PJ's Oh, Christmas Tree!

"Oh, Christmas Tree!" That's what your guests will exclaim when they see this hanging on your door, or what a lucky recipient will say when they open their gift! And I bet you thought I was thinking of that old Christmas song (o; This free-standing appliqué tree is done completely in the hoop, even the attachment of the skirt's eyelet trim. The tree comes in two versions, and each version comes both in a small size for the 5x7 hoop as well as a larger size for those having a 6x9.5 or larger hoop.

Each version consists of 4 parts that are sewn out separately and then attached through eyelets that are part of the design with wire or ribbon, as I have shown in the sample. In the first version there are also eyelets digitized in the designs for inserting a battery-powered shirt light set, whose battery compartment is held in place on the back of the tree with adhesive hook & loop (VELCRO® Brand recommended), which was included in the light set. (The lights are the white dots on the tree and star-- they look great, but unfortunately I couldn't get my camera to capture them blinking )o; )

The oversized stones are glued on with craft glue, although one of the stone-attaching heat tools could also be used with smaller stones or metal embellishments. The second version is an Advent Tree and features an additional file for the stars, which are then attached to the tree daily with brads to count down the days until Christmas. This tree, whichever version you choose, is destined to become a favorite decoration that may just find itself hanging long after the holidays are over! After all, I do remember another Christmas song from one of my daughters' childhood movies... "Keep Christmas with You, All through the Year"!