Jack and Mrs. Sprat

I love the various storybook/nursery rhyme characters that Carolyn DeAngelis designed and I try my best to do one each year for my tree.  This year, I chose Jack Sprat and his wife.  I love the vintage feel they have and I chose bright colors.  I love how they turned out! 

The Mandalorian

We're big Star Wars nerds, so we were excited when the new TV show, The Mandalorian, came out.  Caleb's boyfriend, Alex, is also a big Star Wars and Mandalorian fan.  I couldn't find a pattern, so I went in search of clipart.  I wanted to provide a link, but it looks like the shop isn't on Etsy anymore.  😟  You'll just have to trust me that that's what I did.  The clipart set also included Baby Yoda, so of course I did that, too.  These were not for the faint of heart.  Lots of details means lots of pieces.  LOTS.  OF.  PIECES.  But they both turned out great and Alex was thrilled.  

Bernie Sanders

Sometimes I peruse felt ornament patterns on Etsy just for fun.  (Mainly when I'm procrastinating about doing something else.)  That's what I was doing when I ran across this pattern for Bernie Sanders.  Regardless of how you voted, this shot of Bernie at the inauguration is forever frozen in history and I thought this pattern perfectly captured it with the right amount of detail and humor.  I wound up making three of them this year for gifts and all the recipients loved it!  The first thing everyone said was, "THE MITTENS!"  

Disclaimer:  I'm just sharing resources here . . . . I don't receive any sort of kickbacks for recommending a pattern.  If I like it, I think one of you might like it, too.  

Flamingo

Caleb loves all things tropical.  Pineapples, flamingos, watermelon, hula girls . . . . and the tackier, the better.  His classroom decor is even tropical-themed this year.  I thought he definitely needed a festive flamingo on his tree, so I went in search of a pattern and found this one.  It turned out great and Caleb loved it.  

You'll notice that the top wing is a little sparkly.  A couple felt pattern designers I follow are starting to use this new glitter felt that's on the market.  I have glitter felt from Joann, but it's like regular felt with some glitter sprinkled on it.  This is felt backed and has a very thorough coating of fine glitter on the front.  It's beautiful  It's stiffer than regular felt and a little more challenging to get a needle through, but not impossible.  I would never do an entire ornament from it.  It would take forever and would be too stiff, not to mention the expense!  But it adds a really nice bit of sparkle. 

It's heinously expensive and not for the casual crafter.  I asked for a sample pack for my birthday and got the 6"x 9" sheets.  That should keep me in business for a while.  I got it from an Etsy shop called Benzie because that's the shop recommended by the designers I follow.  Click here if you're interested.  

Disclaimer:  I don't get any kickbacks for providing links to either the pattern or the glitter felt.  I'm just sharing resources with you for things I've purchased and liked.  

    

Alligator

Caleb and I went to New Orleans for a few days over his spring break last year.  For reasons I don't understand, doing a gator tour was on his bucket list.  We managed to fit one in between all the eating we did.  It wasn't the worst thing I've ever done, but I feel no need to repeat it.  We did indeed see some gators up close:

I definitely felt like this would be a good souvenir ornament.  I wasn't crazy about the DeAngelis alligator pattern (sorry, Carolyn), so I went in search of one.  I found this one I liked and he turned out great!  

Disclaimer:  I don't receive free patterns or money or anything else in exchange for sharing a link to a pattern or vendor.  I use a pattern I like, I'll tell you.  And if I use one I don't like, I'll tell you that, too.  

The Golden Girls

The Golden Girls is another of Caleb's favorite TV shows.  I find it dated and not that funny anymore.  (Don't shoot the messenger.)  He loves it, though, and I thought it would be fun to make him a set of ornaments.  I don't know how many different drawings and illustrations I looked at before purchasing these two pieces of clipart on which to base my designs.

Of course, I wanted to add a little bling to each one, so I added a few beads and sequins.  I think they turned out great and Caleb was thrilled.  

I had a piece of zebra print felt that I picked up at Joann years ago.  It's an acrylic square, so it's not the best, but I took stitches a little bigger and did more of them to make sure none pop out.  I think Dorothy looks the most like the actress, but I think Sophia is the funniest with her little purse and her glasses chain.  And, of course, the Rose ornament makes me sniffle a little since Betty White just passed.  

Reminder to clipart designers:  I do not sell the ornaments or the patterns.  I purchase the clipart and use it to make felt patterns.  I profit in no way from anyone else's work.    

Yeti

I make ornaments for my friend's daughters each year.  They are 3-1/2 and 18 months.  This year the older one became fascinated with yetis.  Because toddlers are weird.  I didn't think I'd find a pattern, but lo and behold, I found this one.  Etsy really is a treasure trove of both patterns and adaptable clipart.  I think this ornament turned out really cute . . . given that it's a yeti!

Disclaimer:  I don't receive money or free patterns in exchange for providing a link or mentioning a vendor.  If I find a good pattern, I'll share the link with you.  

Thor

During the big quarantine/shut-down of 2020, Caleb came home for about six months.  He's a teacher and all his work was done remotely, so we decided to hunker down together.  We had a great time doing all the same things everyone else did, largely eating too much and binge-watching shows and movies.  We watched all of Schitt's Creek.  Then we made him watch all 11 of the Star Wars movies.  He, in turn, made us watch all 23 of the Marvel movies.  It was hardly a fair trade.  I can't believe I did it and really feel like I need some sort of medal . . . or at the very least a memorial service to mourn the loss of the hours of my life that died a slow, painful death.  

And because we feel the need to commemorate everything with an ornament, the search began for clipart.  Fortunately, I didn't have to work that hard because there were some awesome patterns available on Etsy from a shop called Mimi Boom.  They are done in the style of the Funko Pop figurines and I thought they were cute and had nice details.  And if there are patterns available, why reinvent the wheel?  This pattern was very nice with full color diagrams and clear instructions.  

I started with Thor because he was Caleb's favorite and I think he turned out great!  

DISCLAIMER:  I do not receive any sort of compensation for recommending a pattern:  neither money, nor free patterns.  I'm just sharing resources I've found.  If it's a good pattern, I'll tell you.  If it's not, I'll tell you that, too.  

Village People, Part II

I made the first half of the Village People in 2019 and I did manage to do the second half in 2020.  Take a minute to go back to that original post to refresh your memory.  The second half turned out just as great as the first half.

These are just so hilarious.  I think they should hook up with the Drag Queens and all go our for the night!  It would be really hard for me to pick a favorite because they all have such fun details.  But I think the motorcycle guy might just edge the others out for this:

Don't hate me because I'm secretly trashy.  It just had to be done.  

Here they are, ready to hit the floor at the disco!

(And, yes -- I did take this before attaching

the construction worker's hammer!)

Reminder to clipart designers:  I do not sell the ornaments or the patterns.  I purchase the clipart and use it to make felt patterns.  I profit in no way from anyone else's work.    

Drag Queens

Our son, Caleb, counts Ru Paul's Drag Race as one of his guilty pleasure TV shows.  He's also a huge lover of my handmade ornaments, particularly if there are beads and sequins involved.  I was bored one night and wondered if there was any drag queen clipart that would possibly work for my purposes.  The ornament gods smiled on me when I found these:  

As soon as I saw it, I knew it was perfect!  It took a while to track down each individual piece on sites where I could purchase it.  It took some time to design them and some more time to pick out beads and sequins from Cartwright's.  On Amazon, I found tiny rainbow flags meant for cupcakes and they were perfect.  Once I had all the materials and patterns, these were like a good book I couldn't put down.  I decided to give each one a fun drag name and I even stitched those on the back because I like to over-achieve whenever possible.  

So please meet this year's contestants in the Drag Race!

Miss Cherry BonBon

Miss Honey B. Arthur

Miss Kiki Lime

Miss Peachy Keene

Miss Purple Reign

 Miss Sapphire Skye

Here they are, posing for a group shot

I won't lie, these aren't for for the novice stitcher.  They have eye shadow, lips and teeth -- all freehand cut from felt!  Honey B. Arthur and Purple Reign are my favorites.  I love their hair . . . . and, I'm not gonna lie, their cleavage.  I just think they're hilarious.  And Caleb did, too.  They're really some of my best design work.  Since one of our local small-town fairs requires a set of six ornaments for entry in the handmade ornament category, my family really thought these should be this year's entry.  Somehow, I think the humor may have been lost on the older ladies who judge.  

Here's a link to a video of Caleb opening them.  You might want to make him an ornament when you see how much he loves them.  You've been warned!  

Caleb's Ornaments

Reminder to clipart designers:  I do not sell the ornaments or the patterns.  I purchase the clipart and use it to make felt patterns.  I profit in no way from anyone else's work.