I'll be gnome for Christmas...

I love mail.  Going to the mailbox is like a mini-Christmas everyday.  I especially love it when I get catalogs, it's the laziest form of window shopping there is.

Flipping through the most recent "West Elm" catalog, I came across this:

West Elm Gnome Ornament $7



   I thought it was adorable, but it only came in red.  I figured I'd make my own.

Things you'll need:

Felt (2 colors)

Embroidery Thread (I used white, green, and black.  I think on the next one I would just use the white around the borders, though, more closely matching the West Elm version.)

Scrap of yarn

Needle

Scissors

Pins

Scrap paper

Step 1- Cut out the general shape of the gnome using a piece of paper and pin it to a folded piece of felt.  Cut around the template so you have both a front and a back piece.

Front and back piece cut out with template still attached.

Step 2- Cut beard and eyeball oval out of white felt.  You can cut a template out of paper first if you'd like (I did) to get the size right so you're not accidentally wasting felt.

Step 3- Sew beard and eyeball oval to front piece of felt using two strands of embroidery thread.

Step 4- Embroider eyes and mouth using black embroidery thread.  I did two French knots for the eyes, wrapping the thread around 4 times for a larger knot.  The mouth was stitched straight across and secured in the middle to kind of give him a "happy" look. 

French knot eyeballs.

Step 5-  Tie your scrap of yarn so you have a loop the length you'd like the ornament to hang.  Optional: Then, embroider the back piece of felt with your initials in whatever color you'd like.  I embroidered my initials in black on the foot.

Step 6- Start sewing the front and back together, securing the loop of yarn at the top of the hat in-between the stitches.  I used a whip stitch on this one, but might try a running stitch next time.  Good thing about the gnome is it's super easy and any mistakes just make it more whimsical.  ;)

    When you get about an inch away from closing up the gnome, stuff it with a little bit of polyfill.  Finish closing.

Finished!

  I plan on making two more.  A red one for Cam, and a pink one for Scarlett. 

  Coming soon... polymer clay Christmas piggies.

Felt Baby Rattle Ball and Owl Faux-chenille Blanket

Needed a project to keep my hands busy while my kids had a Harry Potter marathon, so I decided to follow a tutorial that I had seen on Pinterest for a felt baby ball from Wee Folk Art.  It was super easy to do.  The longest part was doing the hand-stitching embellishment.

I wanted the ball to be okay for a boy or a girl, so rather than the flowers, I just changed the pattern (not much at all) to just have circles and stuffed it with a rattle. 

     This was originally going to be for our baby, however, I ended up miscarrying this past Friday so I'm going to keep it on hand for when another baby gift is needed.  That's the great thing about being in a military town, always an excuse to whip up something baby related.  We are doing okay after the miscarriage.  Health-wise, things are going as they should.  We have also received a lot of support and well-wishes.  Perhaps we'll try again in a few months, but we'll see.

     I also went ahead and tried my hand at another faux chenille blanket.  Thankfully, this one did not bleed one little bit.  Yippeeee!  Now I've got two baby gifts stockpiled.  I'm loving this owl fabric.  There's something about owls and matryoshkas that just works for me.  I love anything and everything owl, matryoshka, or vintage.  I'm easy to please.

The fabric is by Robert Kaufman.  The blanket needs a few more washes before it fully fluffs up... but I'm happy with the result, thusfar. 
    
    A link for making a faux-chenille blanket can be found at Made.