Creating a Miniature Snowman Kit

When it snows, I love to go outside and create snowmen.  It drove me crazy though, when my kids used my good gloves, hat etc. to decorate their snowmen.  Somehow my good stuff became more mundane the longer it was used by the snowmen.  One day someone told me about snowmen kits. It was a package that held everything you would need to decorate a snowman.  So it has eyes, nose, buttons, hat, and scarf for the basics.  Not too long after that, I was told about Mini Snowmen.  No taller than 12 inches, just the right size to sit on my front step.  Something clicked and I created mini snowmen kits.  So here we go, on Creating a Miniature Snowman Kit.

Step 1:

Supplies:
Orange sculpt Clay (to make carrot noses +/- $2 per pkg.)
Black sculpt Clay (to make eyes +/- $2 per pkg.)
Buttons (for buttons)
Fleece (for hats and scarves)
Scissors
Use of an oven
Sewing machine
Parchment paper
Cookie sheet
Zip lock bag (to store the stuff in, between uses)

Step 2:

Nose:  Tear off a piece of orange Sculpt. 

Step 3:

Soften it in your hands and roll it into a small ball. 

Step 4:

Roll the ball into a 1.5 inch oblong cone. 

Step 5:

Use the back edge of a butter knife to make indents into the sides of the cone.  This will make it look more carrot like.

Step 6:

Eyes: When I was a kid we used coal for the snowman eyes, mouth and buttons.  Take some black Sculpt and made ½ inch black balls (these do not have to be perfectly smooth or anything, because they represent coal).  Make 2 for eyes, your snowman will be too small for a mouth.

Step 7:

Buttons:  Make more black clay balls or raid the button tin and use the ones you like.

Step 8:

Preheat the oven to 275°.  Place the orange noses and black eyes on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake in the oven (for 15 minutes per ¼ thickness of the clay) for 30 minutes. 

Step 9:

When the 30 minutes are up, turn off the oven and let the pan and oven cool down together.  Once everything is cool, remove the pan from the oven.  The reason I used Sculpt is because once it had been baked, it can be used over and over again.

Step 10:

Hat:  The easiest hat is to take a 12 inch x 7 inch piece felt and sew it into a tube.

Step 11:

Fold up one end 1 inch, and either sew it, or glue it into place.  About 3 inches from the folded end, tie the hat together with ribbon, string, a rubber band or whatever you have handy. You can also make hats by using left over yarn and knit or crochet or using round loom.

Step 12:

Scarf:  Cut a 1.5 inch wide, two foot long piece of fleece.  Cut a little fringe along each narrow edge on each end.  You may also use yarn and knit, crochet or otherwise create a scarf of the previously mentioned detentions.

Step 13:

Now that you have the items created, now all you have to do is put all the items in a zip lock type bag and wait for it to snow; moist, snowman making snow.

Waiting… I’m still waiting…  Hurry it snowed, snowman snow.  My grandson, helped me ,making sure they had eyes and nose and hats and scarves.  We had fun!  My daughter informed me that she wanted a full size snowman kit.  Sounds like a Christmas gift to me.  Enjoy!

Fabric Christmas Tree

This is great for small spaces like a dorm, or to put on a table as a centerpiece or on the mantle. And if you happen to have cats that stalk and nom on any and all plant life in their general area, this is a good way to have a tree without having it tipped over and ravaged.

This is an easy project - should take you no more than an hour!

Step 1: What you'll need!

• a foam cone (any size you want!)
• green felt (1/4 - 1/2 yard max)
• a straight stick that is an appropriate size for your cone
• glue OR straight pins for attaching fabric - I used pins
• flower pot
• bit of cardboard
• beans or rocks to fill pot
• scissors
• tape
• fabric for making a small tree skirt
• something to make a star from
• lights for around the base

I think pins are easier to use with the foam - no waiting for drying, and you could reuse the cone with another fabric later. Felt is the best fabric to because it has more body and is heavier, but it's good to experiment. You might find something that works better for you. I also considered using wide green lace!

Step 2: Prep the pot!

Trace the top and bottom of your pot. Cut inside the drawn lines, especially the one for the bottom of the pot so it will fit down inside. You're just waiting to cover the drainage hole so no beans fall out.

Step 3: Insert stick into cone

I did this using a a human drill kinda motion - push up into the cone while twisting hard. Make sure the stick is secure - at least a few inches into the cone

Step 4: Final pot prep

Insert the smaller cardboard disc into the bottom of the pot and then fill with beans.

Cut a hole in the middle of the larger cardboard disc just big enough to insert the stick.

Assemble everything to make sure it's a good fit. It the stick is a big too long, cut a little off. :)

Diabetic Breakfast Receipes

Diabetic Breakfast Recipes

20 delicious recipes will wake up your taste buds and cut carbs too!

• Made with breakfast-time favorites like ham, eggs, fresh fruit, and sausage
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• Variety you’ll love — something for every taste

Hand Print Poem Gift Craft

Materials Needed:

• Cardstock or Plain Paper
• Paint
• Paint Brush

Instructions:
Make a homemade card or a wall hanging with a hand print on it, and print this poem on it. You can use whatever paper or other base you like. Print out this poem by hand or using your printer. Make sure you leave room for the hand print.

Gift Card Holder Craft

Materials Needed:

• Craft Foam
• Large Needle and Embroidery Thread
• Eyelet
• Key Ring, clip, or Ball Chain
• Embellishment Objects
• Craft Glue
• Scissors
• Pinking Shears or Decorative Edge Scissors (Optional)

Instructions:
Cut out two pieces of craft foam, approximately 3" x 5". You can cut these with the regular scissors or make fancy edges using pinking shears or other decorative scissors. Hold these two pieces together and stitch 3 of the sides together using 3 strands of embroidery thread and the needle. Leave one of the 5" sides open. Sew about 1/4" from the edge.

Put an eyelet in one of the corners of the un-sewn side of the purse. This will be used to insert the key ring, clip, or ball chain. You can now personal the craft foam envelope if desired. Write the recipient's name or a special message. You can embellish it with craft foam shapes, dimensional paint, rhinestones, etc.

Footprint T-Shirt Craft

Materials Needed:

• White T-Shirt
• Cardboard
• Fabric Paint
• Paint Brush
• Styrofoam Plates or Other Shallow Containers

Instructions:

This homemade t-shirt was a hit with my husband on Father's Day, although this would also make a great gift for mom for Mother's day or any occasion. Change the wording a bit and it would also be great for grandparents, uncles, aunts, etc.

Start out by laying the t-shirt out on a flat surface. You will want it on the ground or on a low surface because you will be stepping on the shirt. Cover the area around your t-shirt with newspaper or something else that will protect it from paint covered feet. Place a piece of cardboard inside the shirt so the paint doesn't leak through to the other side. You might want to keep a large container with warm, soapy water and towels near where you are making this t-shirt.

Squeeze some fabric paint onto the styrofoam plate or shallow dish and spread it around so a thin layer covers the entire plate. Simply step onto the paint, making sure it covers the entire bottom of the foot. Carefully step onto the t-shirt. In the t-shirt pictured here, I used a different paint color for each one of my kids. Let the paint dry completely before you move the shirt.

Once the footprints are dry, use a black fabric paint and write "My Kids Walk All Over Me". You can also do the back side of the shirt once the front dries.

Fleece Tied Blanket

                                         Fleece Tied Blanket

Before you start any project it is easiest to gather together all of the supplies. For this fleece blanket project you will need:

• 2 Coordinating Pieces of Fleece (the size of the pieces of fleece will depend on how big of a blanket you want to make)
• Ruler
• Pen or Pencil
• Scissors

Now we can get started...

Start out by laying the piece of fleece that will be the back of your blanket, right side down, on your work surface. I was making a baby-sized blanket so it fit on my work counter, but it works better with a larger blanket to lay it out on a floor. Smooth out the piece of fleece using your hand.

The next step is to prepare the front piece of fabric...

Now, lay the piece of fleece that will be the front of your blanket, right side up, on top of the first piece of fleece. Again, smooth out the piece of fleece with your hand so it lies flat.

Next you need to trim your fabric...

Make sure you cut through both piece of fleece and trim your fleece to whatever size you want your blanket to be. The cuts do not have to be perfectly even. Please keep in mind, the finished blanket will appear about 8- to 10-inches smaller than the size you cut because of the fringe!

Now you need to measure the corners...

The first thing you want to do is to is prepare your corners to be cut. The key here is to measure in, from the corner, the same length as what you will make your fringe. I am cutting my fringe about 4-inches long, so I measured in 4-inches from each side in the corner. Mark your lines and repeat this for each corner.

The next step is to cut your corners...

Next, simply cut off each corner square that you marked. Hold both fabrics together and cut through both layers. Don't worry about the lines being perfectly even. Once they are tied together you will never notice any differences.

You are now ready to cut fringe around your blanket...

All you do now is cut fringe along each edge. Make sure you cut through both thicknesses of fleece. My fringe is about 4-inches long and 1 1/2- to 2-inches wide. You can make your fringe longer than this, but I would suggest not going much smaller. Anything too much smaller than what I cut would be hard to tie.

Once your fringe is cut, you can begin tying it..

To attach the top piece of fleece to the bottom piece of fleece, you simply tie the fringe together. Grab a set of fringe pieces (a back and front piece), and tie a simple overhand knot in them.

Now your fleece blanket is almost done...

Continue tying the pieces of fleece together until you have worked your way all around the blanket. Your fleece tied blanket is now done. You can, of course, add some personal touches if you like. You can embellish your blanket using fabric paint, buttons, or even heat activated crystals