Essentials by Ellen October Release Hop Day 4

UPDATE:    If you love this felt Christmas ornament then I would like to invite you to check out these ornaments, this ornament and these ornaments.

Good Saturday morning and welcome to the 4th day of the Essentials by Ellen October Release blog hop.  I’m excited to be hopping along to share Brandi and Julie’s amazing stamp and die sets.  You should have arrived here from Julia’s wonderful blog. If you want to start at the beginning of the hop just go back and start at the CLASSroom.  You can see the whole release here along with some great samples and video tutorials.

I’m playing with Julie’s new Bear Hug die set.  If you love Julie’s All Inside Stamp and Die Set then you are going to love using this die set for all kinds of projects. 

ebe-201710-dies-where-is-bear-plush-fw50 

I chose to create a plush bear Christmas ornament with the heart in the set and a poinsettia and  tiny Christmas trees. I used the small flower die from the Otter Ware Die Set to create the poinsettia and the Christmas trees from the Home and Hearth.  I thought I would show a few step by step photos of how I put the bear together. 

bear hug  close decorative

I used acrylic yarn from JoAnn’s to sew the pieces together. 

bear hug 1

bear hug 2

I line up the two bear pieces and arms and pinned them in place.  I started sewing by slipping the threaded needle in between the two bear layers so the knot would be hidden inside and brought the needle up through the first hole of the top bear. I used a simple whip stitch beginning along the straight edge of the bear so that I would be finishing the closure on a straight edge. 

Bear hug 3

When I was all the way around the ears and feet edges of the bear I started back down the straight edge and left the opening large enough to allow me to insert the batting  to fill the bear.  I knew it would be much easier to close the opening along the straight edge rather than near the feet or ear edges of the bear.  I gently inserted the batting up into the ears and down in the feet sections first and then filled in the rest of the bear.  Once I was satisfied it was filled enough I completed the stitching to close the opening.

bear hug 4

When the opening was totally secure I inserted the needle between the two layers and pushed it through to the other side of the bear.  I didn’t want there to be a knot showing so I pulled the yarn through and out the other side and snipped it off.   I failed to get a picture of the backside of the bear but it is as flawless as the front showing no knots.

bear hug 5

I used hot glue to attached the eyes and nose to his face.

bear hug 6

I created a knot with the yard and then pulled the needle through both poinsettia layers to create the center and then hot glued the yarn to the back side of the second flower and trimmed it off.  I decided to use the tiny Christmas trees as the foliage for the poinsettia and to layer on the heart.  The picture above just shows the pieces for that little arrangement.  When I was getting ready to attach the heart inside the arms of the bear I decided it would be cute to add a trio if trees behind the heart along with a little star to top off the center tree.   I hot glued the three trees and heart in place to finish. 

beaur hug 7

Note:  I failed to add a yarn hanger to the bear so it could be hung on the Christmas tree.   I should have created one by knotting two ends of yarn together and tucking the knotted end in between the two bear layers before stitching it together.  With the knot inside the bear you would not have any ugly knots showing on either side of the bear.  Duh!  I didn’t think of doing it as I was making this little guy.  LOL!

bear hug  decorative

I have made lots and lots of Christmas ornaments as gifts to give to family and friends.  Come check out my check out my Ornament/Tags Category if you would like to see more inspiration.  I appreciate you stopping by and I hope you have a great day.

 

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33 thoughts on “Essentials by Ellen October Release Hop Day 4”

  1. HOW ADORABLE, Kittie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 😉 TOTALLY PERFECT!!! EVERYONE is playing with felt now….. ;)Thank you for showing us just how this little bear can be used in a special way! 😉

    Reply
    • Amei, seu trabalho, e explicação parabéns, e obrigada por partilhar detalhadamente o passo a passo, encantada com seus trabalhos, sucesso 👏👏👏

      Reply
  2. Good afternoon, Kittie. this little bear is adorable. I love how you presented him with the fern an holiday ornaments. He is so cute. I could see him on mantel , or table, maybe with a place card in his hand an the small Christmas tree. beautiful idea and well done…….have a good week-end.

    Reply
  3. This bear is just adorable and what a great small gift for a small child or a dear friend, an ornament on the tree to remind them of you! Thank you for sharing.

    Reply
  4. This is so cute, Kittie! I am curious to know, in the photo where you are gluing the eyes, what is the gadget you’re using, and what do you think of it? Is it better than the usual craft reverse type tweezers that are sold? Thank you, Karen!

    Reply
  5. Hi loved the bear, can you confirm what thread you are using to stitch the bear together.
    I am in UK and the name of the yarn would be really helpful.

    Reply
    • Mary, I’m sorry but I don’t have the packaging that came with the yarn now. I don’t have any idea of the yarn name. I wish I could be of more help.

      Reply
  6. love this project! Just one question-what did you use to put the holes around for the yarn?
    I have a hole punch, but no way does it punch that small hole.
    Tks
    Nancy

    Reply
  7. Hi I was just wondering how you got the holes for the yarn to go through? It’s it a hole punch or a machine of some kind. Thank you

    Reply
    • Good morning Lisa. The holes around the border of the bear are included on the die that cuts out the bear. You run the die through your die cut machine and it all cuts at one time. Take a closer look at the picture of the die set near the top of the post and you will see the holes. I hope this helps. Happy New Year!

      Reply
  8. I can’t wait to start working on making this cute polar bear, and getting the kids involved.
    What do you use to make the holes for the yarn along the edges? They are so neat and uniform.

    Reply

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