Sweet Crafting

Last minute finishing touches before Christmas. I am so glad we were right on time to complete our first ever Gingerbread House before Christmas Eve. Oh, how much happiness and fun it was to work on this project.

Surprise Mail

The Winter Sparkle ATC swap is almost over. Most of the cards have been completed and sent away to their final destinations. I am still waiting to hear from my partner if the card I made arrived. I hope it won't get lost somewhere on the way.

I was lucky last week to found something so sweet in my mailbox that arrived all the way from UK. A "whole street" of pretty, festive and very sparkly houses right in time for Christmas. I was Alison's at Patchwork Fairy secret partner and she made this card for me.

I love the way Alison captured the night sky with all the sparkly shiny stars. The way the tiny houses are decorated with a bit of silvery thread and all the shades of purple. It's such a lovely, winterly and happy card. Thank you very much, Alison!

The card is going to join my slowly growing gallery of ATCs. I like to keep them in my little sewing corner on small easels on the shelves among my fabric stash, buttons, ribbons, cute jars and all other pretty things. Every time I look at any of the cards, they make me smile and remind me about all the happy feelings I had while working on my ATCs, checking out the progress of all the participants and anticipating the arrival of my card and never knowing which one I would find in my mailbox.

It's been a great year of ATCs swapping organised by Ali at VeryBerryHandmade. So much to be inspired by, so much to learn and so many lovely and creative people to meet. Check out the gallery on Flickr to see it for yourself. Thank you very much, Ali! Larisa xox

A Test Run

Remember my practice in free motion stitching? Those tiny pictures? Well, I turned a few of them into something small, very simple and as always very easy to make. Key rings with reverse applique.

Tutorial: Birdhouse Hanging Ornament

A cute hanging ornament with a reverse applique. These houses are so quick and easy to make and it's a lot of fun too. They would look lovely on a Christmas tree or hanging on a door knob, they even can be used as gift tags. If you would like to make one, here is a step-by-step tutorial for you.