Category: Crafts

Socktopus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What You’ll Need:

Cotton thread for sewing
Embroidery needle
Embroidery thread
Four Ladies’ trouser socks of the same size
Polyester fiberfill or cotton alternative (Michaels.com)
Ribbon
Scissors
Sewing needle
Optional: 2-inch diameter circle of felt

First, cut up four socks
Before you cut, wash the socks to make them nice and soft.

1. Turn one sock inside out. Cut it down the middle through both layers, leaving 1⁄3 of the length intact at the toe end. This sock will form the head and two legs.

2. Turn the other three socks inside out, and cut the toes off of them. Then, cut all of them in half lengthwise through both layers to form two strips from each sock.

Next, sew and assemble the head and legs
To sew the legs, you can hand stitch or use a sewing machine. If you choose to hand stitch,
use a backstitch.

1. Sew the legs on the sock that forms the head. Fold each strip in half lengthwise, and sew along the long edge and the short open edge with a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Trim the threads, and tuck in any remaining fabric. Leave an opening at the bottom (by the “head”) for stuffing.


2. Turn the sock right-side out, and stuff the legs with polyester fiberfill.Make sure that they are stuffed evenly. Then, stuff the head, and hand-sew the opening at the bottom closed.


3. Sew each of the remaining six legs closed.Leave one end open for stuffing, and sew with a 1⁄4-inch seam allowance. Then trim the threads, and tuck in any remaining fabric.


4. Turn each leg right-side out. Stuff each leg, and hand-sew the ends shut.


5. Attach the rest of the legs.Sew the legs to the base of the head.



Finally, adorn the Socktopus
If your socks have a very busy pattern, you might want to sew a felt oval to the head, as shown top right, before you embroider the face. Here, I embroidered the face directly on the sock.
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Cookie Exchange Party

Preparation:
Good Location with an oven
Plenty of table-top space for cookie making and cooling
A light lunch and beverages (MILK!) (dessert will be a couple of sample cookies)
Invite a group of 10 or so friends.
Ask them to bring their favorite cookie dough, or ingredients to make their favorite cookies, and a large container or tray to take home the cookies.
Have extra supplies on hand; plastic wrap, cookie sheets, cooling racks, baking needs, etc…

Party Time: When the guests arrive, everyone helps preparing dough onto trays. Make sure someone is in charge of the timer! As each type of cookie is baked and cooled, divide them up to each person’s tray, so that everyone gets a variety to take home for the holidays. Also make sure to have an extra tray for ‘Samples’!!

Extra: We always have a craft prepared to make too – something like an ornament, trinket, or holiday decoration.

Magnetic Catch All

Materials

  • 1 jumbo-size muffin pan
  • Self-adhesive magnetic sheeting (sold at craft stores)
  • 6 (16-ounce) plastic cups
 

Instructions
  1. Simply cut out circles of self-adhesive magnetic sheeting and stick them to the bottoms of the plastic cups. This will make them tip-resistant once you set them in the pan.
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Sanitary Slippers

Money is a little tight this year, but I still wanted to exchange gifts, so I came up with this idea for homemade Christmas slippers

They are:
* Soft and Hygienic
* Non-slip grip strips on the soles
* Built in deodorant feature keeps feet smelling fresh
* No more bending over to mop up spills
* Disposable and biodegradable
* Environmentally safe

Use 4 sanitary napkins, decorative trinket and a little ingenuity to put these together. via