wee house ornaments

last night i worked on some ornaments for my own family and friends. i think they came out nicely and they weren't too scary to make, either! i used one of my drawings that a lot of people seem to like, but these would be sweet with a huge variety of images. my mind is spinning with ideas and possibilities. {{and yes, i know i'm a dork.}}
want to try it?

first, take an image you want to use and shrink it down in photo editing software to your desired size, and then create as many multiples as you can on a page. my image size was roughly 4x4", so i fit four on a page. i bought a package of ink jet fabric sheets  and printed my page of four onto them. there are five sheets in each package, and they're not cheap, so it would be a good idea to do a test print on paper before you run a fabric sheet through your printer. i have also heard good things about this stuff, though i haven't tried it. 

once my sheets were printed, i peeled the back off of them and cut out the individual house images. i then cut  pieces of recycled, overdyed wool out to the same size, mostly just because i had it and i liked how it looked, but i think any fabric or felt would work nicely.

i chose a constrasting color of embroidery floss and blanket stitched around three sides, then stuffed it with wool (batting would be fine too) and finished stitching it closed. i found after several that i liked them not too stuffed, and they seem to hang better that way, too.  i sewed a hanging ribbon on the top corners of the ornament - mine was organza but anything would work - and embellished with two vintage buttons.  you could make the step faster by hot glueing the ribbon and buttons with a small dab in each corner.

i would like to stress that i am not good at sewing or this kind of handmade stuff at all, and that this was actually easy and fun. i hope you agree if you try it!

cheers!  see you again tomorrow.

Comments

[heather]

oh jen, they are perfect - your art wrapped up in a blanket stitch! i'm such a sucker for a good blanket stitch. happy holidays to you.

[elizabeth]

these are adorable...i think you need some in your shop next year holiday time!

[kendra]

These are really cute! Great idea. I could see adding a little fabric glue and dusting of transluscent glitter in some key accent areas to give it a little shimmer against the tree lights too.

[Marilee]

those are darling!!!!

[Heather W]

those are just darling! I would buy those...hint hint ;)

[laura dodson]

loverly. <3

[emily]

so that's the secret!? so cool. if only i had a tree...!

[Amber]

Oh thank you for this little how-to. I have wondered how the printed fabric thing worked and now I understand it a bit more. I love yours. Enjoy your holiday! :-)

[Whitney Johnson]

Jen --

How fabulous would it be to decorate a whole tree with your ornaments. Could be an amazing display of your work -- especially if you were able to do something with Habitat for Humanity given you have so many wonderful paintings of homes. In fact, maybe you'll want to reach out to Dana King about working with her on a Habitat for Humanity home next year. Here's what she did.

http://daretodream.typepad.com/weblog/2007/07/post.html

My best,
Whitney Johnson

[Cindy]

They are lovely. I would never know and most recipients would not either unless you tell them.

[Jade]

Thanks for the tips! Love the ornaments! Hey, that's my house that's now sitting under my tree. Thanks!

[blair]

Not good at sewing???! Look how cute those little blanket stitches turned out. I think you are a most excellent sewer and quite a clever girl, cause I'm in love with these!

[sulu-design]

Gorgeous - I love 'em.

[kristin]

how sweet! it has an almost batik-y look to it. such a great idea, and i would have to say you're stitchwork is wonderful!

[christie]

Might have to try this next year, they are so cute.

As for printing on fabric, I've tried the fabric sheets you buy at the store, but there is also an easy way you can make them at home (though I've only tried it with black and white line drawings, but I'm sure it would work for something like this)

Take a sheet of adhesive/sticker paper (you can buy a big pack at the office supply store) and any fabric (colored, patterned, etc), but probably not jersey/knit and cut to slightly larger then the paper. Peel off the sticker part of the paper, and attach the fabric to the sticky side. Press down well, and trim the fabric to the same size as the sticker, Now you can run this through your machine.

I've done it a few times and ran into no problems, but I can't guarantee:) Good Luck!

[Natalie]

These are lovely, and I am inspired to play too. Thank you.