Tinkerbell

This is an ornament I wanted to make in 2014 to commemorate our trip to Disney.  I didn't have a pattern and ran out of time to design something, so it just didn't get done.  I'm glad I waited because something showed up on Pinterest this year that worked great!  First . . . a little back story.

Mariah had never been to Disney and we didn't want her to be any older before she went.  Scott had sworn about 20 years ago that he would NEVER go again, so I really had to exercise the power of persuasion to get him on board.  We decided to go in the fall when it would still be warm and the crowds would be low.  We pulled Mariah out of school for 2 days -- we are THOSE parents -- and flew down for a long weekend.  At that time of year, there's a special event called Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party.  The park opens after hours and everyone is in costume.  There's a special parade, special fireworks, etc.

Mariah had NO idea about this trip.  It was a complete surprise.  We picked her up from school at lunch time and drove straight to the airport.  We told her when we left school where we were going.  We did not, however, say one word to her about the Halloween event.  Unbeknownst to her, I had made costumes for all three of us.  I worked on them during the day when she was in school and had them stashed in our storage room.  

Our first day at Disney World was great.  Mariah bought the customary Minnie ears and wore them for the duration: 

We told her we were coming back to the hotel to rest for a bit and then go out to dinner.  When we got back to our room, we asked her to open one of our suitcases.  (It had all the costumes in it.)

Mariah was Tinkerbell, Scott was Woody, and I was Minnie.  Here are a few shots of us as we headed out for a really fun evening.  

I had big plans for making all three ornaments, but that didn't happen.  I had kind of let it go when I saw this on Pinterest:

I couldn't track down an actual pattern, so I used this as inspiration to design something and here's what I came up with:

Mariah loves it and it's the perfect souvenir for a really happy memory . . . even if it is a year late!

West Holmes Knight

I shared in an earlier post that Mariah would be starting high school this fall.  Our school's mascot is a knight, so I knew I wanted to make that into an ornament somehow.  I didn't really see a Carolyn DeAngelis pattern that I could adapt easily.  Since I can't draw, I knew I needed to buy some clipart.  I headed over to Etsy and did a search for "knight clipart."  That led me to this set, which I ultimately bought.  $6 is a bargain for the amount of images you get.

I was particularly taken by this one:

A suicide mission in terms of making an ornament, right?  Feeling bold, I decided to take the plunge and convert this to a pattern.  I really wasn't in love with the horse's head.   For starters, it's to cartoonish for me and not the look I was going for.  Secondly, I didn't like the head covering thing.  I did a Google search for horse clipart and came across this:

I figured I could do a head transplant and make something work!  It took awhile to get the pieces right and it took even longer to stitch the ornament, but it was TOTALLY worth it because I think this is probably the most magnificent ornament I've made so far.  See what you think:

And to give you an idea of the scale:  

I'm not gonna lie . . . this was a beast.  I had about 15 hours of stitching time in it and that doesn't include the time it took to design the pattern or cut the pieces.  But it was totally worth it, don't you think??  Mariah LOVES it!

I posted a picture of it on Facebook and told people they could, indeed, place orders.  The selling price?  One million dollars!  I can tell you for sure that this is a one-of-a-kind!

DISCLAIMERS:

In case anyone happens by and thinks I've stolen someone else's work or thinks I'm profiting from it:

• I purchased the clip-art.  I did not do a "right click/save as."
• I am not selling a pattern made from this clip-art.  I'm not even giving away a pattern made from this clip-art.  
• I am not selling ornaments made from this clip-art.