Felt Christmas Decorations

Some of you may be aware that I had a crafting blog called An Irish Craftworkers Good Life, its where I began my blogging life. I felt that smallholding and living sustainably were my true passions which is why I started Sallygardens here leaving Irish Craftworker fallow over the busy spring and summer months. Now that autumn and winter are here, some evenings are spent crafting by the fire again. Other evenings are spent annoying the household with my fiddle practice, writing a blog post, or enjoying family company. I have decided that I won't be resurrecting Irish Craftworker, instead I have added a new 'craft' category here in Sallygardens. If by chance you are interested in purchasing an item of craft please get in touch. I'll be adding a paypal shop window to the sidebar here over the coming weeks where individual items of craft may be available to buy now and then. The paypal shopping cart is actually being integrated as part of an exciting new Sallygardens initiative, but more on that at a later date.

Textiles are my main creative passion and felting is a huge part of my life for the last ten years. At this time of year I like to do my best to make handcrafted gifts for friends and family (you can hear them all groan!). After all, our lifestyle is time rich and hence cash poor - not that our 'rich' time is spent lounging about. Every day is a full and physical days work for both of us.

Back to the felting. I have made my own felt from merino sheeps fleece, then cut out heart shapes to make a stuffed decoration. I have decorated these with buttons which are of huge sentimental value, and then added a little hand embroidery. Fill the heart with toy grade stuffing available from fabric shops.

Hang them from the Christmas tree or keep them out all year on cupboard door knobs. Another option is to fill it with dried lavender or rose and pop it into your clothes drawers. And the buttons? They belonged to my late mother. She was a great woman for sewing and craft. As a child I loved sorting through her jar of buttons, making them into little piles of various colours, shapes and metals.

I've also added a crafting section to the Sallygardens Bookshop, why not have a browse, and suggest any of your favourite craft books you think could be added.

Comments

[vallen Queen]

Yay!! They're back. I've missed the felt pieces!!! Happy New Year to you all!

[polly pierce]

I know what you mean about the precious buttons; my mum has a tin full of them. My Grandmother was both creative and industrious; having owned a haberdashery shop in the 60's.

Some of our precious buttons are brand-new; albeit some 40 odd year old now & still sewn onto the cards, others have been painstakingly harvested from items of clothing. That is something I still do today!

As a child I spent many happy hours sorting through that box and if I am truthful I still do sometimes!!

Your hearts are lovely and your precious buttons are well placed; for further generations to enjoy.

Happy Christmas!

[Lizz]

I'm happy to have found your blog. My daughters enjoyed the hearts.

[hedgewizard]

Aha - the wheels of industry are ever turning I see. Good for you! I've tagged you for a slightly unusual meme - have a look at the "songs of sadness" post on my blog and see if you fancy it. Oh, and hope you have a cool Yule!

[debra]

These are lovely! The colors are rich and beautiful. And the textures are wonderful.

[Flibbertygibbet]

Have a wonderful, restful, fun-filled Christmas! xxx

[julie]

lovely to see some of your wonderful feltwork again. The little hearts are beautiful and so lovely that they have sentimental value too - what a great way to use a few of those precious buttons. Hope you all have a wonderful christmas and a very happy new year x