Felt Ornament Houses

I think I’ve mentioned here in the past about the homemade ornament exchange that my cousins and I do every year. We’re all over the country so it’s nice to get something from them made with their own hand every year. It makes me feel like they are right there with me to celebrate Christmas. Last year I made some paper houses that had a picture in them from when all of us were little. This year I also made a house ornament (I secretly think I’m addicted to making houses. But not as addicted as I am to gluing glass together.) There is something about little houses that I absolutely adore. Anyways, I saw these cute felt houses over at Bits and Bobs, and wanted to make some of my own.

First I got several different pieces of felt in brown (for the door), black (for the roof), and white with sparkly stuff (for the windows and snow), along with blue, purple, teal, and red for the actual houses. The original blog had some directions and a template, but of course I skipped that and just cut out the pieces the way I felt like. (Felt like! Get it? Cuz I’m working with felt?) All of this is to say that you can make these any size that suits ya. They work regardless of how big or small you want to do them.

First, cut out the pieces for snow, door, roof, windows, and the base of the house. Remember that you’ll need two of some of them for the front and back of the house. I found it helpful to cut out several at once, so I could just start assembling them all.

Then, sew on the pieces. I used regular white thread for some of it, and black thread for the roof and to assemble. I used small stitches and did it by hand. You can see the stitches, but it doesn’t matter, because the whole thing has kind of a homemade look to it anyways. When you’re done stitching on the pieces, use some embroidery thread to make a border for the windows and a doorknob for the door.

Then, sew on little beads here and there for the snow. I found this part the most putzy of all. Still, it was an easy thing to do each night in front of the TV.

As you can see, I also added the date on the back of the house. Use white embroidery thread for this.

Then, stitch the two felt pieces together, and add a little bit of stuffing. You don’t want them overstuffed, but just enough to give it some heft. This is where I also stitched on a piece of ribbon to the inside of the house.

And viola! You have some finished houses!

I am amazed that I got these done in time to actually mail with Christmas cards. Last year I was so behind on everything. So this should be a nice little surprise for my cousins. (Unless they read my blog and can see this, which, as any blogger knows, probably isn’t the case!)