Gingerbread House 2014; the Holly & the Ivy Inn and Ski Slope

This year, taking a more humorous route, my Gingerbread scene was based on the idea of what elves get up to in their after hours...so the Holly & the Ivy pub was created! Complete with an outdoor beer garden, and a ski lift.

Some elves just can't hold their drinks!

The ski lift was an especially fun feature this year! Sure, maybe not as magnificent as Hogwarts last year, but nice to have a simple structure but a funny theme to work with. Happy holidays!

Franken-Hoot Plushies

I got the idea for this project as a means of using up scraps from my fabric staff over the summer. Finding a pattern on Pinterest and adapting it, I loved the ideas of mish-mashing remnants of fabric together (thus the Frankenstein concept) to make a one-of-a-kind plushie. Owls are adorable, from their pet appeal from the Harry Potter franchise, to their quirky large eyes making them different from other birds, and even their symbolism for Wisdom. Working with the bird theme for our Christmas table this year, I’ve made a felt version for this project.

Here’s a template for the pattern I adjusted from pinterest. You can make them as large or small as you like! I added the wings and little pouch on the tummy for this particular version to paste the names onto, but you can do as you wish with them.

Felt is a lovely fabric to work with, since you don’t need to hem it! Unlike my original ‘Frankenstein’ concept though, I kept it to the chosen color scheme, golds and silver, blues, purples, and pinks. The pieces were put together in a combination of machine and hand stitching, with a little stuffing for a 3D effect. 

I’ve had a great time putting this flock together, and can’t wait to see them on the table Christmas Day. But if I have any fabric left over I’d like to make some true to my original design, complete with more colors and even eyes in different colors.

Materials:

Owl plushie pattern

Felt fabrics in various colors

Needle

Scissors

Thread

Sewing Machine (optional)

Toy stuffing

Buttons

For Table settings, print out or hand written paper slips with names

December Book Review: The Great Christmas Knit Off by Alexandra Brown

OK, so I’ve officially run out of craft books to review for the time being. However, as a fan of books revolving around crafting, I’ve decided to continue these monthly posts and write about them instead. And I’ll be starting with a title that I loved so much, when reading it on the Tube I missed my stop!

‘The Great Christmas Knit Off’ is one of those books I categorize as part of the ‘Changing Life through Creative Work’ genre, or sometimes ‘Club’ books when it’s focused on a group of characters being brought together through the love of a hobby craft. 

In this title, the protagonist, Sybil or ‘Sybs’, still heart broken months after being left at the altar and experiencing burn out in her finance job, when paying a close friend a visit in a tiny village of Tiddendale in the English countryside finds her life changed. It’s lovely to read about that picturesque Christmas scene we all imagine in the UK, the image of snow covered cottages and yummy pub lunches (I laughed when Sybs exclaims ‘oh my god, I’ve stepped onto the set of Frozen!). And just as Sybs is saved by the warm kindness of the people of the town, from Leo the fabulous gay B&B owner to Ben the gorgeous local GP, she in turn gives back. In hopes of living her life long dream of owning her own knitting business, she aids struggling pensioner Hettie by breathing new life into her beloved House of Haberdashery. When Sybs’ Christmas Jumper designs become particularly popular, she launches Operation Great Christmas Knit Off, bringing the entire village together to produce a massive sweater order to save Hettie’s livelihood. 

As I said, it’s a wonderful read for the holidays, and made my fingers itch to get a hold of some chicks and yarn, and even comes with a knitting pattern! I’ve begun reading Ms. Brown’s previous series based on a department store, but am particularly looking forward to hearing more from Tiddendale. Happy Holiday reading!

Final Score: 5/5 (good for it’s festive feeling, but also well balanced with a truly lovable protagonist)

Dancing Sugarplums Snowflake Tutorial

 This will be my fourth year helping out backstage for the West London School of Dance’s annual run of The Nutcracker...and I am so excited! The experience really makes the holiday season for me, and it has been an utter pleasure being part of the crew backstage for this wonderful program.

After seeing this on Pinterest gave me inspiration for doing twist on the traditional paper snowflake project. The ballerina silhouette is so beautiful, and I've used it again and again in my artwork. The drawings from my Prima Donna watercolors collection make the templates for Sugarplum fairies.

Materials:

Ballerina silhouette design

Watercolor paper or some kind of stiff paper

Scissors

Pencil

Crafting glue

Jewelry making Jelly Cord

Needle

Paper

Tracing Paper

Clear Sticky Tape

Blue tack

1)Draw out your ballerina design onto the stiff paper, and cut out.

2) Flip the ballerina cut out and glue onto more stiff paper, cut around the outline to make a thicker cut out.

3) Cut your paper snowflake, with a slip in the centre wide enough for the ballerina cut out to slide through

4) Slipping your ballerina in the snowflake, secure her snowflake tutu into place with the tape

5) Using needle, thread the jelly cord through the ballerina, tying a knot to make a loop. 

6) Using blue tack, hang your sugarplum dancing ballerina from a place of your choosing, and enjoy her performance in your holiday season!