Betsy Bubbles

My daughter is really into anything spa-related.  If anyone needs a bath bomb -- or six -- I feel sure we can hook you up.  I had seen both Clif and Ouida's version of the Betsy Bubbles ornament and always liked it:

Clif's ornament

Ouida's ornament

I asked Mariah for her color choices.  They weren't exactly what I would've picked, but she was VERY specific.  

It's always cool to see how different the ornaments look depending on who stitches them.  You can tell we all used the same pattern, but each one is unique.  

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!

Penny

I made this ornament years and years ago -- before I started taking pictures of my completed projects.  It is supposed to be a girl with hair like this:

Both times I've made it, though, I've made it for a boy.  I just took the decoration off the hat cuff and rounded out the hair so it doesn't have that feminine flip.  There are so many ways to tweak these patterns to suit your needs.  It looks just great for Reid's collection of miscellaneous boys!  

Clif has also done this ornament and here is his version:

See how a little detail like making the sleeve a different color than the shirt makes a big difference?

Ornament Photos From Susan

There is nothing more exciting than getting an email like this:

Hi Amy!

I’m amazed and delighted that I’ve found your blog. I’ve been looking for these patterns on and off for years - years! - for my mom. And for me too, come to think of it!

My mom has a couple dozen of these ornaments, and she has always hoped to find the patterns.  She bought the ornaments ages ago, maybe in the eighties. Maybe even a little earlier. The woman who made them sold them for pin money. My mom has been looking for a book of the patterns for such a long time. However, we never knew the brand name or the designer who made them. I can’t believe I have found you. 

Please help! I would love to get a set of the patterns for my mom and me to share. I’ll be very excited to hear back from you. 

Sincerely,

Susan

I just love thinking about those folks out there who had DeAngelis ornaments on their trees growing up and who still treasure them.  Nothing makes me happier than when someone reaches out because they'd like to continue the tradition for their own kids.  I'm so happy to be able to share patterns with people.  

I've tried -- with zero luck -- to track down members of Carolyn DeAngelis' family.  Don't you think they would love to know that so many of us treasure the legacy left by their mother/grandmother?  I know I would.  And I wonder what THEIR ornament collections look like!  

Susan was kind enough to share some photos of the DeAngelis ornaments she grew up with.  

These photos are a good reminder of just how many DeAngelis patterns there are.  I've made literally HUNDREDS of her ornaments, but I've made very few of the ones Susan shared.  She also shared this story and photo, which I love:

My mom Judy made these little ghosts for her granddaughter Lexy. The ornaments are the very likeness of Lexy’s childhood security plush stuffed ghost. When Lexy first saw them on the Christmas tree, Ghostie in her arms, she was dazzled. Little Ghosties all over the tree! They are a spectacular small version of Lexy’s ghost, down the patch that repaired his worn neck long ago. 

Susan  

Thanks so much to Susan for reaching out and sharing her stories and ornaments.  Please remember to share photos with me of the ornaments YOU make!  

Woodstock

This is another one from the Peanuts series I purchased from Etsy.  This one is quite small.  I want to hang them all together on the tree and I didn't want Woodstock to be as big as the people, so I sized this one down.  He's a little unremarkable on his own, but he looks great hanging with Charlie Brown and Snoopy!

PLEASE NOTE:  I have never personally communicated with the pattern designer other than to order the pattern.  I didn't receive a free pattern for this post and I'm sure she doesn't even know this blog exists.  I just saw these photos on Pinterest and followed the link. 

Charlie Brown -- Part Two

If you remember, I told you about this great set of patterns for Peanuts characters I got from Etsy.  Click here for that post.  You might also remember that my Charlie Brown had some issues. 

Yikes.  I still cringe when I look at it.  His face is just all wrong.  I tried to convince myself that it wasn't a big deal, but I couldn't stand it.  I wound up taking the entire head off and trying again.  Much better results this round:

This just goes to show you:  proportion and placement are everything!  I still think there's too much leg showing, but I think I'll just have to deal with that.  Or maybe I'll fix that this year. 

Violet and Joey

I wanted to do ornaments of both our pets, so I scrounged around on the internet looking at various free images and just sort of cobbled something together.  

Violet is our rescue pug who just generally sits around the house with her tongue hanging out, looking extra smart.   

Joey is a stray that our kids pulled out of a local creek.  We're suckers.  But he's a pretty good cat.  

Last fall, we quite literally inherited another dog from a relative who passed away, so look for a new dog ornament some time this year.  And if Joey has his way, we'll be adding another cat.  He has a friend who comes around regularly to play.  We felt sorry for him, so we put out some food.  Then Mariah named him Whoopie.  It's only a matter of time.  But don't tell Scott I said that!