Snowman Ornaments

Third super easy snowman craft this week - did you see the tealights and baggie wreath? So easy. And these, just as simple and quick!

I'm pretty sure you don't even need instructions - and you certainly don't have to do them like Janis and I did (we had craft day yesterday, my sister's worst nightmare LOL, but so much fun to craft with a friend!); we sort of made this up as we went.

Clear plastic ornaments filled with tiny white styrofoam balls; add eyes and mouth with a black sharpie; glue on a little piece of orange pipe cleaner for the nose. We gave our snowmen ear muffs similar to how I did the tealights - run a short pipe cleaner thru the ornament hanger and hot glue the ends in place. We found these super fluffy full chenille stems at the craft store (initially we thought we'd make the whole ear muff out of them but it was a little too fluffy), curl up a little piece into a circle and hot glue over the ends of the regular pipe cleaner where the ears would be...if a snowman had ears that is ;)

click here for another snowman ornament idea from Dec. '16:



12.5.17: gift wrap idea - add a pocket
12.5.16: white pumpkin deer
12.5.15: Macey's hand painted wine glasses

Snowman Wreath

Remember the baggie wreath from Halloween (food baggies tied onto a wire circle)? I turned it into this snowman wreath by attaching a wood sign and some silver snowflakes that I found at the dollar store. So my original-cheap-easy baggie wreath that cost a couple bucks is now a cheap and easy snowman wreath that cost less than 5 dollars. And it's super cute. Can't ask for much more than that from a snowman wreath! :)

one year ago: wine cork Christmas trees
two years ago: pasta with roasted tomatoes and chicken sausage
three years ago: contact paper dog house

Tealight Snowpeople

Super fast, super easy, super cute. And not made out of a pinecone - it's a brand new week people :)

You'll need:

• flameless tealights (check the dollar store)
• ribbons
• small pompoms and a pipe cleaner (if making earmuffs) 
• black cardstock (if making the top hat)
• black and orange sharpie
• hot glue

Using the black sharpie, dot the eyes and mouth on the top of the tealight. Make sure the bulb is tipped up before you add the face, it looks more nose-like that way (see pic).

For the earmuff snowman: cut a small piece of pipe cleaner, bend slightly to curve so it fits the top of the tealight, glue just the ends to the tealight. Glue a pompom over each end of the pipe cleaner. Run a long piece of thin ribbon (or twine, string, whatever you want to hang it with) thru the middle of the pipe cleaner (that's why you don't glue the entire thing down, just the ends) and tie on. 

For the top hat snowman: cut a rectangle (just eyeball it to fit the tealight) and a thin strip out of the black cardstock, glue the strip onto the bottom of the rectangle for the brim. Add a piece of rickrack ribbon (or decorate however you want!). Glue the hat directly to the front of the tealight above the eyes. Glue a long piece of thin ribbon (or whatever you want to hang it with) to the back of the tealight.

For both: color the bulb in using an orange sharpie. You can use an orange marker but the color might not stay on as well. Attach a thicker piece of ribbon for a scarf - for the earmuff one I used a glue dot to hold the crisscrossed ends together, then glue the inside of the back of the scarf to the back of the tealight, it didn't need any glue in the front. For the top hat one I just twisted a piece of ribbon so the right sides were both facing (sort of like a breast cancer awareness ribbon, it has a small loop in the middle) and glued to the back. 

see how the bulb is tipped up at the end? you
want it facing this way when you add the face. 

snowman on the left is not lit up so you can see the difference. 

source: onelittleproject

One year ago: broccoli beef recipe
Three years ago: how to make a wine cork trivet

Around the Campfire (week 48)

Dear  Campers ~

I'm late getting the weekly recap of things that happened on the blog this week to you, my computer is driving me crazy and won't let me do anything quickly! I type for a bit, and then it freezes...and then I wait...I have to wait so long that I've started reading my book in between freezing up and working - argh!!!

Anyway...onto a quick recap - it's going to be quick 'cuz I'm typing as fast as I can hoping to get it all done and post before another "episode"!

Posts you might have missed ~

11/25: around the campfire (week 47)
11/26: Miss Lori's gossamer wreath
11/27: pinecone angel
11/28: Cathy's rolled oats cake
11/29: pinecone elves
11/30: pinecone gnome
12/1: pinecone snowman

What's Cooking ~

• grilled swordfish tacos, coleslaw, tortillas
• grilled steak, scalloped potatoes, roasted green beans
• grilled pork chops, butternut squash risotto, peas
• baked seasoned salmon, sticky rice, steamed spinach
• grilled bone-in chicken breasts, roasted baby potatoes, roasted asparagus

Ok, that's it while the computer is working, I'm not going to push my luck! Now I'm off to decorate the house for Christmas. See you next week - so far I don't have any plans for more pinecone crafts ;) but there will be lots of other easy and fun projects and food I'm sure!! Bye!

Sincerely ~

Jill, your camp counselor and frustrated computer user

Pinecone Snowman

Last pinecone craft for a while...or until I think of something else hahah...this easy snowman. A few of these would be cute lined up on a windowsill, tabletop, shelf, whatever - or as ornaments if you added a hanger.

If you read my posts on how to make an elf, or a gnome, (click for those posts), then I don't even have to give you directions for this little cutie! Make the same hat, adding a mini pompom to the tip, and bend it so it flops down a bit. Add a bit of fuzzy pillow stuffing or cotton ball to the brim. Make his face using sharpie markers; tie a piece of ribbon around his neck for a scarf; hot glue a couple twigs in the side for arms - adding a couple beads to the ends of the sticks if ya want.

Oh, this one is a tiny bit different in that I turned the pinecone the other way this time, so the head is glued onto the flat bottom of the pinecone. Easy!

Pinecone Gnome

Really, can you believe how many things a person can make with pinecones? This is like my 10th thing and there are lots and lots more I could do! But fear not - I'm almost done (even I'm a little over the pinecone thing, you guys must be tired and rolling your eyes by now LOL!)... ;)

Today it's this little gnome - these Scandinavian-inspired gnomes have popped up everywhere - I see them in just about every store I go in, including the grocery store! Very popular is the little stuffed fat ones that you can prop on a shelf or something, but I've seen all kinds - they all have the big hat and nose sticking out in common tho. So that's what I've made using a pinecone as the body - these would be cute as tree ornaments or package toppers, or just prop him up somewhere.

All you need is a pinecone, wood ball for the head, small wood ball for the nose (or a big round bead), felt for the hat, fuzzy material for the hat brim, some sort of fluffy material for the beard (think pillow stuffing, fleece, yarn, cotton ball), hot glue, and a needle and thread to sew up the hat (I bet you could just glue the hat if you don't want to sew it!).

I made the hat just like I did for the elves (click here for that post and better directions); cut a tall skinny triangle from whatever color felt you want (make sure it's wide enough to fit over the larger wood ball once you've sewn the triangle into the hat), sew up the sides to create an upside-down cone shape and hot glue onto the wood ball for his head. Add a small strip of fuzzy material around the base of the hat, covering about 1/2 of the ball. Hot glue a small wood ball on for the nose - note, I didn't have a small enough wood ball so I used a round bead instead. Glue the head in place on the top of a pinecone, you might need to snip out some of the center of the pinecone to give the head a solid place to sit. Glue on a wad of pillow stuffing or a cotton ball (or some other fluffy material) for the big beard. If you want to hang him, sew on a piece of embroidery thread or light twine to the tip of his hat.

inspiration for this project found here

Pinecone Elves

Just a couple more pinecone crafts, promise! This one is a tiny bit harder than the others only because I had to play around with getting the size of the felt shapes right - don't get scared, it isn't "hard" hard and they turned out so stinkin' cute that it's worth a couple minutes to figure out. 

You'll need a couple different colors of felt shapes - cut a tall thin triangle for the hat, 2 mittens, a long strip for a scarf, and the feet/base is an upside down heart; a pinecone, a small wooden ball for the head, a bell or pompom for the top of the hat, needle and thread, markers, hot glue.

Tip - draw the templates for the hat, feet, and mittens on paper to determine the right sizes before cutting them out of felt.  

Note: play around with the size of the triangle for the hat - you need to be able to fit it snugly over the small wooden ball/head once you've sewn it into a hat (it resembles an upside down ice cream cone once it's done).

Start by folding the triangle in half and stitch along the side to keep it closed and form a cone. I started at the bottom of the hat and then added the mini bell or pompom to the very top to finish. Make sure it fits snugly over the wood ball and then pipe a thin circle of hot clue around the inside bottom of the hat, and put the ball inside so almost half of it is covered.

Next, hot glue the head to the top of the pinecone - you might need to snip out a bit of the center of the pinecone to give the head a solid place to sit.

Hot glue the mittens to the sides of the pinecones, and the feet/heart shape to the bottom making sure it is sticking out a bit in the front so it looks like toes peaking out. If your pinecone is lopsided at this point and won't stand up, just add another piece of felt to the underside to give it balance.

When I first made these I thought I'd like them without faces - but changed my mind and added 2 small black marker dots for eyes, and one red dot for a nose.

click here for original source of thee cutie elves

Cathy's Rolled Oats Cake

Cathy's been telling me about this cake for awhile now, and kept saying she had to make it for us...and I'm SO happy to report that she made it for our "last meal" before we fled the snow like the snowbirds we are, and it is delicious. It's a moist, flavorful, spice cake with a crunchy-nutty frosting (note: Dave is allergic to nuts so she frosted 1/2 of the cake with the same frosting but left the nuts out - both halves are great so if you don't want to add the nuts you don't have to!), it's not a delicate cake and would transport very easily (this is important to know if you've ever labored making a pretty layered decorated cake and then had it totally fall apart while transporting it to someone else's house -  or have the frosting completely slide right off the cake while riding in the car...don't ask). 

Cake Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 cups water, boiling
• 1 cup quick cooking oatmeal
• 1 stick butter or margarine
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Frosting Ingredients:

• 6 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1/4 cup cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla 
• 1 1/8 cups coconut flakes
• 1 cup chopped nuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350'
2. Pour boiling water over oats and let stand for 20 minutes. 
3. Cream butter, add sugars and beat well. Add eggs, beat again. Add the rest of the cake ingredients and mix well.
4. Bake in greased 13x9 cake pan for 35-40 minutes.
5. Mix together the frosting ingredients, spread over hot cake. Put under the broiler for about 10 minutes, watching carefully that it doesn't burn. 

Pinecone Angels

These little pinecone angels are all over Pinterest so not sure who to credit with the original idea...they are so so super cute!! I will be making lots of these, I love them!

Like all my other pinecone crafts lately (did you see the turkeys, owls, birds, and the wreath?), these are very easy and quick to make - and this time there's no felt involved. You'll need a small wood ball (the size will depend on how big the pinecone is, find them in a bag at the craft store), a sharpie, blush and a brush, a piece of twine, ribbon, and a short piece of metallic pipe cleaner.

I saw someone make the rosy cheeks using blush, I thought a light pink marker would work (plus I didn't want to walk all the way downstairs to find some blush!) but it didn't, even the lightest shade was too obvious. So...use blush and apply with a small brush to create a very light pink tint for the cheeks. Then draw on the face with a fine-tipped sharpie.

Attach the head to the top of a pinecone, you might need to cut out a little of the pinecone to give the ball a solid place to rest. My pinecone didn't want to stand up straight, so I attached a small circle of felt to make it more stable - it'll depend on your pinecone if you need to create a base of sorts.

Tie a piece of twine between the head and the pinecone. Attach a bow of ribbon at the back for wings.   Bend the pipe cleaner into a small circle for the halo and hot glue in place.

Miss Lori's Gossamer Christmas Wreath

I got this email from Miss Lori about a wreath she made inspired from the plastic baggie wreath (click here for that post, she also made a Halloween baggie wreath that turned out great and cost all of $3), this turned out so pretty and I love that she she changed from baggies to this beautiful aqua gossamer fabric. Isn't this sooooo pretty? I love that she was inspired by the baggie wreath I posted (and I was inspired by Michelle's baggie wreath) and now I'm inspired to make her gossamer wreath! The inspiration/creative circle never ends!! Thanks for sharing this Miss Lori!

Here's the project in her words:

My Mom is doing an aqua Christmas decor this year so I used the plastic bag idea and cut up squares of gossamer (that I had already), tied them on like the baggies and embellished with $7.00 worth of goodies!  I’m going to take to her tomorrow!

The gossamer I used comes in a roll that is 19” wide (I attached a pic) and I used about 9 yards.  You can get about 15 baggie size pieces out of a yard.

I like the softer look of gossamer as opposed to tulle and it comes in great colors!  I happen to have this roll because I was going to use it for party decor and then ended up going with a different plan.  I got it online from Shindigz and it is a BIG roll but I bet you can get it other places in smaller quantities.

I also like that the gossamer has a “stick to it” quality - everything on the wreath is just, “stuck” on, nothing is glued, so we can change it if my Mom wants to - maybe for Easter?!