10-Minute Santa Ornament

make-it-monday

santa-ornament

Ten minutes. Really. This is sort of a variation on the elf skittles that I posted about last week. But even easier. I think these would make cute additions to gifts for family, friends or teachers. The kids can help make these if you skip the glue gun and use regular school glue. You  could sign them on the back and add the year.  You could use even smaller wooden balls to make teeny tiny Santas. Or you can take it a step further and make a little body with chenille stems, a larger ball for the belly and beads for the arms and legs.

Supplies:

  • wooden ball (1 1/2″ diameter)
  • red and white felt scraps
  • black acrylic paint
  • white chenille stem (cut to 2″)
  • twine
  • glue gun

santa-ornament-instructions

  1. Cut out the hat and beard from felt according to this template.
  2. Bend the end of your chenille stem and cut to 2″.
  3. Insert the chenille stem in the top of the hat felt and sew, right sides together, using a scant 1/4″ seam allowance. Turn right sides out and poke out the tip with a blunt tool.
  4. Place a couple of drops of glue on the inside rim of the hat and fit onto the wooden ball. Glue the beard on as well, just meeting the hat at the corners.
  5. Draw eyes with a pencil and then paint them on with black acrylic paint.
  6. Loop twine through the chenille stem and tie in a knot. Trim off the ends and put a tiny drop of glue to hold the knot in place just at the chenille stem. All done!

If you make this project or anything else from the Make it Monday series, be sure to post a photo in the Make it Monday Flickr group.

Handmade for the Holidays

There’s still time to make your holiday gifts.  Here are some fabric sales to get you started:

sew-la-fabric

Sew L.A. Fabric: 15% off for readers of The Long Thread. They have a great selection of designer and imported fabrics (see image above), including Echino, Lecien, Heather Ross, Joel Dewberry, Amy Butler and more. Enter code LONGTH09 at checkout (now through December 5).

Sew, Mama, Sew! is offering free shipping on all domestic orders today only.

J. Caroline Creative: 15% off through today with coupon code THANKS.

Plus some great sale fabrics from The Fabric Bar, Purl, Superbuzzy, Reprodepot and Fabricworm.

No time to make your gifts?  Shop my handmade gift guide here.

Handmade Gift of the Week

handmade-gift-of-the-week

luvaboo

Last week I bought this adorable doll from Luvaboo at a local craft fair.  These dolls have velcro attached to the eyes and hands so that they can play peek-a-boo, give hugs, and hang around.  Luvaboo does not have an online shop yet, but you can e-mail to buy a doll.  My four-year-old handed over her Barbie in favor of this doll, so it was a big hit with the kids.

Fa la la la Felt

fa la la la felt

Check out the new downloadable book from Lark Books — Fa la la la Felt. The book includes 45 decorations, ornaments and stockings made of your favorite material — felt!  I’m excited to have three projects featured in the book.  So if you’re ready to deck the halls, head over here and buy the book instantly for $14.95.

And as a special gift, Lark Books is offering a free tutorial for this cute little mushroom ornament from Cathy Gaubert.  Click on the image below to download the .pdf file.

gview