Every Christmas I have the overwhelming urge to make a slew of ornaments. It's part of my getting in the spirit of things, like putting the sparkly paper village on the mantle and baking cut-out cookies. Some years, I've made them for holiday fairs and craft shows and some years, I've just made them for family and friends. But I am always inspired by something or someone in the process and this year it was these mittens and rag balls created by Dawn Edmonson at The Feathered Nest.
These beautiful ornaments were featured in the holiday issue of Somerset Life and Dawn offers complete tutorials on her blog. There's all kinds of good stuff on The Feathered Nest blog and Dawn is the kind of artist who's willing to share her how-to's. (Lucky for the rest of us.)
The mittens are to-die-for darling and though I made them to sell at a friend's home show, I couldn't bring myself to part with them. When the time came to price them, I thought, "But they're priceless!" Maybe it was the fact that I used several buttons from my collection that were my grandmother's. Maybe it's the fact that they were quite time-consuming. Or maybe they're just so gorgeous I couldn't bear to have them go to anyone but beloved friends who would treasure them as I do! They are aged with a coffee spray and frosted with glitter. The photos don't really do them justice, but when my family saw the mittens on a cooling rack in the kitchen they actually thought they were cookies. (It was pre-ribbons and buttons step.)
Making the rag ball ornaments was like good therapy. They were easy and fun and the result leaves me feeling so good inside. I washed inexpensive muslin and tore it into strips. Then wrapped it around styrofoam balls, sprayed them with coffee, rolled them in glitter, and added a stained, stamped tag along with some lace and string and an old button or three. I couldn't part with these beauties either, so they're sparkling away in a big wire tray in the foyer for now. They would make lovely party favors. Each guest could choose one on their way out, or from off of a tabletop tree. Imagine them atop a plain paper package, or, here's a wild idea, hanging on the tree!
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