Wool Felt Joy: Wrapping Up the Holidays and Welcoming the New Year

As the holiday season winds down and we step into a fresh new year, I’ve been reflecting on the warmth and creativity that filled December. For me, that joy came through wool felt ornaments—tiny treasures that carry heartfelt meaning. Handmade pieces have a way of turning simple moments into lasting memories, and this year was no exception.

The Benzie Design Ornament Exchange

One of the highlights of my season was participating in the Benzie Design Ornament Exchange. It’s such a wonderful way to connect with fellow makers and share a bit of handmade magic. The idea is simple: create ornaments for a partner and receive their creations in return—but the results are always extraordinary.

For my recipient, I wanted to design ornaments that felt cozy and whimsical. After taking a peek at their social media, I noticed a love for a pink and mint color palette—such a cheerful combination! I knew right away that I wanted to make a felt ornament and a stocking to match. Each piece was curated with care, using vibrant colors and playful details that reflected their style.

To make the gift extra special, I tucked a matching handmade needle minder (made from cute Poppie Cotton fabric) inside the stocking, along with a few felt pom shapes and some sweet treats. It was such a joy to pull everything together and imagine the smile when she opened the package.

And then came the best part—opening the package from my partner! Her ornaments were stunning, full of detail and heart. I love all the different mediums and delightful details. Both ornaments were charming, and I couldn’t stop admiring the craftsmanship—along with her special wrapping that made the whole experience feel even more magical.

An Assortment of Handmade Cheer

Beyond the exchange, I spent much of December creating wool felt ornaments for family and friends. Each evening, I cozied up in my stitching nest and worked on a fresh batch. From classic holiday motifs to whimsical winter designs, every piece was stitched with love and attention to detail.

These ornaments became more than decorations—they were tokens of thoughtfulness, reminders of the joy that comes from giving something handmade.

If this post has inspired you to create your very own wool felt ornaments, you should definitely give it a try! Wool felt is such a versatile, forgiving, and satisfying material to work with, and there are endless possibilities for shapes, colors, and designs. To help you get started, here are a few links at Benzie Design. Just a heads-up: some of these links are affiliate links, which means if you decide to buy something through them, I’ll earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. It’s a simple way to support the content I share, and I truly appreciate it!

• Free Project Tutorials
• Wool Blend Felt (high quality, yet more affordable)
• Bellwether 100% Wool Felt
• Cutting Dies (like the tree, mitten, dove, and nutcrackers I used)
• Die Cutting Tutorial and Tips

As I pack away my felt scraps and tidy up my stitching nest, I’m reminded of how much joy these little handmade pieces brought to my holiday season. Each ornament was more than just decoration—it was a way to slow down, savor the moment, and share a bit of love with others. Moving into the new year, I hope to carry that same spirit of creativity and connection forward. Here’s to more making, more sharing, and more moments that feel truly meaningful.

Jenny's CTC Box: December 5th - 10th

Greetings friends! It will be a short post today - I just wanted to drop in and share the last five days from Jenny's Countdown to Christmas Box with you. It has been such a special treat to have a small present to open each day...it really has put me in more of the Christmas spirit this year. I must say, I have been really impressed with the items this year - so far, all things I will make and use. If you are not familiar with this box, it is a sewing advent calendar from the Missouri Star Quilt Company with 25 numbered and wrapped presents. I shared the first five days last week. Today's post includes days numbered six through 10. Before I go any further, this is not really a spoiler, as everyone who has this box should already have the gifts from the 6th - 10th opened - but if you do not want to know what was in each of these packages, stop reading/looking now... Click on images, if you want a larger view...

Day 6: A wooden clapper (pressing block) and/or ruler and template holder
with spindles for spools/bobbins.

Day 7: A Charm Pack of Strawberry Lemonade by Sheri & Chelsi for Moda.

Day 8: Hexie Cellphone Clutch pattern, with hardware, templates and
interfacing. Pattern uses fabric from day 7.

Day 9: Two paper star lanterns with fairy light strings. One has snowflake
cuts and the other has sewing item cuts.

Day 10: A pair of "Chuck" embroidery scissors with a tassel and MSQC
quilt block charm. Chuck the Duck is the MSQC mascot. You can see
him on the red wrapping paper in my images.

There you have it, the next five gifts unveiled - 15 more to go...Christmas is coming in quickly this year. I need to hurry up and finish my gifts and get them shipped!

Countdown to Christmas

Greetings friends! Here I am, another late night with our crazy schedule... and I just wanted to pop in and share some holiday musings. I don't know about you, but this time of year, I have a really hard time trying to accomplish everything on my list. The balancing act is real, while I try to complete work, family, and home obligations...as well as make gifts and prepare for Christmas and the New Year...why do I always feel the need to be an overachiever this time of year? I try to make as many of my gifts as possible...and this year, I am finding myself a bit behind. I am doing my best to spend this holiday season with a happy and grateful heart...and I hope things will fall into place with the holiday rush. 

This week, I managed to get an overdue finishing order complete and shipped at the last minute...content photographed and filmed for my upcoming Therm O Web blog post (cross stitch ornament finishing)...two projects and photos completed for a Poppie Cotton Christmas Countdown (coming soon!)...a pile of sewing done for my Etsy Shop (if you are looking for my project bags, go take a look)...and some of my gift making complete. We had several challenging household things going on this week that hindered our sleeping schedule, that in turn took time away from my to-do list...so I am scrambling a bit. A few gifts may arrive to their recipients a bit late this year (SIGH!).

While it has been a struggle this week, there were moments of kindness and joy that brightened my week. Last Saturday evening, my neighbors had a watch party for the new Hallmark Christmas movie Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. This movie was filmed in Kansas City in July and the city has been a buzz about it for months...hence several of our neighbors got together for a watch party. My husband was working, but it was still fun to get together with a group of our favorite neighbors and enjoy good food and a cheesy holiday movie. We had appetizers and hot cider and laughed - A LOT - it was good for my soul. We will get together with the same group, plus a few more, for a KC Christmas light tour later this month (a bus has been rented!).

...and, see that beautiful evergreen wreath at the top of this post? - my dear friend Katie gave that to me for Christmas to make my home look and smell like the holidays. I am still yet to get a Christmas tree (as we have discussed), so it is nice to have this beautiful wreath on my dining table. It is real pine and needs watering...and it smells amazing.

To close out this update - I mentioned I was gifted an incredible advent box in a previous post. This was a complete surprise and touched me deeply...not only the gift, but the very special card and note that were included. Truth be told, I have been feeling a bit down on myself and kind of like a failure (all work related) ...and the note included made me feel encouraged and loved. This is from Missouri Star Quilt Company - it is Jenny's Countdown to Christmas 2024 Box. When I tell you that each year I go out and look at this box and dream about it - even watching the unboxing videos each year, I am not exaggerating. It has never been something I could justify or afford. This surprise was definitely a gift from the heart and I am extremely grateful. Since this is a quilty/creative box, I thought I would share the box and the first five packages in today's post. This is not really a spoiler, as everyone who has this box should already have the first five gifts open - but if you do not want to know what was in each of the first five packages, stop reading/looking now...
Click on images, if you want a larger view...

Day 1: Scrappy Fabric Card Making Kit
This kit is really sweet with lots of stencils to cut scraps of
fabric and fusible adhesive, plus the cards and envelopes
to sew them too...plus a little booklet of ideas. I love this!

Day 2: Adorable Iron-shaped Tin with Embellishments
A very fun iron-shaped tin with cute buttons, beads, bows, bells, and pins.
A great mix of useful items! Now to decide what to keep in the tin....

Day 3: A Set of Quilty Measuring Bowls and a Gingerbread Recipe
Aren't these wonderful?! I was sad to find the 1/3 cup shattered from shipping
(it is the one that is barely visible)...but I sent MSQC an e-mail
(which I thought was a longshot) and they are sending me a replacement
as soon as it is available...phenomenal customer service!
These may end up in my sewing room in some capacity...

Day 4: Welcome Home Quilt Pattern and Special Fabric Panel
I think this is such a fun idea..you use doors printed on the fabric panel for
each of the houses in the quilt. Each door is different and you pick your favorites.
I would love to make time to create this mini quilt!

Day 5: Wooden Quilt Hangers
Believe it or not, I have had sets of these in my Amazon wish list
for a couple years! I am super excited to try them out.
My husband already picked a spot to hang them...now I 
just have to pick one of my quilts to hang.

So, there you have it - the first five days of the advent box - each day has been a real treat to open and I am thoroughly enjoying this heartfelt gift for the season!!

For now, I am back to my sewing room - I have another pile of project bags to sew and list. Next up on the list will be a customer order...then gifts to make. I also must make time to write several blog posts and tutorials...plus put together a few videos. Here are a few dates for you to remember:

• December 13th - I have a special project for day three of the Poppie Cotton Christmas Countdown
• December 16th - Cross Stitch Ornament Finishing Tutorial for the Therm O Web Blog
• December 17th - I have another special project for day seven of the Poppie Cotton Christmas Countdown

Finally, this Saturday, I got tickets for my husband and I to go the Overland Park Arboretum for the Luminary Walk. There are illuminated pathways through the gardens, along with musical performances throughout. The gardens glow with color, while candle-lit woodland walkways create a serene atmosphere...and the trees, buildings, and bridges shimmer with thousands of lights. Santa will be visiting, and the trains will be running in the Train Garden...plus hot cider and popcorn. The weather is supposed to be warmer and nicer this weekend, so I picked the perfect day! I am hoping to get good photos to share with you next week...

Outstanding Ornaments

It's another frigidly cold day and I have been in my stitching nest working on a couple cross stitch magazine models this afternoon. Before the day gets completely away from me and while Garin is in the kennel taking his afternoon nap, I thought I would share a few more needlework finishes. These ornaments were all stitched by the same fabulous stitcher - and each was a joy to finish (lucky me - this incredible needleworker gives me minimal direction and lets me be creative!). I am sharing photos of the fronts and the backs, so you can see the fabrics I chose to coordinate with these flat finishes. All of the cording is made with DMC Six-Strand Embroidery Floss and my Kreinik Custom Corder....and it is hand-stitched in place (I don't use glue on any pieces I finish - just my personal preference) - I also hand sew ribbons, trims and embellishments in place. Another large package of needlework arrived from the same stitcher yesterday and has been added to my to-do list, so I will get to start picking fabrics, colors and trims again soon!

For now, it is time to let the puppy out of the kennel (and yes, for those asking, I will post a new photo of him soon - he is oh so adorable, but oh so mischievous!). Later tonight I will be working on more needlework finishing...and if time allows, quilting a small patchwork wall hanging...my studio tables are full of projects, so there will be A LOT of creative finishes to share in the future....

Fabric Gift Tag Tutorial

One of my favorite holiday projects this year has been creating fun fabric gift tags. I have been wanting to make some of these tie-on tags for a couple years and I finally made time to play in my sewing studio. I managed to make a handful this past week...then today, I decided I would make one more, so I could write a quick tutorial for you. This project gives you a chance to be creative and play fabrics, threads, and embellishments...and use a sewing machine...plus do a little hand stitching. I am actually a little addicted to these package tie-ons, which would be perfect for any occasion...in fact, I think I will be making some for future birthday presents! I used quality quilting fabric for the front and back of the tags and wool felt scraps for the main embellishments...I also added some trims, sequins, and tokens I had in my sewing room...and of course ribbon and/or baker's twine is perfect for attaching the tags to packages. The back of the tag can be used for personalizing...and, of course, each one would make a fabulous tree ornament!

First, you will want to cut your tag shapes from fabric - you will need two (one for the front and one for the back). I used a die cutting machine, but another option would be to print a tag template (a Google search will give you loads of options) and trace it on your fabric to give you a cutting line. I also cut two from a fusible lightweight interfacing - if you are cutting by hand, you will want to fuse the interfacing to the fabric before cutting your tags.

If you did not fuse the interfacing to the fabric before cutting, fuse it to your fabric now. Fuse the shiny, pilled side to the wrong side of your fabric using the manufacturer's instructions.

Next, decide the motif/shape you would like to add to your tag - for the example, I used a snowman cut from white wool felt - you could use fabric or any assortment of embellishments. I used a glue stick on the back of my felt shape to help hold it in place.

After deciding on the wool shape, I took the tag to my sewing machine for a bit of embellishment. I used dark sewing thread to cover the hat...then stitched some stick arms...and used a specialty stitch on my machine for the buttons. I also stitched around the entire snowman with a straight stitch using white thread. For all of the machine stitching, I used an open toe foot for better vision.

Use sewing thread or embroidery floss and a sharp needle to add the smaller details - for the model, I hand stitched the snowman's face (French Knots for the eyes, and straight stitches for the carrot nose and mouth).

Next, add any additional embellishments, such as: buttons, trims, sequins, brads, or beads. For the model, I added three snowflake sequins, using a sharp needle with transparent thread. If you want, now would be the time to embellish or personalize the back of the tag.

You are now ready to sew the front and the back of the tag together. Place the two tags right sides together, and sew around the perimeter, leaving an opening for turning. I did this on my sewing machine and and used about an eighth of an inch for the seam allowance, so I could keep the curvature of the tag - if your tag is not as fancy, a quarter of an inch seam allowance will work quite well.

                                 

                                        

The next step is to turn your tag right sides out...making sure to get all the corners and curves pushed out nicely (try using a pencil eraser or chopstick to make this step easier). Press, then machine top stitch around the entire perimeter, which will close the opening used for turning.

I used a grommet to strengthen the hole in the tag.

Run a decorative ribbon or length of baker's twine through the grommet hole for attaching to a gift.

Tie on your package for a perfect, personal, handmade touch!

I hope you have enjoyed this holiday tutorial...maybe it will prompt you to make a few fabric gift tags of your own. Happy holidays!