Tiny Owls, and Santa faces in two media

Here are the customary pictures of Sam's and my ornaments for the party this year, which pictures I always take to ease the pain of having to part with the ornaments themselves!

I have always wanted to crochet something really, really tiny, and I found the pattern for these owls here. It was hard to make, which is why I made three of them…I got a little better each time. (Still not as good as the pictures in the pattern, though!) I think the one on the left (the third one I made) looked the most owlish of the bunch…the others seem more like maybe…hawks? or falcons?

One part that was hard was just attaching the tiny beads for eyes, and getting them in the right spot—it's hard to find a place to secure the thread without it showing in such a tiny head, and then the slightest variation in their placement can totally change the expression and aspect of the bird. It was also hard doing the stitching for the feathers above the eyes (to make them look angry, like owls do), for the same reasons.

Well, anyway, it was a learning experience and perhaps next time I will do better. I have a cute tiny elf pattern I'd like to try!

Malachi loved these tiny owls, so he got the one I didn't give away.

And here is the wonderful wooden Santa that Sam carved, which was wildly popular at the party, as his creations always are, and rightly so. I am always very sad to see them go, and I always hope that he will make some for ME as well. Which he has sometimes done (see my favorite ornament ever, here).

And lastly, here is one more Santa whom we DID get to keep! Thank goodness. I love him so much! Abe wore this Santa suit when he was a baby, too, and I still think it's the cutest thing ever. (Especially with a happy baby in it.)