Newbies

New house keychain ornaments in my shop:

Mediterranean - ebony, red and blue

Charcoal grey and brown

Yellow, purple and torquise No. 2

Little houses - keychain charms

I have been toying with the idea of making some keychain ornaments, a bit like my decorative hearts but smaller, to keep the keys company and make them easier to find in the depths of a woman's handbag.

At the end I decided to make tiny houses kechain charms with little doors and windows made of felt and freehand machine embroidery. I have a lot of leftover fabric, patches too small to make anything other than very small objects and this seemed like a perfect solution. I attached a split ring to the "chimney" of each house and am quite pleased with the three I made today (once I knew what I wanted they didn't took too long to finish).

I might try some hand stitching next time or add beads and trims to make the houses more festive - they are all stuffed with plant fibre filling so can also be used as pincushions or even christmas ornaments...

Bloggers ornament exchange 2009 - update

My ornament exchange partner Donna of Brynwood Needleworks has already received her ornament (wow, that was fast, five working days from Germany to Florida!) so this post won't spoil the surprise. I can't wait to get her handmade creation...

I was glad to take part in this exchange (you can see more participants HERE), it was great fun designing a simple, but elegant christmas ornament. I wanted to make more of them and offer them in my shop in sets of two, that is why I asked my blog readers to help me decide which messages to put on (thanks for your help, the winners were joy and peace).

But I have been so distracted lately, the news that has been official for some time has only now reached the top of my mental to-do list: early next year we are moving to France!

I will tell you more details when I start the serious preparations for our move; at the moment I am dealing with the boring stuff, like cancelling all sorts of contracts and notifying everybody about our departure. The day after tomorrow we leave for a 10-day visit to Slovenia and in the second half of December we will try to enjoy our last Christmas season in Augsburg.

Moving with the whole family is a stressful business but I am looking forward to making a home on a more permanent location and settling down with my husband - five years, four appartments, three countries and two children later it is the right time...

2009 ornament exchange

Check out this lovely Christmas ornament exchange...

I'm in!