Magnetic Play and Decorate Snowman

Recently, I had the opportunity to be a guest host at My Craftily Ever After, where I shared a tutorial for this Magnetic Play and Decorate Snowman. Not only is it a great decoration to get you through the winter, but it also doubles to give your little ones the opportunity to manipulate its parts in any way they choose. If that's not enough, most of the materials used for this project can be found at home or purchased at your local dollar store. In fact, the entire project cost me under $3.00! Here's how you can make one of your very own...

Materials:

-stove burner cover set (I found mine at my local Dollar Tree and got a 2 piece set for $1 in 8" and 10" diameters!)

-white, acrylic paint

-foam brush

-hot glue gun/glue sticks

-3-5 large buttons

-1 sheet of black foam

-felt sheets or scraps-orange (nose), red (trim of hat), black (eyes and mouth)

-material for scarf (approx. 18" in length)

-brown, pipe cleaners (3)

-magnetic strips or discs

Instructions:

1. Paint the insides of the burner covers with white paint (they actually are already off-white in color, so you could leave it as is, if you want. I chose to make them more of a snowy white).

2. Using black foam, cut out a top hat for your snowman. Embellish the hat with a strip of felt in any color your little heart desires.

3. Cut out a carrot nose using orange felt. Create eyes and a mouth out of black felt (or any color you'd like-Its your snowman, Go nuts!)

4. Cut two, brown, pipe cleaner in half. Wrap one half around the end of another pipe cleaner to create a branch-like arm. Repeat this step to create the opposite arm. Hot glue the arms to the front of the large, burner cover, placing felt scraps over the ends of the cleaners to adhere.

5. Place magnetic strip or discs on the backs of the carrot nose, eyes, buttons, and mouth with hot glue

6. Using hot glue, create a loop at one end of the ribbon and glue to the back of the felt hat. Below the hat, place hot glue on the ribbon and adhere the front of the smaller burner cover to it.

7. Below the small burner cover, tie the material around the ribbon to make it look scarf-like. Under the scarf, place hot glue on the ribbon and adhere the front of the larger burner cover to it. Trim any excess ribbon below the large burner cover.

8. Encourage your little ones to arrange the magnetic pieces to the snowman however their little hearts desire and hang to display!

Hope you've all enjoyed a wonderful, holiday season and are ready to begin a crafty, new year!!!

Detachable Olaf Plush

Do you wanna build a snowman??? A question familiar to probably every child in America and beyond, courtesy of Disney's fantastic movie Frozen! And who doesn't love that adorable snowman obsessed with the season that would deduce him to a puddle, as well as constantly getting himself decapitated and impaled throughout his adventures with Anna, Elsa, Kristoff, and Sven! Olaf is a character you can't help but love and my nephew, Derek, is no exception. Check out the stuffed Olaf I created for him. The best part??? He's detachable...just like in the movie! Now Olaf can get into all sorts of pretend play mischief, too!!!

I must note that I am sort of a "cut and wing it" kind of sewer, so there is no specific pattern for you to follow, but I can give you the basic idea as to how you can make an Olaf for yourself! Here goes...

Materials:

-1 yard white felt

-white thread

-needle

-sewing machine

-fabric scissors

-black, orange, and dark brown felt

-Velcro (about 1 ft. total of soft and rough sides)

Instructions:

1. Placing two pieces of felt together, cut out an uneven circle of about 8" in diameter (keep in mind, one of the most endearing things about Olaf is his 

    uneven-ness and whacky ways, so there is no need for precision here). Put both pieces off to the side.

2. Create 2 uneven circles out of white felt approximately 6" in diameter. Place both pieces to the side for later.

3. Create two oval-ish shapes (almost bell shaped) approximately 8"x6" (at its widest point). Refer to the pictures below to get an idea of the shape. 

    Place to the side with the others

4. Using white felt, cut out a rouded rectangle for teeth,  two-2" circlesr eyes, and 2-2x4" rounded rectangles for feet.

5. Using black felt, create three uneven circles approximately 4" in diameter for buttons, two circles about 1" in diameter for the eyes, and one mouth, approximately 4x6" at its largest point (refer to picture)

6. Using dark brown felt, cut out 3-4, 3" long strips for Olaf's hair, two, long, triangular pieces for his eyebrows, and two arms about 6" in length.

7. Take one of the white felt pieces that will make Olaf's head and pin on the mouth, teeth, nose, and eyes (white and black circles) in the appropriate 

     places.

8. Using white thread, handstitch the pieces to the felt

9. Using one of the middle pieces, pin on a black button. Handstitch the button onto the felt.

10. Using one of the large, bottom pieces, pin two black buttons onto the felt and handstitch.

11. Match each of the white pieces felt up so that the eyes, nose, buttons, mouth, etc. are placed in the insides. Pin the hair, arms and legs to each ot the 

      corresponding pieces and place the remaining material into the middle of the white felt so that no parts of the hair, arms, or legs are sticking out. Pin 

      matching pieces together (should be a total of three).

12. Sew around each pinned piece, leaving a 2-3 each gap to stuff them. Once sewn, flip rightside out, stuff, and handstitch to close.

13. Handstitch a 3" piece of rough Velcro to the bottom of Olaf's face, a 3" soft piece to the top of Olaf's mid-section, a 3" rough piece to the bottom of the mid-section, and a 3" soft piece to the top of the bottom part of Olaf.

14. Attach Olaf and enjoy the detachable fun!!!

2x4 Steelers Snowman

Hi, my name is Shannon...and I'm a craft-o-holic! My husband has been reminding me lately just how out of control my obsesh tends to get in the wintertime and, in looking at my receipts as of late, I must say he's got a point (I hate that)! The solution??? Find random stuff and transform it into something else! I decided to start by using one of the pieces of wood I had recently found in my grandparents' shed. Here's how I turned a boring piece of lumber into a decorative snowman boasting my favorite, football team...

Materials:

-wood of any shape or size

-sandpaper

-white, spray paint

-black paint pen

-spray sealant

-orange felt

-black, permanent marker

-1/4 yard of fleece

-fabric scissors

-glue gun and glue sticks

-buttons or beads (I used plastic, football beads I happened to have on hand!)

Directions:

1. Sand the piece of wood, in order for paint to adhere effectively

2. Spray two coats of white paint, covering the wood completely.

3. Draw eyes and a mouth using a black, paint pen.

4. Spray one coat of sealant over the painted wood and let dry.

5. Cut a carrot shape out of orange felt and add detail using a permanent marker. Adhere to the face using hot glue

6. Cut a 9"x6" piece of fleece and wrap around the top of the wood to create the hat. Hot glue the seam where the fleece overlaps to secure it to the wood. Roll up about an inch of the fleece at the bottom of the hat and glue in place.

7. Cut a thin piece of  fleece about 6 inches long and tie around the middle of the hat. Using fabric scissors, fringe the top of the fabric into about 1/4" strips

8. Cut a piece of 4"x18" fleece. Wrap around the "neck" of the snowman and adhere to wood using hot glue. Cut fringe into the ends of the scarf.

9. Hot glue 3-5 beads or buttons to the wood

There you have it! Success! I just wish I could say the same for the football team it represents. Maybe next season...