Christmas present projects

Here they are.  It seems like I did so much more!  I certainly was strained for time at the end.  I think it seemed like so much because of the repetition.  For example I did four of the nephew presents and have two more under way for my own sons that didn't get done by Christmas.

Nephew present is a smaller variation of this:
JCaroline
I got some micro machines to go with it since the roads are small.

It rolls up and ties so it can be taken with to church or wherever little hands might need some entertainment.

Niece present:
I was going to do this with a few changes and peg people to go with it:
http://www.cookiemag.com/magazine/blogs/nesting/2008/02/diy-dollhouse.html
but I decided to do that for next year so I can take more time with it and deck it out nice.
And I made them this this year:
Little Birdie Secrets
my frames aren't as cute but they'll work...

and for my littlest niece:
I followed this idea: Smashed Peas and Carrots

Flannel on one side and minky on the other.  It is supposed to be a giraffe but it came out more of an indeterminate animal.
For My Mom-in-law I bought this pattern on Etsy and made her this bag:
Ali Foster
Great easy to follow pattern.  I think next time I make it I will make the handle longer- but that's just personal preference.  I like cross body bags.

For my mom and sister I made tree pendants... I just kind of winged it though I'm sure I was inspired by wire wrap pendants I've seen before...

I was pleased with the way it turned out.

I made a couple other things but I didn't take photos of them so... they'll just be left out.

Currently I am working on a present for my niece Makayla for her B-day and then I will be working on a present for my niece Cheyenne.  Sadly they will be very late b-day presents but hopefully they will make up for it in their coolness. :)

The Top Half of the Costume!

I finished it on time!  :)  It really is not a hard costume to make.  I was a little worried about Asher wearing it but he had no problems with it!  He didn't really wear the hood up but I wasn't really expecting that anyway. 

Like the sweatpants I started with a hoodie I got from a second hand store for 3 bucks:

I drew scallops on the felt using the same cup for a template.  Cut them out and glued them on.

 

 

After about this point I couldn't glue it along the whole hoodie anymore.  I did short separate pieces in just the front on either side of the zipper and on the back. Then I cut out individual colored scales like I did for the back and glued those randomly- or where I need to hid imperfections.  I also cut out eyes and eyelids and glued those on the hood.  Oh and I lined the front of the hood with white triangles for teeth. 

The finished hood... and now for the final project on the little boy who wouldn't stay still and liked to stomp in his costume.

 

 

Stomp Stomp Stomp!!!

I really think felt and hot glue guns are really cool inventions. :)  Hope you had a happy Halloween!

Dragon Costume continued

Let's start with the Wings:

I started with your basic dollar store fairy wings(You could also bend a metal hanger to the shape you want).   Definitely too girly for my boy dragon but they have a nice wire frame to work with.  I noticed that  the red fabric that was covering the wings looked a lot like nylons so I checked the Dollar store for nylons without gold glitter flowers on them.  I found these silver ones.

So I cut off all of the red and recovered my fairy wigs in Silver shimmer.

Basically I just tied them on- nice and easy.  And yet... they still look too much like fairy wings.  So I looked up some dragon wings on-line and I realized that I should get rid of the bottom wings and make the top wings more jagged.  

There's a sneak peek at the pants. :)  So you see I have bent the wire to be more angular and gotten rid of the bottom wings.  Since this is a costume for an 18 month old the size of the wings should be perfect.  Next I  used embroidery floss to accentuate the sharpness of the angles and keep the nylons from being too loosy goosy.

Hopefully if you click on the photos you can see it better...  I pinned the wings on the back of the costume.  

Dragon Costume... Pants

Begin with sweat pants.  I found these for 3.50 at Target.

I used a 16 oz red plastic cup to trace around and make the scallops for my dragon scales.  Don't worry about them being exactly the same size since you want some variety. Then I hot glue gunned the scallops on- wrapping them around the leg as I went.

After I had wrapped the scalloped felt around all of the pants I added in contrasting scales in neon green, blue, and purple.  I just cut out random scale like shapes and glued them in as randomly as possible- I put same colors next to each other on purpose so it would look more random.  Ironic isn't it?

 

fun, right?  Next for the tail!    I forgot to take pictures of this process but here's a basic description.

I cut out three triangles.  I angled it so the part of the triangle that was at the top of the pants is longer so the tail angles downward.  I machine sewed the triangles together.  I put beans in the bottom to weigh it down but I don't think it needed it.  I stuffed the rest with polyfil and handsewed it on to the pants.

The back view of the pants and here's my little guy wearing them!  I'm so excited!  Now I just need to do the top!  Stay tuned!

Monday Mommy craft

So today is my opportunity to show off the crafts that I have been working on. I did finish a scrapbook page and a halloween costume this past week.
Obviously I just did the pants soooo they don't quite match the shirt. I still like them though and they are glow in the dark. :)

I used a template which I think I love! It is Yin Designs template 62. I'm guessing I found it through Ikea Goddess. The kit which I also LOVE is by Karla Marano. Her link is in my sidebar. The kit is called A Boy's Playground. It is great fun! She has a new kit out right now that is all helicopters and airplanes. Another of her recent kits is all about bumps and bruises! So cool!

Ghost feet

So it turns out that 1 lb. of baking soda is how much comes in one box. So I did have enough. :) I got this idea from www.susiej.com and it is going to be a new family tradition. Yay! Her instructions are awesome. It was very easy to make the dough and we even have some left for more fun play! Here's a photo journal of the creation process.

Kaden helped me roll out the dough. Make sure you leave it a little on the thicker side so that they can leave a good imprint.



Also wash your kids feet before putting them on the nice white dough. :) I realized how desperately my floor needs to be swept and mopped during this procedure too. yikes!

Such a cute little footprint! After this I used a butter knife to cut out around the foot just like the instructions say. And now it's time for the face.
Kaden would have jabbed the ghosts over and over again I think. So he needed a little guidance to make a face.
The finished product! Ta-da! I added holes at the top because I think I will make a garland or ornaments for a halloween tree of sorts out of them. We did one of Kaden's feet twice - oops! We did do his other foot too, but just once. Asher did it too. This was a lot of fun and I am excited to make it a tradition.