I put some batting behind the tree to give it some dimension, basted the tree in place on the black wool only, and stitched it with ecru embroidery floss. Even though the tree is symmetrical, it took some effort to make sure it came out that way through the stitching....as I worked up one side of the tree I worked down the other and that made the branches shift some. It was fun trying out different garlands and their arrangement. I really wanted them to have some good drape and overlap. Cutting the bugle beads to size for the candles was easier than I thought it would be. The flames are made from tiny gold seed beads. The tinsel "candle holders" were made from some old worn out tinsel from Mom's Christmas decorations. : ) The star tree top is hand beaded using a wool star as a base. I think I added a small piece of batting behind it also. I did an outline of the star initially and then filled in with three different sized gold beads. It has a nice glow to it. I added the Cardinal since I love birds. I wanted the tree to seem as though it was illuminating through the darkness of night so I added gold seed beads for stars in the sky. I enjoyed making their placement random...that is an exercise of the mind!
I stitched the black wool onto the red wool. The outside of the black scallops I did the Palestrina knot, and then a tiny gold feather stitch. Along the bottom I sewed some larger crystal beads and added gold stitches to give a subtle starburst effect. In the last picture you can see I added red seed beads in a "turkey foot" at the base of the scallops. This whole stage was a blast and was as fun as decorating our regular Christmas tree!
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