SOFT, SAFE & EASY SNOWMEN ORNAMENTS

For Christmas 2012 I decided to make ornaments to give as gifts. I thought it would be fun to make some snowmen using a snowball block (perfect for snowmen!), some wool and eco-fi felt and twill ribbon.  To start, I cut 5" squares of white fabric and 2" squares of Christmas fabrics for the corners. Once the corners were added and trimmed, I attached each block to a 5" piece of batting by sewing in the ditch along each corner seam. For the backs I cut 5" squares of white and attached them to batting squares (I wanted each ornament to have two batting square layers inside so they'd have a softer feel and to hide any thread color through the white fabric) by using a decorative stitch for the year 2012.  I originally thought of using buttons for the eyes and mouths, however, since we are still living in the condo (and almost all my crafty goodies are in storage) that was not going to happen.  I chose to cut some wonky circles free hand from black wool felt, along with some 'carrot' noses (the orange is eco-fi felt made from recycled plastic bottles and so easy to work with...I got it from honeybegood). To hold them in place I used a Lapel Stick and then stitched the 'eyes' and 'mouths' using black thread and a decorative stitch on my Janome; and a straight stitch for the 'noses' using orange thread. To finish each one, I cut a piece of twill ribbon about 9" long, folded it and placed it between the two layers (right sides facing); sewed around leaving a couple of inches open for turning. Snip each corner before turning, press with a iron and either sew the opening closed or do what I did, and use fabric glue so no stitches show.  I think these would be great for those who have small children or pets that love to 'play' with Christmas ornaments...soft and not breakable.