mr. and mrs. claus asleep: a how to

This year I participated in the Southern Weddings ornament swap.  I was feeling crafty, had a good idea for an ornament, and was in the mood to be assigned something and then follow through.  I'm happy to report I really enjoyed making something special for a stranger, and getting a gift in return.  I hope to continue to participate in more swaps next year.

The ornament is really close to my heart because it is based off my favorite ornament from growing up.  I think it turned out really well.  SO well, I decided to keep going after the requisite four and made NINE more to gift to family members for Christmas.

This is the original ornament I grew up with, "Mr. & Mrs. Claus Asleep."  In recent years it has begun to look the worse for wear, and I wanted to remake it a new.

 

I wasn't exactly sure where to begin, so I wandered the craft store looking for ideas.  Then I came home and just figured it out as I went.  The first one was difficult, but once I got the steps down it went smoothly. Here's the finished product:

SUPPLIES:
Pipecleaner - for the skeleton of the body
Beads - for the heads
White Yarn - for hair/ fur
Small Wooden Rectangles in two sizes - to make bedframe (found near dollhouse supplies)
Red Ribbon - For Santa's hat
Felt - For bed coverings
LOTS OF HOT GLUE
Sharpies/ Paint - to draw/paint on faces


THE BEDS:

1. Cover the smaller rectangle in felt (or anything you like- ribbon, paint, etc).  This will be the "headboard."

2.  Glue some red ribbon like "sheets" on the larger rectangle- "the mattress"  It will help hide a tiny piece of the frame that will be exposed otherwise.

3. Glue "headboard" to "mattress"

4. Tie String around the bed for the ornament to hang with.


MR. & MRS. CLAUS:

1. To start insert a piece of pipe cleaner through the center of the bead.  The pipecleaner main purpose is just make attaching the head to the bed frame easier.

 1. Glue a small triangle of felt to the bottom of Santa's face for his beard.  Then just above it a short piece of white yard as his mustache. To finish off the mustache unravel and twist the yarn.

2.  Draw/ Paint on face.

3.  Last- attach Santa's hat.  The hat can be tricky.  I made a simple cone with ribbon, then placed yarn at top and bottom as "fur."

4. I chose to give Mrs. Claus braids.  I glued four long pieces of yarn across the top and let them hang down each side.  Then I unraveled and braided the hanging yarn.  I used the edged of wired ribbon to tie them off, and on some I topped her hair off with a bow.  I also eventually figured out how to do bangs- and those looked better in my opinion.

5. Paint on Mrs. Claus's face.  At first I gave Mrs. Claus rosy cheeks and red lips.  Then I worried she didn't look very classy.  But eventually when it was all pulled together it looked pretty good.

BRING IT ALL TOGETHER

1.  Cut out a square of felt to use as the bedspread.

2.  Glue the back of the heads to the headboard.

3.  Cover Mr. and Mrs. with their blanket.

4.  YOU'RE DONE!!  ENJOY!!






I packaged mine with a card telling the story of the ornament, and holiday wishes.

I'm enjoying stretching myself to be more crafty.  It's fun, feels better then just buying something, and tells a story.  Any other good crafts out there I should check out?

Until Then.


I love you.