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.    

  

Lion King Set

I needed a birthday gift for a young friend and she LOOOOVES The Lion King.  I went in search of clipart to design my own patterns, but actually found some ready-made patterns that worked great.  I did some Googling for clipart of the actual characters and that helped me with details.  I made some changes to the colors and the shape of the eyes to make them more authentic to the movie.  I think they turned out great and my little friend was thrilled with them!  

I did not receive free patterns or anything else in exchange for this post.  I'm just sharing in case you'd like to make a set.  If you do, you can find the Etsy shop here.

Ebenezer Scrooge

Let me issue the disclaimer right up front:  I do not receive free patterns or anything else in exchange for promoting products on this blog.  Pretty sure these pattern designers don't know I exist.  If it's a good pattern, I'll tell you in case you want to make one, too.  And if I run into a bad one, I'll tell you that, too.

Larissa Holland at Mmmcrafts has quickly become my favorite felt ornament designer.  Her patterns definitely aren't for new stitchers, but really anyone who has patience and can follow directions can make her beautiful ornaments.  She designed the 12 Days of Christmas series I completed last year.  In 2020, she launched not one, but TWO new series.  The first one is based on the poem, "'Twas the Night Before Christmas."  You saw me stitch the Santa and Mrs. Claus from that series earlier this year.  

She also started a series based on Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol," and I had time to complete one of those.  She began with Ebenezer Scrooge and he is really a beauty.

  

Lots of embroidery, beads, and sequins, which have become a hallmark of Larissa's patterns.  She has the Jacob Marley pattern ready and I've been collecting my supplies.  I predict he'll be the first one completed in 2021!  Her patterns really are extremely thorough with fantastic diagrams and instructions.  If you want to give her a try, you can find her Etsy shop here.