Sock Snowmen.

These snowmen are so cute and easy to make....also a fun group project! I taught a group of home-schooled kids how to make them and they loved it. As always, safety first...children should be supervised when using scissors and hot glue guns. 

Materials: 

*White tights, toddler size or larger (1 pair will make 6-8 snowmen), or baby socks.

*Polyester fiberfill, batting, or cotton balls.

*String...you will need some to to tie off the body and maybe the hat.

*Fabric strips, ribbon, or yarn (for "scarf").

*Colored baby socks (1 sock makes 2 "hats").

*Pom-poms.

*Buttons.

*Hot glue gun or tacky glue.

*Nose: 1 round button with the shank removed...or use a 1/4 in. to 1/2 in. orange pipe cleaner.

*Eyes: Texas beads 5mm round or google eyes, permanent marker or acrylic paint.

*Optional: Earmuffs: about 3 in. pipe cleaner and 2 pom-poms.

*Additional yarn or string for hanging your snowman. You can also use an ornament hook put through the top of the hat. 

Step 1:  Fill the foot of a baby sock with fiberfill, tie shut above the ankle with string, trim off cuff. If using tights, cut 3 or 4 sections out of one leg to make 3 or 4 snowmen...cut to any size you like. The foot part of the tight you can stuff and tie off with a string. For sections without a foot part...turn inside out, tie one end closed, turn right side out, stuff and tie closed. If your snowman is too round, roll him between your hands and mold him into a sausage shape. 
Step 2:  Divide the snowman body into two sections by tying a strip of fabric, yarn, or ribbon around it for a scarf. Use a dab of hot glue under the scarf to hold it in place. You may use tacky glue, but it takes a while to dry.
Step 3:  Glue colored sock on top of snowman for a hat. If using the cuff part of the sock, tie it off at the top to make a "pom-pom".  You may also attach earmuffs or other embellishments.  
Step 4: Glue a button nose a little over the scarf and face...or use a pipe cleaner. Apply eyes.
Step 5: Give your snowman some personality! Glue buttons or tiny pom-poms down the front of it, add earmuffs, a flower shaped button, hearts, snowflakes, or scrapbook embellishments. 
Step 6: Finish it off with a hook or string to hang. 

Have fun and be creative! :0)

 
Click on pics to enlarge.

 

Flower girl plant pokes.

                      

                     This week I was cleaning out my craft room and came across a craft project that my daughter and I did several years ago. If you have young daughters or granddaughters, this is a fun project to do together.

Supplies:

*Wooden or bamboo skewers.

*Wooden or glass beads that will fit the skewers.  (the bead that is under the "skirt" should fit very snug or you may have to glue it. The beads that are the "body" do not have to fit snug. We used different sized wooden beads)

*For the "head", a wooden bead that already has a painted face on it, or you can paint your own faces. We used both.

*Artificial flowers that you take apart.

*Low-temp hot glue gun.

*Children use adult supervision!
Directions:
        Glue the head on top of the skewer...if you want to place a "crown" or "hat" on top, leave a little bit of the skewer exposed to glue it onto. This is the fun part...assembling the girls dress. It takes about 2 or 3 beads of different sizes to make the body, but they fit in between the petals that make up the dress. Use the different parts of the artificial flowers to make a "crown" or "hat"...also use some of the plastic parts as a bodice under the "skirt" to make it fluff out more or to give it shape..(as pictured below). After you finally get your flower girl the way you want it to look, finish it off with a small bead under the "skirt"...push it up so everything is tight and in place. If your bead doesn't stay in place, glue it. There you have it, a flower girl plant poke...just place is a potted plant. 

           My daughter and I had hours of fun making up our own petal dresses, but now that she is an adult, I miss those days of crafting with her. Oh well...now you can have fun making them with someone special.  Happy Crafting!

 

Paint sample ideas.

 
               I don't know about you, but I love collecting paint samples...so many beautiful colors...and they are FREE! I use those small table top plastic drawers to organize my scrapbooking supplies, but I got tired of always looking at the mess inside the drawers, so I used some of my paint samples trimmed down to fit in the slots in the front of the drawers. It's very colorful and cheerful. If you don't want to use paint samples, try using some scrapbook papers. I used scrapbook papers inside my large drawers...now I don't have to look at all my paints and other junk.  Paint samples can be used in making cards and decorations. I use my paper punches to punch out circles or hearts and then I use fishing line and double-sided sticky tape to make mini garland. Cut out shapes, like treetops and tree trunks, green grass, flowers, etc. and make a pretty scene on a card or on cardstock to frame or give to a loved one. Think outside the box and be creative....or in this case, "inside the box".    
Happy Paint Samples !