Asparagus, and Peas, and Santas.....oh, my!

Yep, we finally are seeing some results from our hard gardening work.  I have already harvested some asparagus, our lettuce is up, one cherry tomato is ripe, and the weeds are growing faster than the seeds....Oh, the fun of growing your own.  Last Saturday, we worked diligently at our garden in the city.  We planted lots of peppers, cukes, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, and corn.  The week has not been too unbearably hot so we will cross our fingers, douse them with water, and say some prayers.

But lets not forget our fall shows.  I finished up one of my crescent santas on Sunday.  This one is a great seller for me so if you want one, let me know in advance because I always sell out.  He sells for $34.99 and I will ship him for free!  Fabric and beard yarn may vary.  Email me and I will send pics of the choices.

As promised, I am also going to give you the FREE instructions on how to make my paintbrush Santa.  These are easy, inexpensive and make great ornaments, package tie-ons, or gifts.

Here is what you will need for this project:

     Paintbrushes, any size, just make sure they have wooden handles

     Wood scraps:  teardrops, hearts, stars, etc

     Round discs, approx 1 1/2"

     Fabric scraps, wire, bells, greenery

     Hot glue gun and glue sticks

     Paint:  red, white, flesh toned, gold

     Powder blush

Start with any size paintbrush.  You can use old paint stained ones that you have in your garage or do like I do and buy a jumbo pack at Walmart or Harbor Freight.  The cheaper the better.

Paint the handles front and back your favorite shade of red.  I like more primitive barn red or even maroon, but you may prefer bright red if you are more traditional. 

Next, you will want to get out your favorite shade of Santa white for his beard and mustache.  I use light buttermilk but you can use whatever shade you prefer.  Paint the metal part of the brush (both sides) and then paint the bristles.  You can do this a couple of ways.  The easiest and messiest way is to dip the brushes into the paint and let the paint drip off.  I prefer to paint the bristles with a brush. 

While you still have your white paint out, paint whatever you choose to use for a mustache.  I use small scraps of wood that you can buy in a multipack.  You can use stars, hearts, teardrops, or triangles.  Be creative!  You will only need to paint the fronts.

While your white paint is drying, paint the discs fleshtone.  You only need to paint the fronts and also paint around the diameter.  Take a break and let everything dry.  Plug in your glue gun.

Assemble all of your dry painted pieces.  You will need to glue on the flesh toned disc for the face and fabric for the hat trim.  I use scraps of fleece, batting, flannel, etc.  Whatever you have.  Glue on as pictured.

Gather up your mustaches!  This picture shows some of the options that you might try!  Be creative!  Use the end of a paintbrush dipped in black paint for the eyes or a black, non-bleeding marker.  Blush the cheeks with powder blush.

Now just trim it with what you have or what you like!  I put wire (I use rusty wire)  through the hole in the top and curl it by winding the wire around a paintbrush or a pencil.  Attach a bell to the end of the wire.  (I use a rusty bell)  Add a little greenery to the hat band.  You can also dot the hats with a gold paint on the end of a paintbrush.  You can add glitter, sequins, buttons, or whatever you like!  Make it your own!

Hope you enjoyed this free tutorial on Paintbrush Santas!  They are always a great seller for me at craft fairs and are well received as gifts.  If you have any questions, please comment below or send me an email. 

Later....................