2025 Limited Edition Christmas Angel Ornaments

2025 Christmas Angels are here!

I am super honored to have been chosen for the Directory of Traditional American Crafts again this year (the 18th consecutive!). I love what I do and pour my heart and soul into each and every piece. In a world full of AI and machined everything, it is so important that we keep the Heritage trades and crafts alive so that the knowledge and skills will not be lost.

I usually put out an heirloom embroidered ornament kit for Christmas, but a few years ago I got sick, and it was too much work for me at the time, so I made a painted ornament. It has become a tradition now that I am happy to continue. What is unique and fun about my Christmas Angels is that each is inspired, or a painted version of an angel found on an extant 17th c embroidery. 

I am happy to tease that I will again have a special 2025 Embroidered Ornament coming out in November, and this year's angels are available in my ETSY shop!

Each is designed and hand made by me from maple, then hand painted, one at a time! There is NO die or laser cutting here.....no decals! Me, my saws, sandpaper, paint and brushes, that it. 

Once the ornament itself is made, and I prep the wood, I draw on the designs with a steel tip nib and India ink. Yes. By hand. I only make a few, and each year is a different design. I have made 20 ornaments for this year, and I have been working on them since the first of September!

Each is hand-painted in black to resemble 17th-century blackwork, and then overpainted in gold mica. What I love about the overpaint is that from the front, one doesn't readily notice the shine, but when viewed at different angles, the design sparkles.

Each is signed and dated on the back and inscribed "Blessed Be". I thought it was fitting as this year's inspiration is the Annunciation angel on an embroidered mirror at the V&A Museum, depicting scenes from the Life of Christ, as seen below. 

If you would like to see the entire mirror, you can follow the link

here

 

Embroidery FInished!

 Merry Christmas

Today I stitched on the final two little vellum rosettes on the top panel of my Scenes Of Country Life, or Rural Pursuits casket, so the embroidery is now complete. It was my goal to get it finished this year...well, last year really, that morphed into this year! I will take a few days off and enjoy Christmas and then glue the top, front, and front frieze panels onto the casket. Once that is finished, I can start making the trim, which I am really excited about~ it's gonna look fabulous!

I hope ya'll have a wonderful holiday season. Whatever your special day is, I hope it's filled with love & peace & happiness. If you are missing a special someone, I hope you make time to sit and remember them & the lifetime of memories they left with you. Remembering our loved ones and sharing stories about them with others, is how they live on forever~

Happy Stitching & Merry Christmas!

Special 2023 Ornaments & Casket Update

 Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope you all are having a wonderful holiday today! I have added six precious hand painted ornaments to the Etsy store this morning. I think she turned out beautifully!

I have been working like mad to get these done in time for this holiday season. There are sooooo many coats of black to get them this dark and dimensional~ there are several 9 hour days of painting represented in this photo. I have had a heavy workload out in the shop. Between the painting and lacquering stages, I have been working on the top panel of my Scenes of Country Life casket.

The center panel is now complete and I have finally started the surround. It seems like I have spent eons on this casket~ its never ending! I'm still not confident that I will be able to get it finished this year, but I'm certainly going to try. You should be able to click on the photo to make it larger~ I love how the Suffolk sheep came out...the black goat is my Keiko Meisie, and her mate Luke is in white with brown splotches. The windmill in the background I saw on a trip to Paris, and swans, well, anyone who knows me knows how much I love swans! I was going to try and draw in a loon as well, but I will save them for another casket. 

If you want to follow my stitching journies, I post daily on Instagram~ just search #diamondKFolkArt or check out my page~  rlkinnison1

Happy Stitching!

2022 Heirloom Christmas Ornament Kit

 Skarlet Ladye is Available on Presale Now!

I am super excited to offer you this year's 17th c inspired embroidered ornament kit, Skarlet Ladye! Have a peek at the video above, she's really awesome. I said it before, and the more I have her out, this is absolutely my favorite of all the ornaments I have designed. You can click the tab at the top of the page to learn more about the kit and see exactly what is in it...or just click here.

Here is a look at some of the silks

There are 21 full spools of silks in this kit! There are 2 spools of metallic braids and a few other silks in lesser quantities on flat bobbins. Are you going to use alllllll of this silk on this ornament? Heck no! Some colours you may, but others you will have plenty left over to add to your stitching stash~ and these are glorious Au Ver a Soie silks in Ovale & Perlee. Lucious!!! With full spools, if you want to change the colours around, you should have enough of all to do so (except for the yellows).

Kits will ship in Mid November, or sooner if possible. 

And if you're wondering why I added the 17th c embroidered jacket tab to this post...well...I just may be planing on making a skarlet red embroidered jacket ;)

Happy Stitching!!

2019 Ltd Ed Chrtistmas Ornament Kit

  'Ort King'

Available for Preorder Now!

  

He's here! Am super excited to introduce you to the mighty 'Ort King'~ my special limited edition ornament kit for 2019.

9 different threads~ real gold, silk and wires....15 different fun stitches....all combine to make this a fun project that can either be a hanging ornament or a stand alone one.  I can't think of a better way to use up all my little fabric/ribbon scraps and orts!!

If you would like to learn more about him and see what all is in the kit, you can do so here~ or just click the link on the right there to my Diamond K Folk Art blog shop page~ I do not sell my ornament kits in my ETSY store or eBay, so I can keep the cost for you as low as possible (both those venues have pretty steep selling fees). The paypal button is very secure, and your financial info is not shared~ not even with me!

The Ort King.....

Up for Preorder Soon~

Since its snowing today...the 9th of May for Pete's sake....I thought it fitting to give you another lil peekie at the 'Ort King' ,  this year's 2019 Limited Edition Christmas Ornament kit. 

Oh. My. Golly. 

He. Is. FABULOUS....

I have a little more to do to get the peroders up on offer~ I have two graduations this month~ 1 high school, 1 college~ this mamma is max'd OUT!

 I need another cup of tea just thinking about it....

Coming Soon!

It's Not Just All About Beads Here.....

I am super excited about this year's 2019 annual limited edition Christmas Ornament kit! I think ya'll are going to love love love love him.  Knock on wood it is coming along smoothly, just one redesign because of discontinued thread colors/types....it is super fun to work....works up quickly...and lets you try several different types of silk and metal threads all in one cute cute cute lil project. Those of you who have my previous designs, this year's ornament is worked on a linen  ground for a nice change of pace.

Blog Only Special!

 6 Merrie Christmas Snow Angels to offer~

Merry Christmas!  I have been working like crazy to get orders out, dollys too! I managed to fit these little cutie pies in ~ they are mischievous little squirts! That number 4....got to watch that one...in every picture~ there she was, poking her head out! Hand made with love, these will sit alone by themselves (a festive little winter companion to your tea or sewing table....they will be nice and not tangle any threads)..or they can watch & sing over your Christmas tree~( I just turn up a branch and fir their cone body over it). Mache heads are painted and bathed in a thick coating of real mica flakes, each wears a white German crepe paper gown sprinkled with gold foil Dresden stars over a hand stitched card cone body.  The edging on their cones & beautiful heavy wings are German gold foil Dresden as well. 

All are trimmed in silver tinsel,  signed, numbered and dated inside the cones & on the back of their necks
.

 Little Snow Angels are each a little different~ looking up or to the side, some sway or tilt~ all are 75.00 each, including shipping within the USA. If you would like to purchase one, and are not in the US, I will invoice you for half our international shipping before sending your angel on to you in a small flat rate Priority mail box.

There is only one of each available~  

Sold~ thankyou so much!

Sold~ thankyou so much!

Sold~ thankyou so much!!! 

Snow Angel 4 is the 'peeker'...while Snow Angel 5 is looking left....

Sold~ Thankyou so much! 

Sold! Thankyou so much!

Sold~ thankyou so much!

Thankyou for visiting!

2014 Annual Christmas Ornaments

 For those who wait faithfully all year for my annual Christmas ornaments, they are here! My design for this year is a cute little elf stuffed stocking. I have been so busy, I have just eight to offer~ but they are a GREAT eight! Each one is entirely hand stitched by me with love and honor that you would consider it for your tree or mantle. There are cheerful little helpers dressed in red, blue, green, pink and purple silk costumes, all trimmed in tinsel and jingle bells~ just like Santa's little helpers should be! They are available now in the Diamond K Folk Art Blog shop~ just click the link to the right~

Christmas ~ Time Springerle Cookie Time!

  It's that time of year again, Halloween is just around the corner and then on comes the Merrie Holidays!  I love the fall, its my favorite time of the year~ and one of the reasons is that this is when I start making Christmas ornaments. Each year I design a special ornament or two, and offer them only that season. Along with those special sculpted ones, another favorite of mine, that is very popular with you all too, are the ones I make from Springerle molds.  I do have a few precious antique molds, and many reproductions of the early hand carved cookie molds, that not only do I use for making cookies, but also pressing Christmas Ornaments from.  I have added some old favorites to the ETSY store this week, and will be offering some new ones on the next TDIPT update in November~ I think that will be my official Christmas Ornament update!   Each ornament is hand pressed in mache, then carefully colored with watercolours to resemble Wedgewood & Jasperware~ of coarse, if you see something in the ETSY store you would like in a different color, I also make up special order sets~ pastel pink is a very popular color, especially for the angels.

 If you didnt know,  the earliest printed recipe for Springerle dough dates to 1688. It is a traditional European cookie with anise flavoring that was rolled and formed by pressing into carved wooden molds. The cookies are dense and hold their shape beautifully, and the more elaborate the design, the more prized the cookies were~ they were popular Christmas gifts among the Nobility in the early times.  The cookie molds have been passed from generation to generation, and many still survive today, and many of those have had molds made from them, so all of us can enjoy these wonderful edible works of art!  My ornaments are not edible tho~ they are finished with a series of glazes that give them a nice aged patina.

(Springerle is pronounced Schpring~ girl~lee )

My most Sincere Wishes for You a Blessed & Magical Holiday~

I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas, and if you don't celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a Blessed Holiday~ whatever it is! The dollys and I are settling in for our long Winter hibernation.....we love to just sit and gaze at the tree with all the pretty lights, all the while remembering Christmases past and all our favorite memories. A sip of our favorite Constant Comment tea, and a softly crackling fireplace~ what a gift in itself to enjoy this time with each other! With all the hustle and bustle now, I hope you all make time for a quite evening with family and all your favorite memories~ and perhaps make a new one! Merry Christmas! xoxoxo rachael

Ohhhh Christmas Tree....

One of my most favorite things about Christmas is the Tree~ matter of fact, it may be my favorite thing! I have always loved them, and can remember when I was little, my brother and I would have our own separate Christmas tree in our bedroom~ it was wonderful! Decorated with toys and paper chains, and huge Gaudy Ornaments we made at school from Styrofoam meat trays from the grocery, with Christmas cards glued in the center. I wonder where those went????

I thought I would share a couple of my trees with you all this year~ above is the tree we have in our dining room. My husband got up before dawn the day after Thanksgiving, and took our son Josh to the 'tool sale' at Sears, and seeing nothing they could live without, stopped by the Feed store, and Josh picked this tree out. Jayson said he didn't pause a second~ he saw it from the parking lot and would not change his mind, he wanted THIS one. As you can see, its a little uhhh....'full' ! Even after Jayson whacked quite a bit off the bottom, its still just 2" shy of being 10feet tall, and a little over 6 feet wide at the bottom! The girls and I were all awoke at 6am with those two guys stuffing it in the house! Ohh, but they all had so much fun decorating it

This is a much smaller tree~ and not a real one. I love it~ its very sparse and scraggely looking, and very narrow~ each year I put it up in my little Gallery, and it keeps my most precious of precious ornaments, all handmade and each one with a special memory attached.

When I was little, in the early 70s, Ma always made ornaments from real chicken eggs. Coated the inside with paraffin and glitter, and the outside with different color velvets. She had wonderful treasures she put inside each one, and this one, was MINE. I never got to touch it, but little Raggedy Ann & Andy in there were mine and I loved it~ I cant remember a Christmas without this ornament. Its one of my most favorite.....

Along with this one Ma painted for me in 1976. She made Andy for my brother.

Sharon Mitchell makes the most wonderful wax ornaments, and her primitive angels look so pretty with my little pip berry garland I stuck in the tree

Ohhhhhhhhhh......now this one. Ok. It is a close tie with my egg ornament for being my favorite~ it just wouldn't be Christmas without this one on the tree.....Ma cant remember if she bought it or made it, but I don't care! I have spent time every year for nearly 40, loving this little felt drum

Ma made this neat Soldier, he is a cross stitched band stitched into a tube and filled. LOVE him!


One of my little Queen Anne ornaments I made for me this year~ I just love them! She is out of special 18th c bits and bobs. Behind her you can see one of my eggs I did one year, with Victorian scrap Angels and the Nativity nestled in excelsior. I always make some kind of ornament for Christmas

And my tree is filled with the special MOST special ones the children make me at school~ I adore them! This is Emma a few years ago. I bet each and every one of you has at least one special ornament made from Popsicle sticks and glitter!

My friend Sarah Laird cross stitched this little owl for me for our 6th grade gift exchange. She moved away not long after, don't know where she is now, but I love this and always remember when she gave it to me. She was worried I wouldn't like it, and I LOVED it

Do you remember this one Ma??? I cant remember if I got it in Nursery school, or Kindergarten, it was so long ago, but I remember going into class and seeing the tree full of them, and searching all over for mine! So what my name is spelt sooooo wrong~ it had a little candy cane in it and I was SO PROUD taking it home after school.


Some ornaments are too fragile and special for the tree now, so I just unwrap them and look at them for a bit, and put them away safe again. I made this little reindeer in the 3rd grade, from flour dough. He used to have little sticks poked in for his horns. In't he cute cute cute!


And last, this one~ a little Holly Hobbie, or Sun Bonnet girl dough ornament. Mrs Peterson's house, our Girls scout troop 180 Christmas party....she had made one for each of us and hung it on her tree. The paint is separating and flaking off, perhaps I will try and get it all back together and give it a coat of glue or something~ silly little things to some, but to me, they hold my most Cherished Christmas memories

I hope you all have a Wonderful Christmas, and make many memories for years to come

Merry Christmas!

Dearest Friends and readers, can you believe another year has passed already? There are so many things that have happened this year in my life, so many to be thankful for....a few things I would like to forget forever. I have met so many new kindred spirits this year, in short, a Blessed life I do have, and I couldn't be happier. I wish all of you a Happy and SAFE Christmas~ not only do I wish for all your dreams to come true, I wish you a marvelous New 2009~ filled with family, happiness, good health and whatever it is that will make your spirit glow.

Pet Nelly is busy helping the dollys prepare for their little Christmas party tomorrow on Christmas Eve. There will be quaint music, and all will dance round the tree in the candlelight. We will sing my favorite 'Wexford Carol', and possibly embide in a little eggnog and sweets. After tucking everyone in to bed, I like to sit and gaze at the Christmas tree, all the little lights on it lit up, with no others. I love how it glows softly, and never seems to change! This is my favorite time of Christmas......

Pet Nelly will be offered in my ETSY store soon. She is a c1760 Queen Anne, antique brown glass eyes, and large pompadour 'do' of auburn mohair.

Beauty spots, real pearls.....and a silke ribbon stomacher she has

Sweet quaint little silke shoes too...

Until then, let the festivities of the season begin!