It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. . .

The house has been decorated, the gifts have been wrapped and the cookies have been baked! Here are a few scenes from around my house.

As you can see from this cupboard, I love Santa figurines! Here is some of my collection.

I love this big Santa in a traditional red coat. He was handmade (not by me!) and dressed in a beautiful red wool hooded coat with fur trim made from recycled clothing. His arms are loaded with toys and gifts.

This Father Christmas style Santa was made by the same person. He is wearing a real fur cloak made from an old fur coat. He has an arm load of toys, a wreath and even a tiny tree.


And there are more Santas on the Christmas tree.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

Have a safe and Happy Holiday!

Handmade Holidays Part 3, Gift Wrap

Add a personal touch to your gift wrapping this year! Here are a couple of my favorite simple and low cost wrapping ideas. You'll probably find a lot of these materials around the house.

Get out those scrapbooking stamps and stickers to decorate plain color paper.

You can use yarn, rickrack and ribbon from the craft closet to tie up your packages.

Use buttons to stamp designs on paper, or glue them to handmade gift tags.

And get the kids involved by having them draw and color designs on plain paper. You'll have original artworks to wrap your gifts!

I often use recycled Christmas cards to make my own gift tags and package decorations. I love this idea from MarthaStewart.com, using recycled holiday greeting cards to make your own gift boxes.

New FeltSewGood Gift Certificates

Do you have all of your holiday shopping done? I think I can officially say that I finished my Christmas shopping today. Yeah!

If you are not done with your shopping and think someone on your list might like a little something from FeltSewGood, I am now offering gift certificates in the shop.

Gift certificates are offered in denominations of $25, $50 and $75. Check out the listings in the shop for all the details. The certificates can be mailed to the purchaser or recipient, or emailed to the recipient for you last minute shoppers.

And I still have some Christmas stockings available.

There are nice warm mittens.

And I've even added a few new handbags.

Please place your orders by December 18 to allow for shipping in time for Christmas!

Handmade Holidays Part 2, Delicious Gifts

It's been said, "No gift is in better taste than one you make yourself". Whether you're famous for your homemade jam, bread or cookies, consider homemade treats for everyone on your list.

Pack up a batch of favorite cookies in small boxes covered in wrapping paper. I used some small boxes I had saved from other gifts, lined them in parchment paper and wrapped both the top and bottom in pretty holiday paper. Then I filled the boxes with cookies from one of my favorite recipes, Mexican Wedding Cookies. You can find the recipe here.

These jars are filled with two of my favorite salty snacks, seasoned fish crackers, and my own recipe for Chex cereal based snack mix. I found vintage glass canister inspired jars at Target and cute decorated glass containers at the local dollar store. These would also be great filled with homemade granola or you could layer the ingredients for a favorite cookie and include the recipe. Add a pretty ribbon and cute gift tag for a gift everyone will enjoy. You can find my recipe for the seasoned fish crackers here or try my recipe for Chex cereal snack mix.

Everyone has a favorite recipe for Chex cereal snack mix. Here's mine:

Cheryl's Party Snack Mix

1 box Chex corn cereal
1 box Chex wheat cereal
1 box of Cheez It snack crackers
1 bag of Hanover Butter Snaps preztels (you could also use pretzel sticks or tiny twists)
1 can of LaChoy rice noodles (found in the Asian section of your grocery)
Mixed nuts of your choice, about 3 cups - I used a large can of Planters Deluxe Mixed Nuts
1 1/2 sticks of butter
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Evenly divide the first six ingredients into two or three large baking pans. You don't want the pans too full because you'll need to stir the ingredients several times. Place the pans full of the cereal mix ingredients in the preheated oven for 5 minutes to heat. Melt the butter and add the garlic powder to the melted butter. Once the dry ingredients are heated, drizzle the melted over the cereal mix then sprinkle with the parmesan cheese. Stir well and bake agin for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. When cooled, store in airtight containers.
This makes a lot of snack mix, so unless you are having a party you might want to consider freezing some. I usually save about half of the mix in a good quality air tight container, like Tuppereware or Rubbermaid and place it in the freezer. It doesn't actually freeze, it just stays fresher longer.
I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!

Christmas Cookies!

Recently I've seen a lot of magazine covers with photos of beautifully styled Christmas cookies. It's put me in the mood for some holiday baking. I even saved some new recipes to try, but in the end, partly because of my husband's request, I just went with an old favorite recipe. I've always called these Mexican Wedding Cookies. They are small cookies with a rich buttery flavor, covered in powdered sugar. Of course they are great any time of year, but I always find myself making several batches around the holidays. I thought I would share this simple recipe!

Mexican Wedding Cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup of butter (2 sticks)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (plus more for dusting the cooled cookies)

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup chopped pecans

Mix ingredients in order given. I just put everything in my food processor and process until the dough comes together.

Divide the dough in half and roll into two long rolls, each about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Roll up in wax paper or parchment paper and chill for at least 2 hours.

Once dough is thoroughly chilled, slice into 1/4 inch discs and place on cookie sheets. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are slightly brown. Remove cookies and place on cooling racks or a piece of parchment paper to cool.


To decorate, roll each cookie in powdered sugar and place in an airtight container. These cookies keep well and retain their flavor and texture for several days. They are a wonderful tiny treat with a mug of hot tea, coffee or hot chocolate!

Handmade Holidays Part 1

Are you making any gifts for the people on your list this year? Or, are you like me and love handmade holiday home decor? Simple to make, these cute heart shaped ornaments make wonderful gifts or gift wrap accents. Hearts are one of my favorite shapes, and I love crafting with recycled felted wool sweaters. So I combined the two to make this version of my Heart Felt Ornaments. Heart shapes are cut from a felted wool sweater, then embroidered and accented with beads and buttons. Sew two layers together and fill them with stuffing.

Here's a quick tutorial to show you how I made these ornaments.

Don’t worry if you can’t find a wool sweater to felt. Wool felt fabric will also work just as well and can be purchased at your local fabric store, craft store or ordered online.

Tools and materials needed:
Felted wool sweater or wool felt
Embroidery thread and needle
Cotton or wool thread
Assorted beads and buttons
Stuffing
Scissors, pins and tracing paper

For my Heart Felt Ornaments I used red and white as my colors.

What to do:
Step 1. Cut out hearts. To make a heart shaped paper pattern, fold a piece of paper and starting at the fold, cut out one side of the heart so that the fold is the center of the heart. This way when you open the paper you have a perfectly proportioned heart. Try several shapes and sizes until you have the desired heart shape. Then pin the paper to the wool and cut out two hearts for each ornament you want to make. I also cut out some smaller hearts to make contrasting centers for some of my ornaments.


Step 2. Embroider and embellish the hearts. I used a contrasting color embroidery thread to sew simple stitches in star and swirl patterns on some of my hearts. Then I stitched on seed beads as embellishments. On other hearts I used a blanket stitch, or buttonhole stitch, to appliqué smaller hearts to the center, then added a button for embellishment. You will be using two pieces of wool for each heart ornament. You can decorate one or both sides of the ornament.

Step 3. Sew the hearts together. With wrong sides together, use a blanket stitch to sew around the outside edge of each heart. When about a one inch opening remains, fill the heart with stuffing, then finish stitching to close the opening.


Step 4. Hang the heart. Thread a short length of wool or cotton thread through the top edge of each heart to hang on your tree or tie to a package.

If you don't have time to make ornaments this year, check my Etsy shop next week. I'll have a shop update with some of these listed for sale.

And This Week's Winner Is. . .

Thank you to everyone who entered my FeltSewGood giveaway last week. I really enjoyed reading all your comments about your favorite Christmas traditions! The winner of the gift certificate is AlteredBeauty. Congratulations!

I'm working hard to restock my shop after my Christmas Open House and should have some new upcycled wool goodies listed in the next few days.

HOLIDAY WEEKEND *S*A*L*E*

I hope Everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

And now it's time for some shopping!

Black Friday through Cyber Monday, everything in my shop is 10% OFF!

Prices are already reduced - no waiting for a refund through PayPal! Just shop and save. And I'll be adding new items all weekend. Visit FeltSewGood and save!

And don't forget to enter my giveaway, at this blog post, for a chance to win a FeltSewGood gift certificate! You have until midnight EST, Sunday, November 29 to enter.

And the Winner Is. . . and More!

The winner of last week's FeltSewGood blog giveaway is Ashley! Congratulations to Ashley and thank you so much to everyone who participated!

And now for this week's giveaway. . . one winner will receive a FeltSewGood gift certificate for $20 to spend on anything in my shop!

Will you choose a felted flower brooch?

or a zippered pouch?

or maybe a plush animal for you, or a niece or nephew?


or will you choose a handbag as a gift or a special treat for yourself?

Here are the details. The giveaway will run from Monday, November 23 through Sunday, November 29. The gift certicate is only good to spend on any item at FeltSewGood on Etsy and is non-transferable.
There are four ways to enter. 1.) Leave a comment on this post telling me a favorite holiday tradition. 2.) Become a FeltSewGood blog follower and leave me a comment telling me you became a follower. 3.) Become a fan of FeltSewGood on Facebook and leave a comment here to tell me you became a fan. 4.) Leave a comment on my fan page wall mentioning the gift certificate giveaway. The winner will be choosen at random and I will post the winner here and on my fan page on Monday, November 30. Good luck to all and thanks for participating!

New Warm and Cozy in the Shop

For some of us, it's the time of year when we have to start wearing a coat to go outside. And to go with the coat, we often need gloves, mittens, hats and scarves to keep us warm and cozy. And I have just the thing in my shop, FeltSewGood!

There are warm and cozy mittens in kids sizes. I love these cute argyle mittens.

Red snowflakes on the cream and gray background of these adult size mittens will keep grown-up hands warm.

And this pretty scarf made from felted wool sweaters will keep away the winter chill.

Stop by the shop for these and other warm cozy gift ideas.

And don't forget to leave me a comment at this post to be entered to win this week's FeltSewGood giveaway, the winner's choice of a felted wool zippered pouch!

The Christmas Open House Is Open!

FeltSewGood on Etsy is having a Christmas Open House, November 16-30! It's time to do some Christmas shopping and there will be new items listed every day during the Open House. Handbags, mittens, scarves and flower brooches make great gifts. I'll also have some new plush animals and Christmas decorations.

AND you can receive 10% off your purchase price simply by typing "Open House" in your message to seller at checkout on Etsy. I'll refund the 10% to your PayPal account when I ship your items.

It's also time for a FeltSewGood Giveaway! As a Thank You to all my blog readers and customers, I'm giving away a zippered pouch of your choice ($25 value) to one winner. Just leave me a comment at this post between now and Sunday, November 22 at midnight EST to be entered to win. For a second chance to win, leave a comment on the wall of my Facebook fan page by Sunday, November 22 at midnight EST.

I'll announce the winner here on Monday, November 23, so be sure to check back, and make sure I have a way to contact you, through your own blog, shop, or email, when you enter. The winner will be able to pick the zippered pouch of choice from the shop.

Good luck to all entries and I'll have another giveaway starting Monday, November 23!

Happy Holidays!

Artique Winter Fair, November 14

I've been busy stitching up lots of new flower brooches, handbags and Christmas ornaments and stockings for a craft show this weekend.

If you happen to be in the Indianapolis/central Indiana area this weekend come and see me at the Artique Winter Fair on Saturday, November 14.

The event is being held at the Louis Jenn Park, 10450 E 63rd. St., in Lawrence, Indiana (just east of Indianapolis) from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. Along with many artisans there will be music, food, a silent auction and more.
For more info and a map, click here. And to see the event on Facebook click here. I hope to see some of you there!

And just a reminder, my FeltSewGood Christmas Open House starts next Monday and runs November 16-30!

Honoring Those Who Serve

On Veterans Day, we pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the men and women who in defense of our freedom have bravely worn the uniform of the United States. Thank you to all who have served.

Christmas Open House

FeltSewGood is having a Christmas Open House November 16-30. . . just in time to do some Christmas shopping!

There will be new upcycled felted wool handbags, accessories, plush and Christmas decor listed everyday.

I'll be offering a special shopping discount for my blog friends and Facebook Fans. And I'm having a holiday giveaway!

Be sure to check in often for updates on giveaways and discounts! Are you on Facebook? Get updates sent to you by becoming a fan on Facebook. . .
just click on this link FeltSewGood : : Handmade, Upcycled

Heart Felt Ornaments Tutorial

Simple to make, these cute hearts make great gifts, Christmas tree ornaments or gift wrap accents.

I used small pieces from felted, recycled wool sweaters to make my hearts. But you can also use wool felt fabric, combined with embroidery floss, beads and buttons, to stitch up these ornaments.

To make some of your own Heart Felt Ornaments, see my tutorial at FaveCrafts.com.

And you will be able to purchase finished Heart Felt Ornaments next week in the shop.

Christmas Ornament Swap Update!

Several weeks ago I signed up to participate in a Christmas Ornament Swap sponsored by Audrey of Audrey's Country Crafts blog. I decided I would swap with two swap partners and today I received my first ornament in the mail!

It's always fun to receive a package in the mail. My swap partner that sent me this package is Jill of Wired Out Designs. Jill sells beautiful jewelry in her Etsy shop and I was excited to see what she had sent me.

Inside the package was this lovely bead and wire ornament/suncatcher with a snowflake shaped prism. I just love it!

Here's a close-up of the snowflake. It's going to be so pretty sparkling on my Christmas tree! And after Christmas it will make a beautiful winter themed suncatcher in my big kitchen window.
Thank you, Jill! My ornament for you will be on it's way next week!

New in the Shop This Week!

'Tis the season! I've starting adding some holiday decorations in the shop this week.

Holly and berries felted wool ornaments

I love this Christmas stocking made from a felted wool Christmas sweater.

And I also have some smaller sized Christmas stockings, perfect for holiday decor, or tuck a present inside of the stocking instead of traditional gift wrap for that special gift.

Happy Halloween!

I hope you all have a safe and happy Halloween!

Just in Time for the Holidays!

It's almost November and I've been working on some new woolen holiday decorations and some ideas for a few Felt Sew Good blog giveaways! Here's a peak at some work in progress:

Starting Monday, November 2, I'll have some Christmas stockings and some new ornaments in the shop.

Then later in the week I'll announce the details of my first Felt Sew Good blog giveaway!

Spectacular Fall Foliage!

Mother Nature has put on quite a show for us this year! Since I live in Indiana, I'm used to seeing pretty fall color in our trees and shrubs before the leaves begin to fall. This year we must have had just the perfect combination of rainfall and temperatures because the fall foliage is prettier than I remember seeing for the past several years. Over the past week, I've been taking photos around the neighborhood when I go for a walk and thought I'd share with you.

Color in the park adjacent to my neighborhood.

Golden park path.

The little Japanese maple next to our screened porch.

A neighbor's front yard is full of these red maple trees.

Golden fan shaped leaves on my gingko tree. This is the first year the leaves turned yellow - we usually have a freeze before now and that makes the leaves fall off overnight!

The forecast is for rain and wind on Friday, so by the weekend most of the leaves will be on the ground. The trick or treaters will be hearing the crunch of leaves underfoot while on their search for treats.