On the 7th Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a Christmas tree onesie.  

Heather found this adorable Christmas tree onesie and asked me to make one for Miss McKinli.  It was a really quick project and I love how it came out!  

Materials:

long sleeve onesie 

green fabric

brown fabric

heat n bond

white thread

pink ribbon

"bling"

Tutorial:

First I drew the tree outline and trunk onto the heat n bond and cut the pieces out.  Next I ironed them onto the back of the designated fabrics and cut the pieces out.  For McKinli's Heather picked out a really cute pink & green polka dot fabric.  

After I ironed them onto the onesie, I used the sewing machine and did a straight stitch to outline the tree itself.  Then I placed the ribbon onto the onesie and hand-stitched it to the top of the tree.  Finally, in order to get the bow just right I decided to use hot glue instead of sewing.  

The only thing missing is the little gemstone, "bling" to go in the center of the bow.  Heather will be adding that tomorrow, and hopefully we will be able to get a picture of McKinli in the outfit as well!  

On the 6th Day of Christmas

my true love made for me the cutest Santa tutu. 

On Pinterst (surprise, surprise) I found the most adorable Santa outfit for a little girl.  I pinned it thinking that I would make it someday for my own little girl (fingers crossed for the future).  But someday came sooner than expected, because I made one for Miss McKinli.  

The picture was found on Etsy for sale at $89.99 (regularly $115.00) - YIKES!  So, Heather and I brainstormed ideas for the materials and then I tried different things to create my own version.  

Materials:

5 yards of red tulle

white feather boa

felted ribbon

buckle 

1" elastic

thread

Tutorial:

There are so many tutorials out there on how to make a tutu.  I had Heather measure McKinli just under her armpits and cut the elastic to be 1 inch shorter.  Then I sewed the two ends together to create a circle.  

Next I cut the tulle to be 5-6 inches wide & the length needed to be 12 inches, so I cut it at 24-26 inches.  Once everything was cut I put the elastic around my leg and began the tying process.  

The finished tutu

The next step was to figure out how to attache a feather boa to the top.  I originally thought I would have to hot glue it.  But, instead I decided to tie a piece of thread around the tutu and then continuously wrap it around to keep the boa in place.  I ended up going around the top of the tutu twice.  Then I cut the excess feather boa pieces off.  

Finally, I used McKinli's measurements again and cut the black felt ribbon to that length.  Then I sewed the ends together to create a circular belt.  If using a real buckle be sure to secure it on the ribbon before sewing it.  

I also wanted to make sure it would actually fit around her, so I made a second belt that tied around her (just incase).  Then instead of using a buckle, Heather was going to add a little bling in a square shape to create the look of one.  

The complete Santa tutu (without the bling)

I can't wait to see pictures of how Miss McKinli looks in the completed outfit!  

On the 5th Day of Christmas

my true love made for me some holiday subway art.  

I am always looking for different items to be used as seasonal decoration for the mantle.  That is why I was excited to find all kinds of free, printable, subway art pages through Pinterest.  There are so many different themes to choose from and so many varieties for each season.  You can find the one I made and used for the fall here.

There were so many options for Christmas and even more for "winter" themes for January & February.  Here are a few that I liked and may use another year:

Materials:

8x10 canvas (Michael's)

Mod Podge

Paint brush

Computer & Printer 

Card stock

Tutorial: 

These are so easy to make and do not take very long at all.  First find a printable that you would like to use.  Then size it slightly smaller than 8x10 (I use 7.75x9.75).  Then print onto plain card stock.  I used regular printer paper for the one on the left and it came out fine.  The paper tends to bubble a little more than the card stock does. 

The Subway Art Printables I chose

Next spread a thin layer (do not want too much) of Mod Podge onto the canvas. 

Place the card stock on top of the canvas and paint another thin coat of Mod Podge on top to seal it onto the canvas.  A second coat can be done, but it is not necessary.  Then hang or place on the mantle for decor.  

 The final products

On the 4th Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a nativity ornament.

I saw this cute hand-stitched, felt nativity on Pinterest.  I thought it would be a nice little gift to include in our Christmas card to Sister Kelly Francis!  

I will not include a tutorial, because the one here is really easy to follow and it did not take me long to make one (I did it this afternoon).  

Materials:  Colored felt, embroidery thread, & pins (I didn't need to use them).

Use the stencil & cut out the pieces

Hand-stitch each piece onto the stable.

My finished product

On the 3rd Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a handprint Christmas ornament.

I thought that while Eva Marie was visiting it would be fun to do some salt dough ornaments with her and Braden.  There are so many different recipes and ideas on Pinterest one, and two .  

Materials:

Salt

Flour

Water

Mixing bowls

Measuring Cups

Oven

Paints or Sharpie Markers 

Tutorial:

First I had Braden help me measure out the ingredients and mix up the dough.  The recipe I used was for 1/2 c of salt, 1/2 c of flour and 1/4 c (or so) of water.  He helped me stir things up and then once dough started to form I kneaded it until it was one ball.

Let's get started!

Braden measuring ingredients

  

Braden really enjoyed playing with the ball and dropping it back into the bowl.  He did not enjoy the taste though.

Braden Kneading the dough

Next I formed the ball into three flat circular shapes large enough for each of their handprints (and one for the Sage's paw).  Then I put them on a cookie sheet on the floor and Eva, Braden and Sage each took a turn making their prints.

Eva & Mommy making a handprint

The final step for making the ornaments was to create a hole (for ribbon to be added later for hanging) and then bake them in the oven @ 200 degrees for 3 hours.  Be sure to place it correctly (ours will be hanging upside down - OOPS)!  

The next day we worked on decorating the ornaments with paint and/or markers to create Christmas shapes.  The possibilities are endless: stars, snowmen, Santa Claus, Christmas tree, gingerbread men, candy cane, etc.  We went with Santa Claus & I did a reindeer with Sage's paw.

Eva & Mommy Painting

Braden paints Santa's beard

And then his Hat

Cheese!

Cheese!

Finished Painting

On the 2nd Day of Christmas

my true love made for me a Family Matching Game

The last few times I have seen Eva Marie she has been really interested in puzzles and is very good at matching the pieces and putting them together.  So, I thought she might enjoy a match/memory type game for Christmas.  But, instead of buying one I decided to make one using pictures of family members and their names.  {Shhh, don't tell Eva}

Bourdon Family Memory

Materials:

3in. wooden circles (found at Michael's, I needed 18 total)

paint - 2 colors

paint brushes

computer/printer

paper

mod podge

Tutorial: 

This project was completed over the course of a few days.  First I painted each wooden circle with a blue paint.  I ended up doing 2 coats per side.  Once they were completely dry I used the 2nd color to paint a medium sized, thin B (for Bourdon).  

While I was waiting for the paint to dry I created a template for the photos using Pages (Mac).  I created a 2 inch circle with an outline, 18 circles in all.  Then I imported a photo for each family member: 1. Mom & Dad, 2. Eva Marie, 3. Princess Mittens, 4. Uncle Mike Aunt Sharon & Braden, 5. Uncle Jon, 6. Grampy, 7. Mimi, 8. Grandma & Grandpa Bourdon, 9. Uncle Josh Aunt Leah - 2 copies of each.  Then I added text so that the names were visible on each picture.  

Once the photos were printed & cut out I used mod podge to glue them into place.  Then I covered them with 2 more coats of mod podge to give the wooden circles a more finished look.  

The finished product:

The next step will be to find a nice case to keep them in and I will include a title: Bourdon Family Memory

On the 1st Day of Christmas

my true love made for me, a Felted Christmas Tree!

As a Christmas present to Braden I have been thinking of making him a felt board.  I would like to create different scenes (car, house, store, seasonal themes, etc) that can be changed through out the year.

So, I found this cute Christmas tree idea on Pinterest to try first and see how much he would enjoy it.  He certainly has fun taking them off the tree or swiping at it so they all fall to the floor.  We are slowly working on picking them up and decorating the tree again.  He has a hard time getting the pieces to "stick".  But, I think it is a great start in helping him learn to clean things up when he is finished.  

Here is my tutorial:

Materials:

36x36 green felt (found at ACMOORE)

Various colored felt (8x11 pages)

Command Strips

Pictures/Stencils of Christmas decorations

Heat n Bond 

Scissors

First I spread out the green felt and used a marker to create my tree outline.  That way I could get the tree shape just the way I wanted and the marker side would be on the back.  Braden helped a little with this process.

Ready to Draw the Tree

Cutting The Tree Shape

I'm All Done Mom!

Next I used the command strips to hang the tree on the wall.  Then looked for various Christmas decoration outlines online that could be printed and used as stencils.  I found a candy cane, gingerbread man, and a few different ornaments.  This blog has downloadable instructions with ornament outlines.  The presents I created free hand  and then using the stencils I cut the other pieces out individually.  

Any details that I wanted to put on top of the ornaments or to add stripes on the candy cane I used heat n bond.  I ironed the colored felt to the heat n bond, cut out the shapes I needed and then ironed them on to the Christmas decorations.  

I love the final product and so does Braden!

The Tree All Decorated

Little Man Posing with the Tree

{This holiday season I have decided to try some new crafts & home made gift ideas.  From December 1st-12th I will be posting the tutorials for things I have tried - "12 Days of Christmas Crafts"  I would love to see/hear about other ideas.}  

I was even successful in creating my own blog button - so please share!