Tutorial: Hello, Kloosha! Easter Ornament

With just a few days before Easter you still have time to make this cute chicken ornament that is perfect for hanging on your Easter tree or using it as a charming decoration in your home. The best part is, all you need is a small piece of fabric and some embroidery floss to make this sweet chicken. So why not give it a try and bring a smile to your face this Easter season!

Here's what you'll need:

• 2 pieces 5" x 5.5" of lightweight or medium weight linen or quilting cotton in natural colour
• Embroidery floss in dark brown, red, yellow, pink and green
• Embroidery needles
• Soft fill
• Sewing accessories
• Optional: A small piece of ribbon or string if you want to make a hanging ornament

NOTE: The bottom of the chicken is rounded so it won't stand upright on its own. However, after you finish your chicken, you can gently push the bottom in to give it a flatter bottom so it can stand leaning against something or even on its own. If you would like to turn this ornament into a pincushion, you can fill the bottom part with rice.

1. To start, download and print out the chicken template at the bottom of this page. Cut out the template.

2. Put two pieces of linen right sides together. Centre the template on sandwiched pieces, pin it and trace it with a water/heat removable pen. Mark the opening.

3. Set the stitch length to 1.8 (or the one shorter than you sew with) on your machine and stitch on the marked line. Backstitch the start and the end of the seam.

4. Trim the seam allowance to about 1/8" and clip the curves and corners.

5. Carefully turn the chicken right side out, pushing all the corners out gently. Using a small amount of soft fill, fill the chicken until it's plump and firm. Do not overstuff it.

6. Sew the opening closed by hand with a Ladder stitch.

7. Use a running stitch and two strands of brown embroidery floss to trace the shape of the chicken on both sides. Then use two strands of red floss and long straight stitches to add the comb, two strands of yellow floss to add the beak. For the eye use brown floss and Colonial knots.

Optional: You can add flowers on the side of the chicken. For the flowers I used two strands of floss and used a Lazy Daisy stitch and Colonial knots.

Here you have it a cute chicken Easter ornament. You can easily enlarge the pattern and make chickens of various sizes. You can add a ribbon loop if you would like to hang your chicken on a tree. Happy sewing and happy Easter!

Larisa xo

Tutorial: Pink Paws Bunny Hanging Ornament

Easter is just around the corner, and it's the perfect time to add some sweetness to your home decor with a delightful felt bunny ornament. This simple, yet charming and fun project is sure to brighten up your day and make you smile. Whether you are an experienced crafter or just starting out, this is a perfect make for anyone who loves crafting and decorating for the holiday season. So why not grab your materials, get comfortable, and let's make something sweet together!

Scandinavian Gnome and Birdhouse Christmas Ornaments

Irina @nordiccrafter and I @stitchingnotes are about to start week two of our Sip Tea and EPP Christmas Sew Along. It is a lot of fun and you still have time to join us as we are going to share more projects, more ideas and more inspirations over the next few weeks on our Instagram accounts @nordiccrafter and @stitchingnotes. Last week we shared two cute ornaments: a Scandinavian Gnome designed by Irina and Birdhouse designed by me a while back.

When Irina sent me her Scandinavian Gnome pattern for our sew along, I dropped everything I was doing at that very moment and ran to my sewing space to pick the fabrics for this make. I was too excited as I knew right away that it was going to be ADORABLE.

Hot Air Balloon

I think this is going to be my last make for this year and I cannot be more happier with it. Some projects are very addictive, once you start, you simply cannot stop until it's done. This Hot Air Balloon by Louise Papas (that is available at Cosy Project) is just that. When I saw this pattern, I knew I had to make it for my Little One and I was so right. He could not wait for me to finish it and kept asking me over and over again if it was ready yet.

Tutorial: Shall We Go Mushroom Picking?

A kind of mushroom picking where you don't have to leave your craft room or your comfy sewing nook. You just need to gather all the materials you might require, get comfortable and off we go. Ready?

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.

Christmas Gift Tags

Christmas is really just around the corner. It's hard to believe but the year is almost over and the last two months always fly by with an incredible speed. So I thought I better get started working not only on gifts but on some decorations as well. Today's project is - gift tags. I love making them!

Lovely Hearts

Hope you all have had the most wonderful Valentine's Day filled with love and joy.

Tutorial: Fabric Hearts Garland

Remember the tiny fabric hearts I made the other day? This is what I made them for. A very quick and easy to make garland. Since my domain is fabric and thread, I thought it would make a perfect sense if I make a Valentine Day's garland using fabric instead of paper. Being a big fan of fusible web, it was a perfect way for me to use it and use all the scraps of fabric left from making Fabric Love Hearts.

Tutorial: Fabric Love Hearts

With Valentine's Day coming up, I thought I would make a few quick and simple decorations for our home. Nothing big and fancy, just a few small things that we can keep or use for some other occasion. Fabric Love Hearts. They can easily be turned into a garland or gift tags, they can be hung on a tree as lovely ornaments or they can fill a basket or vase to the brim to brighten up your room. You can make just one large heart or as many as you like of smaller sizes.

More Easter Birds

A few more birds for the Easter Tree "arrived" last week. The combination of the baby pink and pale green with the delicate flowers and petals is really pleasant to my eyes. This fabric is Sakura Park by Sentimental Studios for Moda Fabrics.

It does not take long to sew the birds but it really is a fun and quick project and it's possible to do it even if you do not have a sewing machine. And what a great way to use all the scraps of fabric, lace and ribbons that you might have.

From Paper to Fabric

I think on paper. Do you? I always carry with me a pen or a pencil and a small notebook. Now I carry a sketch book as well. When I have an idea or plenty things to do in a very limited time, I feel overwhelmed and my head gets "overpopulated" with too many unimportant and distracting thoughts. I feel a need to organise it. Once I put my ideas, plans, worries on paper, I feel much better and see more clearly what needs to be done and how. 

While having some soup at a cafe all by myself, I kept thinking about our family Easter Tree. The houses were finished already but I felt like something else was needed to be made, I kept going back to the idea of little birds. I got my sketch book out and in less than ten minutes I had a pattern for my birdie. The choice of fabrics and ribbon and even buttons was made at the same time. I just had to rush back home and test it. 

I am really happy with the final result. The pastel colours are so soft and sweet and attractive to me. I cannot wait to go "twigs picking" this year and fussing over our Tree while arranging the ornaments in a best possible way.

Birds and Houses

Traditions. Do you keep the traditions that used to run in your family? Or do you create your own? These small rituals that fill your life with extra warmth, love, happiness and laughter. When I was little, I spent every summer with my grandparents and on the day I arrived, my grandma would give me a handmade drawstring pouch filled with goodies. It was the best present ever because you never knew what colour the pouched would be and what you would find inside.

With the Easter season quickly approaching, I am making a few decorations for our Easter Tree. This is something still new to me and my family - making the Easter Tree. A couple of years ago me and my not so little boy came up with the idea of making a tree and decorating it with eggs and birds. The tree that we made that year turned out to be really beautiful. It was just a bunch of twigs arranged in a small sack and decorated with pastel eggs and birds. A year later we added some birdhouses to our ornament collection and from that day it became our new family tradition - making and decorating the Easter Tree. This year I am creating my own decorations. Today's project - cute fabric houses.