Snowmen Clothespins

I always love it when it is warm and dry so I can take some of my messier crafts outdoors.  I have been making these clothespin snowmen for several years and I nearly always sell out.  I buy the clothespins at the dollar tree.  It is the cheapest place around but you do need to look at each one before painting and cull out the broken or irregular ones.  I have an old table that I keep in the back yard that I use to paint or rust things on.  I lay out all the pins and spray them with white paint.  When they are dry, I turn them over and paint the other side.

 When they are all dry, I bring them inside and using a sharpie, I dot on eyes and buttons.  Some have their faces on the long piece and some on the short.  See below.

 I put mouths on some.  Some I leave without.  I use a fine line marker for this.  I try to mix it up a little.

 For the noses I use orange paint.  Again, I try to make it so no two are exactly alike.  If you use a small brush, you can dot it where the nose begins and drag it in the direction you want to make it look like a long carrot.

 I save all my scraps and this is the perfect use for them.  Small thin strips are tied around the "neck" or joint of the pin.  I display these in a large bowl or basket.  Customers love to go thru the bowl, finding the right ones.

You can use these to decorate packages, hang on the tree, or even put on a piece of jute for a garland.

Thursday Tutorial

I've been working on some snowball ornaments lately.  They are so easy so I thought you might like to know how to do them too!

You buy these little white buckets at the dollar store (Dollar Tree)  They are in the wedding department.  They are packaged three in a pack. 

I take mine outside and spray them with my favorite spray:  Rust-oleum Rusty Metal Primer. 

When I made these last year, I painted the buckets with red.  Do whatever color works best for you.  Next I made the snowballs.  Last year, I used styrofoam, but that gets pretty pricey so this year I decided to make my own.

 

I had some plaster of paris so I stirred some up and rolled them into little balls.

                          

Okay, so here are a few tips I learned from trial and error....alot of errors.  Mix the plaster in small batches.  It will become too dry to mold within about 20 minutes or so.  I stirred it up in an old cool whip container and used plastic utensils that I could toss when I was finished.

 

Mix the plaster on the dry side.  It is easier to handle, dries faster, and doesn't puddle while drying.  Roll the balls around in your hand as if you were making cookies.  Oh, yeah.  Put down wax paper or plastic wrap for them to dry on.  Let the balls dry overnight.

 

Next I took the balls outside and sprayed them with sealer and sprinkled with glitter.  Just a bit of glitter goes a long way.  I printed out "Snowballs 4 Sale  5c" and cut into little signs.  Last year I used my tag punch and though cute, packing them was difficult and several tags got bent. 

 

Use a paper towel (I use the Select a Size towel by Bounty, but a half of a normal towel will work just fine)  Wad it up, squirt a little hot glue in the bottom of each bucket and push down.  Grab a small amount of fiberfill and roll into a ball.  Add a bit of glue and push down on top of the towel.  Add your snowballs.  I glue each one on the bottom and then a bit to hold them together.  I glue three in a triangle on top of the fiberfill and then put one on top of those, pyramid style.   Glue on the label....just use a glue stick if you want and add a bow.......voila.....snowballs in a bucket!

 

 

Happy Monday!

Good morning, my friends!  I had a pretty relaxing weekend, but I did do some upcycling yesterday.  A few months back, I paid $10 for an entire box of decorator sampler fabric at a garage sale.  The fabrics are beautiful, but in very tiny swatches.  I cut some of them up for rag garlands, used some for pillows, and then I saw that I had a bunch of green pieces.  (When I see green or red, of course I think Christmas)

I found this little aspen tree that hubby had run over and broke off, so I cut it into pieces, approximately 1".

 Then I laid out a swatch of fabric and folded it in half to get the pattern size.  I even laid the "trunk" out just to make sure it was the right size and scale...(see where I am going with this?)

Trace.....and sew. 

 If you have the fold on the bottom, you will have to cut a small hole to turn it.

Next I turned, stuffed and glued on the trunk.  I also glued some little rusty stars to the top.

 I took my "trees" outside and sprayed them with a sealer and while still wet, I dusted lightly with this cinnamon scented glitter.

Though I will probably display them in a basket, I did add some embroidery floss behind the stars so they can also be hung.  I think they are adorable!  Just another way to use up those scraps!

Tutorial Tuesday

Hello, my peeps.  Hope your weekend was great.  Well, its back to the grindstone today.  We spent the weekend with our home improvement list, and I could hardly wait to get back in the studio.....and to get it cleaned up.  I bought 10 packages of the ping pong balls for the snowmen (prior post) and some other goodies from the dollar store.  So here is my latest creation:

And can you guess what this little sweetie is made from????

These disposable champange glasses have that great bell shape for a skirt.  You get 6 in a package for a dollar.  For the dress, I tore a piece of homespun(use whatever pattern or fabric suits your fancy) 5" x 10".  I ran a loose gathering stitch about a half inch from one of the long ends and pulled it tight.  Knot off your thread.  Then place atop the stem of the inverted glass.  Of course, you will remove the plastic base.  Hot glue into place.  I also placed just a dot of glue on the back to hold the skirt together.  Hot glue the head in place.  For the heads, I simply paint 1" wooden balls in a flesh tone.  I do several of these at a time and like to use the ones with a flat side. (hint:  Put a piece of masking tape sticky side up on your painting surface.  This will hold the balls in place while you paint.)  Paint on eyes or use a marker.  Blush the cheeks.  I tied a piece of jute over the stitching line and glued on a rusty bell.  I tore another piece of matching homespun 5" long and about an inch and a half wide and glued to the back.  I glued a tiny flesh painted ball to the area where the ends meet to simulate hands.  For the wings, I took some strands of raffia, tied it in a bow and glued it on the back.  Glue on some moss for hair.  I used rusty wire for a tiny halo.  I can see alot of uses for these.  How about a name tag where the ball (hand) is?  They are light weight enough to use as an ornament or a topper on a small tree.  Let your imagination run wild!