Christmas Yarn Embroidery

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. Isaiah 12:3

Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14

Joy is one of those Christmas words that we love but there is so much more to it than a holiday song or celebration.  Joy truly came to us when Jesus took on flesh and entered our world.  He came to reconcile God and man, to bring us hope of salvation and comfort in life everlasting in his promises.  Joy is an outpouring of our heart because of His great love, hope and promise for us.  No matter what comes our way, we can always have Joy because Christ came here. 

I decided to keep going on the yarn craft train (after making these yarn wrapped ornaments) and grabbed a few items I had in the ole craft stash to make a Christmas yarn embroidery.

Here is what I used:

Yarn

Burlap

Embroidery Hoop

Plastic Needle

Scissors

Marker

Joy Template (which was just my handwriting on paper)

So I decided before I started embroidering I needed a template to go by.  I simply grabbed a sheet of paper and wrote out the appropriate sized letters to fit my embroidery hoop.

Then I used a permanent fine tip marker to trace my letters onto my burlap just to make it as easy as possible.  I was afraid if I just free handed it I would never get it right.

Next I just cut a long strand of yarn and started looping it through my burlap following along on my stencil.  I wanted it to be kind of rustic and not perfect looking so I tried not to worry about it too much.   

After I was finished I trimmed the burlap where it was overhanging and decided that I wanted to make it our tree topper this year.  It's a little different but I like it,  I love the rustic and crafty touch it gives the tree and the reminder of the reason for this beautiful time of year.

This was another one of those calming and relaxing crafts.  These projects are like instant anxiety busters for me and I love taking the time to think on things like Joy and pray while I have a few moments of calm and quiet.  I know it can sometimes be difficult to find those moments to step back and talk to God.  Quiet craft moments are always huge to me, my mind gets calm, I can hear clearly and Jesus teaches me a lot in those moments.  Usually I run to the bible a few times in between or after to seek more wisdom and comfort.  You never know when God will speak - crafts, remodeling projects, reading books with your kids - God is always present and searching your heart.

So I'm curious, what's on top of your tree?  Do you have something traditional like a star or do you have a different element that tops everything off?

Happy Crafting!  Thanks for stopping by!

Linking Up Here:

Happy Hour Linky Party

The Gingerbread Blog

Yarn Wrapped Ornaments

This is one of those projects that I loved - It cost nothing for me to make and it was simple and fairly quick.  You can use these for ornaments, gift wrapping, table decor and I think the list could go on.  I think it would be fun to make shapes like hearts or monograms as well.  So let's get to it, here's how I made my Yarn Wrapped Ornaments.

I simply used two items to make these - craft wire (mine was 22 gauge because that's what I had) and yarn.

First I cut a piece of wire (I didn't measure anything, I just guessed) and then bent the wire to form the word I wanted it to say.  Since I used 22 gauge wire it was easily molded with just my hands.  If you use a thicker gauge you may need some round nose pliers.  Your wire doesn't have to be perfect and you can mold and shape it some more once its covered in yarn.

Then after I had my words I just wrapped and wrapped them with yarn until it was fully covered.  I did use a pinch of glue on the ends to keep them in place and from fraying and tied a little baker's twine for hanging.

Then you can hang your pretties on your tree.  I love our tree this year its full of homemade things, as well as all of the ornaments we love to pull out each year- I'll share soon!

There was something really calming about this project to me.  I think that's why I enjoy crafting so much, it allows my brain to rest.  Is anyone else like that or is it just me?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Linking Up Here:

Happy Hour Linky Party