sticky fingers, sparkly stars

When some of the shop owners where I sell asked for holiday ornaments for their stores, my first reaction was "I don't have time for this." I'd been doing so much sewing and the thought of making one more item wasn't very appealing. But, I hate to disappoint, so I asked myself what else I could do that would fit in with the Primrose Design look. Here's what I came up with—and what I've been working on for the past week. There's a lot of down time with these while they dry in between the steps, so you can easily jump back and forth from other pursuits. I've been doing bookkeeping and I'm quite sure you don't want to hear about that!


An almost finished ornament—I'll probably add a few more pearls

Here's are the supplies you'll need to make these:



• flat unfinished wood stars*
• a drill for making the hanging holes
• white acrylic paint (FolkArt 901 Wicker White)
• glue (Aleene's Glass and Bead)
• buttons (white, pearl, rhinestone) in a variety of shapes and sizes
• seed pearls, or pearl beads
• decoupage medium (Plaid Mod Podge)
• sewing needle
• thread for hanging (I used metallic silver)


Put some paper down on your workspace—this could get messy!

1. Drill a hole in one point of each star. A power drill really helps because they have a tendency to break or crack. Don't get too close to the edge.
2. Paint each star with acrylic paint—a couple of coats, and don't forget the edges.
3. Now for the buttons. Start at the point with the drilled hole and place a button over it so the holes align. This is where the hanging thread will be added later. You can either apply glue to the wood and then press the button on or apply it to the button itself (that's where the sticky fingers come in). You'll get the hang of arranging them after a while. You'll want a good mix of sizes, shapes, and shades of white, and to cover the surface without leaving too many open spaces or overlapping the outer edges too much. Use smaller buttons on the points and larger one toward the center.


Vintage buttons!

4. After you have a base layer of buttons, go back and add a few more to cover any open spaces. Flat buttons can rest on top and buttons with shanks are perfect for filling smaller oblong openings. The seed pearls are to fill any really small holes, especially near the edges. You're going for a layered, crusted look—think royal treasure storeroom or pirate's treasure chest—the more the better. I wanted an all-white look for mine but you could add silver or gold beads, trinkets, or charms. It's a small "canvas" so anything smallish will work well.


It's hard to be neat with this glue but it's shiny so adds to the sparkle.

5. Once you're happy with the results, let the whole thing dry.
6. Paint the back side with the decoupage medium for a shiny, glossy finish. This works as a glue, too, so you can add a little logo or message that you've printed on paper to the back. If you do this you'll need a few extra coats (with drying time in between).
7. Take a needle and make sure the hanging hole is clear (it gets gummed up with glue and paint and Mod Podge). Then string your hanging thread through the hole and knot it. And you're done.



Six of the finished ornaments are off to Hello Bluebird today but I've got plenty of buttons left so I'm going to keep going. They're really pretty and I'm sure I'll find a use for them :)

* You can find these in craft stores like Michaels and A.C. Moore. My local stores only had one size and I wanted something slightly larger, so I bought the 4" size at Woodworks, Ltd. They have a wide variety of shapes including primitive stars (less-sharp points) and hearts.

holiday aprons

As you know I've been busy stocking my web site with goodies for holiday shopping. This morning I added twelve vintage aprons including three with holiday themes. One features a jazzy print with trees and colored dots on a black background:



Another is white with a border print of holly and poinsettias:



Just a quick interruption to direct you to Georgia Peachez's blog for some photos of her gorgeous holiday fabric collection. I'm loving the use of pink with the reds and greens.

My embroidery fans are going to love the third apron. It's heavy white linen with a cross stitch tree, bells, and holly. And there are several cool details. At the top of the tree and bottom of the bells, a rhinestone "jewel" was added. And there's nice use of gold metallic thread—actually it's more like very skinny ribbon. I haven't really talked about ribbon embroidery but you can embroider with anything that fits through the hole of your needle. Wide ribbon makes for some great three-dimensional effects!


The whole tree


French knots, lazy daisy leaves, and a rhinestone jewel.


The ribbon has been fastened down with couching.

All are for sale on my website. And don't forget your discount code "HOLIDAY" if you do decide to buy.

it's beginnning to look a lot like Christmas

I've been sewing like a mad woman and stocking the Primrose Design website with lots of goodies for holiday shopping. I tend to not make many holiday-themed things because, if they don't sell, I'm stuck with them until next year. But I had a cute handkerchief embroidered with poinsettias and holly in my stash and it was just crying out to become something holiday-related. Another hanky with green crocheted edging, some poinsettia fabric, and a red and white button stack were the perfect companions. Voila—a hanky sachet!



I've never done a give-away on my blog before but this seems like the perfect opportunity :)

So, leave a comment here before noon on Thursday (that's November 29th) and I'll throw all the names in a hat and pick someone to win this sachet. I'll announce the winner in another post and that person can then send me their mailing address. I'll wrap it up and send it on it's way the next time I go to the post office.

Sound like fun? Well, get writing :)

(Please note that I moderate all comments before they're published, so don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away).

Vintage ornaments

In their December issue, Country Home magazine did a short article about collecting vintage glass Christmas ornaments. Like these:



And these are some ornaments from my collection. It was kind of cool to see that I have some of the same designs—and the tiny blown-glass teapot has always been my favorite.



I don’t really collect ornaments—I just happen to have these from my parent’s collection. And I’ve moved about 20 times since leaving home so it’s a wonder they haven’t broken. The teapot is especially delicate with its little spout and handle.

If you do decide to collect ornaments like this, October to December is the time when they're most plentiful in antique shops. But keep your eye out for them all year 'round as they'll be less expensive at other times of the year. And don't forget flea markets. I found several boxes of ornaments on Sunday at the local indoor market—$1 per box!



Now to get these on the tree!