'Twas the Night: Santa and Mrs Claus

I hoarded my Twelve Days of Christmas ornaments for two years until I got them all done before I shared them with you.  That designer has started releasing a new set of patterns and I decided to share them as I go.  Mostly because this Santa and Mrs. Claus are so fantastic they make me want to weep and I wanted you to see them.  

I know some of you probably think they're too difficult.  I swear -- they're not.  Her directions are SO clear.  It's just like putting together a puzzle.  And she gives you sources for where to order various things if you want to . . . and shows several different color ideas.  She is just a fantastic designer.  There are even links on her website to people who sell the painted heads.  It's a little hard to tell in these pics, but I used glitter felt for the coats and the white trim.  They are so sparkly and amazing, I could just look at them all day long.  I am beside myself thinking about what other designs will be in this series.  Just think about it:

Not a creature was stirring, not even a MOUSE!
The CHILDREN were nestled all snug in their beds!
MAMA in her kerchief!

If there is anything remotely resembling a miniature sleigh with eight tiny reindeer, I will lose my mind.  

Her details take a little time.  Take a look:

That package is stiffened felt that's stitched, but she also includes directions for how to do that from cardstock.  That mistletoe ball is a wood bead covered in tiny glass beads and you can get those at Joann Fabrics.  The candy cane is a white pipe cleaner wrapped in red embroidery floss.  They require a little patience, but they're so worth the extra time.  

My biggest dilemma:  Which one to enter in the fair????



Links to purchase the patterns
Santa
Mrs. Claus



PLEASE NOTE:  I will admit to leaving fan-girl comments on the designer's Facebook page and she has acknowledged those.  That is the extent of my communication with her.  I didn't receive a free pattern for this post and I'm sure she doesn't even know this blog exists.  I saw these patterns when she posted them on Facebook and I followed the link.  

Good Cheers

I do a mouse every year for my mom and I've about run through them all.  And then I started converting bear patterns to mice patterns simply by changing the head.  I Googled, "Christmas mouse" and found an image of a caroling mouse in a top hat.  That immediately made me think of the Carolyn DeAngelis pattern called Good Cheers:

All I had to do was change the head and add some ears and I was in business!  The shape of my house head was actually round like the original pattern.  Something about attaching that hat pulls the sides in right there where they come together.  I'll have to monkey around with that on future patterns.  I know my mom will love him.  

Father Christmas

My oldest nephew, Alex, is twenty and he's kind of at a stage in life where there aren't any specific ornaments that relate to where he is right now.  I've already done one of his college mascot and made Pierre to represent his study abroad trip to France.  He's not an athlete and doesn't really have any hobbies because all he does is study.  I decided to go a little generic and just do a Christmas-related ornament.  I thought this would be a good opportunity to do one I haven't made before, so I settled on Father Christmas.  This went together relatively quickly and I think he looks great.  I'll definitely be making this one again!

Beauties from Kathy

Kathy has been a very busy stitcher!  I always get excited when she makes an ornament that I've never made before.  It's always nice to see a new pattern worked up!

This is Father Christmas and he's just beautiful.  I particularly like the deep red color Kathy used for his coat.  He's definitely going on my must-stitch list!

 

This little guy is Good Cheers.

This is Kane.  It's always cool to see one I've done before.  I like to see the personal twist each stitcher puts on the ornaments.  Here's my version of Kane.  I particularly like Kathy's candy cane.  She didn't take the cheater's way out and use pipe cleaners like I did!

There are several cute patterns for cars and I haven't done any of them.  I'm holding out for when my oldest nephew turns 16 next year.  This is Rolling Roadster and it's a really cute pattern!

Here's Kathy's version of Soldier Boy.  I like it SOOOO much better than mine!  This is a good example of how color choice can really make or break an ornament.  My neck turned out weird, too.  I'll have to put Kathy's and mine side-by-side and see what I can do differently the next time.

Thanks so much, Kathy, for taking photos of your ornaments and sharing them with the rest of us!  I hope all you other stitchers out there will do the same!

Kathy's Ornaments

I first introduced you to Kathy in this post.  Her aunt had made Carolyn DeAngelis ornaments for Kathy's family when Kathy was young.  She wanted to make them herself so I sent her the patterns and she got to work.  Here are the first CDA ornaments she made herself and they are BEAUTIFUL!!

 Green Christmas

Carol & Karl Singer

Katrina

I always love to see the different color combinations that everyone uses.  It gives me new ideas!  Kathy -- we need to know where you got the blades for Katrina's ice skates!

Soldier Boy

I made this little guy to have on hand in case I need a quick gift this Christmas.  If I'm honest, he's not my favorite.  His arms are a little long for my taste.  Sometimes the ornaments are cuter on paper and I think this is one of them.  The faces sometimes look nice and round and then once you get them stitched and stuffed, the bottom of the face pulls down into the neck.  I added the buttons to give him a little bling.

Maybe not my favorite . . . . but still pretty cute!!

New Ornament Friends

I am so very excited that not one, but FOUR, Carolyn DeAngelis fans have found this blog and contacted me in the past month!  I wonder what the explanation for THAT happy coincidence is???  Whatever the reason, I'm so excited that our little community has expanded . . . okay, TRIPLED!

Kathy, a new friend who is, ironically, located not all that far from me has some CDA ornaments that her aunt made for her family when she was young.  She would like to start making them herself, so she did a little searching and found the blog.  She was gracious enough to share photos of her aunt's ornaments and I thank her for allowing me to share them here so we can all enjoy them!

Al Pine

Angelica

Carol Singer

Anyone know the name of this one?  I don't have him in my pattern collection!

Claude

Elf Himself the XII

Gogassett

Hop A Bit

Karl Singer

Lollipop Linda

Mom Hopper

Octavius

Sandy

Smart Cookie

Snow Bird

Snug Bug

Sunbonnet Sally

Tootsie

 Traffic Stopper

Timothy

I did Timothy as the second installment in my series of mice for baby Allyson, daughter of my friend, Rachel. This is one of only a few ornaments that Ouida, Clif, and I have all made.

Clif's version of Timothy

Ouida's version of Timothy

We're not very creative, are we? They all look the same!!


Further evidence of the old adage: GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE!

Hitch Hiker

This is part of my mouse collection that I do for my mom each year. I liked that mouse on the moon that I did for Allyson so much that I decided to do this one. You might think that it's laborious because the pieces are so tiny. It's really not. Both of these little mouse ornaments went together very quickly. It's true -- that little hand and tail are no picnic, but the pieces are so tiny that they don't take long to stitch. I don't even bother trying to stuff that mouse tail. I either use a piece of craft wire, or I trim all the fuzziness off a pipe cleaner and use that.

(Incidentally . . . take the time to go to the tobacco shop to get real pipe cleaners. The wire is stiffer and they're not nearly as fuzzy.)

There's more glue holding this one together than anything else I've done. I couldn't figure out how to engineer it otherwise. Glue or not . . . look how cute he is!



And now that he's done, you know what that means: ONE FOR ME!

Missus Mouse

This one is for my mother. Our family has a long-standing love for handmade Christmas ornaments and I've made my mother a felt one each year since I've started making them. I added a few doodads to this one, which isn't something I normally do. I gave her a plaid bow in her hair and I thought her hands looked like they needed something, so I gave her a package.

Holy Family

Here are Mary, Jesus, and Joseph to accompany the kings I made for my friend, Lisa, last Christmas. Nothing too spectacular in the way of changes. I first stitched Joseph's moustache to his face, but you couldn't see it at all. I took it off, cut a second moustache from felt and stitched the two layers together. Then I glued it on. It looks much better.

Yule Mouse

Didn't this little guy turn out cute? I made the Claudette mouse a couple of years ago (before I started taking pictures) for my mother. I made this little guy to go with her. I added a 2nd arm and stitched the bell. Business as usual other than that!

Kane

I'd just bought this pretty pinkish/plum wool felt and wanted to use it right away. What little girl doesn't love a pink coat? I used a 1/8" hole punch to make the buttons on her coat. The candy cane is made from white & pink pipe cleaners twisted together.

Claude

I can't help but think of Tom & Jerry every time I look at this little guy! Glitter felt again on the clothes -- I was on a roll. His tail is stuffed with a pipe cleaner. I made the effort to get real pipe cleaners from a tobacco store. Ouida had told me they were better the craft ones and they are. The wire is stiffer and they're not as fuzzy. The little tree is decorated with tiny glass beads that I stitched on.

Karl Singer

I used glitter felt on Karl's hat and, like Carol, I added a white page to his book. 3-dimensional arms again, too.

Carol Singer

For Carol, I used glitter felt on the coat and hat. I added the holly leaves and berry to the hat and put a white page in the book. I made 3-dimensional arms like I always do when the pattern arms are flat. (I hate that.)

Herald Angel

It's been a long time since I posted, but I've been busy with ornaments! The first one I did in 2010 was the Herald Angel.

This will be the 2nd ornament for my friend's daughter, Audrey. This past Christmas, I gave her the Sweet Dreams angel sleeping on the cloud. I stitched down all the little flowers. I added a pipe cleaner halo and also used a pipe clean for the star wand. The pattern didn't show a foot and I thought that looked weird, so I took one from another pattern and used it here.

Yule Man for You All

This guy is really cute . . . until you make 5 of him in a row! He got a little old pretty quick since there was no real way to vary him. This was the Christmas gift for my choir and piano boys. I added a pompom for the nose and hat ball instead of stitching a felt circle.

Nativity Kings

Here are my completed nativity kings. I love them! I made them for a Puerto Rican friend who celebrates Epiphany each January. Here are some changes I made to the patterns:

• I used 3 different skin tones: brown, tan, and an Asian-sort of fleshy yellow.


• I gave the "Asian" king some Asian-shaped eyes.


• Obviously, I added some beads and sequins along the way!


• I made the arms 3-D. Instead of cutting only one layer and stitching them down flat to the fronts of the bodies . . . I cut two layers, stuffed them, and sewed them onto the bodies when I stitched the bodies together. This meant stitching through 4 layers of felt along the outside edge of the arms, but the three 3-D effect is worth it!


• I also made the gifts 3-D by cutting two layers and stitching & stuffing.


• The gift in the hand of the Asian king is actually upside down. I just liked that shape better!