Mandy's Magical Christmas. Mandy Shaw

5cm (2in) opening at the bottom for turning.

      2. Trim off the excess brown fabric, cut across the corners and turn the right way out. Poke out the corners with the end of a spoon. Sew the opening closed. Gently press.

      Chain stitch emphasizes a shape and will make that area of the design look more prominent.

      Add the gable end and side decoration

      1. On the gable ends and sides of the house, tack (baste) the narrow ric-rac 6mm (¹⁄₄in) in from the edge at the top and sides. Stitch in place through the middle of the ric-rac.

      2. Cut two side snowlines and two gable end snowlines from cream felt (see Templates). Prepare with fusible webbing and appliqué the snowlines in place along the bottom edge with blanket stitch. Note, you will need to cut one gable end snowline in half to position on either side of the appliquéd door.

      3. Cut two gable end hearts (see Templates) from cream felt and appliqué above the window and door at the gable ends. Cut a 2.5cm (1in) cream fabric window and appliqué to the door. Embroider a chain stitch border around the windows and doors. Blanket stitch the hearts and new windows by hand or machine.

      4. Sew two 1.3cm (¹⁄₂in) buttons on either side of the windows and door. Add a 6mm (¹⁄₄in) button for the door handle, and another to the centre of each small felt heart.

      Add the roof decoration

      1. Tack (baste) the wide ric-rac along the bottom edge of the two roof pieces, tucking it under at each end. Sew in place.

      2. Mark the roof heart design (see Templates) with a fine pencil onto each roof piece. For each pearl button heart, sew on 16 of the small pearl buttons following the outline.

      3. Cut one roof snowline from cream felt (see Templates). Prepare with fusible webbing and cut out the shaded area in the middle of the template (this slit will accommodate the chimney later).

      4. Place the roof pieces together with a 1.3cm (¹⁄₂in) gap between the two. Centre the roof snowline over the gap and fuse in place. Blanket stitch around the snowline by hand, and sew to secure to the top inside edge of the roof.

      5. For the chimney, cut two pieces of cream felt 2.5cm × 7.5cm (1in × 3in); hand-sew together with blanket stitch down the long sides. Fold in half and sew the ends together to make a loop. Pop the sewn end through the roof slit from the right side (it will be secured later).

      Build the house

      1. At the apex of each gable end you need to make a loop to accommodate the wooden kebab stick that will hold up the roof. Sew four stitches on top of each other 6mm (¹⁄₄in) wide to make a loop. Blanket stitch the loop by sewing over the stitches only and not picking up any of the fabric beneath.

      2. Sew the bottom of the four side sections of the house to the base with a ladder stitch (see General Techniques: Utility stitches), using a doubled matching brown thread.

      3. Match up the sides of the house and sew together using white thread when joining the snowlines and brown thread for the house.

      4. Cut the wooden kebab stick to size 18cm (7in) long, thread through the first gable end loop and glue on a bead. Thread a 15.5cm (6in) length of drinking straw onto the stick (the straw will help to keep the gable ends from collapsing). Thread the straw-covered stick through the chimney loop, and the end of the stick through the loop at the other gable end; glue on the other bead to secure in place. Stitch the chimney in place from the right side. Your finished house is now ready to be filled with biscuits!

Gingerbread Men

      I am not a fan of themed trees – I prefer mine to be decorated with handmade hangings that are all a little bit different. It’s so exciting getting the box down from the attic to find something I made last year but had completely forgotten about. This year I shall add these cheery little gingerbread men to my decorating stash.

      You will need (to make one decoration)

       13cm × 30.5cm (5in × 12in) brown fabric

       Handful of polyester stuffing

       Red embroidery thread

       Two black micro buttons or beads

       Three small heart buttons

       Three round gingham buttons

       13cm (5in) length of narrow gingham ribbon

      Finished size: 10cm × 13cm (4in × 5in)

      Make the gingerbread man

      1. Trace off the gingerbread man template (see Templates), stick onto card and cut out.

      2. Fold the brown fabric in half right sides together and pin. Using a pencil, draw around the gingerbread man to mark the outline. DO NOT CUT OUT.

      3. Sew along the marked line with a small stitch, leaving an opening in one side. Cut out close to the stitch line and snip into either side of the neck, the armpits and the crotch.

      4. Gently turn the gingerbread man the right way out. Stuff, then sew closed the opening.

      5. Blanket stitch all around the outside edge with one strand of coton à broder or two strands of stranded cotton (floss).

      Decorate the gingerbread man

      1. Sew on two black micro buttons (or beads) for his eyes, sewing through to the back to create an indentation.

      2. Sew on the two small heart buttons for his cheeks and backstitch a smiling red mouth from button to button. Sew on the three gingham buttons down his chest.

      3. Fold the gingham ribbon in half and secure the ends at the back of the head with the remaining heart-shaped button to make a hanging loop.

      To make turning through the limbs easier, poke a drinking straw into the arm/leg, push a wood skewer into the end of the straw and roll the arm/leg onto the skewer.

Christmas Wreath

      This door wreath is made from a simple wire base decorated with fabric rags and felt stars and hearts. It’s a great way to use up those linen leftovers from a year’s worth of stitching projects. My children help with the tearing up of the fabric and the tying of the knots. The hearts and stars take just a couple of evenings to complete. The wreath would look great on any internal door, or use it to decorate the feature wall in the living room. For coordinated Christmas decorations, make heart garlands and hanging stars for the tree.

      You