DIY Christmas Stocking Tutorials

Hello everyone!

Well, Christmas is less than one week away!  Preparations and celebrations are in full-swing here in Sutton-land! If you're like me, it is so easy to get overwhelmed this time of year.  ... so many ideas, so many possibilities, so many people you want to love well.... it can get out of hand for me sometimes.  This year I really wanted to try to scale back, get some things done early and spend the majority of my time making sweet memories with my husband, family and friends.  What does anyone really remember, anyways?  The perfect gift you gave which was wrapped perfectly with coordinated paper and ribbon or the time you shared making cookies, looking at lights or watching Elf?  (#smilingismyfavorite)

Anyways, you get the idea.  I write that to explain why I'm not making a start-to-finish craft this week... or next week!  I'm busy making hot chocolate and cutting snowflakes.  :)  I did have some last minute little projects to do; so, in case you have stockings on your list too, here are some great resources for you!  I love stockings, and there are so many great ways to make them!  You can make them for themed gifts or for your own mantle... why not make a stocking out of terry cloth or an old (but still pretty) towel and fill it with bath salts/bubbles/etc?  Or maybe use a kitchen towel and fill it with kitchen tools or baking mixes?  Get creative, and if anyone is left on your list, consider a stocking!

The tutorials that each of these blogs put together were really helpful for me, so I wanted to share them with you!  It's pretty quick and simple to make something really cute and personalized. :)

The first collection of tutorials was compiled by ChickenScratchNY blog:

CLICK HERE: CHICKENSCRATCHNY STOCKING TUTORIALS

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Here is another great collection of tutorials from FlamingoToes blog:

CLICK HERE: FLAMINGOTOES STOCKING TUTORIALS

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Here is one last tutorial from PrudentBaby blog:

CLICK HERE: QUILTED STOCKING TUTORIAL

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Here is the little stocking I made this week (using the PrudentBaby tutorial) for a sweet little gal with some scrap Christmas fabric and scrap flannel for the lining:

 Merry Christmas to you in advance!  Thank you for reading along with me this year!  Enjoy your time with the special people you love!

DIY Christmas Garden Flag

Happy December!

I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving!  Now that it is over, it is officially time for embracing Christmas carols, cookies, trees and other sugar plum fairy-friendly things. 

This week I decided to make my own garden flag, since my usual little snowman flag has lost some of its luster over the last couple years.  I love these little flags, but I don't love buying them.  It turned out to be a pretty quick little sewing project and a great way to use more of my fabric scraps.  This would make a great gift for any garden-loving person in your life!  You can make a flag for any season!

If you have some scrap fabric, you should try this too!

Here is what you'll need:

-Fabric for flag*, the dimensions I used were 20"x 14"(including allowances for hems/folds)

-Scrap fabric for applique

-Straight pins

-Jingle bells/buttons for embellishment, if desired

-Clear acrylic spray (matte finish)

*(I used a duck cloth, but you could use burlap or canvas too.  I would definitely recommend a sturdy fabric!)

Ok, first, cut your fabric to size!  I used another garden flag to come up with my dimensions, but you can make it bigger or smaller-- it's up to you!
Again, the dimensions I used were 20"x 14",(including allowances for hems/fold.)

You will need to make two 1/4" folds on all four sides to conceal any raw edges. 

(This is the same technique I used to sew the napkins.)  

Use an iron to make the crease and secure the folds with pins if needed.

Sew (using a straight stitch) along each long side and one short side of the flag.  

Now you need to make the sleeve for the flag hanger/holder.  Fold the short side that isn't sewn down one inch (towards the wrong side of the fabric.  

Now sew along the 1/4" fold to secure the sleeve.

Ready for hanging :)

You now have a flag!  If you had a fun pattern on your fabric, you could just be done here!

I wanted to add some applique to this flag to make it Christmas-y. ;)

I traced an "S" onto the back of a red, striped fabric and cut a Christmas tree shape out of burlap.  I also cut a star for the tree from the same fabric as the "S."

You could use an iron-on adhesive or fabric glue to secure the fabric pieces to the flag fabric (before sewing), but I just used pins.  (I wasn't feeling patient enough to wait for glue to dry.)  

Iron the applique pieces to help them lie flat while you position them. I used pins to hold the pieces in place.

Use a zig zag stitch to sew on the appliques.  Since this little flag will be facing the elements, I made sure to go over the stitching a couple of times, especially with the burlap.

Back view of fabric

Once you have sewn the applique pieces, you can call it a day.... or.... embellish!

I have no idea why I have a ziplock bag full of jingle bells, but I do.  So, what better time is there to put them to use?

You could use buttons or whatever you have handy to give the flag a little sparkle or pizzazz. :)  I sewed on the jingle bells to the Christmas tree.  Just imagine the happy sound the flag will make when a Christmas wind blows.  Magical, right?  I thought so too.  :)

Now it's ready for some finishing spray!  I decided to use a clear acrylic spray with a matte finish to help protect the fabric from the sun and rain.  I thought about using starch too, but the acrylic spray makes the fabric stiff; I don't think starch is necessary.

Make sure you're in a well-ventilated space when you spray!  The fabric will be sticky for a few minutes, so let it dry for a little while before you handle it again. 

Done!

Hang up the flag and make yourself some celebratory hot chocolate!  Happy decorating!

Thanks for reading!

DIY Felt Pumpkin Pie Ornament :)

Hello fellow crafters!

I had originally intended on taking this Thanksgiving week off from blogging.... but then Pinterest and my love of pumpkin pie collided.....

See?  How cute is that??? 

So, to continue with our ornament theme for the month, I decided to make an ornament to honor my love of felt food and pumpkin pie! (This would be so cute for anyone who loves pumpkin pie, (like, a lot), or anyone who has a "sweets" tree with other dessert ornaments!)

Here is what you'll need:

-Orange felt (or whatever color pie you want!)

-Tan felt for crust

-White felt for whipped cream

-Polyfil stuffing

-Embroidery thread/needle

-Cardstock, ruler, and scissors for making templates

-Fabric marker

-Yarn/ribbon for hanging

Here we go!

First, create your template.  Look at the picture below for the dimensions and shapes I used to create the pie. (I still don't know how to attach things as a PDF for you to download... sorry!)

Note that there is one piece of felt for the crust, but you will have three separate pieces for the pie filling.

(Felt cut to these dimensions will make a pie slice that fits in the palm of your hand. If you want to make a non-ornament pie slice, just use the same ratio and make it bigger!)

Now, you're ready to start assembling. First, using embroidery floss to match the felt color, join the two pie side pieces with a blanket stitch. You only need to bind one short side of the rectangles. This will make the "point" in the front of the pie slice.

Next, attach the triangle to make the top of the pie slice. You can use pins to secure one side of the slice while you stitch the other. Use a blanket stitch here as well.

**Optional: Use a backstitch to embroider the year on one side of the pie.

To attach the crust, use embroidery floss that matches the color of the "crust."  Start from the point of the slice on one side and attach the pie filling side piece to the bottom of the crust.

When you reach the back of the slice (where the crust will cover the back), fold up the felt and stitch the crust together with the remaining short side of the side piece of the filling.  Stop here and repeat on the other side of the pie slice.

Now you have a pie slice taking shape. :)  There is a pocket between the crust and pie waiting for some stuffing.  Use polyfil stuffing or spare felt to give it some shape.

I also cut a piece of chipboard in the shape of the pie slice and used it to help it keep its shape/structure.  

In hindsight, it would have also been a good idea to cut chipboard to support the sides and bottom of the pie as well. 

To close up the pie and make the crust a little "wrinkly", use a running stitch and gather up the crust as you go.

Tie a knot and you're done!  I trimmed the crust and gave the crust a little more scalloped edge with scissors.

Your slice is complete!..... Well, almost.  What is pumpkin pie without whipped cream??

You can get creative and use something you have around for the whipped cream.... like a white jingle bell?

I decided to make a whipped cream dollop with felt.  There are a lot of easy to follow instructions online for making these....

FELT WHIPPED CREAM TUTORIAL AND TEMPLATE BY HELLOASHLEYANN

Once the dollop is complete, stitch or glue it onto the pie. :)  Yum. :)

I made a smaller version of this template made from the tutorial's instructions to fit the pie slice better.  Just play with the dimensions to fit your slice. 

To hang the ornament, I used yarn (with the help of a yarn needle) and threaded it under two of the running stitches on the back of the pie crust.  Tie a knot, and you're ready to hang!!

So cute!

I had so much fun making this little slice of deliciousness!  Too much fun, in fact. :)  So, if anyone happens to be in the market for a pumpkin pie slice ornament this year, please reach out--I'm happy to make more! ;)

Thanks for reading!  Go have some fun with felt, and have a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

In fact, if you're heading to the Turkey Trot in Charlotte, you should probably use some of that felt to make some sweet wearable turkeys! ;)