Combine felt and silver beads with a custom created felt frame to turn a favorite photo into a treasured ornament. Use the color combination shown or create a combination that is uniquely yours.

Finished sizes: 2" x 7 1/2" Ornament

Skill: 2   Time:   1 Cost: 1

You will need 
•  8" x 12" wool felt*: Aquamarine, Willow
•  Three 1 cm felt beads*
•  One 18 mm silver bead
•  Two 8 x 5 mm silver saucer beads
•  Six 5 mm silver rondelles
•  5" of 16-gauge sterling silver dead soft wire
•  3" of 18-gauge sterling silver dead soft wire
•  One ball-headed silver head pin
•  One silver spiral ornament hook*
•  Pliers: chain-nose, flat-nose, round-nose
•  Flush cut wire cutter
•  Sewing machine
•  Iron-on adhesive*
•  Iron-on stabilizer*
•  Matching thread
•  Personal photographs and access to a photocopier
•  Transparent acetate sheet
•  Large clear adhesive dots*
Circle cutter* or craft knife with 1 1/4" and 1 1/2" circle templates, cutting mat, darning needle, photo-safe double-stick tape*, hand-sewing needle, iron & board, paper for pattern, pencil, ruler, small sharp scissors, transparent tape

*The following products were used for this project: A Child’s Dream Come True Holland wool felt • Artgirlz felt beads • Fiskars circle cutter • Nunn Design silver spiral ornament hook • Sulky Totally Stable Iron-On & Tear-Away Stabilizer • Therm O Web HeatnBond Ultrahold iron-on adhesive & Zots large clear adhesive dots.

Note: For more product information, see end of article.

•  Print full-sized pattern here.
•  Follow manufacturer's directions for all products.
•  See photos for details and placement.

STEP 1: Preparation. Photocopy or print a personal photo in black and white, reducing as necessary to fit into a 1" frame opening. Cut a 1 1/4" circle in a sheet of paper. Position paper over pattern, aligning circles. Trace outer edges of frame template onto paper (Photo A). Cut out.

STEP 2: Make frame front. Cut two 3" x 4" rectangles each from Aquamarine and iron-on adhesive. Cut one 3" x 4" rectangle each from Willow and iron-on stabilizer. Follow manufacturer's directions to fuse iron-on adhesive to Aquamarine pieces. Fuse iron-on stabilizer to Willow. Set circle cutter for a 1" circle. Center circle cutter on stabilizer side of Willow piece, and rotate cutter to make circle. Note: Cutter will cut only through stabilizer layer, not felt. Use a small sharp scissors to cut along circle outline in stabilizer. Remove stabilizer. Set circle cutter for a 1 1/4" circle. Center circle cutter on paper side of one Aquamarine rectangle. Cut circle in same way.
Remove paper backing from adhesive. With adhesive side down, center circle cut in Aquamarine over circle cut in Willow to create 1/8" border. Fuse as directed. Tape pattern to layered felt rectangles, aligning circle in pattern with circle on Aquamarine. Cut around outside of pattern and remove tape.

STEP 3: Complete felt frame. Set circle cutter for 1 1/2" and cut circle from acetate. Center acetate circle over personal photo and trace around outer edge with a pencil. Cut on marked line. Use double-sided tape to tape photo to center of adhesive side of remaining Aquamarine rectangle. Layer acetate circle over photo. Center frame front over photo. Sew around frame front 1/8" from outer edge. To hide threads, insert thread tails into eye of a needle and take a stitch into back of felt frame. Trim excess. Trim excess felt following outline of the frame front (Photo B).

STEP 4: Add wire loops to frame. Insert darning needle between frame front and photo at center and push through center top. Repeat at bottom. Cut a 1 1/2" length of 18-gauge wire. To make loop, use flat-nose pliers to bend wire at a 90 degree angle 3/8" from the end. Then grasp tip of wire with round-nose pliers and roll toward bend (Figures 1 & 2). Insert end opposite loop between frame front and photo and push through center top until loop catches on inside of frame. Bend wire above frame at a 90 degree angle and make a loop in same way. Repeat for bottom of frame in same way.

STEP 5: Make beaded stem. Make a loop in 16-gauge wire at a 90 degree angle 3/8" from end, in same way as Step 4. Thread beads onto opposite end of wire as follows: rondelle, felt bead, rondelle, saucer, silver round, saucer, rondelle, felt bead, rondelle. Make wire loop as before. 

STEP 6: Make dangle. String the following onto a head pin: rondelle, felt bead, rondelle. Bend wire at a 90 degree angle above rondelle. Grasp wire at bend with round-nose pliers and wrap wire tail around one jaw of the pliers to make a loop. Instead of trimming end, wrap excess wire around wire stem below the loop a couple of times (Figures 3 & 4).

STEP 7: Assemble. 
Open loop at top of beaded stem, thread on ornament hanger, and close loop (Figure 5). Open loop at top of frame, thread on beaded stem, and close loop in same way. To attach dangle, open loop at bottom of frame, thread on dangle, and close loop (Photo C).

Sources:

A Child’s Dream Come True
achildsdream.com

Artgirlz
artgirlz.com

Fiskars
fiskars.com

Nunn Design
nunndesign.com

Sulky
sulky.com

Therm O Web
thermoweb.com