Invaded by Elves

 I made these festive little Elves for Mom almost 20 years ago. We bring them out every year to help get us in the spirit. They're our version of a shelf elf. I made them fully pose-able with an armature very like that of the Retro pose-able Santa I made recently for PolymerCafe and STAEDTLER.

I used STAEDTLER Fimo Puppen to make these guys.

Their eyes are painted on. I think that's the biggest change I've made in my doll making process. 

Hope you folks have all had a great start to 2014.

We're looking forward to some bold new choices for Make It With Me.

Can't wait to share all the new ideas and hear what you've all been up to.

Food Labels with PicMonkey

I used the PicMonkey upgrade that I won at Halloween to help me make some of our Christmas presents and thought I'd share how they turned out.

James got some home made hot chocolate mix. Here's the recipe I used. It's delicious and really fast to mix up. I use this pic of James for everything. It's my favorite. 

Here's Maggie's hot chocolate mix label. She looks a like a little devil so I went with it.

Mom got some instant coffee with ground up candy canes in it. 

I used a pic my brother altered a long time ago to make his coffee label. He's replaced Dean Martin's face with his own and it looks like he's telling Frank and Sammy the best story ever told. 

We've had a quiet holiday.

Hope you've all had the opportunity to share some of the season with loved ones. 

Lemon Poppy Seed Glazed Cookies

We're almost done the Christmas baking for another year. Working retail, it's hard to find the time (or energy) to get things done this time of year. We are getting there though. I think these cookies are the top of the heap this year and I wanted to share them with you. We made ours star shaped and added some gold sugar balls to bling them out a bit.

I found this recipe from Freshjuice.ca through my PC Plus recipes. I think they're going to be a new holiday favorite. They are the most lemony cookies I've ever tasted and the poppy seeds give a pleasant texture to these delicate biscuits. 

Hope you try them to!

Christmas Concocting.

The Nuts and Bolts have a smokey twist thanks to President's Choice Black label Smoked Paprika. I'm going to put this stuff on everything! We used Martha Stewart's Nuts and Bolt recipe but we left out the traditional O shaped cereal. It gives James a stomach ache. Anyone else sensitive to O's?

The kids have been busy constructing a Gingerbread Bunker. Maggie's superior skills with filling gaps with mini marshmallows and royal icing and Austin's tree building prowess have made this year's gingerbread build a huge success! Love the melty snowman by the tree!

It's been a lazy sort of weekend around here.

Hope you're finding loads of family time too!

Booze Filled Chocolate Santa Heads

You totally read the title right!

Thought I'd share this one for any of you who are looking for something extra special to make for that person who has everything. I made some booze filled chocolate Santa heads using a mold  made from the Retro Santa created for this December's issue of PolymerCafe magazine. I couldn't resist making a copy of the Santa head before I painted and assembled the piece. I used a food grade mold putty so I can totally use it to cast chocolate. It's also bake-able..... wonder if there are some Santa head cookies in my future?

Icicle Ornaments

I'm knee deep in Christmas gift making. Just came up with these icicle ornaments for the tree and thought I'd share.

Mini Food

 It was only a matter of time before I made mini food. There are so many talented folks making wonderful tutorials. I don't think I need to add my version. Not re-inventing the wheel here folks, just sharing what I've been up to. Hope you'll give it a try. It's somehow relaxing, this mini food making. I used STAEDTLER Fimo clay, varnish and Karat Soft Pastel Chalks.

My version of a cheeseburger. I've included a quarter in the background to give you a bit of a size reference. I forgot to add bacon and pickles to my burger, but I did include a hole on top to insert an eye pin so I can hang the wee food as a charm.

Some teeny beef tacos. I've included tomatoes and cheese but forgot to make guacamole and onions. Next time. 

I think these are my favorite. Little baloney sandwiches. What would you use mini food to decorate? Would you make napkin rings? Pendants on necklaces?  Charm bracelets?

Father Christmas' Cloak

 

Here is the last of our Santa's Wardrobe patterns. The instructions for this fully pose-able STAEDTLER Fimo Puppen Santa can be found in the December 2013 edition of PolymerCafe magazine. Pick yours up by following this link.

I used exactly the same pattern as I did for Santa's Shirt and Santa's Short Jacket to make this cloak.

I lengthened the front and back bodice pieces so the cloak would reach the top of Santa's boots. I also added a hood to the coat. I measured around the neckline of the jacket and up and over Santa's head from one shoulder to the other to get the measurements for the hood. I added the hood pieces before I trimmed the cloak with fur using the same technique as the short jacket and cap. 

I also added a great deal of trim embroidery around the border of the piece. I used DMC floss with some glittery accent floss mixed in. I also added some green and red seed beads to the embroidered edges for some more glitter. I found teeny jingle bells to use a buttons and added those up both front edges to finish the piece off. 

Wishing you and yours the happiest of holidays. 

Crafts N Things Weekly and Our Thankful Heart

Head on over to Crafts 'N Things Weekly and check out our Thankful Heart project made with STAEDTLER Fimo clay!

Deer and Spaceman Iron on Transfer Portrait Dolls

This is a very special couple. They are expecting their very first baby. Mom to be is very DEER to us (Huh, See what I did there?), and although we are still getting to know Pop, I think he's a pretty fantastic kind of person too. We simply had to do something to commemorate the event. We decided on Mom and Pop dolls for the baby. These dolls are fully washable and all parts are firmly sewn on for the baby's safety.  Iron on transfer paper for T-Shirts was used to make fabric replicas of the smiling faces new parents to be.