Christmas Tutorials

It's the hap-happiest season of all.  Christmas! 

I've been busy creating new Christmas tutorials BUT before I share those, today, you can get a glimpse at Christmas crafts from the past. 

Christmas Tutorials:

DIY Pottery Barn Candle	DIY Advent Calendar	DIY Santa Beard
Photo Gift Tag	Pucker Up Ornament	Christmas Goodie Bags
Love Letter Ornament	JOY Sign	Chalk Board Gift Tag
Jack Skellington Ornaments	Barbie Ornament	Bat Signal Ornament
Christmas Flower Boxes	Pine Needle Gift Tags	Star Wars Ornaments
Cloud Hand Warmer

Christmas Tutorials:

Advent Calendar Tutorial: Part 1
Advent Calendar Tutorial: Part 2
Advent Calendar Tutorial: Part 3
Advent Caledendar Tutorial: Part 4





In the weeks to come, you'll be visited by Christmas crafts of the present or maybe even the future.

And, hopefully none of them will leave you saying 'Bah humbug'.

Thankful

The watercolor leaves we made earlier this month, have now all been filled out with many great reminders of what we have to be thankful for. 

Proudly displayed, on our pantry door, the leaves have reminded us of the things that have left us feeling happy this past month.

Some of those included simple things like flowers.

Some of them were more timely, our first snow arrived and I was reminded how lucky we were to be able to snuggle inside of a warm house while watching the first snowfall of the year.

And, everyday, I feel truly blessed to have a not only a warm home but one filled with much love.

My list, though, would not be complete without including, this blog, the friendships I have made because of it and all the people who take the time to stop by and visit.  So, to all of you, I am thankful.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Turkey in Disguise

Tom the Turkey is desperate for a disguise to keep him safe until after Thanksgiving dinner...and it was our job at While Wearing Heels, to figure how to do just that. 

After much debate...and deliberating over craft supplies we had on hand, we agreed, as a family, that Tom the Turkey would disguise himself as a Christmas present.

To make sure there was NO peeking, we decided to add a 'Do Not Open Until Christmas' tag.  Hopefully by that point, he'll be safe to live another year.

Of course, we weren't the only ones tasked with keeping Tom safe. 

Grace's entire kindergarten class was responsible for doing the same.

As long as they don't let out any unexpected 'gooble, goobles', I think they will all be safe.

How would you disguise your turkey?

Monsters Inc Finger Puppet Tutorial

Do you have a Monsters Inc. fan in your life?  These Monsters, Inc. felt finger puppets, are sure to bring a smile to their face.

To make your very own Mike Wazowski finger puppet.

Gather the following material:  felt (green, white, black, white), green thread and needle and glue.

Using the pattern below, cut all your felt pieces out.

On the front piece, glue the mouth first, then the teeth and finally the lip (just below the teeth).  Next glue your eye into place, starting with the white, blue and lastly the black (I added a green eyelid).

Grab the back piece and line it up behind the front piece.  Insert the 2 horns between the front and back piece.  Using your needle and thread do a running stitch starting where the left leg meets the body all around to where the right leg meets the body.  Leave the bottom of the body unstitched.  Finally, glue the arms together.

To make your own Sully Finger Puppet...

Gather the following supplies:  felt (2 shades of blue, black, white, gray, purple), blue thread and needle and glue.

Using the pattern below, cut out the felt pieces that make up Sully.

Start by gluing the eyes, nose and mouth to Sully's head.  Cut circles out of purple felt and glue them to both arms and feet.  Glue 3 claws onto each arm and 2 onto each foot.

Grab the back of Sully.  Glue the arms about an inch down from the top.  Place the horns between the head and the back and glue into place, positioning the head over the arms, matching up against the back of Sully.  Using your needle and thread, do a running stitch to secure the front of Sully's body to the back of his body.  I also stitched the feet onto the front of Sully's  body.  Leave the bottom of Sully unstitched.

And, there you have a set of Monsters, Inc. Finger Puppets.

If you liked these finger puppets, you might also like these gnome finger puppets...

or these felt ninja finger puppets...

Or this DIY finger puppet stand tutorial.

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Children's Art Pillow

School is in full swing.

First run on Bonbon Break. 

And the art, so lovingly created, is already stacking up.

Sure, I'll hang most of it up and at the end of the year I'll store it away in a box labeled kindergarten.

But the problem with storing it away in a box is just that...it is stored away in a box.

Out of sight, out of mind.

So, instead, I'll appreciate it.  I'll use it.  I'll decorate with it.  Sure, I could frame it but why not turn some of that art into a custom pillow.

Don't worry, if you don't sew, you can use a pre-made pillow {as long as the case is removable from the pillow}.

To get started, you and your little Picasso can pick your favorite masterpieces.  Set up a photo shoot and take some crisp clear pictures of the artwork you want to use.

Next import your photographed art into PicMonkey, a free photo editing website, and create a collage.  Have fun figuring out the design and arrangement.  If you want to add a quote, or the grade the collection of art was created, pull your newly created collage into PicMonkey's 'edit a photo' tab. 

If you decide to add a quote, or if the art work itself uses words or numbers, you will need to transpose your image.  This can also be done with PicMonkey, in the basic edits section under rotate.

Pull your image into a word document to determine the size you want.  Print a test page on copier paper to check the size.  When you have the size you want, print it on the transfer paper.

Cut your image out, leaving some excess around the edge of the image. 

 

Center the transfer paper, face down, onto the fabric source you want to adhere it to and iron it on. White fabric will work best since the transfer paper does have a transparent quality to it.

*If applying it to a pillow, make sure you remove the pillow prior to ironing.

When the paper has cooled, gently peel the backing of the transfer paper off.  The image is now permanently affixed to the fabric.

And, a custom pillow is ready to be proudly displayed.

The possibilities are endless.  Using this transfer paper technique you could add the collage to a tote bag, a tee shirt, or even a quilt.

I love the idea of creating different squares of treasured artwork, one for each year of school, and displaying them in a quilt that will certainly never be forgotten.

Picasso was right, every child is an artist so why not proudly display their creations.