Deck the Halls Blog Hop: Day 5

The Christmas countdown has begun! This is the last of five holiday-themed tutorials this week to add to that festive feeling. 

Are you ready to make some ornaments? Both of these stars are quick and fun, not to mention addicting! The fun stripes and bold designs of Maria Kalinowski's Holiday Cheer collection are perfect for these ornaments. 

We used the four prints on the right for the folded star ornament, and the stripe on the left for our jumbo star ornament.

You can find the tutorial for the folded star ornament on Betz White's Crafting a Rainbow blog. We'll get you started, though! Cut four 3-1/4" x 12" strips and fold them in half lengthwise, right sides together. Unfold, and then fold the long raw edges in again to create a strip that is like a double-fold binding. Then head to Betz's blog to see how to fold!

These stars are so cute! 

Hint: Press often! 

To make the jumbo star ornament, you'll need 1/2 yard of the stripe (includes backing) and one 12" square each of black solid and batting. 

Download and print our diamond template here. Cut it out.

Cut two 3" x 42" strips with the stripe running the short way and one 12" square for backing. 

Lay the template on the strip and cut a total of eight diamond shapes. (If you don't want to piece diamonds together, consider adhering fusible web to the strip before cutting the diamonds and then simply fuse the shapes into a star!)

 Sew the diamonds together into pairs, pressing the seams open. 

Sew the pairs together to create two half stars. 

 Join the half stars to make a whole star. Press well. 

Layer the 12" backing square right side down and secure the batting and 12" black solid square on top using basting spray. Center the star on top and temporarily secure with basting spray. 

Use a blanket or other decorative stitch to secure the star to the quilt sandwich. Stitch 1/4" past the outer star edges using black thread. Stitch 1/4" inside each diamond shape using white thread. 

Use a pinking shears or pinked rotary cutter to cut out the star shape 1/4" beyond the black stitched line. Hand sew a loop for hanging. 

The back: 

For a chance to win a bundle of one of our holiday collections, leave a comment below letting us know that you follow us on at least one of our social media platforms (either right here on the blog--options in the right hand sidebar, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest), as well as telling us if you have any handmade ornaments on your tree. We'll randomly pick a winner and announce it next week! Giveaway is open through Monday, December 12th at 11:59 pm EST.    

Make sure to catch all of the tutorials on our Deck The Halls Blog Hop!

Monday 12/5: Chris from made by ChrissieD

Tuesday 12/6: Paula Nadelstern

Wednesday 12/7:  Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts

Thursday 12/8: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts

Friday 12/9: Benartex blog design team

p.s. Looking for more holiday inspiration? Click here to check out the tutorials featured in our Christmas in July blog hop. 

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Deck the Halls Blog Hop: Day 2

The Christmas countdown has begun! This week we'll be sharing five holiday-themed tutorials to add to that festive feeling. 

Are Christmas trees your favorite part of the holidays? Wait until you add one of Paula Nadelstern's absolutely amazing Opulent Ornaments to your evergreen.  These no-sew ornaments start with a styrofoam ball and a fussy-cut kaleidoscope motif from one of Paula's fabric collections. Add beads and sequins to your heart's content, and you'll soon be adding one of these beauties to your holiday decor! 

Click here to download the pdf with Paula's detailed instructions for creating the Opulent Ornament. Her new collection, Kismet, available this winter, includes her signature kaleidoscope motifs that would work wonderfully for these ornaments; you can likely find her recent collection, Chromazone, in your local quilt shop as well. 

For a chance to win a bundle of one of our holiday collections, leave a comment below letting us know that you follow us on at least one of our social media platforms (either right here on the blog--options in the right hand sidebar, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest), as well as telling us if you've ever added beads to a fabric project before. We'll randomly pick a winner and announce it next week! Giveaway is open through Sunday, December 11th at 11:59 pm EST.  

Make sure to catch all of the tutorials on our Deck The Halls Blog Hop!

Monday 12/5: Chris from made by ChrissieD

Tuesday 12/6: Paula Nadelstern

Wednesday 12/7:  Debby from Debby Kratovil Quilts

Thursday 12/8: Alison from Little Bunny Quilts

Friday 12/9: Benartex blog design team

p.s. Looking for more holiday inspiration? Click here to check out the tutorials featured in our Christmas in July blog hop. 

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Day 1: Opulent Ornaments

Combine Paula Nadelstern's kaleidoscope style fabric with:

 sequins

seed beads

and a simple styrofoam ball

to make...

 Intricate, gorgeous ornaments, inspired by the fabric design, and so addicting you'll be making them long after Christmas is over! 

Click here to download the free pattern to make these beautiful ornaments. 

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Win a fat quarter bundle!

Today's 12 Days of Christmas question:

How many snowmen in the Frosty Friends Panel?

(Hint: Look on our website.)

To enter the giveaway, leave the correct answer in the comment section below this post. 

The winner will receive this fat quarter bundle of Nancy Halvorsen favorites!

Details: This giveaway is open through Friday, December 14th at 11:59 EST.  This giveaway is now closed. On Saturday, we'll randomly draw a name from the commenters with the correct answer, and we'll post the winner's name here on the blog.

Good luck!

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