Crafting for Christmas: More Clothes and a House

This post is probably a bit late, but so were the crafts.  The last of my Christmas crafts were finished the night before Christmas Eve, just in time.

First up…

The Fabric House

I made a similar fabric house for Christmas several years ago, in fact I made several of them to give to some lucky kids (see Christmas Operation: Complete and Then Some).  I made them all based on this tutorial.  For this new one I wanted to go a different route.

I made it all using felt because it’s nice and thick and comes in great colors, plus I had a ton of it lying around.

The new owner of the house needed an easy way to close it, so this house was made with Velcro instead of elastic loops like the others.  Plus, it was made slightly wider to accommodate his favorite stuff toys.

Notice the lace added to the roof and along the door and window.  I thought it would add a nice touch, plus the new owner actually likes lace and other interesting textures.

The next and final craft project involves the lovely poinsettia fabric I used for my dress (see Crafting for Christmas: Ornaments, Dresses, and a Printable?).

The Poinsettia Skirt

A simple rectangle skirt with a comfortable elastic waistband.  It’s easy to make and wear, but still has impact thanks to the pretty poinsettia print.  It was made as a gift for a good friend, she absolutely loved it.

In case anyone wants to make one themselves, it’s just made of two pieces. 

The main part is a rectangle.  Length is about twice your hip measurement or a few inches less for a less full skirt.  The width is how long you want the skirt plus a couple of inches.The second piece is the waistband that is as long as your hip measurement plus about four inches and about 2-4 inches wide to fit your elastic through.

Here’s a tutorial I found for a rectangle skirt that should help.  Note that the length measurement in the tutorial is different because it’s a much fuller skirt.

Now that we’re finished with Christmas and the year, it’s time for a little break to catch our breath. 

See you all next year!

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Rhinestone and Pearl Pins, A Quick and Easy Tutorial

This post may contain affiliate links, please check out my disclosures page for more info.  Thanks!

Here’s another project I’ve been working on for Christmas, a few accessories.  Pins to be exact.  I love making pins and brooches and I guess it shows (see my lace applique brooch tutorial among many others).

These are made from some scraps of felt with gems and flat back pearls.  Super quick and easy to make and they make great gifts.

So to keep the giving going, I made this quick video tutorial.  Yay!  Now everyone can enjoy these pretty accessories.

All you will need is:

• felt scraps
• flat back gems and/or pearls
• pin backs (like these)
• glue (I used Aleene’s Jewel-it)
• needle and thread (optional)

Enjoy the video.

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Crafting for Christmas: Ornaments, Dresses, and a Printable?

I may have gone a little quiet the last couple of weeks.  It’s because I’ve been frantically sewing for Christmas, and I have made excellent progress.  Here’s few things I made.

Ornaments!

These are Danish woven heart baskets.  I found the tutorial for them here.  When I first saw them, I thought they would be perfect to make as ornaments to give as gifts.  Just fill them with chocolate and they are perfect.

To make them, I used sheets of craft felt and ribbon for the loops.  You can also use construction paper, for a fun kids project.  The problem is with my color choices.  I love the look of pink, but on these the pink looks more Valentine’s day then Christmas.  I guess that works too.

The next project at least screams Christmas.  It’s my new…

Poinsettia Dress!

I found the fabric at SAS on sale, $1.99/yard.  I bought several yards.  I thought it would be perfect for a dress, and a few other things that will come later.

The dress uses a Simplicity pattern for the bodice and I just made a full rectangle skirt for the bottom.

I trimmed the neckline with red ribbon, bows and some black lace I bought last year.  The lace was intended for a skirt I tried to make, but it didn’t match the fabric.  Finally got to use it.

I added lace and ribbon to the skirt too, right above the ruffle.  The ruffle was easier for me to make than usual.  My new sewing machine handles things like that a lot better than my old one (see A Sewing Machine Review Because...).

This is a pair of angel pins that were gifts from two different people.  I wore them both with the dress to church last Sunday.  It was the day of the choir’s annual Christmas Cantata or concert. 

I did surprisingly well considering I woke up coughing and sneezing like crazy that morning.  Some medicine, herbal tea, and a few cough drops later and I could sing just fine.

The next project is a bit different.  Normally I am all about making all my gifts, but I do have some people who are super difficult to craft for.  I decided that they would be happier with a gift card, but you can’t just hand someone a gift card and call it a day.  You have to wrap it nicely too right?  There are tons of cute printable gift cards all over the internet, but I wanted to add a special touch to them.  I thought about mazes.

Many of you know that I draw mazes, I even have a maze blog.  So I thought, why not print out a gift card holder and draw a maze on it?  Then I thought, why not make the maze the holder?

Now presenting…

The Maze Gift Card Holder

Now everyone who receives a gift card from me gets a fun maze to try out.  And I posted it to my maze blog, so anyone can download them and give mazes too.

I have more even projects to share in the next few days and some more surprises too.  I can’t wait to show them to you.  Look forward to it!

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