Christmas Guest Post Series #1: Crafty Ornaments with angelina la dawn tomato

Happy Monday! We're kicking off the week with the first in a series of four guest posts here at Ready, Set, Craft! Today I'm thrilled to have Angie, of angelina la dawn tomato, guest posting and sharing her adorable ornaments with us. Enjoy!


i'm a fan of all things plushy, so i've been making a ton of these ornaments lately! they're really easy, and i love the final product- crafty with a rustic touch


supplies:
(my crafting philosophy is all about using what you have and making it work for you, so i see most of this as a guideline)

scissors
hot glue (a crafty girl's best friend),
sewing machine (or needle and thread since there is minimal sewing involved)
ribbon (just a few inches worth)
embellishments (puff paint, buttons, and sequins)
fabric in two colors (i'm using wool fabric upcycled from thirft store skirts) but you can use whatever you have. if it's not heavy enough just use some fusable interfacing
polyfil (or other stuffing)
freezer paper (one of my favorite craft supplies!)

before we start, a word about freezer paper. it's amazing! you can use it for lots of different crafts. it's paper on one side and plastic on the other, so you can write on it (if needed) and iron it onto pretty much anything and it peels right off. (which also means you can use it again) you can get it pretty much anywhere (it's with the foil and plastic wrap), it's cheap and you get a lot of it (i've had my roll for over a year)

in this craft, i use it for ironing onto fabric to use as a pattern of sorts. it's easier than pinning something down, or tracing onto fabric (but both will work if you don't want to use/get it)
i could go on and on about it but i won't, and we'll move onto the directions!

step 1: take your freezer paper and draw a circle (i'm using a cup as a guide) and then add a little sqaure on top. (see? it's ornament shaped!) now iron it onto your chosen fabric (since freezer paper is actual paper, make sure the iron is on a dry setting with no steam so it won't pucker)




after you've got it ironed on, cut it out, peel off the paper and then repeat (so you have two pieces of fabric the same shape)



step 2: put your two pieces of fabric together and pin the ribbon in place and sew all around the edge. make sure to leave a small hole so you can stuff it!




step 3: stuff it! and when you're done, sew up the opening.


step 4: make a snowflake on your freezer paper (if you're like me and can't draw at all, find an image you like on the internet. just make sure it fits onto your ornament)

iron the snowflake onto your fabric, cut it out and peel the paper off.



step 5: after you've got your snowflake cut out, hot glue it onto your stuffed ornament (you can sew it on if you'd like, but you have to do that at the beginning of step 2, and i think it's more work than it's worth)



step 5: embellish! i put some iridescent puff paint and sequins in strategic places so it sparkles and finish with a button in the middle.


ta da! you're done! now go make a whole bunch more :)
(which should be easy because you've kept your freezer paper patterns!)


you can of course use all kinds of different designs or images, and embellishments. maybe letters (you can line them up to spell "peace" or "joy") you could sew on beads or use yarn instead of ribbon. personally i think there are lots of possibilities. i also made matching wreath.


So what are you waiting for? Leave Angie a comment and let her know how FABULOUS her ornaments are, and then head over to her blog to check out her projects, photos, and stories about her life in Kansas. And don't forget to tell her that Joanne at Ready, Set, Craft! sent you over! Love her stuff so much you have to have it? Check out her Etsy shop!