DIY Fun Foam Ornaments

Hello All!

Last night when we were putting up our family Christmas tree, I came across some ornaments that I thought I would share with all of you. 

When Hannah was little, we were concerned that her curiosity would result in some broken ornaments at Christmas.  So, I decided to make some 100% unbreakable ones. 

These are made out of fun foam, and take no time at all to make.  When I made these, sticky backed foam wasn't as available as it is now.  So, I used super glue and hot glue.  Now, you can get most any color or shape with a sticky back, making this project even easier!

First, you need to decide what shapes you will be making.  I used some cookie cutters as inspiration, but several of my ornaments were made free-hand.  I also based several ornaments on their breakable counterparts. 

Once you know what shapes you are doing, simply trace or draw out your shapes on the foam and cut them out.  Keep in mind the possibility that your shapes may end up reversed if you have any markings left from drawing them.  Also, be careful when you cut them out.  I was able to make two candy canes out of one cutting.  I simply made one in the reversed colors of the other.  Some other tools that can be helpful are hole punchers for berries and printable images on the computer. 


Finally, once all of your pieces are cut out, assemble them either with their sticky backs or glue.  When I use hot glue or super glue, I place all of my shapes on parchment paper.  It saves me from making a mess if the glue spills out the sides.
To hang your ornaments, you can use wire, ribbon, pipe cleaners, you name it.  I decided to use wire for mine.  I took a small piece of wire, doubled it over and twisted the ends together.  I then took a small scrap of coordinating foam and hot glued the pieces together, with the wire sandwiched in the middle.  On some of the ornaments, such as the blue ball with snow, I sandwiched the wire between the white and blue foam. Be sure if you do this that none of the wire is peeking out from under the foam.  It wouldn't take much to scratch a little one, which defeats the purpose of making kid friendly ornaments!! 

The possibilities are endless with this craft!  You could even pre-cut the pieces and have an ornament party with your kids and their friends.  These make great keepsakes, and you could even add a photo to a wreath shaped ornament for a great gift for family members.  I'd love to hear your ideas!!

Happy Crafting!!

Sharon

DIY Christmas trees

Hello All-

I wanted to share a Christmas project with all of you that got a bit of attention on my Facebook page last week.  With a new house and new spaces to decorate, I have been spending a fair amount of time at various stores scouring through their decorations for "the perfect ones."  I noticed that one type of decoration that kept popping up in my search was small decorated Christmas trees.  Not decorated with ornaments and lights, but instead, feathers, paper sheet music, beads, you name it.  A quick search on Pinterest and you'll see countless variations.

I decided to give this new trend the old "DIY try".  So far I have made two trees for our mantle, and if time allows, I will add a third to the set. 

(I apologize that I don't have step-by-step photos, but they are quite easy to make. I didn't expect to be blogging about them until numerous people started sending me messages with questions about them)

The first one I made was the button tree.  I have quite a large button collection, but I wanted some variety and I picked up a few bags of mixed buttons at Michaels.  I will warn you, these can get costly, so this would be the perfect time to get your hands on one of their 50% off coupons!!  Not only do you need lots of buttons, but you'll also want to pick up a Styrofoam tree and lots of push pins.  I decided to go with red and green tipped pins for a bit more color, but any large headed pin will do.  I suppose you could also glue your buttons, but I wanted the ability to change mine around and potentially use some of them in knitting projects. 

You'll want to start pinning your larger, more basic buttons, around the tree.  I found that on the larger ones, using two pins was more helpful in keeping them still.  From there, you keep building up the layers and adding more of the smaller and more unique buttons.  Keep going until you feel that enough of the tree has been covered (you don't want a lot of holes and Styrofoam peeking through).  For buttons with shanks and not holes, simply bend your pin into an "L" shape and poke it through that way.  Also, when you get toward the top, be careful!  My pins started poking through the point of the tree and I had to take a break to let the bleeding stop!!

The next tree I made was a ribbon tree.  To make this one, you again need a Styrofoam tree, and pins, though flat headed ones work best on this project.  You will also need ribbon.  I went with four different patterns and one roll of each.  Depending on how full or colorful you want your tree, you may have to adjust how much ribbon you use.  I used every last scrap I had, and I probably could have used another roll for good measure. 

To make the tree, you simply cut your ribbon into 3-inch lengths.  From there, you fold the ribbon pieces in half and secure them to the tree using pins.  Once you finish your row, you start the next one, slightly overlapping the ribbons to cover the pins from the row below.  Keep going in whatever color pattern you choose, again being careful not to poke yourself as you near the top of the tree.

See, pretty simple!!  I have one more tree that is taller than the other two, and I think I will be covering it in yarn.  A friend suggested pompoms, and if I can get them to stick, that may be an option too.  Hmmm...so many ideas!!

Well, I'm off to ready the little one for school.  Tonight we are decorating our tree, so stay tuned for some photos of that!!

Cheers!
Sharon

Salt Dough Ornaments

Hello Everyone!!

I have been getting some questions lately from friends looking for ornament ideas that would be good for their little ones to make.  I did this post last year for "Kids in Cowtown" and I thought I would re-run it here.

Enjoy!!

I recently received my December issue of Canadian Living in the mail, and I couldn’t wait to try out one of the craft ideas, Salt Dough Snowflakes. I used salt dough for school projects as a child, so I was excited to use it again after all these years.
This project is great for doing with little ones. I had my 3 ½ year old help with every step, and she did a great job! I must also say that I had originally thought I was in for a big mess, but it wasn’t bad after all.


First, you need the following ingredients (Tip: I cut the ingredients in half for my first try and it worked fine):
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup salt
1 cup warm water
Mix the flour and salt together in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Add the water a bit at a time until your mix starts to look like cookie dough. Turn out onto your work surface, knead it a few times and roll it out to approx ¼ inch thickness.



After that, use cookie cutters to make your shapes, and place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Before you put them in the oven, poke a hole in the top of each one with a drinking straw (this hole is for a hanging ribbon). Bake at 300-degrees for 1 to 1 ½ hours. Once they cool completely, you can paint and decorate them any way you like!






Here are some tips I figured out along the way:
* You don’t have to use just snowflake cookie cutters…we used some that I already had in the house, and my daughter came up with the idea to use her Play Doh cutters. They worked great and made for some really fun shapes!









* I don’t have a lot of “kid-friendly” paints in my home, so we used washable markers. I found that they created less mess and Hannah was able to use more colors on each ornament. We also used glitter pens from one of her coloring sets to add some sparkle to each ornament.







* We split this project into two days…one to make and bake the ornaments and another to color them. I found that not only did it give me two days of crafty fun, but my daughter’s attention span wasn’t stretched too far this way.

We had so much fun making these! While creating them, I thought of a few other uses for the ornaments…wouldn’t they make great place cards at a holiday meal? Guests could keep them as favours and remember a wonderful time at your home. (Be sure to add the year on the back of them with a permanent marker) Also, I can picture these as cool gift tags. With cookie cutters coming in so many different shapes, you could really personalize them to the gift recipient. Finally, do you have a lot of children that visit your home during the holidays? You could make the ornaments ahead of time, then make goodie bags with an ornament, a few markers, a glitter pen, and a piece of ribbon. Place everything into a clear bag with a gift tag, and you have a quick, easy gift that costs only a few dollars. The possibilities are endless!!!

Have fun making your salty new works of art, and I would love to hear other uses that you can think of!

Cheers!
Sharon

A Lot of Catching Up to Do

Happy 2011!!!

I realized this morning that I haven't posted in AGES!!!  I was having a hard time thinking of posts since all of my knitting was gift knitting, and then we were out of the country for the holidays.  Needless to say, I'm back, and I have a lot to share. 

Here are some of the holiday gifts I wasn't able to post before...

Here is the winter hat I knit for my Mom.  We went out to Banff for the Christmas Parade, and after a stop in the Jacques Cartier store, I came home with some beautiful yarn.  It is 50% Qiviuk and 50% Wool.  The yarn is thin, but really warm.  I was able to make this cabled hat in a few days, and I gave my Mom the rest of the yarn...one ball made an adult hat with extra repeats and I still had about half leftover!!!  I am really happy with this project, and I think Mom liked it.

Next up, this super cute knitting basket ornament.  A bunch of my knitting buddies came over for a Secret Santa Swap Party right before we left on holiday.  My partner asked for handknit stuff, and mentioned ornaments, so I whipped this little guy up.  The original pattern suggests making mini hanks of yarn, but I made balls instead.  The knitting needles are made with toothpicks and beads.  I may make one for our tree next year!!

This next project involved some design modifications by Hannah.  We went through my yarn stash and she planned out the hair, tights, and shoes.  She even wanted to pick the eye color for each doll.  The blonde doll is made much more like the original pattern.  She has tights that go all the way up to her white bloomers.  The brunette doll (I don't have a good photo of her legs...sorry) has black shoes and white ankle socks.  We then carried the skin color all the way up to her bloomers.  These dolls took a bit of time, since every hair is stitched individually, and the doll is seamed, not done in the round.  I made them for our niece, and despite the effort it took to make them, it was well worth it!!

I had been wanting to try cables, so I found a pattern on Ravelry that everyone claimed was a good starter project.  The hat is based on one of the Harry Potter movies...I'm not a HP fan, so I can't give you much more info than that.  I made these before I made my Mom's hat, and I think that they gave me the courage to try hers.  The gray one was made for a friend of ours who is a huge HP fan (she saw the white one and knew what movie/character the hat was from without me saying anything!), and the white one was for my sister-in-law.  Not too shabby for my first real go at cables!

Finally, I made a bunch of dishcloths and hanging towels for my sister and sister-in-law.  They seemed to like them, and I hope they find them useful. 

Now that Christmas knitting is done, what does 2011 have in store??  Well, you'll notice that my WIP charts in the sidebar are multiplying!  We have several babies on the way amongst our family and friends, so I'm going to be making baby stuff like crazy!!  Two of the babies are due next month, so my needles are on fire!!!  After that, I have a break for a few months, with the next bundle arriving in early May.  So far all of the babies are girls, so the plan is to make a bunch of girly things and then just split them up. 

Wish me luck on getting through the To Do List!!!

Cheers!

Sharon

Barbie is Styling!

Hey Everyone!!

Here's one more Barbie item I finished last night.  It is a knit tunic.  I LOVE it!!!  Hubby and I decided that I need to find a pattern that will fit me!!  The only mods I made to the original pattern are the needle size... I don't have a US 0, so I used a US 1.  I also left the rib at the bottom sides open, since I commonly see that on tunics like this.

I plan on making a pair of capris in either khaki or white to match...goodness, with as fast as these projects are coming off the needles, I might make a pair in each color!!!  My niece will have a well-dressed Barbie this Christmas!!

Cheers!

Sharon

Lots to Share...and some Christmas spoilers

Hey Everyone!

I knew I hadn't blogged in a bit, but once I saw how many projects I've finished since my last post, I realized just how long it had been...yikes!!!  I actually have 9 projects to share, and a few that I've finished up, but am going to keep under wraps until after Christmas.

First up, The Diva's Bumbleberry Pie Hat.  I made another hat in the purple yarn I showed in a previous post.  This one fits perfectly, though I don't have a photo of the Diva wearing it.  I'll have to snap one this winter.

Next, a WCOBBS update.  As you probably read about in another post, I have been seaming blanket squares together to make some blankets for the WCOBBS.  I had some donated squares in boyish colors, but not enough to make a full 9-square blanket...so, I added a bunch of squares myself.  Here's the finished product (minus the border)...

On this blanket, I made the star squares in each corner, and the two burgundy squares (one is a dog bone and one is a football helmet).  I named this one "All-Star".  It took a while to finish, but was so worth it in the end!!

In other blanket news, I promised to post a photo of the blanket I made for my friend Jenn.  I wanted her to get it in the mail before I revealed it on here, and now that she's had it for a bit, here you go...

I'm really happy with how this blanket turned out, and I've gotten great feedback about the colors that I picked.  I like that it is girly, but it doesn't look like Barbie or Strawberry Shortcake threw up on it!!

Speaking of Barbie, here comes a Christmas gift spoiler.  I am quite certain that my niece H doesn't read my craft blog, so I'm not too worried about posting things on here.  So, Big Sis, if you're reading this, don't show the next few projects to your girls!!

I have whipped up a few items for H's growing Barbie clothes collection.  I plan on making a lot more, but this is the start. I made her a dress and sweater.  I also have plans for a fancy dress, some purses, maybe a hat or two, some pants...well, you get the point.

I think they look pretty good.  Because I have to use such small needles, I have to alternate Barbie clothes for H with American Girl clothes for her big sister A.  My hands can't handle all of the small needles!!  With the changing of the seasons, I have noticed my joints cramping up quite a bit when the needle size drops to below a US 6 or so.

Here is the outfit for A's American Girl doll.  When we were home in August, I showed A some patterns for AG clothes, and her face lit up.  I know she LOVES the color red, so I thought her doll needed something rosy red.

Here's a closeup of the skirt...

I really had fun making these!!  It was also fun dusting off my old American Girl doll so I could use her as a model.  The sweater is a play on the popular February Lady Sweater, and the skirt has a bit of texture, thanks to some carefully spaced ribbing.

Also in the works for A's doll, is a funky hat, some pants, another sweater, and possibly some socks.  Oh, and I found a pattern for doll slippers that match the ones I make all the time...do I smell a matching set??  Hmmmm....

Finally, I want to share some baby sweaters I made last week.  I am pretty thrilled with these...two sweaters in 3 days!!!  One of hubby's co-workers is having twins in a few weeks, and I thought they needed matching sweaters.  I didn't want to go all matchy matchy, so I did coordinating ones instead.  I used the popular 5-hour baby sweater for the girl, and the modified boy version as well.  I had fun making a "girl" sweater a while back for hubby's cousin's baby, but this one was so much better!!!  Not only have my knitting skills greatly improved since then, but my coice to use Vanna's Choice yarn instead of the Bernat Satin I used last time payed off!!!  The yarn almost has a woolly texture to it, and the stitch definition is so much better!!!

I sewed snaps into the garter borders this morning, and these sweaters are good to go!!  I hope to see some photos of the little ones in them!!! 

So, I think that's all I have to share today.  Like I said earlier, I have some other projects, but the people they are for might read this and see them.  I wouldn't want to spoil any surprises, so expect that after Christmas, I'll have a recap post that shows off all of the projects.

In the meantime, I have some more knitting to do...

Cheers and Happy Crafting!
Sharon

Christmas Knitting Update

Hello!!

Happy New Year's Eve!!! So, I thought I'd write a quick post about all of the handmade presents I made this year. Olivia lucked out with the most "stuff". She seemed to really like her American Girl sweaters, and she loved the hat that I made. I held up the legwarmer I made to her crazy long legs, and I was right...WAY too short!! Thankfully I went with my gut and didn't finish the second one!!

I gave my Mom her angel, even though I never got a chance to make it stand up...she liked it just the same, and might get out the fabric stiffener on her own.

I think that's it for gifts I made. I had a lot more planned out, but they never happened...oh well. I did manage to start a new sweater while I was in New England. Our friend's little guy is turning one in a week or so, so I thought he needed a sweater to keep him warm this winter. It is coming along nicely, and I am hoping to have it done and some photos taken shortly.

As for new projects on the horizon, I have another WCOBBS blanket headed my way. I started Pooh Bear and Friends back in July, and I'll be finishing him up as well. I also found out that Craig's cousin is expecting a little girl in March, so I figure I should make something to send to Boston. I was going to make another blanket like my Willoughby, but when I looked at their registry, I noticed that they had chosen pink and green as the nursery colors...hmmm...now I'm tempted to finish up The Floridian instead.

I also got lots of knitting related stuff for Christmas!!! I couldn't resist and I bought myself a teddy bear pattern book called, The Best Dressed Knitted Bears, by Emma King. The bears were too cute to pass up!!! Then, the hubby bought me all three Susan B. Anderson books!!!! I'm super psyched!!!! Finally, my In-laws spoiled me with an electric ball winder!!! I would have been thrilled with a hand crank one, but this thing is slick!!! I had to mail it to myself since it didn't fit in the luggage with all of our other new items, so I am chomping at the bit until it gets here! There's hope that my stash will some day be organized!!!! WooHoo!!!!

Well, I better end this post...the Diva is napping, the food is all cooked for our New Years Eve party at a friend's house, and I have a sweater that needs finishing...oh yeah, and I need to jump in the shower!

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, and that 2010 brings you good times, great health, and lots of fibery goodness!!!

Blessings!

Sharon

Chicken talk and holiday knitting

Hello Everyone!!!

So, I'm a knitting chicken...there, I said it! Not a cute knit chicken, like these, but a chicken when it comes to trying new things! The idea of knitting socks fascinates and thrills me, but the idea of going round and round on dpns bores me!! I know, I tried...needless to say, Olivia's legwarmers are not going to be done by Christmas!!

Knitting toys was a new challenge for me, since I had a fear of dpns. However, seeing the joy on the recipient's face when you give them a new handmade toy, made it worth it!

So, I decided to tackle yet another fear...mittens! We bought a pair of mittens for Hannah a few months ago at The Bay. They are super warm, but they don't fit her!! They have a draw string, which I thought would make them easier to put on, but they still fall off...her hands are just too small. So, I hunted down mitten patterns and found this one. I LOVE the way the pattern is written out...it is so user-friendly!!! I also appreciate the fact that they make it really easy to shorten the mittens for a custom fit!!!

So, I got out Nana's old dpns and cast on. I bought some UBER-soft wool at Walmart recently, and thought it would be perfect for mittens. Yeah, I know, 100% wool...hand wash only...not very child-friendly, but I don't have to wash Hannah's mittens very often, so I'm not too concerned.

After approx 24 hours of non-constant knitting, I present...

Hannah's Hand and Heart Warmers!!!

I am quite pleased with how they turned out. There are a few mistakes in them, but nothing that is noticeable or worth frogging for. I am so excited that I got over my fear!! Hmmm...what will be next? Socks, an adult sweater...*gasp* crochet??? We'll see. I have a few unfinished projects that need some post-holiday TLC first...oh yeah, and a few unfinished projects that are still supposed to be done pre-holidays!! Yikes!!!

Here are a few of the other projects I have been working on...

First up... another American Girl sweater. This one is a wrap kimono style sweater. It took a day or so to do, and is so cute!!! It has a nice eyelet detail in the front, and buttons along the bottom. I really like the way this turned out!!! WooHoo...another Christmas gift done!!!

I also decided to make myself a hat. I wish Hannah's would fit me, since she won't wear it, but its a no go. So, I found a similar adult pattern and got knitting. It didn't take me long to finish, but once I put it on...it looked AWFUL!!! My hair is too short and too close in color to the cream...so this one is destined for someones Christmas stocking too. Dang!

And finally, here is the sweater I started for Hannah when she was in the hospital recently. I don't have much done, as I am not in any hurry to finish it. I'm making it big and in spring weight, so there's no rush. It can wait until after Christmas to be finished. It is the same pattern as Hannah's Raspberry Tart, just in one size larger and with cotton-ease instead of bulky yarn.

So, that's what I have been up to. I still have to finish (err...start) a few gifts and then make a sweater for our friend's baby's first birthday. I figure I'll tackle that one when we're home for Christmas. I'll need something to keep me occupied and out of trouble!!!

If I don't write again before we head out of the country...

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!

Cheers!

Sharon

Christmas Knitting...and Other Stuff

**

I want to warn you before you read this post that it contains Christmas gifts in it...if your name is Olivia, please STOP READING!!! So far, you're the only one I've started knitting for!!!

**

So, I wanted to start off with some non-Christmas knitting, just in case my niece Olivia happens upon this post...I don't think she knows about my knitting blog, so I should be in the clear.

A little while back, I mentioned that I had started a new OBB...well, here it is. The blanket is called, “Ilanaaq”, which is the Inuktitut word for “friend”. It is also the name of the logo for the 2010 Vancouver Olympics. The whole thing will be done in the logo colors and in garter stitch. It is already with the third knitter...pretty cool, huh??

Next up...Hannah's Miffy. Hannah and I were browsing through patterns on Ravelry, and we stumbled upon one for a Miffy doll. She really liked it, and asked me to make her one. So, off to Michaels we went to buy some white and blue yarn. I am not 100% happy with how it is going so far. The increases say to be M1, but I think if I had kfb, I'd be in better shape. The M1s are leaving little holes, and I'm not thrilled about them. I'm not going to frog what I have done, but I will make a note on the pattern for the next time I make this one...since I am sure that Hannah will request another. I also plan to make the dress with snaps, so I can make several different colored ones.

So, this is Miffy's head. I am in the process of doing the decreases and then I have to split out the ears.

**

Okay Olivia, if you've read this far...STOP NOW!!!!

**

So, now for some Christmas knitting updates. I asked my sister-in-law, Eva, if the kids had any requests, and she informed me that leg warmers are popular back home. Okay, I can handle round after round of stockinette...but then she threw me a curve ball when I asked what color Oliva is currently fond of (it has always been purple in the past, so that's what I was expecting to hear). Nope...not purple...ORANGE!!! Yikes!!! I am not a huge fan of orange, and it isn't a real easy color to find...unless of course you count the scratchy stuff at Michaels which is perfect for little pumpkins...not so much for leg warmers.

Well, I lucked out and found some multi-colored yarn that had orange in it...and purple. So far, I am liking the striping effect, and I think the colors will appeal to an 11 (almost 12 year old) girl.

Sorry that the photo is sideways...I have no clue why this happened!!!

I still have a LONG way to go, since this is only the first one, but I figure that I'll work on them for a bit and then move on to something else...then come back to them. I am also thinking about getting another pair of dpns for this project...the ones I have are not liking the yarn. I think I need something a bit sharper at the ends.

Here is my first finished Christmas gift. Olivia collects American Girl dolls, so I thought I'd make her some clothes for them. I started off with a basic cape. I still need to find a clasp for the front, since I don't care for the I-cord look as much.

Here it is...modeled by my Kirsten doll.

It is just basic stockinette with simple increases...then you pick up stitches around the neck for the hood.

My only real mod to this pattern is that I didn't do a 3-needle bind-off on the hood. Instead I seamed it up. I really don't mind seaming, so I was happy when the directions said you could do either!!!

Not bad...if I do say so myself!!!

So, that's what I have been up to. I have lots more AG clothes to make, a scarf/hat set for one of my nephews, and who knows what else. I'll keep you posted as I move through my "To Do" list!!

Cheers!

Sharon