25 crafts of christmas // cookie cutters

Christmas is now just a few days away. Are you feeling as behind as I am? Just last night I finally mixed up some cookie dough and hopefully now it's more chill than I am. Which means I need to pull out our favorite cookie cutters! Folks around here get very particular about which tree we use for the frosted tree cookies...silly, I know!

But tasty treats aren't the only thing that cookie cutters are good for! I did a search on Pinterest for "Christmas cookie cutter crafts" and saw some really nice ideas for ornaments, wreaths, and what? Even some cookies!

A few years ago I shared a little project using a cookie cutter in one of my online classes. It was based on a cookie cutter idea that my mom had made years and years ago, and now I bring it to you here. This is a fun way to frame some freeform embroidery and it even stands up on its own for display!

Here’s what you’ll need:
Cookie cutter - at least 4 inches and a simple shape
Cotton fabric - larger than cookie cutter
Water-soluble marking pen
Embroidery floss
Fiber fill - just a teeny bit
Recycled cardboard (like a cereal box)
Hot glue

Note: The star that I worked with for this was a bit tricky, so you may want to work with something with less corners/points for your first try.



Trace your cookie cutter shape onto the fabric.



Embroider a freeform design within the traced shape, or trace your favorite pattern. You can stay inside the lines by about 1/4 inch or go all the way outside if you want the edges of your embroidery to extend into the cookie cutter. When you've finished stitching, rinse away the markings.



Trace your cookie cutter shape onto the cardboard. If the cardboard feels too flexible, you may want to double it.



Place a bit of fiber fill onto the back of your embroidered design, then lay your cardboard piece on top of that. Try to line up the shape as well as you can.



Push the fabric/cardboard shape through from the back of your cookie cutter to check that it will fit. Remove.



Trim down the fabric a bit and attach the edges to the back of the cardboard. Push the piece back into the cookie cutter, and attach with some hot glue around the edges. Watch out! The metal will be hot from the glue! (Ignore those markings on mine...it's better to rinse those away as stated earlier!)



If you want to add a back, cut a matching piece of cardboard and wrap it in fabric. Glue onto the back.

Now you can display your freshly baked embroidery!