Snowman Repurposed from Old Book

Materials:

Old hardcover book
Crafts knife
Cutting mat
Hot glue gun and glue sticks
White crafts glue
Glitter
4" square of black felt
Narrow strip of felt for scarf

Refer to BH&G Holiday Crafts 2013 Magazine for templates and more detailed instructions.

Alternative instructions:

Sketch a snowman that fits nicely between the top and the bottom of the old book you have chosen.  Note:  The more pages in the book, the fuller your snowman will be.
Cut out the snowman and fold in half.
With your crafts knife remove the cover from the book and any blank pages at the front and back.
Grab approx. 8-10 pages, slip your cutting mat underneath and place your folded template with the folded edge at the binding.  Following the line of the template, carefully cut through the pages with the craft knife.  Remove the excess and go on to the next 8-10 pages, laying your template against the binding each time.
Once you have cut through all the pages, fold the front to the back.  Snowman should fan nicely.  If not, open at every 5-6 pages and run you finger down the spine to fully open.  Now open the front to meet the back and glue at the top, holding together until glue dries.  Glue at the bottom, holding until glue dries.
Add thin lines of white glue down the outside edges of the snowman every few pages.  Sprinkle on glitter and shake gently to remove excess.
Cut a 2" x 3 1/4" rectangle from the black felt.  Cut a 1 5/8" circle and a 1" circle.  Join short ends of rectangle, overlapping enough to glue together  Attach the larger circle on one end and the shorter circle at the top.  Cut a very thin piece or coordinating felt 3 1/4" long and attached above the rim of the hat.
Cut another strip of felt 1/2" wide by 12" long and secure around neck of snowman for a scarf.

The instructions in the BH&G magazine include twigs for arms.  I elected to omit them.  Feel free to add them if desired.  Cut two (2) proportioned twigs for arms and attach them on either side of the snowman with the hot glue gun in between pages at the appropriate height.

I hope this craft makes you a jolly, happy soul!

Felt Poinsettia Wreath

You can find step-by-step instructions and photos in the 2013 BH&G Christmas Ideas magazine. Otherwise, here is my best attempt at the instructions.  I do not have templates for the petals and leaves, but it's a simple sketch with a pencil.

Supplies:

10" styrofoam wreath

1 skein green yarn

White paper for making templates

2 red felt squares

1 green felt square

Red matching floss & needle

7 small gold jingle bells

Hot glue gun & glue sticks

Wrap the entire foam wreath with the green yarn, taking care to make it neat.  

Sketch a large petal  (approx 3" long) and a medium petal (approx. 2" long) on the paper and cut out.  

Using templates, cut 6 large and 12 medium from the red felt. 

Sketch a small petal (approx. 1 1/4" long) and cut 12. 

Sketch a large leaf (approx. 2 1/2" long) and cut 7 from the green felt.  

Sketch 1 large (approx. 1") and 2 small centers (approx. 1/2") as shown in photo.  Cut from green felt. 

Cut a 24" length of floss.  Thread a single floss thru the needle. Beginning with the large Poinsettia petals, pinch the end of one and stitch closed with floss. Do the same with the 2nd one stitching it next to the first petal.  Continue with all 6 petals and form a ring.  Secure with floss.  

Do the same with the medium petals and place the medium ring on top of the large ring. Stitch together. Add a center and stitch in place.  Add 3 jingle bells and then attach 3 leaves behind.  

Now make 2 medium rings and 2 small rings using the same technique as above.  Add the small rings on top of the medium rings and stitch together.  Add centers, 2 jingle bells and 2 leaves to each.

Arrange Poinsettias on wreath the way you like them and hot glue in place.

Taken from the BH&G Holiday Crafts Magazine for 2013.

Craft on!

Felt Rosettes Heart & Wreath

Supplies:

8" x 8" frame covered with burlap (I purchased mine at JoAnn's)
12" x 12" squares of felt in various colors
Scissor
Hot Glue Gun
Glue Sticks

Cut strips across the felt squares in varying widths.  Roll up, glue end and attach to frame with hot glue.  I made mine different heights and rolled some tight and others loose (see photo).  I rolled approximately 36 strips in total (3 each of 12 colors).  I used about 20 to make the heart shape and added a 2nd row on top of the first.  I made one strip very loose and attached that as the middle point of the heart where the 2 sides come together.  I then crafted a 5-petal flower using 3 colors; each one slightly smaller than the first.  For the middle I cut a very thin strip, snipped it along the entire edge with scissors, rolled it up tightly and glued in the center.  Unfortunately, the lighting doesn't reflect the true colors.  They are somewhat darker than what appears in the photos here.

Variation:  I have also made grapevine wreaths covered with felt rosettes.

8" grapevine wreath with felt rosettes & flower

Have fun!