Nativity Finger Puppets

I made a set of these for each of my and my husbands siblings inlcuding our immediate family and his mother.  That's eight total.  Yeah, it was work, but so worth it!  A few years back, my grandmother sent our family a tiny little bag with 5 finger puppets.  It included Mary, Joseph, Baby Jesus, a cow, and an angel; this is where my inspiration came from.  I wanted to make something kids could enjoy, so I got to searching for a kid friendly book about the nativity.  I found one that looked promising (pictured a few pictures below) and I ordered them.  I waited till they arrived so that I could make the characters match those in the book.  They seriously turned out better then I had hoped.  And what was even more exciting for me was the fact that for the first time in my life, I made my very own patterns!  I kept the measurements of the bag I made, outlines of the puppets and everything so I can make them again and again.  I'm up in the air about sharing the pattern (not that I could right now anyway because I don't know how to upload it) because I'm very strongly considering starting up an account on Etsy and selling them.  Obviously the book would be sold seperately, but still, I think it has potential.  check them out:

The Wise Men

The animals

 The shephards

 Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus

 The Book

The Star

My husband gave me the genius idea to sew a pocket on the back of the bag in order to keep the book and puppets together.  Yeah, we make a good team.

 Cute right!?  I LOVE it!!!

Basic Christmas Stocking

I was not planning on posting this until I figured out how in the world to upload a file that contains a pattern for you to easily print out.  I have the pattern drafted and ready to go, I just haven't had much luck uploading it in a compatible format.  I decided to post it anyway, because all you really need to do is find an old stocking or pick a cheap one up from the dollar store and trace around it to create your own pattern.  When tracing, just make sure you leave a seam allowance of at least a 1/4".  The fabric measurements I supply here should work for a normal sized stocking.  If I ever figure out how to properly upload a file I will gladly add a pattern to this post.

What you need:

3/4 yard fabric for stocking
3/4 yard fabric for lining
20" x 30" piece of batting
strip of 8-1/2" ribbon
embroidery foot for sewing machine
Thread
sewing machine
pins

1. Pin stocking pattern to stocking fabric and cut along edges, leaving fabric as flat as possible while cutting (ensures a more uniform cut)

 2. Pin pattern to stocking fabric in the reverse direction and cut along the lines.

You should be able to lay the fabric on top of eachother, right sides facing with the two cuts lining up.  Repeat steps 1 through 2 with lining fabric and batting.

3.  Place one cut of batting on backside of stocking fabric.  You can pin in place if you're more comfortable sewing in that manner.  I just hold the two pieces together while I sew.

4. Change your sewing foot to the proper foot for free lance quilting on your machine.  My embroidery foot is perfect for this. 

 5. Make sure your feed dogs are in the down position.

There should be a switch on your machine somewhere to make sure they are in the down position.

 6.  Proceed with quilting the stocking and batting together with pattern of your choice.

 7.  Once the entire stocking is quilted, cut the excess batting from edges. (repeat steps 3, 6 & 7 with second piece of stocking fabric)

 8.  Put original sewing foot back on machine and place feed dogs in the upright position.

 9.  Place one cut of stocking fabric and one cut of lining fabric together, right ends facing.

10.  sew the very top edges together.  Only the top edges. Repeat with other cut stocking and lining.

11.  Lay the stocking out in this manner.  Front sides facing up.

 Place the two pieces on top of eachother, right sides facing.

12.  Starting at the toe of the lining fabric, sew the outside edges around the entire lining and stocking together, leaving an opening that is big enough to  fit your hand in at the tip of the lining.

13.  Put your hand in the hole of the lining and pull the stocking right side out.
14.  Sew the opening closed and place the lining inside the stocking.

15.  Take your piece of ribbon, fold it in half and sew to the inside edge on the back of the stocking.  Tie the ends together.

 Tada!  You just made an AWESOME stocking!  Happy filling!

Mile a minute baby quilt

This is the very first quilt I ever made!  I made it years ago for my first born.  He is now 4-1/2 years old, and I've made quite a few more quilts (I will post them later).  I can honestly say that I didn't really have any idea what the heck I was doing.  I didn't measure it right, I sewed the borders on before I tied it etc. etc.  Good thing I made it so small, otherwise it would have been a real disaster!  My grandmother showed me how to make a mile a minute quilt and this was the result.  It was so special and so fun to spend that time with her.  My husband and I were extremely poor during that time of our marriage, so my grandmother supplied me with her scraps, thread, an Elgin sewing machine, and measuring/cutting tools (she actually gave me the machine years before I was married, but every time I played with it, nothing but disaster occured!).  When I was done working with my grandmother, my mother-in-law helped me finish it.  She also supplied me with scrap fabric and she let me borrow one of her many Bernina sewing machines (true love right there!). I'm so grateful to have such awesome and crafty women in my life so I'm not left to figure it all out on my own.  I wasn't going to post this because I didn't want to take the time out to explain how to construct a mile a minute quilt, but while searching the internet, I was lucky enough to come across this:

http://patchworkpie.blogspot.com/2008/06/mile-minute-quilt.html  She gives awesome directions on how to make one. It is the perfect craft when you have tons of fabric scraps that you don't know what to do with!

Super Hero Cape and Mask

If you have boys, then you probably know how obsessed they can get with the idea of capes and super heros.  My boys are constantly playing games that involve them being super heros.  They were constantly asking me to tie their blankets around their necks in the form of capes, so I broke down and made them their very own.  Go here for a tutorial on how to make your own: http://mineforthemaking.blogspot.com/2010/07/super-cool-cape-tutorial.html
I used the same measurments the author suggested, but I noticed that there were no measurements suggested for the size of felt to use.  I cut the white piece into a 7-1/2" square.  I'm pretty sure the blue piece I cut into a 6-1/2" or 7" square.  Can't quite remember.  Anywho, I didn't want to do all the fancy hand sewing as shown in the original, so I just sewed the logo together and sewed it right onto the cape, alternating the thread color.

 I made my mask quite smaller too.  I just placed fabric on my childs face and traced around his eyes and what not and went from there.  I measured the elastic to fit his head also.

 I used really soft rope, instead of ribbon for the tie (looked more super heroish to me) and just sewed it in place with three stitches (pictured below) then folded the top over and sewed it down.

 Yes, I sure did make one for all three boys...ahem...Super heros.  They LOVE them!

SUPER GROVER!!!

So today while browsing pinterest, my oldest son saw the grover hand puppet I saved under my craft section.  He got super excited and asked if we could make "Super Grover"!  He was beside himself with excitement, so I shut the computer down and away we went to construct a super grover.  He and Parker both made one.  I did the cutting, and sewing and they placed the face on and what have you.  Mostly it was me who made them, just due to the fact that they're both too young to sew, cut evenly and use a hot glue gun, but I let them participate as much as little boys their age can.  I quickly cut the body out and let them pick out their eyeballs, and nose.  I put a dab of glue in the correct spots for them and they put the pieces of the face and logo on.  It was so cute to see them fly their super grovers around the house.  If you want to make one go here for the tutorial: http://www.makeandtakes.com/crafty-grover-hand-puppet  I just did the logo and cape of my own accord using felt for the logo and cape, and ribbon for the tie of the cape.  Nothing fancy, I just glued the ribbon along the top of the cape then tied the front and glued it in place. I would upload a pattern of them if I knew how to, but I don't.  Don't worry though, it's not hard.  If I can do it, anyone can!



I also made an Elmo.  Super simple and super cute.  That's what I'm talking about.

The Three Little Piggies

 I LOVE making these as baby shower presents.  They are perfect for that (in my opinion of course).  If you're interested in making your own set, go here for the tutorial: http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/2009/09/3-little-pigs-finger-puppets-tutorial.html

As you can see, the set I've made here differs from the original set.  I wanted to make it more personalized according to my taste.  If you're interested in doing things similar to how I did them, here's what you'll need:

3 pieces of hard based paper (ie. card stock, card board from cereal box, or whatever you can find around the house)

Three 8"x11" White felt*

One 8"x11" Yellow felt

One 8"x11" Deep red felt

One 8"x11" Brown felt

Craft sticks (popsicle type sticks)/optional

Hot glue gun (only if using craft sticks)

Coordinating thread

Fabric glue (optional)

* You should be able to find normal cuts like this in stacks at places like Wal-Mart.

I apologize in advance if any of my instructions don't make sense due to the fact that I failed to take pictures of the process.  I didn't intend on posting this originally.

1.  Cut three houses out of the white felt.

2.  Cut the yellow felt into long skinny strips (for the house made of straw)

3.  Cut the red felt into little rectangles (for the house made of brick)

4.  Cut the brown felt into long, fat strips (for the wood house)

5.  Place the cut yellow felt ontop of one of the white houses.  While holding it in place, sew it onto the house or glue it in place if using fabric glue.  Don't worry about cutting pieces to fit the cut of the house such as the window, door or outline, just sew it on.

6.  Cut the excess felt off that is hanging over the house.  Cut the felt out of the window and door. (repeat steps 5-6 for each house)

7. Place the completed house on top of your hard paper and sew along the outter edge of the house, window and door.

8.  Cut house off of hard paper.  Cut window and door out.

9.  If using a craft stick, place some hot gule on it and glue it onto the back of the house, leaving enough of the handle sticking out the bottom for use as a handle. (repeat steps 7-9 for all houses) 

For my wolves eyes, all I used was black thread and a hand held needle and I sewed a big "X".  I repeated sewing the shape until it was dark enough for my liking.

Now all you need is to purchase a copy of the actual story in book form and you have a completed gift! You could also find a printable version of the story online and deck it out all cute and crafty like if that's what you're into. LOVE IT!

Thanks so much to http://obsessivelystitching.blogspot.com/ for posting such a cute project!!! Check her site out.  She is awesome!

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