Christmas in July - DIY Scented Ornaments

Did you notice that July is almost over? And that Christmas is right around the corner? Well, it is. And because I always like to make a lot of handmade gifts, I have to start early. 

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Patience Brewster and decided to join them in celebrating Christmas in July! And so scented ornaments came to be!

Patience Brewster is a wonderful artist and designer of handmade gifts and ornaments. It you're not familiar with Patience, check out her website. They are known for their whimsical ornaments, but me being me, I also loved their stationery collections!

Anyway, this was an opportunity I couldn't miss. Last year, while going through my Handmade Christmas series of posts, there was one project that never got completed: a set of cross stitched scented pillows that I started making for my mother in law but didn't have time to finish before Christmas. Ever since, those cross stitched squares looked at me from the unfinished projects pile and begged me to just get them done. 

And I kept postponing, because I knew I had time before Christmas and I was focused on other projects. Well, Marietta's e-mail was the click I needed. She reminded me that there wasn't really that much time left until Christmas, and gave me the push I needed to get those little pillows made. 

 

While browsing through the Patience Brewster website, I had the sudden inspiration of turning the scented pillows into scented ornaments, that you can hang on your Christmas tree and then, once Christmas is over, still use in your closet or linen drawers. It's a two-in-one and makes the perfect handmade Christmas gift!

I started with three cross stitched squares of dark blue aida fabric and the same design in red, silver and gold (I know I have the template somewhere, but I couldn't find it this weekend and I didn't want to delay this post anymore; when I find it, I'll add it here). 

In addition to that, I used matching ribbon and a light weight cotton crochet yarn...

...some store bought scented sachets and a bit of polyester filling (not pictured). 

The back of the scented ornaments is made with the same aida fabric, just not cross stitched. I cut the squares using pinking shears to avoid fraying and sewed them together using the crochet yarn. 

 

On top of the square I added a folded piece of ribbon for hanging, and I left a little opening at the bottom, that I closed after putting in the scented sachets and the filling. 

 

 

And then, for good measure, I added a little bow on top too!

 

 Finished!

Our Christmas tree is in storage, so I had to make do with the bit of Christmas stuff I had on top of a shelf in our den. 

 

Luckily our old table top tree (the one we bought for the first Christmas after we got married and that was the only tree we ever had until after my daughter was born) was there, so I used it for an impromptu photo shoot, just to show you how the scented ornaments look like hanging from a Christmas tree (even though clearly a bit out of proportion). 

To be honest, the cross stitch part took longer than all the rest. Once I figured out exactly how I wanted the scented ornaments to look like, they came together pretty quickly. 

And if you want to skip out the cross stitch part, I'm sure they would look cute too just made out of Christmas fabric...or shaped like little pine trees... and since they can be used all year round, I'm pretty sure I'll be making more of these!

How about you, are you also celebrating Christmas in July? Even if you aren't actively making anything for Christmas, don't forget to check out Patience Brewster for inspiration. 

 

Oh, and they are also having this great Instagram giveaway. Unfortunately, I'm not on Instagram yet, but if you are, check out all the details here.  It runs until July 31st, so there is still time for you to join!

Have a great week!