Christmas Crafts: Snowman Ornament with Tutorial

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

The next craft project on my Christmas list is ornaments, snowman ornaments. :)

I made cute little snowman ornaments using the sparkly yarn I bought from Joann (see A Late Black Friday Craft Haul).  And not just this one…

…But several of them, fifteen in total.

Many of you already know that every year for Christmas I make ornaments to give to others.  I’ve been doing it for several years now.

For these ornaments, I was inspired by some snowball ornaments I made years ago.  I thought “why not snowmen?”

The best part about them is how much fun it is to decorate them.  You can make them in so many different ways.  Some I made earmuffs for…

…And some have cute little hats.

Since they were so easy and fun, I made a video tutorial for all to enjoy.  Think of it as a Christmas present.

Snowman Ornament Christmas Tutorial

All you need to make them are:

• White yarn (like this sparkly kind on Amazon)
• Felt
• Ribbon (Like this solid ribbon or this cute Christmas ribbon)
• Scissors
• Glue (like Aleene’s Tacky glue)

Enjoy the video.

Here’s the updated list:

• Snowmen
• Elf
• pouches
• Coats

Two down, two more to go, and 6 days until Christmas. :o

Give it a try:

• 9" x 12" Basic Felt by Creatology™
• Aleene's Original Tacky Glue
• Caron Simply Soft Party Snow Sparkle Yarn - 3 Pack
• 3/8" x 15yd. Satin Double Face Ribbon by Celebrate It® Classic
  
• 6 Roll 60 Yards 3/8" Christmas Ribbon for Crafts
  
• Assorted Bent Scissors By Craft Smart®
  

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31 Cute Back to School Tutorials

This post may contain affiliate links, please see my disclosures page fore more info.  Thanks!

It’s August, which means two things.  Cooler temperatures coming and time for Back to School!

It’s strange for me to make a big deal about that since I’m been out of school forever and I don’t have kids of my own going either.  But I still get excited when I see sales on school supplies and find myself stocking up on notebooks and such, call them “office supplies”.  And these “office supplies” need a personal touch.

So let the school crafts begin.

Cute Back to School Tutorial Round Up

Pouches and Cases

Because you can’t have enough places to stash supplies.

• Diy Watermelon Zipper Pouch – You can also try making lemon or orange pouches.
• 3 Creative School DIYs: DIY Ice Cream & Piano Pencil Cases + DIY Animal Pencil Cases out of Socks – It’s a video with some cute ideas.
• Monster Pencil Case Back to School Craft for Kids – This one is easy for kids to make.
• Binder Pouch Tutorial – It’s a nice pouch, uses grommets and some vinyl.
• Three Ring Binder Pencil Case Sewing Tutorial – A zippered pouch with two sections.
• Pencil cases – These ones are very cute and use Velcro.
• Roll up Cord Holder – Good for chargers or ear buds.
• Upcycled Soda Box Pencil Cases – This one looks surprisingly cool.

Pencils and Pens

Cute ways to jot down everything from homework to shopping lists.

• Sparkler Pencils – Great for Summer too.
• Ribbon Wrapped Pens Tutorial – My own tutorial.
• Diy Neon Pens – Super easy and cool.
• Painted Back to School Pencils – A classic.
• Diy Confetti Pencils – This one’s my favorite. :)

Notebooks and Binders

Cute binders make organizing fun and notebook make great gifts!

• Notebook Folder Tutorial – It’s like a case for a notepad.
• Fabric Covered Books – A great alternative to store-bought book covers.
• Easy Heart Design Journal – This one is particularly cute and easy.
• Diy Notebooks – Decorate notebooks with pretty paper and labels.
• Diy Washi Tape Binder Covers – This one is brilliant!

Backpacks and Bags

Carry your books or lunch in cute style.

• DIY Easy Backpack from Scratch | DIY Rilakkuma Backpack – Who wouldn’t want a bear shaped back pack?
• Lunch Box Bag Tutorial – Has a more sophisticated look to it, but I would love to see it made from a kawaii print fabric.
• Diy Rainbow Watercolor Backpack – This looks so pretty and easy too.
• Notebook Lunch bag Tutorial – This one looks really cool.

Organization

Because back to school clutter happens.

• Free Printable Binder Clip Labels – Intended for the classroom, but it works at home too.
• Button Bookmarks – Made with paper clips, could use just as clips too.
• Mug Organizer – This one would make a nice teacher gift too.
• Rainbow Crayon Holder – Uses recycled cans and would be good to teach kids their colors.
• Diy Wood Caddy – Similar idea to the crayon holder.
• Organize Office Supplies in Style with a Plastic Parts Chest. – This one is my favorite.

School Supplies for Dolls and Toys

Because they are so darn cute!

• American Girl Doll Diy Mini Notebooks – Teeny little notebooks for your favorite doll.
• Miniature Kawaii Crayons (Actually Works) and Box –  A cute video, make this cute box of crayons or just watch.
• DIY - How to Make:  POKEMON - Doll Draw String Backpack – A simple drawstring backpack with a familiar face.

A few useful supplies:

• Coats & Clark All-Purpose Plastic Zipper
• FolkArt® Acrylic Colors 2 oz.
• Crate Paper Cute Girl Pack of 36 6''x6'' Paper Pad
• Norcom Spiral Notebook 5pk 70 pgs. 8.5" x 10"
• BIC® Xtra Life Ballpoint Pens 10ct
• #2 Wood Pencils 8 ct
• Universal® Mini Binder Clips 1/4" 12 pk

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Happy Halloween

What a Treat

Halloween is here with trick-or-treating tonight.
So I’ll tell you the story of a man named Dwight.

Dwight’s fondest wish was to give out some treats
that would be the best most brilliant on his street.

He would fill his bowl with all sorts of goodies galore
that would leave the children begging for more.

He went in search for them, the best he could find.
With the sweetest and sugary-est, surely he’d shine.

And with his bowl full of crunchies, he set his place near the door,
Set ready to welcome the trick-or-treating hoard.

First came one ghost, then a princess and such.
Seeing the bowl, they made such a fuss.

Until a vampire shouted from up the way
which made the children scurry away.

Apparently Mrs. Johnson from up the street
was giving out apples and Oh! what a treat!

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Trick-or-Treat?

I had intended to post this yesterday, but they were some technical problems.  The good thing is that it was definitely not my fault.

At my house, we hate to give out candy to trick-or-treaters.  Or to be specific, we hate to give out just candy.  The problem with candy besides the rotting teeth thing is it doesn’t last very long after the holiday.  Plus, not all kids can eat all types of candy.  Some kids are allergic to milk as in milk chocolate and some can’t eat hard or chewy candies.  So in our treat bowl we usually try to add a mixture of goodies.  A typical selection includes some mixed candies, safety pops, holiday pencils, spider and skulls rings (from Dollar Tree), and some sort of homemade trinkets.



These are the homemade goodies for this year, Halloween bracelets.  I cut out themed shapes from foam sheets I got at a thrift store.  It took two shape cut outs for each bracelet.  The top one I punched holes in to make face parts or decorations.  The bottom one had slits cut to stick the elastic through before sewing the ends together.  The bottom layer was cut from a contrasting color because it shows through the holes, but I guess that’s kind of obvious from the photo.

Anyway, they came out looking so cute that I kind of am hoping that we don’t get too many trick-or-treaters this year.  Maybe just the few at home.



Speaking of which, I made cute little treating bags for my niece and nephew, assuming they will want to use them.  The third one is for me to use since they are so cute and then I've got a fourth one just in case.

In case it isn’t obvious for some of you, I got the fabric from my last trip to Goodwill (see Finally Remembered).  I guess I could have used a solid colored orange fabric but I thought the patterned fabric would be cuter.  You can still tell they are supposed to be pumpkins right?  The only other problem would be the size, are they too small for trick-or-treating?  I guess that’s what the backup one is for.

Here’s the updated list:

• Bags
• Bracelets
• Barrettes
• Doll pajamas
• Doll makeover
• Wristbands
• Red skirt
• Ears
• Costume
• Handkerchiefs

Two down, eight to go.  The next project should be up either tomorrow or Saturday.

One more thing, I posted this question on twitter and thought I should ask here too.  I’ve been wondering if I should sign up for a Flickr account.  Any thoughts?

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Story Time — To Be a Princess

Updated 6/13/2023

Once upon a time there was a little girl who loved to wear pretty dresses.  Dresses with lots of ruffles, lace, and pretty ribbons that seemed to float in the breeze.

She liked to spin around while wearing her lovely dresses, and she felt like a graceful swan gliding across the water.  But mostly she felt like a beautiful princess as she twirled about in her dream world. 

One day the little girl was twirling around in her best dress.  It was her favorite one, all white with the loveliest of lace and a tiered ruffled skirt. 

Her head was so full of thoughts and dreams of swans and princesses that she didn’t notice several other little girls had approached her.  They were all wearing “fashion” jeans and t-shirts for the most popular TV shows. 

Most of them started giggling at the little girl in her pretty dress and teased her.  No one dresses like that except babies they thought.  This made the little girl so upset that she felt like crying and running home.

Instead she took a deep breath and held her head high.  Princesses were too dignified to let mean little girls see them cry.  So she gracefully walked on until she was out of sight, then the tears burst out and she ran home.

She got home and hid in her room.  The tears continued until her mother came in and asked what was wrong.  When the little girl had finished telling her story, her mother asked her a strange question.  Will the little girl stop wearing her pretty dresses and dress like those other girls?  This puzzled the girl, why would she want to dress like those mean girls?  She didn’t like jeans and those t-shirts all looked the same, plus she loves her dresses way more.  Why would you wear something you didn’t like?  When the girl told her mother this, her mother smiled. 

The next day, the little girl went out again this time in her second favorite dress.  A pretty sky blue dress with puffy sleeves and a lovely sash. 

Suddenly she notice one of the girls from yesterday coming toward her wearing one of those horribly “trendy” outfits.  She started to get scared that the girl would laugh at her.

But then the girl remembered the talk she had with her mother.  All the girls could laugh as much as they wanted she thought, it won’t stop her from dressing how she wanted. 

But the girl from yesterday didn’t laugh at her, she very quietly said that the dress was pretty and so was the one from yesterday.  This surprised the little girl, she didn’t know what to do. 

For a second, she thought about saying something about how ugly this girl’s jeans were, but then she would be like those mean girls and princesses are better than that.  So using her best princess-like manners, she said the nicest thing she could think of.  Thank you. 

Now there are two little girls who love to wear pretty dresses.  Dresses with lots of ruffles, lace, and pretty ribbons that seemed to float in the breeze.  And the little girl feels more like a princess now than ever before.  A strong, kind and beautiful princess.

Update: After years of pondering and what not, I finally adapted this simple story into a full-fledge book.  It is available here on Amazon as a Kindle ebook.  I am still working on the paperback and hardcover versions. Please check it out.

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Mountain Climbing or Knitting?

Well I finished the video, ran a little late with it too.  That’s because of some technical problems.  

First my webcam was on the fritz, it’s only a year old and it’s having so much trouble.  Then I had problems with my editing software, some little problem that should have been simple to solve if only the help file was a little more detailed in it’s explanation.

Anyway, it’s done.  In this episode, the focus is mostly on Kailey finding a suitable hobby.  Of course the ever loyal, and apparently talented Boris steps in to help in his own way.  This video happens to feature some great clipart from Graphics Fairy, lovely photos from various artists at FreeDigitalPhotos.net, and some not so lovely photos from me.

Here it is for your enjoyment:

Here’s the updated list:

• doll headbands
• halters
• camera
• stamps
• painting supplies
• knitting supplies
• video
• face magnets

Seven down, just one more to go.  The last one should be up later today.

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It’s Finished!

Yes, I finished the first episode of Kailey and Boris.  The quality of the animation should be noticeably better than before, thanks to a freeware program I found.  Although there still is that amateurish charm to it.  You be the Judge.

Here it is.

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A Short Film for Fun

I couldn’t sleep last night and I thought of a great idea, so I stayed up till about 2 am finishing it.  

It’s a short film staring these two characters.  They are made from felt and fabric scraps, beads, a little glue, and twist-ties.  So far I made a short preview for them.  I want to make more eventually, so please stay tuned.  And please excuse the amateur quality, although I think that’s part of it’s charm.

Without further ado, here’s Kailey and Boris.

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