My 2023 ornaments! Courtesy of Larissa Holland

Happy New Year everyone! 

I thought I would finally post my projects from Larissa Holland's patterns and my thoughts and takeaways. 

Here is my Santa and Mrs. Claus which turned out too cute. I loved everything about the pattern---and I'm not a Santa fan! Some changes I made: 

1.  I felted the trim on the coat, sleeves, hat, and boots from 100% wool that I had already (from another project that I abandoned). I loved the result. The felting does require quite a bit of time, but I think it was totally worth it.  To those who have never done it, you stab the wool until it forms the shape you want.  I've seen felting wool at Hobby Lobby so if you're interested in this detail it is possible.  The only thing is that it makes his waistline thicker so I had to adjust the belt a wee bit, but isn't he a bowl full of jelly anyway?! 

2. I also added the holly berries silk ribbon embroidery on the coat, sleeves, and hat.  I've done silk embroidery before and had a ton of ribbon left over. ( Yes, I know what you're thinking, yes, I have a ton of materials left over from a ton of extra projects). I added the leaves freehand and added seed beads for the holly berries. I thought it added Santa an air of sophistication. I liked the original starburst pattern, but I preferred the holly berries. 

3.  I gave my Santa a chenille stem Teddy bear to hold. I found the video on Pinterest here's the link: teddy bear video  I curled Santa's arm around and secured him to Santa's arm with a few stitches. 

4. I changed the belt design a bit. I used a series of gold seed beads sewn in a circle for the buckle and added two lines of grey stitching along the edges of the belt. 

5. I added a gingerman to the stocking. I just cut out a shape freehand and added white seed beads for buttons then glued it to the inside. 

So here's my Santa, what do you think? 

Here's the rear view of my Santa where you can see more of the wool felting. 

Last picture of Santa, I added more embroidery on his hat. 

Here's my Mrs. Claus.  I loved her! She has mostly the same changes that I made to Santa.  The cuffs on her coat and sleeves are felted, the belt, and I added silk embroidery holly leaves details to her coat and skirt.

1.  To Ms. Claus I added a doll, I made her with felt and ribbon scraps, cotton pipe cleaners, and embroidery floss. I was inspired by Victorian Christmas cards with Santa carrying gifts; including dolls and decided to give it a try.  

2.  Yes, I realize that my Mrs. Claus has Elsa-inspired hair, but I liked it and it gave her a more youthful appearance.  This was the first time I gave one of my ornaments embroidery floss hair and I used glue like a mousse to give her hair more stick, but I used too much and it lost its sheen. Oops, but I still think she's cute. I added a holly sprig for interest. 

3. I added an orange to the stocking, but when my sister saw it she thought it was a tomato, so I took a red marker and turned it into an apple.   

  

Here's a rearview of my Mrs. Claus,  

Here is a close-up of her sleeves and cuffs. 

I hope I've inspired you to more creative endeavors and I hope you check out Larissa Holland's patterns.  They are here.  

Cheers!