thursday thrift: christmas what?

thursday thrift, the time of week when i share & discuss ways to be creative with small amounts of money in order to still enjoy good quality in the home & kitchen.

today's thrift is about christmas. (yes, thank you, i do realise its been 2 months since this last christmas, and almost 10 months til next christmas.)

last year my sister and i wanted to decorate for the christmas season, but we didn't have a lot of money to spend (not that we're the type to buy typical decorations anyhow, but that's not the point), so we made our own. out of felt. guess what we themed the christmas tree ornaments around??

that's right... food. because we love it.

we lived vicariously through our tree as it got to be lavished with chocolate cake, cupcakes, and all sorts of delicious foods.


can everybody tell what's hanging beside the swiss cheese? you get brownie points if you can. one of my sister's favorite foods.

and to grace the top of our tree, instead of putting the star of david (who was a king), we placed the king of fruits there. more brownie points for people who know what that fruit is. (and respect if you've actually eaten it.)

to make your own felt ornament, you need:
various colors of felt (generally purchased at $0.50 a sheet)
embroidery thread
needle with a big enough eye for embroidery thread
cotton balls, or other stuffing
paper & pencil for patterns
scissors
creativity :)

basically you are sewing 2 identical shapes of felt together, with some stuffing inside.
draw your pattern on paper, and cut out. with felt, cut out 2 of the shapes of your pattern. if your ornament has a little something extra on it, like the yolk on the fried egg, or the cake layers on the cake, sew it onto one piece before sewing both pieces together. thread your needle with a knot on the longer side. space your stitches well enough apart, for quicker sewing and prettier stitching. sew until you have an inch or so left & stuff with cotton balls. try to avoid lumps by pulling the cotton ball apart a bit before stuffing. finish sewing & stitch a knot at the end, as subtly as you can. re-thread your needle & pull it through the top of your ornament halfway. pull one end of the thread out, & remove the needle. you should have a piece of thread going through the ornament. tie the 2 ends together, & hang your ornament on the tree! or put it in a box & save it for christmas.

this next christmas season, months and months away, why don't you make your own ornaments? (and they don't have to be food themed) it not only saves money, but it adds a personality to your tree that only homemade ornaments can do.