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!

Ping Pong Snowmen

What????  Two posts in one day???  Could it be true????  Well, I have had a busy day today.  Besides the normal household chores, I also planted potatoes, watered the plants, finished up some gift card holders and snowball buckets and made these adorable snowmen:

These were so easy that I amazed myself!  When I was at the dollar store a couple of weeks ago, I saw these ping pong balls in the toy department:

Eight for $1....what a deal.  And whenever I see round white balls, I think SNOWMEN!!!  I simply dug out some little screw-in eyelets:

I had these on hand, but you can get them anywhere.  Simply screw them into the balls (I added a little hot glue just to stabilize), paint on faces, and add a ribbon.  I tried marker instead of paint, but the marker just didn't show up very well.  I used ribbon, but you could use jute, wire, yarn, or fishing line.  I made the faces a bit different and added a powder blush when the paint was dry. 

The possibilities are endless with these.  You could leave off the hook, and pile them in a glass vase or compote for a great centerpiece.  Tie them on a package, or personalize and use as a place setting.  I know one thing, I am going back to the dollar store and buy all that they have on hand.  These will be a great seller at my shows!