handmade holiday | felt food ornaments

I mentioned that my Christmas tree was non-traditional, but to be honest, it's downright eclectic.

Anyone else have an asparagus ornament on their tree?

(That was another idea that came to me as I was trying to fall asleep. Vegetables on Christmas trees! Insomniacs come up with some weird sh*t in the middle of the night!)

But Larry and I do love to cook, so it's only fitting that our tree have a few culinary adornments. What these particular ingredients make, I do not know (really gross salsa?), but what tree doesn't need a few more veggies? And fruits? And...fungi? (Not to mention if the fungi is red with white spots, I'm pretty sure it's actually a toadstool, and it's poisonous...)


PIPE CLEANER ASPARAGUS

Materials | pipe cleaners, yarn, felt, thread, embroidery floss, glue, hemp twine (for hanging cord)
Equipment | scissors, needle
Tips | Wrap the pipe cleaners with yarn, and glue at the ends.
          Create the asparagus tips by sewing a pocket with two pieces of felt. 
          Insert the yarn-wrapped pipe cleaner in the open end of the asparagus tip.
          Sew around the pipe cleaner until the tip is secured to the stalk.


FELT MUSHROOM

Several years ago, I hosted a woodland-themed baby shower and created big felt mushrooms for tabletop decorations. When I saw that Alisa, the host of this year's Freshly Blended Ornament Swap, had created some adorable needle felted toadstool ornaments, I was green with envy that I wasn't on her swap list. I have no clue how to needle felt, but I remembered the technique I had used for the felt mushrooms two years ago and decided to make a miniaturized version for my tree. They're not nearly as cute as Alisa's, but they do the trick.

I had also planned to stuff the caps with poly stuffing, but my studio is such a mess, that I couldn't find any. I found that a cotton ball was the perfect substitute!

Materials | felt, thread, cotton ball, cardboard circle, baker's twine (for hanging cord)
Equipment | scissors, needle
Tips | Make the cap by sewing a loose running stitch around the perimeter of a felt circle (2 1/2" diameter).
          Pull both ends of the thread like a drawstring to create a felt purse.
          Stuff the felt purse with a cotton ball and top with the cardboard circle to create a base.
          Cinch the thread tight and tie in a knot so the mushroom cap holds it's shape.
          Create the mushroom stem by rolling up a piece of adhesive-backed white felt.
          Glue the stem to the cardboard inside the mushroom cap.
          Cut circles out of adhesive-backed white felt to create the spots on the mushroom cap.


FELT TOMATO

Materials | felt, thread, cotton balls, baker's twine (for hanging cord)
Equipment | scissors, needle
Tips | I made the tomato using the same technique as the mushroom cap (but without the cardboard circle). Use a 4" diameter (or larger) felt circle to create the tomato and stuff with 4 or 5 cotton balls. Then hand sew the leaves on top to cover the opening.


FELT AVOCADO

An homage to my favorite party dip - guacamole!

Materials | felt, thread, wired floral stem (for hanging loop)
Equipment | scissors, needle

Here's to a delicious Christmas!

P.S. Don't eat the toadstools.