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Category Archives: Christmas Crafts

American Flag Afghans

27 Nov

American Flag Afghans

Several years ago, when I was transitioning from a stay at home Mom to a working Mom, I thought that in future years I wasn’t going to have as much time to craft for the holidays.  I wanted to make “one more” big handmade gift, not realizing that I just can’t give up making things for loved ones even when it’s a serious time crunch.  I crocheted seven American flag afghans for friends and family, partially during the time I was studying for my real estate license and setting up shop with my broker.  Insane, but ADHD can take you far once you get the hang of it.  :)

I still love going to visit and seeing flag afghans thrown over familiar couches.  What a shame I didn’t find time to make one for us!

This pattern was from Lion Brand yarn and I’d have linked it up, but they make you sign in to see patterns.  Feel free to dig for it on their site here if you like!

 
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Posted by on November 27, 2009 in Christmas Crafts

 

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Finger Puppet Advent Calendar, DONE.

23 Nov

Completed Finger Puppet Advent Calendar

The finger puppet Advent calendar is DONE and ready to go off to its new home!  While completing this project, I discovered that spray painting is a skill that takes a little practice.  (Sorry Joyce, your spool rack was my first ever attempt, and it shows.)

I purchased the blank tags, then used stamps to add the numbers to count down the days until Christmas.  The tags looked pretty bland, so I grabbed a fine tip Sharpie and traced a little red border along the edges, then tied on a short piece of red and white twine to loop over the little spool posts.

Completed Finger Puppet Advent Calendar

They look so excited at the thought of their new home, don’t they?  (And I really should rig up a light box, see my dining room intruding in the top of the picture?  Sorry about that.)

My next challenge – finding a box for this and getting to the post office before it closes.  Wish me luck!

 
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Posted by on November 23, 2009 in Christmas Crafts, Crafting for Children

 

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Works in Progress

20 Nov

Finger Pupper Group Shot

This week has been all about finishing up lots of little projects – and I’m still not done.  This little finger puppet Advent calendar has been a huge challenge!  The puppets themselves are easy and fun to make, the tough part is trying to decide which animal to make next and how to create a recognizable animal with just a few shapes cut from felt.  Twenty five animals, done!

And I have a spool rack which will be used for display.

Finger Puppet Advent Calendar

Now to work on painting the spool rack, creating a numbering system and then shipping it off to its new home with a friend of mine.   Nothing like a deadline to add a sense of urgency to a project, huh?

I’m also working on several other projects, and they look a little like this:

Paint

Work in Progress

This features prominently in a huge project I’m trying to complete:

Nest Egg

I’ll show you the rest of it later.  :)

Here’s hoping for a productive weekend ahead for all of us!

P.S.  Did you notice the lion next to the lamb in the top photo?  Not sure if that was biblical or to celebrate New Moon’s release this weekend, but it felt right.

 
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Posted by on November 20, 2009 in Christmas Crafts

 

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Finger Puppet Advent Calendar

06 Nov

165. A Growing Family

This is a project I started months and months ago, wandered away from and now have to kick my own butt to get myself going on it again.  Eventually, this will be a set of 24 or 25 finger puppets, numbered somehow and displayed as an Advent calendar.  A coworker/friend of mine loved the idea, so these little guys will be off to live at her house. (They’re very excited about that!)

I purchased a spool rack to use as a stand for the finger puppets, and I have a vague idea of numbered tags since an Advent calendar really comes down to the counting.  Mostly I’m making this up as I go along, and I’d appreciate any ideas as far as animals that might like to join the herd.

If you want to try making an Advent calendar of your own, you might consider joining Craft Apple’s challenge for encouragement and accountability – or just to nab some great ideas.  :)

I’ll post more pictures as this project moves along!

sarahsigres

 
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Posted by on November 6, 2009 in Christmas Crafts, Crafting for Children

 

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Crafting Tiny Christmas Art

03 Nov

Santa Pictures

I recently found a box of cross stitch crafts I’d made years ago when I was a stay at home Mom.  There were a few tiny Santas stitched on perforated paper, a little larger than postage stamps, that I think I’d intended to use on little photo albums.  But in our digital age I don’t print many photos – this didn’t seem like a good use anymore.  I decided they could just be “decorative Christmas art”.  This craft would work just as well with a little Christmas embellishment in place of the Santa.

Supplies

You’ll need Mod Podge, a variety of scrapbook papers, little canvases, some spare cardboard, glue, some ribbon and your embellishment.  First, cut a piece of paper large enough to wrap around the front, sides and just over the back edge of your canvas, then brush a layer of Mod Podge on the back of the paper and the canvas itself.  Wrap it just like a gift, using extra Mod Podge to hold the paper in place.  I used glossy Mod Podge, so I also brushed a layer on the outside of the paper for added sheen.

Wrapped Canvases

Cut a piece of cardboard smaller than your canvas and cover in the same way.  As your cardboard section dries, you can add a little ribbon to your canvas piece if you’d like.  Cut a length of ribbon and glue both ends to the back of the canvas.

Ribbon for Shimmer

The set of Christmas papers I purchased also had coordinating Christmas stickers, so I added these to the cardboard pieces.  Once all your pieces are dry, it’s time to glue them together.  Embellishment to cardboard piece, cardboard on canvas.

Attach Santas

After allowing more drying time, you can make the back look a little neater by gluing on another piece of paper to cover.  I’ll be including little easels when I give these as gifts.

Santa Pictures

Santa Pictures

I feel a little more prepared for Christmas already!

sarahsigres

 
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Posted by on November 3, 2009 in Christmas Crafts

 

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