felt envelopes for santa claus!

November 17, 2015 by mama lola

oh my goodness! look at what i found!

i was researching other christmas crafts when i saw these lovely, adorable felt envelopes to santa claus! of course i pinned the ideas and decided to make a round-up post for inspiration.

first i’ll share what i made.

i used felt, thread, hot glue gun and my sewing machine just a little.

i used a blanket stitch to sew the edges of the envelope together. i wasn’t too concerned about the evenness of the stitches, creating a childlike quality to the project. then i used my scrap felt to cut out the letters, stamp and holly embellishments.

i have lots of scraps of felt that i save for detailing for all sorts of projects. here i used the small pieces for holly, the reindeer’s face and antlers and the stamps. i just hot glue gunned them on.

then i embroidered some simple wintery stars on the back of one of the envelopes.

TA-DAA!!!

i just love them!

below i have included ideas that vary from quite intricate to very simple. school aged kids could even make one of the easier versions of the envelopes.

writing to santa : diy felt envelopes from city girl gone coastal

letter to santa claus felt envelope from not on the high street

(this one is not a tutorial, but a envelope for sale)

felt envelope by michale ann via paper + stitch

personalised felt christmas letter to santa envelope from cut out and keep

christmas wish-list felt envelope from jumbbleberries

if you’re not feeling crafty, check etsy for these felt envelopes. there are many creative people there making fantastic envelopes; go check them out by just putting “santa felt envelopes”into the search and enjoy!

these sweet things would be perfect for kids or even for gift cards!

DIY felted bowls!

November 24, 2014 by mama lola

i’ve always loved felt products, the texture and colours they hold are beautiful. this holiday season i’ve decided to make lovely felt bowls from roving wool. last year i made felted soaps, which were my first efforts working with roving wool. i immediately fell in love. there is something so simple about felt, but the surprise colour combinations and patterns you get from wet felting is wonderful.

you don’t need any special supplies except for the roving wool. i found mine in packages with 4 different colours for $14.99 from michael’s craft stores, which fits in perfectly with the budget of $25 or less for a homemade holiday event i joined. see details at the bottom of this post on that!

WHAT YOU NEED:

roving wool

balloons

panty hose (any colour)

scissors

hot water source

dish soap

bowl/ cup

HERE’S WHAT YOU DO:

1. blow up your balloon. if this is your first time working with roving wool i recommend starting smaller. my balloon was about 20 cm’s in diameter.

2. choose which colours of roving wool you want to work with.

3. in a bucket or kitchen sink cover your balloon with warm water and dish soap. make sure you lather up the rounded side and not the knotted end. the soap makes it easier to get the felted wool off of your balloon. once lathered set in your bowl or cup with the knotted end down.

4. this is where the fun starts! start layering the roving wool on to your balloon. whatever colours you lay on first will be the inside of your bowl. i recommend using different thickness’s and lengths of the wool, and make sure you lay it all directions…. horizontal, diagonal, wavy, vertical. this ensures beautiful textures, colour combinations and better coverage.

5. the roving wool will be loose and resemble a fro, so it’s a bit confusing to imagine how it will shrink into a gorgeous bowl! but, it WILL! you will want to layer more rather than less, so just keep at it!

6. once you are satisfied with your layering, take your panty hose cut a section from the waste area wide enough to fit over your balloon. tie a know at one end super tight, then stretch the hose over your wooly balloon, trying not to move the layers. this part is tricky, so if you can get an assistant then do it! you want your balloon to look like the photo below. *

7. now, place your panty hose covered balloon in your kitchen sink, gently add hot water and lather with mild dish soap. rub your hands all over the balloon to create gereat lather. do this for a long time. the friction is what causes the felting. you can turn the water off so as not to scold your hands. i found a rhythm… water, soap, rubbing, water off…. water, soap, rubbing… again, it’s better to felt longer, because then it will create a tighter bind. * in the above picture the roving wool left a loose edge to the bowl, so i just pushed it down while rubbing to create a more defined edge.

8. remove panty hose (undo knot or cut off). then roll ot off your bowl. do this very slowly and gently. i found that my wool and entwined into the hose, but with gentle pulling it came apart. pop the balloon to remove from felted bowl. now you want to rinse your bowl very well in cold water to ensure all of the soap is rinsed out and to finish the felting action.

9. gently squeeze dry and use a hair dryer to get it mostly dry. let sit over night before gifting.

after making three bowls i still have some roving left over and i have a few ideas of what to make with it.

these beautiful bowls are a great homemade gift, with such minimal cost, but with HUGE impact…THEY’RE GORGEOUS!

they are made with love, consideration and creativity.

these sweet bowls can be used as flower pots, for example, or just as decorative pieces.

i just love the way the felted bowls turned out! one of my best projects if i do dare brag a little!

follow this hashtag >>> ‪#‎CDNHandmadeHoliday‬ <<< and find other awesome homemade gift ideas for under $25! i can guarantee that the projects will be AWESOME as they are from super creative, super smart and SUPER AWESOME CANADIAN BLOGGERS!

happy felting!

green christmas inspiration.

November 9, 2014 by mama lola

i realize it’s only november, but let’s be real here, everyone is already thinking about the holidays.

here is a visual aid to help when shopping for various green branches this holiday season. it’s helpful to know the names of the different varieties nurseries use. my favourites include pine branches and cedar.

flores del sol

look at these lovely GREEN christmas ideas. they are so simple, but beautiful none the less. sometimes keeping things simple is better!

odessa may society

little things bring smiles

frolic

vintage house

i am working on posts for red, silver and gold christmas inspiration as well! check back for those holiday posts!

are you as inspired as i am to go clip a few branches and get creative?

happy crafting!

fave soup round up!

October 2, 2014 by mama lola

we here in southern ontario we have enjoyed a lovely fall with warm temperatures making things feel more like summer! but, it seems as though things are taking turn now as cooler temperatures are settling in, grey skies are taking over. this kind of weather makes me want to pull out my crock-pot and dig up all my belly warming recipes.

about a year ago i started a soup exchange with some neighbourhood friends. once a week everyone cooks up a batch of yummy soup and then we exchange a big mason jar of soup with one other person. it’s such a life saver, because i often freeze the extra soups for busy weeks when there just doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day to get dinner done!

here are a few of my favourite soups that i made for my friends…

BUTTERNUT SQUASH with KALE

VEGETABLE BOK CHOY

COD CHOWDER

SWEET POTATO & CARROT

i went to the library and found a bunch of soup recipe books for inspiration. this week i made a super delicious minestrone soup that i adjusted slightly from the original recipe to accommodate my ingredients and taste! i’ll be sharing that recipe here on the blog soon!

happy soup-ing!

christmas cookie round-up!

December 10, 2013 by mama lola

the christmas season is full of yummy cookies. we love to bake all sorts of cookies this time of year. here is a round-up of decoration ideas from snowflakes to snow globes to hurt gingerbread men.