Felt and Bead Christmas Tree Decoration Tutorial

This idea and tutorial owes a great deal to Karen Jinks and the UK Handmade magazine (Winter Issue 2011).  There you will find a wonderful tutorial for a pine tree Christmas decoration.

Each year, at my work (which is an after-school club for children aged 4 to 11) the children make Christmas tree decorations.  I introduced sewing to the club with great success as the children are full of enthusiasm and great ideas.  Last year we made felt Christmas trees  and baubles with sewn on beads.  As we have many of the same children, I wanted something a little different.  I also have to think that this is something that has to be made by 4 year olds as well as the older children.

I saw the felt pine cone decoration and it stuck in my head.  But the thought of having to cut out all those flower shapes did fill me with dread.  So what could I think of to make a simpler but effective decoration?  And so this is is - the felt Christmas Tree decoration.  And if you go look at the pine cone decoration, you will see how much debt I am in to Karen for this.

I enlisted the help of my daughter to make this. Isn't it interesting how difficult it is for children to find the middle of something?  Still her tree turned out better than my try.

YOU WILL NEED:

About 7 triangles of felt. Each one will be slightly bigger than the one before (it doesn't have to be green - there are lovely felt colours out there and also many homes now have pink or red or black trees)
Beads
One large bead or bell (the bell I have used is a bit bigger than I wanted but it is the only size they had in my local shop)
Embroidery thread
Needle to thread

Thread your choice of embroidery thread through the bell (or bead) and then thread both ends through the needle again.

Thread through the middle of the largest triangle.

Then thread your choice of bead on top.

Continue in this way until you have threaded all the triangles and beads on.

Finish with a bead on top. Then knot the thread so you can hang it on the tree.

Thank you Mary.

Mary couldn't wait to hang it on her Christmas tree.

I tired a version using triangles cut out with my pinking shears.

And at the bottom I used a big bead from a necklace I had cut up.

I am looking forward to the children at my work trying it out.  I will try and get a photo of their creations for you to see.

And if you make any then please let me know.

Don't forget to check out the original pine cone decoration at the UK Handmade magazine.  UK Handmade is a great place for UK based artists, designers and makers to get help, meet others and promote their works. So go and look here. 

Books I love - 'On Hitler's Mountain'

Irmgard Hunt was born in Nazi German in 1934, in Berchtesgaden a village next to Hitler's headquarters.  As a toddler she was photographed sat upon Hitler's knee. At that time both she and her parent's were fervent supporters of Hitler and the Nazi regime.

With the advent of war and as she grew older, Irmgard came to question this belief.

This is a lovely book.  It is wonderful to read of life in a mountain village as it changes due to war and the deprivations of defeat.  It is interesting to read of the insights of life in Germany at that time, as seen through the eyes of a growing child and young woman.

As someone born in England in the late 1960s, Nazi Germany and Hitler to me are, obviously, hate figures. To people in my country and my generation it is not always easy to understand how Hitler and the Nazis could rise to power and how the ordinary people in Germany and Austria could be accepting of it all at that time.

Therefore I found this such an insight into that time.  Not all Germans were supporters of Hitler and some that were soon changed their minds.

I do recommend this book.

On Hitler's Mountain by Irmgard Hunt. Published in 2005 by Atlantic Books, London.  My copy was borrowed from the library. 

Going Promotin' , Going Promotin'

Hello and Happy Thanksgiving to our friends from and in the USA.

I am having a special promotion this weekend. So starting from Black Friday 25th November, to Cyber Monday 28th November - I will be offering FREE SHIPPING on everything in my etsy shop.

Plus if you make a purchase over that weekend I will send you a coupon code to get discounts off further purchases int he future.  It could be 5%, it could be 25% - it will be a surprise.

Shop now at Bigbluebed.

The title of this post should be sung along to the tune of 'Going Courtin' from Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Wordless Wednesday

Old Portsmouth - Exercises in Fire Rescue

On Saturday we went to a Christmas Fair in City Cathedral, Old Portsmouth.  Afterwards we decided to walk along the front.  Old Portsmouth is one of my favourite places.  It used to be rough and ready and not a place you would want to go to at night (unless you were a certain type of person looking for certain things). Ok, I am talking about a couple of hundred years ago.

Now it is a very desirable place in Portsmouth.

My Great Aunt used to live in one of the houses there (before the area became expensive), and we have visited it lots.  I got had my wedding reception there too.

If you walk along from Southsea along the front, it is a lovely walk.

On Saturday we were lucky enough to catch some firemen doing an exercise.  They extended the ladder very very high.

Then swung it over the walls to the beach.

And on the other side they picked up an 'injured' person to take them to safety.

It was all very interesting.  These, by the way, are the  Hot Walls.  People come to sunbathe and in the middle on November, there were a couple of men in down tot heir bathers trying to get the sun.  Believe me, you are lucky I did not take a photo of that!

Work in Progress - Crochet

At the moment I am working on something from a book that I am reviewing.

I have been crocheting for about 2 years but only ever do a bit now and again. So I forget what to do nearly every time and have to look it up.  I am more of a natural knitter, I think.  However, I am enjoying making this.

It is probably difficult to tell what it is yet. Any ideas?

Custom Dorset Button Hair Clips

A while ago I told you about a custom order I was doing. I couldn't show the photo then as they had not been received but now that they have...

My lovely customer asked for a colour that I did not have in stock at that moment but she was happy for me to surprise her but she did like orange and another colour I had mentioned.

So I decided to experiment and chose 3 colours. DMC embroidery thread has 6 strands. I took 2 strands from each of the colours to make a new 6 strand custom colour.   Mrs Lovely was very happy and I am too.   The colours remind me of Autumn.

I have done a mix like this before and will do again.

Remember - I do custom buttons, by themselves or on clips, so do let me know if you fancy something.