Archive for the ‘make it’ Category

Last year we received a snowman kit from one of my dear friends as a Christmas gift.  A few days after the gift arrived, we had an epic storm and the kids spent hours playing in the snow and building their wonderful snowman.

It was such a fun idea, and I was sure I could make a handmade version for gifts this year.

A snowman is simple.  He needs a hat, eyes, nose, mouth, scarf and buttons down his shirt.  If you want an authentic snowman, you can even add a corncob pipe.

Yesterday I got to work and made my own snowman kit.

I cut a 7 inch width of red polar fleece for a scarf.  Most polar fleece is 60 inches wide which makes a perfect length for a scarf.  Then fray the end by cutting a 3 inch strip every 1/2 inch.  Check it out with a little snowflake:

I traced a snowflake cookie cutter on white craft felt with pencil and cut it out.  Then I stitched around using a machine blanket stitch.  This scarf is so cute, you could steal it from the snowman and wear for Christmas.

Ben and I headed over to a stream by our house and gathered small semi round stones.  When we got home, Ben painted them with black acrylic paint to make the snowman’s mouth.

Boys love rocks.  They love to collect rocks.  They love to paint rocks.  I love rocks because they are the perfect old fashioned look for a snowman… and they are free.

I splurged on a fake carrot from a local craft store for $3.  My husband thinks I should cut the “hairy” things off it it… too gross.  I pulled out the foliage and hot glued a dowel into the hole in the end, to make it easier to stick it into the snowman.  You could also use a real carrot in the kit… which would obviously need to be replaced as needed.

Next were inexpensive buttons for the eyes and down his tummy, big black buttons for the eyes, smaller green buttons for the tummy.   I put the rocks and buttons into this cute little box for the gift.

And last but not least, the hat.  I made it out of cheap black felt.  I sprayed the felt with a little heavy starch to make it less floppy, and it turned out darling.  I will be posting a tutorial on making the hat later today (I hope.)  I still have a few measurements to get right if someone besides me is tried make it…  I had to fudge a few times.  I thought that Geometry teacher was lying when he said I would use these skills someday.  Circumferences anyone?  You could also buy a hat from a thrift store, Halloween close-out, cheap Santa hat, there’s lots of inexpensive choices.

UPDATE:  Here are the directions for making a snowman hat:  Start with at least 3/4 yard of cheap black felt.

1. Cut one circle 12″ inches wide for the brim of the hat.
2. Cut a smaller circle 6 3/4″ in the center of the the brim.
3. Cut one 8″ inch circle for the top of the hat.
4. Cut one rectangle, 6″ x  24″ for the cylinder.
5. Folding the rectangle in half, stitch the end using a 1/4″ seam, making the cylinder.
6. Keeping the cylinder wrong side out, carefully pin the 8″ circle around the top of the hat.  Stitch together.
7. Turn the cylinder right side out.  I used a chopstick to make the turn neat and tidy.
8. Pin the brim of the hat carefully around the cylinder.  Stitch together.
9. Embellish the hat if desired.  Use a piece of red felt or grosgrain ribbon around the hat.  Or throw on a flower or a sprig of holly.  Or just simply leave it a plain black hat… either way it’s going to be a darling snowman.

Last it all goes into a gift box… add a cute little tag that reads, “Just Add Snow.”  And another check off my gift list!

During the Holidays, I love gifts that either make my life easier or are a fun activity for my family.  Today’s Make it Do gift idea does both.

Several months ago the fabulously talented Bakerella had a post about cookies in a jar- Cowgirl Cookies.  And my first thought was what a perfect gift for the Holidays.  Most kids love to leave a plate of cookies for Santa.  But having time to bake on Christmas Eve can be a challenge.  This gift makes it easy to throw together a batch of cookies in a hurry.

“Cookies for Santa” makes a great gift for friends or teachers as well.

Of course I had to make a batch to “test” the recipe.  And I can vouch that Santa will love these cookies.

To make this wonderful cookie mix click here to go to Bakerella for the recipe.

And here’s a few additional tips:  I found it best to make the cookie mix in a Wide Mouth Quart jar.  I didn’t buy the special craft jars that Bakerella used, because they are more expensive and I don’t mind the embossing.  I used my wide mouth canning funnel to pour the ingredients in the jar, which really reduced the mess.  One batch made about 2 1/2 dozen cookies.  I used regular Christmas M & M’s, but I was tempted to try the Mint Christmas M & M’s, I think that would be really yummy.

For the recipe instructions I created a document with both the front and back labels.  I printed it out on scrapbook paper and cut them out using a 2 inch circle punch.  I adhered the labels to the bottle using double stick tape, just like Bakerella.  If you’d like to make your labels using the document I created click here.

This project was so fun to make.  I loved them when I saw them on Bakerella back in August, and I love it more now that I’ve made them.  It’s a great feeling to make my gifts now and know I’m saving major stress in December.  Thank you Bakerella for the wonderful idea!