On the Ninth day of Christmas my true love made for me….
Needle Felted Ornaments
I decided to try a new craft. I haven’t ever needle felted and saw the idea to make needle felted ornaments using cookie cutters as moulds. In theory it was a good idea but in reality I feel like I need a big more practice before I get the hang of it. I made three ornaments before I broke the needle and then it was game over.
Keep crafting!
It’s the 12th day of Christmas today, or maybe even day 13 but if you are like me then perhaps you have lost track of the days.
My oldest saw kids making these at school this week and decided that he wanted to make one too. I know it’s hard to believe but I had all of the materials on hand. This was his first sewing project so I am a pretty proud mom. I’m impressed my 8 year old would initiate this on his own, and follow through to completion. Perhaps crafting is genetic?
• On the first day of Christmas my true loves made for me, an Ornament Wreath.
• On the second day of Christmas my true loves made with me, Hot Chocolate Mugs.
• On the third day of Christmas my true love made for me, Plum Wine.
• On the fourth day of Christmas my mom made for me, A Nativity Scene.
• On the fifth day of Christmas a random stranger made for me, Cotton Candy Chemo Cap.
• On the sixth day of Christmas my true loves made for me, Spontaneous Snowmen
• On the seventh day of Christmas my true love made for me, Tiny Knit Scarf Ornaments
• On the eighth day of Christmas my little loves made for me, Reindeer Balls.
• On the ninth day of Christmas my little loves made with me, Dentist approved cookies.
• On the tenth day of Christmas my true love made for me, Beyblade gloves.
• On the eleventh day of Christmas my love made…
A Sewn Stocking.
Canada is having a big birthday tomorrow! 150 years young.
We celebrate Canada Day every year but this is a special year so I made special shirts. I could have bought Canada shirts but where is the fun in that? Historically we have made flag hand print shirts which I love, but this year called for something extra special.
We live in a great country so get out and celebrate on July 1st. Happy Canada Day!
Let me tell you a little secret, I make a lot of crafts from scratch but I also craft from kits. It’s even better than baking from a box because everything is included. On the 5th day of Christmas my true love made for me…Felt Wreaths from a kit. Continue reading
My seven year old is obsessed with Minecraft. I hear a lot of “Mom did you know, in Minecraft……” which is about where I zone out because I really know very little about Minecraft. However, I am interested in expanding upon his interests. I think it is great that he is so passionate about something, even if it is based on a video game. Instead of incessantly playing video games I want him to build on the creative problem solving skills learned in Minecraft, and apply those skills to other things. Continue reading
Sunday morning my oldest has drawing classes, and he was refusing to go recently because he was “too busy” pretending to be a cowboy. He and his brother were both galloping around wearing cowboy hats. After I promised that, he could return to playing cowboys after drawing he dropped the hat and off we went. As soon as we returned, I was roped into their pretend play.
“Where are your horses?” I asked
“We don’t have horses,” they said
“Do you want horses?” I asked
“YES” they said
“Where do we get some?” they asked
“We make them,” I said
My kids have a small obsession with camping. I do not. Camping isn’t my thing. Going to the cottage or cabin is more my speed. I am a big fan of my bed, running water, electricity and flush toilets. Walls and doors are not overrated in my opinion. I like a lot of protection from mother nature and a piece of cloth between me and the elements isn’t quite enough.
I do however love my kids and I love that they use there imaginations when they play. One of their favourite things to play is camping. Sometimes this involves a couch fort, a ball tent or their teepee. Years ago I made the boys a teepee to play in and it now has a few miles on it. They have been roasting marshmallows on chop sticks over a red pillow with every camping adventure and I though that it was time to make them a campfire.
My timing could have been a little better because I finished it at midnight on Christmas Eve. I am guilty of running to the craft store on Christmas Eve to get supplies. Even among all of the store bought gifts that they received for Christmas this is what they were up to after Christmas dinner. My oldest opted for marshmallows for dessert in lieu of pecan pie so that he could try out the new camp fire.
Here is my post from the tenth day of Christmas last year. Funny enough my model was wearing the same jammies this morning although they are getting a little small.
On the tenth day of Christmas Elf shoes
I should really make myself a pair because I don’t know about you but just about this time each year I feel a bit like Santa’s little helper.
My kids love coasters. Yes the ones that you put drinks on. They throw them as frisbees, use them as plates, roll them and who knows what else. I find them everywhere, in beds, outside, in the bathroom, under rugs you name it I have probably found a coaster there. I have no idea why they have a fascination with them but I can tell you that they disappear and get broken at an alarming rate.
So I decided to make some that wouldn’t get broken (or at least not into sharp pieces), can’t chip, and would be kind to the inside of my washing machine and were made from scraps of felt. I also made 5 because for sure one (or more) will go missing. There isn’t much point in buying something nice at least not for a while.
If you find yourself in a coaster predicament as well or you just think that these are cute and would like some for yourself the instructions are as follows:
Step 1. Cut felt into 1cm strips (using standard felt sheets). I used 8 colours but you can use as few or as many as you like. I used 17 strips per coaster, 2 strips per colour plus one extra in the outside colour.
Step 2. You can use white glue but mine needed to be super durable, so I opted for hot glue. Starting with any colour wrap and glue the end of one of the felt strips to make a small cylinder.
Step 3. Glue and wrap additional strips of felt. If you are using white glue use straight pins and pin as you wrap and glue. With hot glue you don’t need pins.
Step 4. Once you get to the end of the felt add in the second strip. Glue and wrap the strips in sections.
Step 5. Once you have used all 16 strips of felt glue the last strip around the outside butting it up against the same colour.
As luck would have it the sixth day of Christmas is also the release of the new Star Wars movie. I was talking with my mom the other day when she mentioned that if I needed something for the 6th day of Christmas she had a few projects. My mom sent me the picture below of the Star Wars finger puppets she had just finished making for my 6 year old who is obsessed with Star Wars. Grandma has magical crafting skills and amazing timing.
She also made a set of Paw Patrol finger puppets for my 3 year old. She really nailed it with these for the kids. Who would have guessed that crafting, Star Wars and Paw Patrol could have been combined?
Making A Life 