Star Ornament Tutorial

O.k., so you guys already know that I love to figure out how to do stuff, right? Well, I do. That's one of the main reasons that I can't just follow someone else's tutorial or pattern (or recipe) without making adjustments or additions of my own. One I have the basics down (or at least think that I do), I am almost always compelled to see what else I can do with it.

That's how this ornament came about. I made the felt tree topper star, and learned how to 1) make permanent creases in felt by whip-stitching and 2) make a three-dimensional star. I LOVE my tree star, but I prefer that my stars have an odd number of points. Typing that out makes it sound weird and compulsive... maybe it is... at any rate... I wanted to see if I could make a 3-D five-pointed star. I can. And now you can, too.

Now, keep in mind that I am a complete amateur and I have zero patience, so my stitches are almost never even, and at least one area will require that you look at it with soft, unfocused eyes. That said, let's start crafting!

Rachel's Felt Star Ornament

materials:

felt (wool or craft - this project is small enough that you can get away with craft squares)
thread that matches the felt
embroidery floss (choose a color that compliments the felt - preferably a metallic ;-) )
star templates
needle that can accommodate 2 strands of embroidery floss at a time

method:

I used white craft felt with silver glitter in it. This means that I used white thread and silver embroidery floss. I now have plans to make future stars using combos such as aqua felt with copper floss or hot pink with glossy black... you get the picture.

I traced and scanned stars for you - you're welcome ;-) Wait, I have no idea how to add PDF files to my blog. dammit. Fine, I'll turn them into jpeg files and get back to you... crap... :-O Ya'll, I am freaking.out. I put both stars on the scanner and hit 'scan'. My super-smart printer turned them into 2 separate image files. Awesome!

SO, the star with the dotted lines is your front piece, and the plain star with the skinny arms is your back piece. Cut out one of each.

The lines on the front piece are lines that you will sew down using a tiny whip stitch

First, mark the center of your star - front and back. I would NOT suggest using a Sharpie or a pencil - I used a pencil on my first try, and ended up with a mark that I had to cover later. I would suggest using a tiny stitch in the same color as the star.

Flip your star over so that the back side is up. If you are not using felt that has glitter on the front, pick a side, and call it the back.

Following the tiny dotted lines, and using the thread that matches your felt, whip a very shallow seam from the interior corners to the center of the star. It helps to match up the adjacent points - this creates a straight line from corner to center:

Once you have done that to all 5 corner-to-center lines:

flip the star over so that the 'front' is facing up. Following the dashed lines, and using the embroidery floss (I used 2 strands at a time), whip stitch a slightly deeper seam from the tip of each point to the center. Once you have found your seam line, pin it thus-ly - this keeps the felt from shifting as you stitch:

If you made a super-ugly mark in your center and need to cover it up, attach a bead that is too big and looks weird:

Then go back and remove the bead, for it is ugly. Replace it with random embroidery stitches:

Alright, here's the part where you just wing it... or at least that's what you do if you're me. Starting with a corner (not a point), line up your front and back pieces. Using the embroidery floss, whip stitch the two pieces together:

Notice that this is where my 'skills' let me down. For some reason, I can manage a fairly even-looking stitch down the points, but when it comes time to join the pieces, it all goes whonky. This is a case of 'do as I say, not as I do.'  Especially when it comes to the pointy bits. My original template for the back piece was slightly shorter than the front piece. This meant that I had to fudge the ends of each point. They look ridiculous. I even tried to only photograph the edges without including the points. My camera isn't good enough for close-ups that small :-/

Luckily for you, the scanner made the stars the same size. Yay for technology! Anyway, there it is. whonky points and all. My Star Tutorial :-) You'll get a picture of the finished product if and when I finish one and remember to photograph it before I give it away.

Um, I Made Some More Stuff

... I can't seem to stop!

To be fair, these last two things really needed to be done.

Thing #1: A tree top star:

We've been married for 15 years. In allllll that time, we've never found a tree topper that we liked. Early on, I found a sticks-twisted-into-an-angel ornament that we've used a few times and I've even stuck a bow up there on occasion, but nothing was ever exactly what we wanted. This year was finally different. I was staring forlornly at the bare tree top while finishing the shell garland. Then it hit me - crafting fever. I simply walked over to my computer, typed in 'star tree topper tutorial' and this was one of the first links!

I love it. It looks very homemade, and that just increases the charm for me :-) It's from a site called The Purl Bee that I will be stalking from now on ;-) The only modification that I made was to add beads in the creases.

Thing #2: A new bag for Lily Ruth:

Someone told me that traveling with a child can be easier and/or more fun if you have a few items that are brand new for them to use/play with during the trip. The first time that we flew with her, I stayed up late the night before hand-stitching my first felt bag. The bag and it's contents were a big hit and a big help. Now it's a tradition (at least it is in my head) for me to make a new bag for each trip. This time around, I wanted to be a bit more adventurous, and I wanted to step out of my felt comfort zone. I had already spent a few sleepless hours designing and over-designing a bag in my head (think zippers and interior divisions). Thank goodness for crafting fever. Flushed with the success of my tree top star, I sat down and googled 'toddler bag tutorial'. After wading through some goofiness, this incredible tiny messenger bag came up. It was too cute not to try!

I used a tutorial with pattern from Craftbuds. It was incredibly easy to follow, and the entire project only took me about 4 hours (including hand-beading the exterior pocket).

The only modifications I made were to move the exterior pocket down (so that my beading would show), and to use hardware on the strap - I wanted it to be adjustable. I'm telling ya'll now - if Lily Ruth doesn't love this bag, I'm totally stealing it to use as a purse. It's just. that. cute.

Do YOU have crafting fever? Do I need an intervention?

Crafting Fever

I've caught it, ya'll... and I've got it baaaaaad. Crafting fever. I simply must make things. Right now.

I'm not dumb. I know that I'm smack dab in the middle of a giant coping mechanism - I mean honestly, nobody needs to finish multiple craft projects in one day - but as coping mechanisms go, this one's pretty benign and lots of fun.

In addition to finally finishing two throw pillows (WITH zippers!):

I made a bracelet for Lily Ruth (she picked out the beads herself!):

Picked up the felt ornament project again. I have finished 8, I have gotten 3 more to the just-need-detail-work stage AND I have templates for 6 more!:

Made a quickie garland (using clear lanyard lacing and felt stickers) for Lily Ruth so that she can have some Christmas of her very own in her room:

And am FINALLY re-stringing a garland of tiny shells and tiny beads that has adorned my grandfather's Christmas trees from the time he was a boy. The original thread had begun to deteriorate badly and the original beads were no longer shiny. SO, restrung with shiny new beads it is!:

I am enjoying this burst of creative energy. I really love to make things. Now, if only I could somehow channel this energy into a money-making enterprise, I'd be SET. In the mean time, I have the materials for 2 more pillowcases, some sock to turn into leg warmers (I know, I'm out of control), and an Advent calender to finish. YAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYY!

Holiday Madness 2010

Well, here we are again, folks. The Holiday Season. I do not function well around the holidays. I point to the following things as potential reasons why:

1. I used to work in the hospitality industry. I've spent 98% of the Thanksgivings and Christmas Eves/Days of my adult life at work in either a restaurant or a spa. While there is something to be said for 'being there' for strangers on a holiday, there is also a lot to be said for being with your own family. The fact is that if you work in customer service, you do not have a choice. You work.

2. We married young, and my husband's family lives in another city. That means that since we were still considered the kids,  if we did (by some miracle) get a holiday off, we were expected to travel to see them instead of beginning our own family traditions. This was fine while we were still young married folk (and I love to see them), but we aren't the kids anymore. In fact, we have our own kiddo now, and she deserves her own traditions.

3. I suffered severe emotional trauma around the holidays two years in a row. For the last one, I was pregnant. While there is nothing bad going on these days, I'm still mentally girded for battle. Apparently my brain refuses to be caught off guard again...

Well, reasons for me to act like a lunatic aside, we began to start our own holiday traditions last year and we've continued that trend this year. I hope to have a groove that suits us started by next year. Mostly, this means that we're going to stay in our own home and invite others to share in our joy... on our terms :-P We're just going to hole up with each other, good food and a reasonable amount of alcohol.

I've also been busy crafting to ward off any lurking holiday funk. I made a bag for Lily Ruth to carry CeeCee and all doll associated items.

It's basically the same as her felt bags, but I used fabric on the outside, turned the seams inward and added a flap. I should have measured better as it's too big for Lily Ruth. I thought that I was being super-duper careful, but I second-guessed my original measurements and added inches where they were not needed :-/ She still uses it to carry CeeCee, Elmo, Ernie, Grover and Abby all at the same time soooo... mission accomplished!

I started a set of holiday felt toys/ornaments for Lily Ruth so that she has Christmas stuff of her own to play with... since she's not allowed to play with 99% of the ornaments on the tree... and I don't want to feel like the grinch who won't let the baby touch any of the cool stuff. I'm not done with them yet, but here are the templates for the first 15. I hope to have 24 by next year to use as an Advent calendar.

candy cane, Christmas light, stocking, snowman, wreath & holly

angel, jingle bell, santa hat & various trim

present, snowflake, ornament, tree top star, gingerbread man, tree, gold star

I finally ordered all of the prints for the photo project that I've been contemplating for over a year. They arrived yesterday, so I should have them ready to give as gifts!!! I can't tell you about them yet. It would ruin the surprise. I'll post pics of the toy/ornaments and the photo projects when they're done :-)

Oh, and I found Lily Ruth's yearly ornament! Last year's was a rubber duckie in a Santa hat (because of her love of baths). Today I found a coffee cup that looks like a to-go cup... because she adores coffee -

That's my angel with her BFF Henry. She's drinking actual (cooled) coffee while Henry pushes her along.

Ahhhhhhhh the Holidays. Thank you Lord for the many blessings in my life. Please help me to remember how truly loved and lucky I am when I start acting like an ungrateful jerk. Amen.