Winter Cork People

Wow, I almost lost this whole week! Things have been hectic but I finally found time to post this craft. Do you remember my "Beach Cork People"? This is the winter version of them.
To start with you will need some red and white felt, q-tips (or pom poms or tiny bells), wooden beads (with or without painted faces) a cork and a screw. Cut a long strip of red felt start with for the scarf and a red triangle for the hat. Cut fringe on the ends of the scarf. Next cut two matching free form pieces of white felt for snow. Finally cut the tips of several Q-tips off past the stick part (but save the stick, they are useful for stir sticks or a number of other future crafts).
Attach the head (wooden bead) to the cork using the screw (a dollop of hot glue under the bead is helpful here to). Next glue on the hat and scarf. You could stop here but we wanted to make a land scape for this cork person.

Glue the two pieces of white felt together and glue your cork person to the 'snow'. Using the Q-tip tips you cut, glue the flat cut sides to the "snow" in a pile like rolled snow balls. I looked everywhere for my little bells or pom poms but could not find them, so I glued a q-tip ball to the end of the hat like a pom pom. This is the last step and you're done! Have Fun!!

Paper Snowflakes

Do you remember making paper snowflakes as a child?First you fold a piece of paper in half;

and then fold again and again till you are satisfied or just can't wait to start cutting. Did you ever ask your Mum if you could use her pinking sheers because they left such a pretty pattern and because they were thick and heavy enough to cut through anything?

Snip Snip Snip, Mum's gentle eye watching over you as you worked.Carefully unfolding and seeing what beautiful snowflakes you have created and then hanging them around the house or taping them to the windows for all to see.
This is a January Tradition that I will never be to old to make. Bear and I made these for New Years and had so much fun. It brought back such fun childhood memories for Bear and his brother. Grab a wee one and make some memories today. Have Fun!

Stockings and Stars

Little bits of felt and vintage sequins to make a memory. This year my sister asked me to make her boy friend a Christmas stocking. Our stockings are a tradition that my Great Grandmama started. When My Grandmama died I took over being the stocking maker for the family.Our 1950's stockings all look the same but have tiny differences. The first one is mine, made by my Grandmama 30 years ago, the second is the one I am hoping is finished by today for my sister's boy friend, and the last one is Bear's. I made it for him on our first Christmas and there were tears misting his eyes when he saw it. My Bear is such a softy. This is one tradition I will not let fade away.This star is the last of my ornaments I will post this year. I thought it was fitting that I should show it today. Layers of felt in alternating colors. So simple, yet so lovely.
I hope you are with family this day. To snuggle and to sip coco, to reminisce and make new memories. To laugh and to love. Merry Christmas everyone. Take care and Have Fun!

Hearts and Doves

These two ornament patterns just might be my favorites out of all the ornaments I made this year. The hearts are made with a heart template and embroidery floss for the lettering. The doves are made out of sparkly felt and their olive branches are embroidered with embroidery floss using a running stitch for the stem and daisy chain loops for the leaves. There is something about these that makes them so much fun to make. I hooked them into the garlands and lights around my windows and they looked so pretty. I liked them so much that I had a hard time taking some away from the windows to put onto the tree. My beautiful flock of Peace. Only one ornament left to post. I hope that you have finished all of your Christmas crafts and can just relax now. Take care and have fun!

Snowflake Ornaments and Friends

" Snowflakes swirl to the ground,

Softly to not make a sound"

Today's ornaments are made with a simple round template. The snowflakes are then stitched on with embroidery floss and then embellished with sequins and clear seed beads. They add that extra sparkle that was missing to our tree. Since I missed posting an ornament last week, I've added in a few that I helped my friend Elsa J make this past weekend.

Elsa J was worried because some pieces were cut uneven and the stitching is not evenly placed. She does not craft much and was worried that they were not good enough to give as gifts. They all turned out so whimsical that I love them all. They are all unique and beautiful. Just like people and snowflakes. What a boring world this would be if we were all identical.Yes I helped a little, but ' Elkie', your friends are going to love them. They are adorable, and personal, but most importantly they were made by you. The love and work that you put into them will be cherished. You are becoming quite the little crafter and I look forward to making many MANY more crafts with you. Take care.

No Sew Ornaments

I thought it would be fun to do a few whimsical no sew gingerbread ornaments this year. Using a cookie cutter as a template cut out two sides of felt for every ginger bread man you will make. Tie a ribbon for a hanging loop and hot glue around the edges of the pattern. Sandwich the two cut out pieces of felt and ribbon together, and use fabric paint to decorate. It's a simple and fast project sure to make anyone smile.
Remember to have fun. The secret to making fun ornaments is having fun while making them. This year I made my sister a firefighter gingerbread man ornament. Every year she asks me to make her gingerbread men that look like firefighters so it seemed fitting to make her an ornament. I hope she does not eat it. It looks like someone already took a bight out of one of my gingerbread men ;) Take care and Have fun!

Ornament : Holly Leaves

First. Have a Happy Thanksgiving wherever you are. I had plans for a Thanksgiving craft but time and a nasty bug hit me hard this year. Christmas is coming and there are so many things to make still. This year we will be using handmade ornaments to keep breakage at a minimum with the new puppy. Over the next few weeks I will be posting the ornaments that we've made. The first ornament is Holly Berries and leaves.

For these ornaments you will need buttons, embroidery floss, felt, and a filling of your choice.

Using the green felt cut out 2 holly leaves and use a round template to cut 2 circles out of red felt.

Place the leaves on the red circle and stitch a vein down the middle of each leaf.

Sew on three red buttons for berries. They do not need to match; not matching gives it more character.

Stitch half way around and fill with stuffing of your choice. Cotton, milk weed silk, and the left over scraps of felt all work great for this. Then finish stitching around and cut a pretty ribbon to make a loop for hanging and your done. Give Thanks this and every week and Have Fun!