Review By: Tim Janson,   amazon.com - October 1, 2006
While only 64 pages, the book manages to squeeze in a number of quick and easy projects...the look can be anything you want from dazzling to gaudy, to a quaint country look, all depending on the fabric and embellishment you use.

Review   Sewing World - December 1, 2006
"Put those fabric scraps to good use and whiz up some glitzy Christmas decorations to brighten up the house for the festive season. There are some great ideas in this collection for baubles, boxes, advent calendars, plus an ornamental sleigh and gingerbread house. All are easy to make using heavy duty fusible interfacing that can be stteamed and shaped and only a few handy tools and materials are required. Full instructions are provided plus a clear techniques section with plenty of ideas for easy embellishments using cords, crystals, paints and artificial snow. Templates are included throughout and many of these projects could be tackled by older children with a little adult assistance. Best of all, these decorations are less prone to breakage than the normal variety, so they might even last for a few Christmases!"

Review   Stacysews.com - November 1, 2006
"The first chapter of the book deals with 'the basics" - materials (fabrics, glues, interfacings, and a cool fusible powder product I had never heard of before), supplies, basic techniques that are used for some projects (fusing, how to attach rattail cording, shaping and steaming), and embellishment ideas. Littered throughout this section of the book (as well as others) are 'fast', 'fun' and 'easy' tips. Some projects even have variation ideas included in their chapter.

The first thing the author describes is how to make 3-dimentional ornaments - spirals, bells, stars, and gift boxes just to name a few. These range from simplistic (circle strip) to more complex techniques (folded star), but all are described in enough detail and have lots of illustrations to help you create one of a kind ornaments. The best part is, all of them can be made using fabric scraps!

The next sections of the book are for very specific projects, a fabric wreath fused with leaf shapes, gift boxes, a gingerbread house, and sleigh. There's also a section on creating a 3 (or 2) dimensional advent calendar complete with 30 different miniature ornaments. For those who are serious crafters and plan on making a number of these items as gifts, the publisher sells templates for the Gingerbread house and sleigh on their site. However, full size, traceable patterns for all projects are included in the book."



Review   Norsk Quilteblad - January 1, 2007
Reviewed in this foreign language publication.

Review   Suite101.com - July 1, 2007
"This book features exquisite, holiday fabric projects, some of which require no sewing. Among these delightful projects are a gingerbread house, a holly wreath, a sleigh, gift boxes, a three-dimensional Advent calendar, and a gorgeous set of three-dimensional Christmas ornaments. Most can be made from scraps you already have. The author gives complete, step-by-step instructions from start to finish for these timeless classics. Embellished with beads, sequins, buttons, and other trim, they will add sparkle to the holidays. Some of these projects are even suitable for children."

Review By: CS Grant,   Untrained Housewife - December 10, 2009
"Fast, Fun & Easy Christmas Decorations: Festive Fabric Keepsakes to Create & Embellish by Linda Johansen is filled with great simple ideas that I call investable crafts. I say this because the crafts will last for years. Some of my favorites in the book are the fabric wreath, fabric boxes, and the array of ornaments. Most of the projects involve several steps including cutting, sewing, ironing and arranging. Here is a list of the most used items needed to make these crafts: • Beautiful fabric • Lace trim • Sewing machine • Fast-to-fuse fabric fuser • Circular cutter • Scissors • Templates from the book Pros and Cons of Linda Johansen's Christmas Craft Book... It was hard to choose a favorite craft. The ornaments are awesome because they are all fabric and are kid and pet proof. No more having to put the pretty ornaments at the top, with these crafts you can have pretty ornaments all over the tree. I have always secretly hated our plastic ornaments scattered all about our tree because of how generic and boring they were. Now I can have beautiful and personal ornaments all around the tree. I also love the little boxes. I have many friends being a military wife. We are not made of money, so i buy little things like lip gloss or hand lotion. Some years I make cookies or rum balls. These little gift boxes are perfect for holding small gifts. The handmade box is part of the gift and while it might cost a bit more than buying a pack of generic gift boxes. These boxes have love and labor in them, which is what real friendships are made of. Making the holiday wreath was probably the easiest, thing to do because it involved little sewing. The fast-to-fuse needed for most of the projects, including this one, is amazing. It is very quick and since the pieces you are fusing are tiny, it is really fast. you don't even need to put anything under the fabric or worry about it cooling off because of how fast it is. The wreath comes out beautifully and can be given as a gift or kept for years to enjoy.... "