Christmas Bells (Guest Crafter)

I’m going to start occasionally including crafts by other people here.  I’ll always include “Guest Crafter” in the title of the post so that I don’t inadvertently take credit for someone else’s work.

Christmas pictures used to be as much a tradition in my family as Santa Claus.  Every October, my siblings and I would dress up in matching outfits and get our pictures taken at JC Penney.  My mom even made our outfits until I was about 15.  Once she got the pictures back, she would make her own little picture frame.  If she had made our outfits, she would use a scrap of the fabric from our dresses around the bell.  I think we stopped getting formal pictures done when I was 20, so my parents have a collection of bells that goes up and down the staircase in the entry way to their house.

This picture is of me as a baby.  At one point we thought we lost the original bell, so my mom made a replacement for it.  Then the original bell was found, so I have this single bell for my own tree.

Supplies Needed:

• Cardboard (to stiffen the bell shape)
• Photograph
• Fabric
• Thread
• Needle/Sewing Machine (Hot Glue could also be used)
• Stencil in bell shape
• Pencil