Snowman Advent Calendar and Marker

I think this is my favorite Christmas decoration! Well, next to my stockings of course. This was so easy and fun! And cheap! I found these great felt squares at Hobby Lobby in Orem which is what inspired the whole idea.


First, I cut out the circles for the snowman body. I just walked around my house finding circle shaped items. I ended up using my wall clock, a dinner plate, and a bucket. The wall clock was a little big so I cut that one down a little bit but everything else was perfect.

For the mittens I just found a picture on Google and traced it onto the felt.

I used my Cricut to cut out the squares on the calendar and also for the "coal" circles and carrot nose. For the numbers I used that 3D fabric paint.

After everything was cut out I used my hot glue gun to glue it all on.

The stitching around the edges took the longest. Not hard at all but it is a little time consuming. FYI it's called a button-hole stitch. I found instructions on how to do it here.

The marker is just fabric, quilt batting, and stitching. Cute right?

I still haven't figured out how exactly to hang it up so any ideas from you would be great. Happy Holidays!

Christmas Stocking Instructions

I figured I should probably post the instructions for the Christmas stockings so you can have them ready by Christmas. I will do my best at explaining as simply as I can. Once you've done one you can whip out  several with no problem. Make sure to read through the entire tutorial before you start, to avoid confusion.

You'll need:

• Two outside pieces (I bought 1 yd because of future children. You could get by with 1/2 a yard for 1 stocking)
• Two inside lining pieces (I would recommend felt -- it's cheap and soft)
• Two border fabric pieces (probably 1/8 or 1/4 yard. My pieces ended up being 4" long+the width of the stocking) 
• Bias tape (Get extra wide double fold. Easier to work with.)

1. Start by cutting out your pieces. You can use your own pattern or email me for the one I used. Just remember, the bigger the stocking the harder it is to fill. I just cut the border piece to match the width of the stocking. Sophisticated, I know.

2. Iron one edge of one border piece up 1/2"

 3. Sew the border pieces together at the raw edges, right sides together.

4. Line up one felt piece and one fabric piece. Make sure the toe is pointed in the direction you want it to be when you hang it. This will be the front of your stocking. Align the border pieces' seam at the top (wrong sides together) so that the border piece is on either side of the stocking.The side you ironed should be on the inside lining. Pin and sew the ironed edge to inside lining. I kept the edge of the presser foot lined up with the edge of the fabric.

5. Sew on bias tape to the other end of your border fabric (the part that covers the front of the stocking.) I just cut a piece long enough to match the length of the border piece. Here's how you attach the bias tape: Unfold the tape. Pin and sew the open edge of the tape to the edge of the border piece.  Again, keep the presser foot at the edge of the fabric.

6. Roll the tape around so that the other end is on the outside. Pin and sew to the stocking. Make sure the tape covers up the sewing you just did. This is where the extra wide double fold bias tape comes in handy. There should be plenty to cover up the stitching.

The end result should look like this.

 7. Do the same with the bias tape to the top edge of the back side of the stocking.

Now you should have two pieces that look like this.  Let me also explain that in this tutorial I sewed on all the attachments first and then sewed the front and back pieces together. I would do it the opposite way. Sew the stocking together, unpick half way, sew on attachments, then sew back together. It just keeps it lined up better.

8. Sew the front and back pieces together at a 1/2" seam with wrong sides together and cut off any excess. (You may not need to cut off the excess if you have extra wide double fold tape. FYI.)

9. More bias tape. Same rule applies. I used 36" to go around the entire stocking. Unfold and pin to the back side of the stocking. This part is a little tricky but just work with the tape to make it align with the edge. Don't worry about the rest of it. Go slow around those curves.
**Make sure the long end of the tape is on the opposite side you want to hang it on. Look at it from the front before you sew to make sure it looks the way you want it to.

10. Fold over the top edge of the tape on the opposite side, just to make it look nicer when you're done.

11. Roll the tape over to the front of the stocking. Pin and sew. You may have to fiddle with it while you're sewing to make sure you cover up the other stitches. Go slow.

12. Fold down the long end of the bias tape to make a loop (as long as you want it to be). Sew across the tape and...Tada!

Give Thanks

This was a super fun project. And inexpensive. I bought a wood plaque ($6.99) at Roberts. Painted it brown ($1.00). Mod Podged (I already had some but you can get a small bottle for $5) some Thanksgiving paper on. Then used my Cricut for the letters and leaves. Bought some ribbon at Walmart (for 37 cents a yard) and hot glued it to the board. I had some ribbon left over and made a bow. Oh, and I also used some sand paper to even out the edges of the paper after they were all glued on. I just love it so much! I only have a week to enjoy it though...

 

Total cost: $8.36  (if you buy Mod Podge it would be about $14)

Wall Clock

I did this project at a Super Saturday today. I can tell you the steps I went through to make it.

1. Paint clock front and sides with brown acrylic paint. I did 2 coats. Let it dry completely.
2. Apply layer of crackle medium. The thicker the layer, the bigger cracks you'll have. Dry completely.
3. Apply layer of cream acrylic paint. Get a good glob on your brush and cover one section at a time. As it dries it will crackle. Don't paint over anything that has crackled -- it will just cover it up. Dry completely.
4. Stain the crackled paint with a mixture of the brown paint and a little water with a rag (the girl at the thing used a sock) then dab over it with a dry rag (or sock) to make it even. Dry completely.
5. Apply vinyl face (i'm not sure how she made that part) to clock, rub on. Attach hands.
It took 3 1/2 hours because of all the drying time. And there were like a million other people needing the lady's help. It was fun though. I LOVE it!!

Leaf Banner

I needed a project for November. I don't have any Fall/Thanksgiving decorations. This might be my new favorite project (except for my Xmas stockings). Another idea I got from Studio 5. I bought some fake leaves at Roberts (they were 50% off but you could probably find them at the dollar store or walmart for even cheaper.) I cut the leaves off the stem and just sewed them together with needle and thread. Tada!

These would be SO cute around the edge of the dinner table but Brandon would definitely tear them apart.

Also, I think I'm going to have to make some sort of banner for every holiday. I love them!