by signing in with a different app like Facebook or Google, or because they forgot their password.

b) A shopper used Apple's secure sign-in feature, which substitutes a temporary relay email for their real email address and thereby jams a wrench in the download verification spokes. (You can manage which of your apps use this feature to avoid this going forward.)

2) Use a current, valid email address.
Etsy downloads are keyed to the email address on your account or the one used for your guest purchase. If there's an old email address on your account, it will cause weeping and gnashing of teeth. Please note: I do not email patterns as they are generally too large to attach to an email. Downloading them from Etsy is the fastest and best way to receive them. Here's how to update your Etsy email.

3) Forgot your password?
No worries, happens to us all. Try this. 

4) To download, use Etsy.com (not the mobile Etsy app).
The Etsy mobile app and the Etsy website are two different ways to access your account. The Etsy app is great to make and manage purchases on your mobile, but alas, the Etsy app cannot download your digital files. To download from either a mobile device or computer use a browser (like Safari or Chrome) and go to Etsy.com*.
 
*Your phone may try to 'help' by automatically opening the Etsy app if you go to Etsy.com. Be sure to dismiss the app if that happens. If it's causing confusion, try closing the app or using a desktop or laptop to download.

5) If you get a permissions error when trying to access your downloads, chances are it's because of a third party login or a second Etsy account (see no. 1). Contact me via Etsy with your name and/or order number and I will happily check on it for you.

6) Need to re-download? No problem.
Access your patterns anytime in your purchase history at Etsy.com. For a guest purchase, you must download via the links in your Etsy email receipt.

7) Back up your Etsy guest purchase in your account.
If you purchased as a guest (without logging in to your Etsy account) the only way to download your patterns is via the Etsy email receipt. It's easy to connect your guest purchase to your Etsy account so that you may access it later.

8) If possible, print via a desktop or laptop computer as opposed to a mobile device. You'll find the print menu has more options which allow you to override presets and print the pattern pages at the correct size.

STILL STUCK? No worries, please contact me via Etsy and I'm happy to help you! I can check on your order and try to help you troubleshoot.

Things I can't do:

- Resend your Etsy email receipt. Those are generated magically by wizards at Etsy. Or possibly by other means. If it's missing, check your spam/junk folders.

- Refund orders which have already been downloaded. Unless it is a duplicate pattern order. Those I'm happy to refund! Just contact me via my Etsy shop.

- Look up your felt/floss/materials kit orders. Those are not purchased from my shop and you should contact the vendor directly with any questions.

- Solve your general internet, computer, or printer issues. Keep in mind I'm an art major. I do try, but there is only so much I can do remotely, and I'm 100% not an IT expert. If you are having technical difficulties, it's better to ask a savvy someone close by who can look over your shoulder.

- Email all your patterns to you. Typically they are too large to attach to emails and it is not a reliable way to send them. If you accidentally made a purchase using an inaccessible email, I'm happy to cancel and refund any order you did not download so you can try again with a valid email address.

- Send printed patterns via snail mail. Even if you kindly offer to pay shipping, I do not have the capacity or time to ship printed patterns to either hither or yon. 

Thanks, y'all! :-)

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.

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. ;-)

*New* Ebenezer 1-3 pattern bundle in the shop!

*New* discounted pattern bundle in the shop! The Ebenezer Ornament Series 1-3 bundle! Buy it as a bundle and save a little jingle. This PDF pattern bundle includes:

1) Mr Scrooge 

2) Mr Marley and 

3) Ghost of Christmas Past 

As the Ebenezer series grows, I'll add more bundles.
To shop: mmmcrafts.etsy.com

Thank you and get crackin' :-)

Wow! Thanks so much for making this year’s sale the best ever! Y’all got some serious sewing to do! Chop chop! :-) Love to see what your clever hands are making, so be sure to tag me on Instagram with @mmmcrafts or post to my FB page! And merry merry merry mmmaking to you, wherever you are on this beautiful planet!

Shown: Mrs Claus ornament pattern, the 2nd pattern in my #twasthenightornaments. She's made using Benzie Design's lovely felts, sequins, and glass beads. Here's the color guide and link to kits:

https://mmmcrafts.blogspot.com/2020/01/mrs-claus-detailed-benzie-color-guides.html

All my patterns are available exclusively in my Etsy shop.

all new releases on hold for now, please read this post

Where to begin. I'll just dive in. My family is currently in the middle of a medical emergency* that began three weeks ago. While Ghost of Christmas Past is very close to completion, the release is on hold and will be on hold for at least a few weeks while God gets us through this. Your prayers are very welcome.

*See update below!

2021 has presented a series of hard personal challenges to me beginning with the illness and death of my Dad in January and including my own health issues, but I've been coaching myself this whole time that there is no problem, still plenty of time to catch up on my design goals for this year. With this latest challenge, I must face facts. Catching up is just not realistic and I need to reset my goals:

1. I still plan to release Ghost of Christmas Past as soon as I am able. I cannot say when that will be but hopefully in the next few weeks. God willing.
2. I cannot guarantee any other releases this year. I humbly apologize, I know many of you were looking forward to the releases. I was too. God has different plans for me.
3. As time allows after Ghost is released, I will be tackling the next pattern and will release it this fall if at all possible. It may not be possible.
4. The shop is open for now. I'm available and happy to assist with questions via the shop. You'll get your speediest answer there, as opposed to FB or IG. There may be a time coming when I need to close my Etsy shop temporarily, but I will keep it open if I can.
5. This blog is a huge resource for tips, tutorials and links while you work on my projects. Have a look through my sidebars and nav buttons to get started.

As always, I so appreciate your patience and support. Once again, I do sincerely apologize for the delay. I will update more when I can.

MEDICAL UPDATE: Thank you thank you thank you for your prayers and encouraging messages, wonderful folks! This man right here came home from the hospital after eleven long days. He is 12 lbs down, poked full of holes, exhausted, but making very steady progress day by day. It will be a long time 'til he's back to normal, but what counts is now he's HOME. Thank you, merciful God!
(Photo is from his birthday a few months ago.)

Mr. Marley pattern is now available!

At last! Mr. Marley, the second pattern in my Ebenezer Ornament Series, is now in the shop. This series is inspired by my love for Charles Dickens' spooky Victorian novella, A Christmas Carol. This pattern series is intermediate – not for beginners. If you've completed my Twelve Days Ornament Series, you are ready to step into Ebenezer! (Twelve Days is a great primer as it builds your skills when you do the patterns in order.)

Skills needed are backstitch, whipstitch, drawing on the face, precision cutting of small pieces (and some are like super small), beading, and working with jump rings and basic jewelry tools. No worries, as with all my ornament patterns, Mr. Marley is organized into detailed step by step instructions with lots of diagrams and tips.

The ghostly Mr. Marley ornament is sporting his 'usual' pigtail, waistcoat, tights, and tasseled boots. His spectacles in death are just as they were in life, pushed up on his forehead, and he wears a folded kerchief bound around his head and chin. He holds the long chain which he forged in life, complete with money jingle boxes, padlock, key, and money purse.

I love the look of metallic stitching with this series, and I've discovered a DMC thread that is a lot easier to work with than the DMC Light Effects: DMC Diamant is a twisted single strand metallic embroidery thread. I love it! A good bit easier to work with than the six strand Light Effects for the decorative embroidery! (You will still need Light Effects to make the little tassels if you want those in metallic finish.) 

Note: if you use Diamant for the embroidery, ignore the number of strands I have specified for that step and just use a double strand of Diamant, or a single strand of Diamant Grande.

I will have to just do a blog post on all the different types of DMC metallic floss. I seem to use them all in this one series! LOL Of course. All the things. 

Just like my other heirloom ornament patterns, it takes about two crafternoons to make a Mr. Marley. He doesn't have as much embroidery as some others, but he's a bit more complicated because of the handmade charms and spectacles. (You can always opt to purchase similar sized charms if you like!)

He's constructed using Sulky Stick 'n Stitch, which makes the process so fast and accurate. If you already have the materials on hand to make Scrooge, you just need a few more things like chain, jump rings, jingle bells, metallic card stock, metallic wool felt, and wire. I posted about that recently.

A shot of the fellas together. My Mr. Marley samples are made with the same two Benzie color palettes I used for my Mr. Scrooge samples. Here are the detailed color guides for Marley, and you can find the kits that go with them at amaaaaaazing Benzie Design! 

beware listing spoofers

ALERT: It has come to my attention there is at least one pirate site that has stolen my Etsy listings, including my words, photos, and even the customer reviews. They look just like my Etsy listings, except the website is not Etsy. The spoofer lures folks in by pretending to be me and pricing my patterns at half the cost of my Etsy shop. BEWARE: They are actually phishing sites that capture your financial and personal data instead of sending you the product.

It’s not just my own listings. I’ve seen several other reputable Etsy sellers I’m familiar with have also had their listings stolen by the same site, even listings for actual hard to fulfill items instead of digital listings. And this is likely not the only pirate site out there. I’m not including the link here for obvious reasons.

SO HOW DO YOU KNOW IF IT’S A PIRATE SITE? In my case, that’s easy. The ONLY place I sell my pattern downloads is mmmcrafts.etsy.com

If it ain’t my Etsy shop, it’s a pirate site, and is in direct violation of DMCA and US copyright laws. My lawyer is aware of the site and we are gathering information. Be careful out there in Internet Land, y’all. #meanpeoplesuck

Mr. Scrooge pattern is now available!

Mr. Scrooge, the first release in my new Ebenezer Ornament Series, is now available! This series is inspired by the beloved Victorian era novella, A Christmas Carol, by Charles Dickens. The series is going to be ornate, sparkly and a wee bit spooky. I'm excited about it.

The scowling Mr. Scrooge ornament features an ornate Victorian tasseled night cap, night shirt, dressing gown, slippers, and candlestick. This is a detailed project with lots of tiny pieces, so it's not a beginner's pattern, mind. However, if you've successfully completed the people ornaments in the Twelve Days series or 'Twas the Night series, you will feel right at home with Ebenezer. 

One of the ways to make these ornaments look really special is to use metallic embroidery flosses (DMC Light Effects), but those can be a bit more challenging to work with than the cotton flosses. You have to be patient, use short lengths, thread them in parts, and be conscious of pulling each of the strands snug as you go. But! Used as accents in the embroidery, metallic flosses really take the look of the ornament up a notch. 

Similar to my other heirloom ornament patterns, it takes about two crafternoons to make a Mr. Scrooge. It's constructed using very similar methods to my other series, including Sulky Stick 'n Stitch (a magical wash away adhesive stabilizer that makes construction fast, easy, and accurate). If you already have the materials needed to make my other people ornaments, you probably have most of what you need to make a Mr. Scrooge. 

The 19 page PDF pattern comes with 26 years worth of years to trace on the back of his dressing gown, if you are like me and like having the year written on the back of your special ornaments.

You can buy the pattern here! Check this Ebenezer resource page for even more information on this pattern series. 

KITS COMING: All the samples you see in this post were made with lovely Benzie Design wool-blend felts, sequins, and beads. They will be graciously supplying lovely kits for this pattern if you'd also like to make them in the same colors you see here. There are two different color palettes: Victorian and Modern Pastel. More details on that are coming soon. Benzie have been standing at the ready for weeks to compile the kits, but it is me that's been tortured with indecision and slow to provide them the details! (Sorry, Crystal! You guys are awesome.)