project: colorful tree plush

The other day I was watching my little brother play Mario Kart, and I spotted something cute. (I love it when video games are cute!) Trees made with scallops in varying shades of green. I thought, how fun would it be to make something like that...as a little stuffed guy?! So I set to work making a simple pattern for a two-dimensional tree with scallops of varying colors. He's a little wonky, but I rather like him!



You can make one too! Here's what you need:

Fabric in 3 colors, plus brown (Since it's autumn, I chose red orange and yellow)
Embroidery floss
Stuffing

Scissors
Needle
Pins
Colorful Tree pattern PDF



Cut out two of each pattern piece. These are not symmetrical, so it's easiest if you cut two layers with wrong sides together.

If you're going to add a face, you may want your lightest shade to be the bottom layer of scalloped leaves. Stitch the face on only one of the bottom pieces for the front.



Working from the bottom to the top, layer the pieces, and with running stitch, sew the overlapping areas.

You can overlap the layers as much or as little as you want, as long as there is room to stitch. Here's how the back of mine looks:




Note that when stitching the bottom layer to the trunk, you'll only sew the middle scallop.



It's really important that when you make the second side of the tree, the layers need to overlap the exact same amount. Use the first side as a guide for spacing.



Pin the front and back together, right sides out, and sew along the outside, leaving the bottom open for stuffing.

Stuff the tree and stitch it closed!



Leaning up against a wall or window, it stands pretty well on its own. I thought about getting fancy and adding a flat bottom, but decided to keep it simple for my first tree. I might need to make more, and in different styles...hmmm...

For now, I'll enjoy this happy little tree and its ever-colorful foliage!

UPDATE: I just discovered that today would have been Bob Ross' birthday...he's the king of happy little trees!

project: ghostie garland

After I made the ghost toy the other day, I realized that the same ghosties would be frighteningly cute as a garland...and so here we are! This was really quick to make and I love how it looks hanging over our fireplace.



Making your own not-so-spooky garland is easy! Here's how:



You will need:

White felt
Black embroidery floss
Drinking straw (Cut into short pieces)
String or yarn
Scissors
Needle
Hot glue gun

Ghost Template PDF

To make the ghosties, cut out the shapes from felt, then embroider the faces. Make some of them facing the opposite direction. You'll need a bunch...however many you want on your garland. (I made 11)




Add a bead of hot glue to the back of each ghostie to attach a straw piece. For mine, I staggered the height of the straws so that it looks like the ghosts are sort of floating along, and not all in a straight line. It's up to you though!



Thread a string through the straws and tie a loop in each end of the string.




Hang the garland and watch the ghosties fly!

project: flying felt ghost toy

A few months ago, I saw a fun idea for making climbing critters. I filed it away, thinking it would be fun to make some of my own. (By the way, my mom tells me that I made something similar to this as a child, after learning about it on Mister Rogers!) With Halloween nearly upon us, I thought this would be a good time to use the friction toy concept with a holiday twist!

I don't believe in ghosts, but I do think they can be one of the cutest things you'll ever see. And since they fly, they work well for this toy!



It works like this: You loop the top over a doorknob, then hold the ends of the string. By pulling the strings, you cause the ghost fly up to the top! If you pull both strings out, it can go really fast...if you alternate the two sides, it goes up a little at a time. It's fun!



Here's what you need:

White felt
Black embroidery floss
Drinking straw
String or yarn
Scissors
Needle
Hot glue gun

Ghost Template PDF



Cut out a ghost from white felt, then embroider the face. I used french knots for eyes, and an open detached chain for the smile.



Cut two pieces of straw, each a little over 1 inch long. Hot glue them to the center of the back of the ghost.




Cut a piece of string about 4 feet long and thread it through the straws. The loop should be at the top. Tie a knot in each end of the string.




Now your ghostie is ready to play with! Isn't he the cutest?

project: pumpkin book band

Ever since I pinned this pin, I've been wanting to make a stretchy elastic book mark, or as I'm calling it, a book band. I still want to make one for all year, but after spotting my orange felt and some green elastic, it became apparent that I needed to start with a pumpkin version!

The elastic I'm using is fold over elastic, which I bought on a Pick Your Plum special. You can find similar materials on Etsy (just search for "green elastic") or use any elastic you like. Because mine is green, I omitted a stem on my pumpkin, but in the template PDF, there's a stem if you need it!



Here's what you need:

Orange felt
Embroidery floss
Green elastic (mine is 5/8" wide)

Pumpkin Book Band PDF template
Scissors
Needle



Cut out two pumpkins from felt. Use the pattern in the PDF as a guide for stitching a face on one piece. Use the other pattern as a guide for cutting two slits in the second piece.

If you're using narrower elastic, cut the slits to match the width of your materials.



Cut a piece of elastic that is about 15 inches long. This is a good all-purpose size for the fold over elastic because it's super stretchy. Test your elastic, and adjust the size accordingly so that it will stretch around your book when sewn in a loop.

Slide the elastic through the slits in the pumpkin, stitch it into a loop, then slide the stitched ends to be over the pumpkin. It doesn't need to be especially pretty, just secure, as the ends will be hidden inside the pumpkin.



Place the embroidered piece on top of the slit pumpkin, then use running stitch to hold the pieces together. The template PDF has a guide for where to stitch, but it's pretty easy to just freehand it.

If you're adding a stem to your pumpkin, you would need to sew it in place between the layers as you are stitching them together.




Now your book band is ready to use! You can wrap it around the entire book to hold it (and any loose papers) closed...



...or use it to hold pages open...



...or use it as a traditional book mark!

This would also work as a headband, but I'd recommend that you rotate the slits so the pumpkin sits on the band better on your (or your child's) head.

Now that I've actually made something that I've pinned (or at least something like it), it's your turn! Pin this, then do it!

project: pumpkin rings

As much as I love adding faces to things, one of the things that I love about autumn is that you can bring out pumpkins (without faces!) and have them work for like, three whole months. A bright orange squash is perfect for September when the leaves start to change, October when most pumpkins are getting carved up, all the way through Thanksgiving. Today's project is an ode to the simplicity of a pumpkin.

I set out looking to make a very basic pumpkin of some sort, and thought about making a little set of these in different sizes. I could just picture them on our mantle alongside a yummy-smelling candle. What I ended up with is just what I wanted...plus more.

Not only do these little rings make for cute pumpkin decor, but also (or maybe even better) as napkin rings! Ready to make your own? Here's how!



You will need:

Orange fabric
Wool blend felt
Fusible web
Embroidery floss
Green felt

Scissors
Iron
Needle



Start by fusing the fabric and felt together. The fusible web I used is paper-backed, and I recommend that you fuse it to the fabric side first, remove the paper, then iron it to the felt.

Cut the fused material into strips. For the ring shown (which makes a nice napkin ring) cut the strips to 2x6 inches, but you can alter the size for different sized pumpkins.



Roll the strip into a tube, then stitch it in place with running stitch.



Cut a piece of green felt to about 1 inch square.



Pinch the square of felt in the middle, then take a few stitches at the gathered point to hold it together a bit.



With the seam of the ring towards the bottom (but not directly on the bottom), stitch the green "stem" to the top of the pumpkin. A few stitches and a good (hidden!) knot will hold it.




Now you're ready to make a whole patch of pumpkin rings. And the best part is, you can use them right up until December comes! Of course, if you wanted them more for halloween, it would be really easy to add on a not-so-spooky face...



And hey! It made it to the mantle! The Harvest Welcome Yankee Candle is really, really nice, by the way. We had a coupon, and my mom sent me to "buy one, get one" in scents of my choosing. There were so many amazing new fall scents that I ended up with a total of four candles! So good!