A card for Christmas!
This year we all decided to do a Christmas card exchange within the Felting and Fibre Studio group. It is just so lovely to make for another creative! It’s a bit frightening too as I wanted to give it my all. I also thought it might be a nice time to try something new and experiment – no personal pressure at all! I was so excited to be partnered with Leonor who I know has received her card at this point.
So, I put my thinking cap on. My first attempt was, and I am being perfectly honest here, an unmitigated disaster and the memory is probably best confined to the bin in which it quickly landed. So it was time to move on and put the thinking cap back on.
Okay so, by way of background. I had a poinsettia plant which I managed by some miracle to keep alive for about 5 years. I will quickly add that this had nothing to do with green fingers, it just liked its position in my sun room with my orchids as companions (again the orchids like the room). This summer the poinsettia developed a honey fungal disease which is a total disaster if it hits orchids so we had to part ways. I managed to stem the spread of the disease and the orchids are safe for now.
As a tribute to that most beautiful poinsettia, I thought it could be my focus for the card exchange. I wanted mixed media so I felted each petal, then I did some free motion embroidery on each one. I hand sewed it onto a felted backing and added hand dyed stamens to the centre. It was then mounted on the Christmas card. It was a little too big for the card so I decided to mount it in a frame before posting it off. The postal service can be a bit dodgy but I am pleased it worked on this occasion. From Leonor’s message to me, I think she likes her card and I have made more since.
Here is a little slide show of the highlights of my process. Sorry, I forgot to photograph the hand sewing so you will have to use your imagination for that part. Some of the photos are slightly distorted so apologies for that too.
I laid out merino and viscose for the petals 
Wetting down the petals 
The rolling stage for the petals 
I dried the petals on a baking rack 
I prepared the petals for free motion embroidery. I started with tear away stabiliser but it was proving difficult to get all the bits of paper out of the sewing! 
I changed across to Solvy for the machine embroidery 
It only takes a few seconds to dissolve the Solvy 
Dissolving the solvy 
Nearly there! 
The template was actually a circle. The photo is distorted 
The base, again a circle 
Here is the finished Poinsettia after I hand sewed it onto the base 
As the finished flower was a bit too big for the card, I mounted both in a frame. 
Here’s a close up of the stitching and the stamens which I hand painted
This was a fun make with a bit of learning thrown in for good measure. You might like to make some too. If you do, I would love to see it! Also if you have any questions on the making just pop them in the comments section and I will be glad to answer them!
Wishing you peace, love good health and happiness and, of course lots of creativity over the Festive Season and for 2024!
Helene x
30 thoughts on “A card for Christmas!”
Lovely! I have never tried making modular bits and then sewing them together. Very inspiring!
Thanks Carlene. It was a bit of an experiment but I am so glad I tried it. Helene
Your felt poinsettia is beautiful and we enjoyed your slide show of the process – the viscose is very effective on the petals 🙂
Thank you Lyn and Annie. I like the way the light bounces off the viscose. Particularly pleased that I managed to source machine embroidery thread that was quite close in colour to the viscose fibre too.
Helene
Your real poinsettia (you must be sad it is gone after nurturing it for 5 years) has definitely been your muse….the result is gorgeous, colourful, sparkly and definitely spells Christmas.
I’m sure Leonor was delighted, particularly as it was ‘ready to hang’ too.
I hope your continued production has meant that you will have a bloom to keep for yourself!
You mention your learning curve in its production….I hope you scribbled a few reminder notes! Or maybe I’m judging you by my own little grey cells….on projects I only do now and then, I have been known to repeat the learning curve, then remember I’ve been here before….so I now write it all down. Xx
Thanks Antje,
I replaced the living plant a few weeks ago and its successor had let me down badly. I it currently doing its own version of the dying swan, despite being treated like its predecessor! So I now have to assume that the original one was kept alive by pure fluke.
I have made another two since. There definitely will not be a production line going as each takes a fair bit of time. But I have to admit, I love the results.
I am awful for keeping notes! It all stays in some shape in my head and I can use the slideshow as a refresher.
hugs
Helene
Oh WOW Helene, that poinsettia is beautiful. Lucky Leonor. I do hope you did manage to make one to keep.
Ann
Thanks Ann, I actually made another two (little to be doing with my time haha). I will gift one of them, just not sure to whom.
Happy Christmas!
Helene
Lovely poinsettia, Hélèn. It’s very realistic – the viscose and stitching are particularly effective. Lucky Leonor. I’m glad you’ve been able to make more in memory of your long-lived plant.
Thanks Lindsay, since I have managed to murder its successor, the original plant is now a precious memory.
I think the process might actually have potential for other flowers. It will give me something to think about in the New Year.
Helene x
Helene, this is lovely. I liked the stitching on the petals and the way this was assembled piece by piece.
Merry Christmas!
Thank you so much! The stitching part was good fun too!
Many happy returns to you and yours,
Helene
Lovely work, I’m learning so much from seeing these cards, mostly learning how much I don’t know, but that’s great too! This poinsettia is so pretty and a wonderful reminder of Christmas. The construction is so realistic.
Thanks a million Bernadette. It is one of the joys of belonging to such a group of creatives, everyone here has something special to bring to the party. Wouldn’t be really boring if we were all the same! What would we talk about.
Merry Christmas!
hugs
Helene
A wonderful tribute to the longevity of a poinsettia! Five years is unimaginable in my house. I harvested seeds from my heirloom tomatoes this year, but honestly don’t expect a return on my investment.
It was nice to see your process too. I’m wondering how my ArtFelt paper might work for making flower petals? I think I have silk (?) stamens, bought a while ago. A bit of dye/watercolor would do a world of good on them. They were ordered online, of course, and arrived in a pale “pepto bismol” pink. 😝 I sure hope they didn’t go in the bin! 😳
My favorite part of your card is the way, your poinsettia pops out, so as to say “I’m still here…” (in an Oprah voice, I envision 🫨) And so it shall continue to be!
🎄Capi
Thanks Capi. There’s no fear this one will die of overwatering anyway!
There really is only one way of checking to see if your ArtFelt paper will work – go on, give it a try! As for the stamens, I used ink on them as an experiment when I tried the second set of flowers and it worked a dream.
Yes, the card does kind of come out to greet the viewer, thus creating more surface for the dust to settle. Happy days!
Helene x
The poinsetta bract is lovely, very vibrant. I have stopped hankering after one ever since I saw them growing in gardens on a visit to Botswana!!!! I see so many plants here at Christmas in the supermarkets/flower shops, and I have to smile at the angst they cause, when I have seen them growing so easily in gardens! So I admire and smile.
Yours is beautiful Helene, and I am sure Leonor will treasure it. I do hope that your orchids are safe, and remain so.
Happy Christmas.
Thank you Marie,
Given that its live replacement has already bitten the bullet, I think you are a very wise woman. I will stick to felted versions and save myself grief in future.
Nollaig Shona Duit a Mharie,
Sorry to hear about the demise of the original and replacement poinsettias. I don’t buy them because they are definitely not happy long term in Montana. Your card for Leonor is beautiful and I’m sure she will treasure it. It is great to be making a card for someone who will really appreciate it. The use of little bits of green in the red petals was inspired 🙂
Thanks Ruth, I think I will just go out and buy myself some ivy – I definitely can’t kill that!
I am so happy that Leonor likes her card, I think as creative people we really appreciate how we throw heart and soul into so many projects.
I have always admired how the variegation happens in these plants (when live lol). Really pleased to have been able to recreate the effect in some way with the viscose.
hugs
Helene
Love this Helene! Those petals are a great shape, texture and colour…dare I say, it looks as good, if not better, than the real thing! As someone who is obviously having difficulty with poinsettias have you thought about making a whole plant for yourself and putting it in a felted pot? Only saying……🤣
That’s so funny Karen. I was about to say, it’s a great idea, you only need to water it once!!!
Merry Christmas Karen,
hugs
Helene
Superb! I love this project. Your poinsettia is beautiful (I use a poinsettia pastry design for some of my tourtieres; others the three billy goats gruff).
I made a few cards this year (inspired by the winter wonderland I viewed back and forth from Merrickville recently). They were more of a wet felting ‘sketch’ with a wee bit of needle felting to add details. I feel very silly as I did not take any photographs and I am now now doing a second batch … for a few more friends. I will start much earlier next year (she says optimistically). But at least the ones going out of town made it out last week. Thank you for inspiring us with this work.
Thank you so much for your very kind words and I am delighted that you were inspired by the project. Apologies for the lateness of my response but I thought I would take a break from my laptop over the festive season. I always enter these decisions with the best of intentions and most time it does not work out but this year it did!
I had a quick gander online to check out Merrickville -a real wow and what a well chosen source of inspiration for your Christmas card collection. It looks to be a beautiful setting at whatever time of the year but it is so stunning in the snow. Being based in Dublin, Ireland we rarely see snow so the photos were a real treat. Be sure to take photos of your next batch to share with ys.
Wishing you every happiness and the best of health in 2024
Helene
What a great poinsettia. It is very realistic. I can’t believe you kept it alive that long and then had to get rid of it. It must have been a sad day.
Thanks Ann. I was really surprised myself that it stayed around for so long. I lost its replacement before Christmas day so I can only guess the original was a more hardy specimen.
I lost all my orchids to a honey fungus a number of years ago. I had many in my collection and they were all healthy until one which had been gifted to me came into the house. I got really good advice on the treatment from one of the specialists in our national botanical gardens but still lost them all. So I felt it was better to sacrifice the poinsettia than lose my orchid stock. But you are correct, I was sorry to see it go.
Hélène, I hit the jackpot by being paired with you this year. I don’t just like my “card,” I LOVE IT SO MUCH! It’s stunning and once I have a studio in my own place I’ll definitely hang it in a prominent place (right now it sits on the fireplace, also prominently!)
I can only apologise for my paltry contribution, I got a much better deal in this exchange than you :p
Happy New Year! x
Now would you stop apologizing Leonor. Somewhere along the mail system yours ‘disappeared’ I hope whoever has it fully appreciates all of your work. It’s not the first piece of post to go missing in the system. I have mentioned it to our local post mistress who said she would have a word with the postman as he is the contact for the sorting office.
Yours may yet turn up. I did an exchange with a lady in Australia some years ago. Mine arrived in time for her sunshine Christmas, her swap, which was posted well in advance of the ‘Big day’ arrived in my post box in February.
Better late than never! lol
Hugs
H
Oh no, it’s disappeared?! Argh 😩 It might still show up… I once had a customer’s package take 3 months to show up in the US, maybe there’s still hope?…
I happened to bump into our postman yesterday. Poor guy felt responsible for the loss which obviously is not his fault at all. I felt it needed to be raised in case others have had similar issues. He’s going to have a word with management. So there’s still hope 🙂