Elf Yourself Puppets Free Templates Patterns and Printable

One more post before Christmas. I did not plan this one but I wanted to do some "Elf Yourselves" with my grand kids. I looked for some free patterns but I did not find any really good ones, so I decided to make my own. I had so much fun making memories with my grandbabies! The three year old did need a little more help but he still had a blast! It is almost Christmas so tell your friends so they don't miss out of this fun activity with there little ones.

 

Aren't they cute!

I did not want to just print them to save on ink, these have so much color! I think the card stock looks better anyway. However we did print the hands, ears and faces. 

There are three full sheets to this set. The finished elf is about 20 inches tall. One sheet is the printable hands and ears and they should be printed on card stock. Then you will need to take a picture of your child and that should be printed on card stock as well. 

Then there are two sheets of patterns. Just print these on standard copy paper and use repositional glue to adhere them to colored card stock. Cut them out and peel off the patterns. To do the stockings, I just cut strips of red with my paper cutter, glued them across both legs and then trimmed the stripes off to the edge of the legs. We then added glitter glue to jazz them up! 

Feel free to pin the picture of the boys above but Get the pattern at my little etsy store! 

Enjoy!

DIY Book Page Poinsettias Pattern And Tutorial

I have been making some Christmas crafts myself too! along with being busy making some new ornaments, I needed something for the top of the tree. I decided I wanted to make some book page poinsettias to match the new book page honeycomb ornaments but every pattern that I found had perfect little petals and natural poinsettias just don't look like that...so I just made one.

Even though a natural poinsettia doesn't have book page print on them I still wanted them to have a natural shape :))

Once it was completed I sprayed it with alcohol ink to give it an aged look. I liked it so well that I am doing some not just for the top but for the whole tree. I also tried one in red but I think I like the first one the best. I still have to get some beads to go in the centers. I will put them on a wire so they can just be stuck in the center. That way they can be removed so that they can be folded flat for storage. They are fast and easy and will keep from year to year... so go ahead and make a bunch! 

Pattern and Instructions are available in my little etsy store

Fun In The Sun Free Printable

I was MIA last month... I was off trying out that new camp trailer... what can I say :))
Hope you enjoy this little Fun In The Sun printable!

Feel free to pin the thumb above but please do not pin the actual download. I would like everyone to stop by here to download it so they don't miss all my other fun free downloads.

Vintage Can Utensils Storage

  

We have been working hard restoring our 1950's trailer and I saw a project on pintrest that gave me an idea for utensil storage. I added some hooks on the bottom as well for hanging potholders. However I don't have the potholders yet so I hung some utensils on them for the picture.

I made six sheets of vintage looking fruit labels. I did them for my camper projects but they are now available at my little etsy store.

Also thought I would share a peek at our camper... it is a work in progress :)) but I am happy with how it is coming out.

Story Time.... and showing off my vintage souvenir locket assemblage!

As I said in my last post, I have been busy making some pieces for hubby's store. I guess I should call it our store now, since I am getting so many of my pieces in it :)) Anyway... I thought I would show off one of the necklaces I have done recently. If you click on the thumb.. it will take you to some much better pictures.

I have really enjoyed making these pieces, it is just so relaxing for me. I thought I would give you a glimpse into my creative process. Now I am no writer, however I can just sit there for hours in my own little world and make up my corny stories... something I have really not told any one :)) It seems that when I do this, things just flow together... like they belong together. I don't get stuck on what should I add here or what colors to go with...So I thought I would share a condensed version of one... here goes...

Somewhere in England during the dark ages a carriage makes its way down a bumpy dirt road carrying a lovely young lady to visit her dear aunt in the neighboring castle. Suddenly a group of bandits appear stopping the carriage and over taking the driver and its guard. They kidnap the young lady to hold her for ransom and during the struggle the necklaces she wears are broken and fall to the ground... 

She is later rescued by Robin Hood and returned to her home.... but that is another necklace :)) Can you tell I was a big fan of BBC's Robin Hood? at least until they killed of Marian... I really lost interest after that.

So on with the story... along comes a little peasant girl who had been in the forest all day gathering mushrooms and berries for dinner that night. She finds the broken necklaces on the ground and gathers up all the pieces. Later that night she assembles them all together creating a lovely necklace and presents it to her dying mother. Her mother is so pleased and tells her daughter that she knows in her heart that she is going to become a wonderful woman. She implores her not to be satisfied with her station in life. To always strive to better herself. 

After her mothers death, the young girl wakes up before dawn every day and goes out into the forest gathering mushrooms, berries and wild flowers. She then spends her evenings in the little village selling them, saving her money in hopes of attending the boarding school for young ladies in the city. 

One day while out in the forest she encounters non other than Robin Hood :)) He asks her why she is out so deep in the woods and she tells him of her mother and her hopes to go to school someday. 

Well that is just not something Robin Hood could let pass so a few days later he shows up at the little girls cottage. He gives her a trunk of clothing.... that he had liberated from some rich passer by and a pouch of gold coins... enough for her to go to school. The little girl is thrilled.

Then in all her newly acquired finery she makes her way to the city where she enrolls in the school for young ladies, carefully watching the other girls and mimicking there mannerisms. She learns quickly and begins to make friends and to be a lady. Soon one of her friend notices her necklace and convinces her to create one for her. Using the girls jewelry she makes an elegant and unique pendant for her. All of the other girls began to notice and soon were coming to her to create one for them. 

When spring break came her close friend told her that her mother had seen her necklace and hoped she would come visit during there break and put together some things for her. The girl did and while there met a handsome young gentleman. Over time they corresponded, met on occasion (dated) then he asks her to marry him and they live happily ever after. 

Ok... really corny story but I like it and it helps me focus on my work :)) 

           

Fun and GamesFree Antique Game Spinner

Where has this month gone! I have been trying to recover from having to take so many antibiotics... there just not great for MS. They make your immune system go on high gear and that makes MS flair up. For digital work you have to be able to make precise movements with your hands. I am getting better and starting to do some digital work again. However I have kept busy playing games with my grand babies and working on some jewelry pieces for hubby's store. I noticed while playing games that there are a lot of game boards out there but no spinners so I am posting this cute little antique spinner for you to play with. There are arrows available at most craft stores or you could just get your kitchen shears out and cut one from a soda can. If you do that though make sure you sand it well so you don't get any cut fingers :))

Feel free to pin the thumb above but please do not pin the actual download. I would like everyone to stop by here to download it so they don't miss all my other fun free downloads.

Hubby's Etsy Store

Hubby has officially retired and it was driving him crazy so he decided to reopen his little etsy store now that he has time. It is a family effort with his vintage finds and artwork from our family. I have never sold my artwork or jewelry before but I have decided to add a few pieces to his store. I thought I would share some of the pieces I am most proud of here to see what you all think :) Do click on his little Etsy badge on the left sidebar and check out his other great finds.

Free Vintage Bunnygram Western Union Easter Telegram Printable

I could not let Easter go by without something for my readers. I thought this little Bunnygram would be cute to use to invite your friend and family to your Easter BBQ or a special egg hunt.

The free sheet from my shop is still available to the end of the month so don't miss the previous post.

Feel free to pin the thumb above but please do not pin the actual download. I would like everyone to stop by here to download it so they don't miss all my other fun free downloads.

Free Collage Sheet from my store this month

I did not even get anything posted last month. Not to make excuses but... I was having some dental problems again stemming from a car accident years ago. Well I ended up having to have some teeth pulled and some implants put in. Not a big deal for some but I have MS too and when I have anything like that it seems to make it flare up as well.

Anyway to make up for it I am going to give everyone a free collage sheet from my store this month.

IT'S EASY!!! but read the fine print below and get your free sheet!  

This is good for one single collage sheet valued up to $3.50 

or a coupon code to use at my store for $5.00 

Fine Print:

1. Pin the image above with Pinterest
2. Pin your favorite sheet from my store, free image on my blog or any of my artwork, crafts or decor posted     on my blog with Pinterest.
3. Comment here what you pined!

To summarize... 
Two pins, One comment then pick out your sheet and its yours!

You can now email me the collage sheet of your choice from my store with a value of $3.50... that's most of my sheets.

or if you would like me to send you the free coupon code for $5.00 to use at my store 

Just email the link to your pins 

Click Here For My Email  

or use the email button on my right hand sidebar

One sheet per household.
No anonymous post qualify... your post must have an existing Id with a start date at least 2 months old

Basic Theater and Puppet Instructions:

Printing:

My images should show pretty large on the internet unless your browser resizes them to fit the window. If you received your image by email, some email programs will resize them for viewing as well. So in your email program, if you right click the picture and save it will be smaller and it will not print as clearly. To make sure you are getting the original image right click on each paper clip. A list should appear, choose “save as” and save the image to your hard drive. My pictures is usually a good place to save them. The smaller bonus images will need to be copied and pasted onto a sheet the size of an actual collage sheet for these instructions to work. If you start a blank page you can copy and paste it onto the sheet and fill up the sheet as your collection grows.

Use your photo program to open them since they are in a .jpg picture format. Once you have them on the screen in your photo program, hold down the “Ctrl” key and at the same time press the “P” key. This will open your printer settings. Make sure that you choose ... under quality choose “best” and make sure that the “fit to page” box is checked. Then choose the paper type you are using

I print my images on brochure paper or you can use a light weight photo paper also. I always use a laser printer because it has a finish that is like what you would find on a commercial game board and it is resistant to splashes and spills. An added bonus is that the ink will not run when it gets wet so if you use a water base glue, your safe :))

Laminating the imagines to matt board:

For all my facades and puppets I like to laminate them to a light weight matt board. If you do it right, it will be hard to tell it from a die cut image.

You can purchase medium or light weight matt board at your local office supply store or just use the light weight gift boxes you get at the dollar store. Even a cereal box will work.

I used spray glue on the back of the image and on the matt board, sandwiching them together. Make sure to smooth them from the center of the sheet to the edges so you don't have any bubbles or wrinkles. Then cut them out and sand the edges with a emery board. Be sure to use the heavy ones for artificial nails.

Once the edges are sanded smooth, use a marker on the edges of all you pieces. I use a skin tone for the puppets but sometimes for the clothing section of the puppets and for the theaters I would use a color matching it to the main color of the image. They also look great with the edges done with a gold paint pen. Be sure to angle the marker or pen from the back side so you do not accidentally mark the front of the image and only color the cut edges. That way no one will see cut cardboard edges and it gives it a commercial looking finish. On the theater facade, I covered the backside with scrap booking paper also. That way the theater would still look nice from the backside as well.

For most of my theaters I print two copies of the facade and select elements from the second copy. Then I laminate the elements to matt board as described above and glue on to the top of the  full facade giving it a layered pop out. I would choose things like the, pillars, the bottom of the stage, the fascia and so on. This will gave the theater a little dimension but of course they still look great with out this extra layer. Then just embellish as desired. You can add glitter, little scrapbook flowers, brass charms, feathers or what ever fits your piece. The main thing is to have fun and make it your own :)  

For larger puppets and if I am making a diorama display, I use brads on the puppets and make little wire stands. To make the stands I start with about 12 inches of wire and I twist the top like a paper clip then the bottom into a stand like the picture. Then I a flattened paper ring on the back of the puppet for the stand to hold to. This also works for the wire wands. This makes it easy to convert them from display puppets to performers in "the show". For smaller puppets and jumping jacks it is better to use embroidery floss and tie knots threw punched holes. Then you can just jiggle them around for your show. The most important thing is to have fun... making it and preforming the shows as well!

These are a little worse for wear as my grandchildren have used them for play for several years.


 

Long Time No See!

December is one of my favorite times of the year for posting some great free downloads and fun little projects. I had several planned too. However my son and his wife were planning to move into the house they had just bought so I was watching my grandsons. My  daughter in law was still in school and trying to pack as my son was busy trying to get there house ready to move into. It was only suppose to be for the first two weeks, then Denny was going to take the kids and we were going to take a break so we could do Christmas. So on Friday the 13th.... yes, I said Friday the 13th... we dropped the kids off with Aunt Judy and my son and I went Christmas shopping. It was such a wonderful day!... until... we got home. As my son was leaving our house he fell and broke his leg : / It was a very bad break too, his foot was totally rotated backwards. Jacque was doing her finals and Denny could not get up the steps to his house so until they did the surgery the next week I had my son to take care of and the grand kids. With my health it was taxing just to take the grand babies for the first two weeks so when they all went home, I was beyond exhausted. Needless to say, I got nothing else done. But I do plan to make it up with some really fun downloads this month :)

I have had several blog friends that were having trouble finding my basic theater and puppet instructions. I do have them kinda scattered here and there so I am going to post those for now... but hold on to your hats... good things are coming in the new year!

I do hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I also wanted to publicly thank everyone who sent me a cup of coffee this past month. It was so sweet of you to think of me this holiday season :)