How to Make Heart-felt Christmas Decorations

Felt Hanging Hearts

You will need:

Coloured felt or sturdy material

Sewing needle and thread

Sharp scissors

Ribbon or twine

Some fleece or stuffing material (could also use crushed lavender or a lightweight grain such as

buckwheat).

Instructions:

Draw or trace a heart shape onto paper to make a template. A tip is to fold a piece of paper in

half and draw half of the heart coming out of the folded edge – cut while folded and the shape

will be symmetrical.

Pin the heart to the felt and cut two felt heart shaped pieces.

Thread the needle and choose a spot to begin – at point A on the template picture is a good

place. Sew a tiny stitch into one side of the felt and go over it twice more – this makes an

invisible knot.

Place the two pieces of felt together and commence sewing down to the bottom point of the

heart – blanket stitch is a nice stitch if you know it (or youtube it as super easy) or you can do a

running stitch all the way around.

When you get to the top of the opposite round from where you started, near point B, begin to

stuff the heart. Don’t overstuff – if the stitches are straining then it is too much! The ribbon or

twine will be attached to the very centre dip at the top of the heart. Stitch to the middle, insert

both ends of the ribbon and make a few small stitches to secure it in place. Then continue

stitching up to beginning point and to finish do another 3 tiny stitches on the back of the final

stitch for another knot. Cut off ends of threads.

Salt Dough Christmas Decorations

Dough recipe:

4 cups plain flour

1 cup salt

1 ½ cups warm water

Mix the flour and salt in a bowl. Add warm water and mix with a knife. Switch to hand mixing

when the dough gets sticky and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is well combined and

smooth. Cover with glad wrap and let rest for 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 150c. Roll the dough out on baking paper to a thickness of 5-6mm. Cut shapes

with cookie cutters and then press plants or embellishments into the surface as desired, then

remove. If the ornament goes out of shape then use the cutter to re cut it around the design.

Use a straw or stick to make a hole at the top for hanging. Bake in the oven for 45 mins to one

hour. The ornaments should be completely dry and hard when done. Remove from oven and

cool completely. Tie ribbon through the holes to hang.

By Kirrilee Heartman @KirileeHeartman