Every year around the holidays I always seem to make note of endless ideas for Christmas-themed cross stitching.  There are so many great ideas out there, and I always wish I had a little bit more time to try a couple before the season is over.  And every year I find I’m simply too busy with other stitching and/or getting ready for Christmas to do so.

But just after the 2015 holidays, I decided it wasn’t too late yet and I got to work making something in preparation for next year!

I found this awesome pattern online that I tweaked and decided to stitch with a green ombre effect.  And because it’s for Christmas I used some glittery gold Aida cloth that gave the whole thing a very festive look.  But then once I was done stitching, I didn’t know what to do with it.

I didn’t want to frame it because then I’d have to find a place on the wall for it every holiday season.  And it turned out far too big to become a tree ornament.

Then I got inspired by a few pictures I found online and came up with this:

I sewed the piece onto a glittery white felt backing with ribbon trim, stuffed it with cotton batting, and added some white and off-white buttons to simulate ornaments.  Then, with the help of my husband, I made a stand out of some random wood pieces we had lying around and gave it a touch of festive with bronze spray paint and ribbon.  I’m so pleased with how the whole thing turned out, especially because this was a completely last minute and random project!

Now I can’t wait until next Christmas when I’ll be able to display this hand-made ornament on one of my side tables!  And hopefully this will inspire my 2016 holiday season with even more unexpected stitchy creativity!

S