Diy Elf on Shelf

Every August when school is about to start a little panic starts to creep in, the panic of fall/thanksgiving/Christmas.  We are always unbelievably busy from mid September through New Years and it flys by.  Which always inevitably makes me sad.

I know I'm not the only one who is starting to think about Christmas and I know there are fellow crafters out there who have already started on their handmade gifts, so I thought I'd post this Christmas post early just in case it inspires someone, there will be no need for a last minute rush.

Last Christmas I started selling handmade Bit of Whimsy dolls, sort of by accident. In the midst of all those doll orders I was asked if I'd thought about making a version of elf on the shelf. A woman my mom worked with wanted to purchase the store bought version for her grandchildren but just couldn't swing $29.99 each.  I was actually sitting in the same boat with her.  After purchasing a couple of my dolls she asked about the elf.  I immediately said no.
After all, the previous year I had searched for ideas for homemade versions and came up empty handed, and I'd never attempted something like this from scratch.  Then I thought, why not give it a whirl.
I think it's important in the blog world to show crafting & sewing fails every now and then, so here's my first try at making an elf

He was really skinny, his side seams were bursting and I made the arms and legs so skinny I couldn't hardly turn them right side out or stuff them.

After my elf flop I redid my pattern making it bigger and tweeking a couple other things and created this:

These are actually the 2 I made for my cousin's twin boys. 

Seriously how cute are they?

And of course no more than my mom took one to work I was asked about a girl version, and so she was made.

All of them have bendable arms and legs so they can actually sit upright on a shelf, or anywhere else you want to sit them.

I had some people order these to take the place of the store bought elf, others already had a store bought one but wanted one of mine for their kids to actually play with, since technically your not supposed to touch elf on the shelf or he will lose his magic.
Sadly I didn't get a chance to make my own kids elves so that is my plan for this year.

The Accidental Handmade Business

I can not believe it's been over a year since my last post, craziness! I guess 2 kiddos running around hasn't given me much time,or maybe I'm just not as great at time management as I thought. Either way, I have been crafting.  In fact last Christmas I unknowingly started a small side business called The GracieLynn Shop.  How do you start a business and not know it? I made my daughter, 9 months old at the time, a Bit of Whimsy Doll.  The Baby pattern, which is absolutely adorable by the way, is the one I purchased and it's smaller than the other ones I've made making it the perfect doll for my little one.

So of course I was so proud of the cuteness I created I posted a picture on Facebook and the orders started coming.  Friends of friends and family members were all wanting homemade dolls for their sons/daughters, grandson/daughter, niece/nephew, and baby shower gifts.

It was truely a blessing because we were unsure how we were going to afford Christmas & going to see my husband's family. I had been praying about it a lot and then this kinda fell in my lap.

I made 4 different girl dolls

And some boy dolls,

Cute little babies

Christmas rolled around and I was asked to make elves (more on that in another post).

And then Easter rolled around and I started making bunnies.

  I used the Sleepy Bunny pattern from Mmmcrafts.

I've had so much fun making them!

Super Easy Fleece Scarf

My mom made a friend of hers an Ohio State Buckeyes fleece blanket for Christmas.  She knows I find all kinds of uses for scraps of fabric so she's always saving me her remnants.  This time was no different.  As soon as I saw how large the remnant was I knew I needed to make a scarf out of it.  I've been wanting to make an OSU one for awhile I just haven't bought the fabric, so this was perfect.

I didn't want this project to take much time, since I'm all about quickies, which is why I made this fringe one.  Years ago I saw tutorials about how to make one and I've kept it in my mind all this time.  After having made one now I question why the heck it took me so long to actually get it done.  It seriously took no time at all.  The most time consuming part was cutting the fabric. 

I cut 3 strips of fabric 7 inches wide and 67inches inches long, stacked them on top of each other, and stitched one long line down the center.

Then cut strips on either side of the center line about 1 inch wide, making sure not to cut the center seam.

Shake it out a little bit and seriously that's all there is to it.  No hemming, no trimming, no nothing.  Super simple, and I love it.

I'm really wanting to make some pink ribbon ones for me, my mom, and sister, how cute would those be?  Not to mention if you're looking for a quick winter birthday gift or Christmas gift this would be perfect and cost effective if you have quite a few people you're needing to gift to.  With the temps being single and negative digits, and so much snow I feel like I'll never see grass again, I'm so glad I have this to keep me extra warm.

New Christmas Tradition: The Christmas Eve Surprise Box

My sister told me about something she saw online called a Christmas Eve Surprise box where you put a Christmas movie, hot chocolate, and pajamas inside for the kids to open Christmas Eve.  I immediately fell in love with the idea and said "I have to do that".  We spend Christmas with my husband's family and I'm always trying to find ways to make it "ours".  We have almost no time of just Grant, Derrick, and I as a family on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day which is sad to me.  I'm excited to spend time with Derrick's family but wish they lived closer so we could have a regular Christmas morning and day of it just being the 3 of us. 

I thought the Christmas Eve box would be great.  As a child we used to always open one gift on Christmas Eve, which was always pajamas, and I have tried to carry this tradition on with Grant.  When I looked online to see what other's were putting in their boxes so I could start making my list I mainly found this:
Christmas movie, Christmas book, pjs, hot chocolate, mugs, Christmas socks, and snacks for the movie. 

I love all those ideas and want to use them but I also want to put in a package of cookie mix for him to help me make to leave out for Santa, as well as reindeer food to put outside for the reindeer, and a Christmas pillowcase for him to sleep with. I want the items to be things we do before bedtime on Christmas Eve other than just watching the new movie. 

I found Home Alone on sale at Target on Black Friday for $4 and snatched it up as well as a pair of reindeer socks in their dollar section to go inside.  I also bought Grinch Christmas fabric a little over a month ago for the pj pants.  Grant loves the Grinch and actually picked the fabric out himself.  I think it's been long enough that he's actually forgotten I have it, which is what I wanted.  I didn't want this tradition to be a financial burden like some things can become this time of year so I searched all the sales and dollar stores for all the goodies to include.

For snacks I put in a bag of popcorn and movie size boxes of Derrick and I's favorite candy sweet tarts and junior mints, and bought a Grant's favorite snacks, goldfish crackers, which I realized after wrapping the box I forgot to put them inside, along with the Twas the Night Before Christmas book.

Here's everything I did remember to put inside:

I'm super excited about starting this tradition and hope Grant likes it too.

Christmas Pillowcase

When I read about a new tradition, the Christmas Eve Surprise box, I knew I wanted to do it for Grant and knew I wanted a Christmas pillowcase to put inside.  I bought 3 yards of Christmas fabric from Joann's after Christmas a couple years ago with intentions of making stockings for Derrick's side of the family to start a new tradition with them.  However, that never happened so I've had this fabric and have been going back and forth on what to do with it.  A pillowcase seemed like the perfect project for it.  Plus, bonus, I don't have to go buy any new Christmas fabric and I get at least a yard out of my fabric stash (that seems to grow and grow no matter what I do).

I used the tutorial here.  It was super simple to make one and let me forewarn you, these are addicting to make.  Once you make one you will inevitably try to think of every other person in your life who may "need" a new pillowcase.  I may even make Grant some for Valentine's Day and Easter.

I thought about including the magic pillowcase poem I've seen around other blogs but Grant doesn't care much for notes and poems I attach to things so maybe I'll save that for next year.

Cookie Dough Christmas Gift

This Christmas was supposed to be the first Christmas we seriously cut back and focused on our only son instead of the 20 some parents, siblings, co-workers, friends, cousins, nieces, nephews, bosses, etc.  The list goes on and on.  I have been completely content with this decision since June (yes I was thinking about Christmas back in June, it's a sickness for which there is no cure), however my husband has struggled. 

I love him dearly and he is a person who would do anything for you.  When it comes to Christmas he just can't not gift, especially if he knows that person is gifting to him.  Well it's down to the wire in terms of Christmas shopping and our budget is maxed but he was feeling we should do something for my sister and our future brother-in-law as they have watched Grant for us when needed and helped us move, twice, and of course because we love them.  This would have been fine except for the timing and the money aspect, because I didn't plan for it therefore our budget was spent.  I started trying to think of something small, something with some meaning, and something that they would appreciate.  I couldn't think of any homemade crafty gift nor did I want to add another project to my already full list.  I thought of the stuff I bake, then had to nix that idea because they are currently living with my mom saving money to buy their first house before they get married this summer, and my mom bakes LOADS during the holidays.  So it would be kind of pointless to send  more baked goods that would inevitably go stale due to the sheer amount of cookies and such filling my mom's counters.

I happened to come across this post about neighbor gifts of raw cookie dough in a cute container with an adorable tag and thought, BINGO that's perfect. My sister's favorite are chocolate chip cookies.  Since she was little her afternoon snack every day was Chips Ahoy chocolate chip cookies and juice, and she loves homemade ones but between going to school full time and working 5 days a week she has zero time to bake.  Not to mention I don't think she truly enjoys baking the way my mom and I do.  My thinking was to find some cute containers, add a tag, and fill them with dough of each of their favorite cookies.  This way they could have homemade anytime they got the hankering and it would require almost zero work on either of their parts.  Easier and better than buying the Pillsbury refrigerated dough from Wally-world.

I thought I would be able to find some really cute Christmas themed containers but no such luck.  So instead I bought these:

I found them in the same section as the mason jars and canning equipment.  I immediately thought they would be a perfect substitute and of good quality for reusing later, and BONUS, I could make them festive using my good ol' Cricut and some vinyl I already had on hand.

Problem solved.  They were $2.27 for a package of 3, so a little more than $0.75 each, not bad if you ask me.

I created a couple tags in picmonkey (I am seriously falling in love with this website), with a cute saying and directions for baking them.  I saved them as images, copied them into a Microsoft works word document then printed it on white cardstock.

Finished product:

Cookie dough containers would also be a great gift for any mother with young children, as I know from experience baking cookies from scratch can be daunting when your little one desperately wants to "help" with every step and you have a to-do list a mile long.  It would be great to have some dough already in the freezer that only requires you to drop it on the cookie sheet.  Quick and easy cleanup for mom, delicious cookies for the kids.

I love the idea of giving these to many of our family members next year instead of baked cookies or a store bought gift.   Baking ingredients go on sale pretty inexpensively this time of year.  I bought Nestle chocolate chips for all of $0.55 a bag a couple weeks ago and my local Aldi grocery store has them year round for $1.29 a bag.  So for us and the amount of people we would like to gift to, this would be a seriously cost effective gift.  Not to mention I'm big on gifts that don't just take up cabinet/closet space, but are useful.

Here's a better view of the tags I created:

 

Felt Batman/Spiderman Dress Up & 2 Matching Peg Dolls

Grant is still having fun wearing his Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costume and it made me think I should make him a couple more to change things up every now and then.  He is just starting to recognize super heroes.  He runs around at times saying "Mama, I a superhero". 

He can always point out Spiderman so I knew he would be on my list to make, and I also chose Batman because I thought it would be simple and quick to sew.  I made them both out of felt and made them the same way I made the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle costumes.  The actual sewing of the pieces took less than a naptime (which for my son is all of an hour if I'm lucky).  So you could whip these up after your little  one goes to bed if you're wanting to add to their dress up collection.

I made the masks using the patterns from this site.  I made 2 identical ones and sewed them together for durability.  For the Spiderman mask I hand embroidered the web details.  You could easily use black puff paint if you wanted to make it a little easier and less time consuming.  I also hand appliqued the Batman emblem using a blanket stitch, and embroidered the black webbing details on the front of the Spiderman costume.  Again, puff paint would make this easier and faster, I just have a thing for hand embroidering stuff.

After making the batman costume I realized I probably should have made it a dark grey instead of all black but this was more simple and Grant won't know the difference yet anyway.  There is no cape on the batman costume, at least not yet.  I didn't realize my black felt wasn't wide enough for the costume so it will be attached at a later date. 

I had some leftover wood peg dolls after making the Ninja Turtles earlier this year and decided to make a Spiderman and Batman doll to go with the costumes.  Grant, my niece, and the 2 year old I babysit still play with the Ninja Turtle peg people so I know they will be played with often.

I can't wait to see Grant running around as Batman and Spiderman on Christmas Day.

Homemade Chocolate Covered Cherries

I've been making homemade chocolate covered cherries for a good 4 years now.  I used to buy my mom the Cordial brand cherries every year for Christmas until I happened to come across a recipe in the Better Homes and Garden cookbook.  I decided to try it out thinking my mom would just appreciate the fact that I tried. 

Well she did, she loved them.  Said they were way better than the store bought so, 4 years later it is now my Christmas tradition to make these not only for my Mom but also now for my father-in-law as well.  I found out after I made them for my mom how much he loves them too.

The recipe is super simple but a little time consuming.  The time consuming part is why I really dread making them every year.  Guess it's a good thing I love the people I give them to.

I changed the recipe a little.  I've made them so many times now I realized quickly the original recipe didn't work as easily for me, so this is the recipe I use:

1 jar maraschino cherries
2c powdered sugar- sifted
3T butter-softened
3T light corn syrup

Drain the cherries and let them air dry for several hours on 2 layers of paper towels.  I let mine air dry at least overnight and sometimes a full day or so.  In a bowl mix butter and corn syrup until combined.  Add the powdered sugar and mix.  Once its mixed some, knead it in the bowl to get all the powdered sugar completely combined.
To make it easy on yourself, refrigerate the kneaded mixture for a couple hours, this will make working with it a lot easier.  Remove from fridge and take about 1/2 a tablespoon full of mixture and wrap it around each cherry.  Make sure the cherries are completely covered or they will come apart when you dip them in the chocolate.  If the mixture starts to get too sticky to work with refrigerate the mixture for another hour or so just make sure you keep the cherries already covered in the fridge until you cover them in chocolate.  Once all the cherries are covered melt your chocolate and dip each cherry making sure they are completely covered in the chocolate, then place them on a piece of parchment paper until the chocolate has hardened.

For the chocolate I use semi-sweet chocolate chips.  I melt 1-12oz bag in the microwave with 1T veggie oil following the melting instructions on the bag.

Mine don't turn out as pretty or as uniformed as the ones you can buy in the grocery store but I guarantee your loved ones will like them a whole lot more, regardless of their appearance.

Grandparent Gift Idea-Dessert of the Month Club

I saw this idea for Dessert of the Month Club on Crafting Chicks when I did a random google search and thought it was such a cute Idea I would post about it.  The idea was actually from a guest blogger at 30 Handmade Days and she used this gift idea for teachers.  My little guy is still too young for school but when I read the post I immediately thought of grandparent gifts. 

We lived with my mom and stepdad for a year and a half after moving here from out of state and my mom has said many times over that she misses the sweets and treats I used to make.  Everything from cookies, cupcakes, granola bars, to muffins.  She loved getting to enjoy the treats without actually having to make them herself or clean up the mess after they were made.

I thought of the Dessert of the Month as a great Grandparent gift because I have a hard time with gift ideas sometimes.  It seems like most Grandparents have everything and I always end up figuring out a gift that involves pictures, which they always love but I like the idea of an alternative.  It's homemade, which is my favorite kind of gift, and lasts way past the holidays, which is always fun.  Kind of makes it Christmas all year:)

I think this gift would work for anyone on your list whether it's a teacher, friend, neighbor, Grandparent, sister, etc.  Think, if you have a brother/sister in college how much they would appreciate a dessert every month.  It's kind of difficult to bake in a dorm room or to even find the time to make treats when you're studying all the time.  If not for Christmas what about Mother's Day, Father's day or someone's birthday?  And one of the best parts about it is you can go as extravagant, like crème brulee, or simple, like chocolate chip cookies, as you want with the desserts.  It's also a great last minute gift idea because you could probably raid your pantry for ingredients to come up with a dessert on the fly and attach a cute card with ribbon and there you go, no need to spend hours at the crowded stores searching for the "perfect" gift.

If you're looking for more inspiration I also found another blog here, she included a little book which told what dessert she was bringing each month.  This way the recipient always knows what to expect.  I don't know that I could do this because I like to bake whatever strikes my fancy in the moment and I usually bake according to what fruits and things are on sale during the weeks leading up to my baking days.

Bit of Whimsy MerMae Doll

I was super excited when Bit of Whimsy had a 40% off sale over black Friday weekend.  My husband decided he wanted to gift to the nieces and nephews this year so I had to come up with a gift for Sophie. 

She loves The Little Mermaid and I thought this doll would be perfect for her.  Not to mention I always love an excuse to buy a new doll pattern.  I've gotten so much use out of the Jean and Beth patterns I bought I consider it an investment.  I can almost always raid my fabric stash without purchasing a single new piece when I make a doll, which I love because I get rid of some fabric that's taking up space in my closets.

When I saw the pattern I immediately thought of a blue paisley fabric I used for pj pants last Christmas and a onesie dress last year.  For whatever reason the paisley made me think of a mermaid.

 

I am so in love with this doll!  Is she too cute or what?  I love her pink and blue hair.  I wouldn't normally use non-hair colors on a doll but considering this one's a mermaid I thought it was perfect.

 

I have to say I was a little intimidated when I read this doll pattern wasn't for beginners like the other patterns on the website.  Not that I'm a beginner but I just wondered how much more difficult it would be to put together.  I have to say I was happily surprised it wasn't that bad.  I think there are just more steps to this doll than to the other 2 I've made.  I've used my other patterns so much, it was nice to start on something new and a little different.  Kinda makes me want to buy another different pattern and make another one haha.  I'll have to refrain though, I think my husband would flip if I added another "project" to my to-do list.

 

I'm happy she is done and can't wait to give her to Sophie.

 

Play Kitchen Details

I posted yesterday about the play kitchen I made for Grant and I finally was able to upload pictures!  I knew after I posted the one picture I'd figure out how to upload the rest, so here they are:

I attached (ok well technically my husband attached it but it was my idea and I painted it so I'll take the credit for now) a menu board to one side.  Grant is still a little to young to be trusted with chalk in order to actually use the menu chalkboard but I think it will be a nice touch when the times right.  I bought the chalkboard at Hobby Lobby for $4.99 (used my 40% off coupon of course), painted the outside, then used my Cricut to make a stencil out of vinyl for the MENU label.  The opposite side of the kitchen has 3 hooks, I bought at Walmart in a package of 4 for $0.97, to hold his hat, oven mitts, and dish towles.

Do you notice the fact that the oven door is missing?  Only took a few hours before Grant pushed down on it a little too long and off it ripped taking the screws out and everything.  Needless to say, learn from my mistakes and use heavy duty screws.

 

I used my Cricut, vinyl, and the Accent Essentials cartridge to make the stove burners.  I painted them on with acrylic paint.  Getting them in the right spot was the most frustrating part.

 

 

 I originally wanted a tile effect painted on the backsplash, but due to time constraints and my lack of patience I only got one row of them done.  I actually really like the way it turned out with just the one row but maybe I'm just trying to make myself feel better.

 

I bought these drawer pulls in the unfinished wood section at Hobby Lobby, painted them back with a silver dot in the center then glued them to the top of the stove.  Here's a little tid bit for anyone who doesn't already know this (of course I could be the only one out there) if you are glueing these to the top make sure it's on an unpainted surface.  My father in law informed me, after mine started falling off, if the wood is painted the wood glue has nothing to adhere to.  I ended up having my husband screw them all on.

The 2 other knobs were made from 2 1/2inch wood discs bought at Joann's and the same drawer pulls I used above.  I used a black sharpie to make the lines and words on the disc.  Again these ended up having to be screwed on after they started falling off.

 

Of course no kitchen is complete without a chef's hat, and of course I can't just go to the store and buy a chef's hat without adding my own little touch.  I embroidered the top and I am in love with how it turned out.  He looks so cute in it, I just wish he would wear it more, maybe as he get's older.

 

I am so pleased with how the kitchen turned out (with the exception of the broken oven door) and how much Grant loves play cooking for us.  It's so much fun to play with him.

 

Here's the link to my other post regarding this labor of love including links for the felt food, oven mitt, and dish towels.

 

 

My Labor of Love: Play Kitchen

For whatever reason Blogger has not been working well for me and I haven't been able to upload photos but I really wanted to post this.
My labor of love this Christmas was my son's play kitchen. 

 

I so love this kitchen, Fisher Price ain't got nothin' on it....of course that's just my opinion but I think it's my son's too.  We couldn't get Grant to open any other gifts because he was too busy playing with it.  My husband kept asking him if he wanted to open his other gifts, his response....Nope!

 

I searched all summer for an end table at yard sales and never found one. Who woulda guessed it? You would think I would have come across a dozen of them, oh well.  My step dad made this one for me and was kind enough to paint it too.  All the other details I did myself. 

 

I don't think my husband was sold on the idea of a kitchen for Grant this year but he loves it and has been cooking us food and pouring us milk and juice from his toy pitcher for days.

Chalk one up for mom!

 

Here are the links to the posts for the oven mitts and dish towels, felt food, and salt and pepper shakers.

 

Hopefully soon I'll be able to post about all the details like the menu board and chef's hat but until then I'll have to leave you in suspense.

On the Go Sewing Kit

Since we are spending the holiday away from home and we have a pretty long car ride ahead of us with limited space in our car, I decided I was in desperate need of a travel sewing kit.  I have had the book One Yard Wonders for a couple years and have not ever made anything from it.  Not because the ideas are not good but because I'm really not great following directions with patterns.  I prefer tutorials with pictures, lots and lots of pictures.  However, when I saw this sewing kit I thought it would be really easy to follow and decided to give it a shot.

 

I will admit, I used the same measurements as the pattern suggested but in true Lisa fashion, I did not follow any of their directions.  Don't get me wrong there was nothing wrong with the directions given in the book, they were clear and easy to follow, I'm just really really bad at following any directions, period.  Plus I also had to change a couple things because I refused to go to the craft store until after the holidays.  Here are the few changes I made:

 

 

The directions say to use snaps but I didn't have any so instead I used velcro as closures for all three of the pockets.

 

 

I also made 2 of the needle holders placing them side by side even though the directions only call for one.  One just didn't seem like enough.

 

My one piece of advice: If you look at the picture in the pattern book it will show the top pocket holding a pair of scissors, which is exactly what I wanted to put in the large top pocket of my sewing kit, however, the pocket is too small for the pair of scissors I own.  My advice is if you too want a pocket for scissors, measure your scissors and adjust the pocket size as necessary.

 

 

This project only took me a couple hours from start to finish, and probably wouldn't have taken that long if I would have turned the darn tv off (that boob tube will suck your life away :). 

 

Peg People Dolls & A Little Girl Purse

We are traveling over the holiday to see friends and family and I'm so excited to be seeing a couple of my close friends.  I decided last minute I wanted to do a gift for each of them and one of their daughters who'se almost 3.  I've been wanting an excuse to make peg people for awhile and since I already had the wood people I thought now would be a great time.

 

I have seen some truely beautiful peg dolls all over the internet and while I know mine aren't as detailed as some or perfect, I think they are pretty darn good for my first try.  Grant couldn't stop playing with them, which of course means I have to make a set fit for a little boy next.

 

And of course I couldn't give 3 little peg dolls without a little bag to carry them in.

 

 

I made this little girl purse in about 20 minutes, creating the pattern as I went along.  I'm really hoping to figure out how the heck to make this into a pdf but until then you will have to remain satisfied with the picture.  I used velcro instead of a zipper because it's what I had in my stash and ironed fusible interfacing to the outer pieces of fabric for more stability.  The fabric flower was made using this tutorial.

 

 

There are literally hundreds of fabric flower tutorials out there in the blog world but I really think this is one of the easiest.  I figure if I can do this flower with a 2 year old climbing all around me and on me then it's a score.

 

After realizing how simple this bag was to make I now have it on my to-do list for my neice Sophie.  She has just started carrying bags around putting all her little toys and goodies inside.

 

Christmas Memory Lane Game Finished!

I finally finished the game pieces to go with the Christmas Memory Lane Game I'm giving to my mom for Christmas this year.

 

I made 3 girls and 1 boy representing my brother, sister, mom, and myself.  I didn't try anything fancy with these because I needed them to be finished quickly, but I still think they are pretty darn cute.

 

 

For the "treasure" pieces of the game I chose to do wood discs with gifts on them.  I used my Cricut and the Joys of the Season cartridge to cut the gifts out.  I used mod podge to adhere them to the wood discs.  The object of the game is to gain 4 treasures, or gifts, and make it to the home space.  The first one home wins the game.

 

 

I added a title, "The Christmas Memory Lane Game", to the box top as well as photos from Christmas's when we were little.  I had the whole box finished without any photos on the top and just kept starring at it thinking there was something missing.  After adding the photos it gave it just the right nostalgic touch I wanted. 

Even my little guy can't wait to play.

 

 

 

 

 I'm really excited for my Mom to open this one and I'm hoping it becomes a tradition to play this game and share memories of Christmas's past.

Mug Rugs & Cozy to Match

I made a couple mug cozies and mug rugs to match  for 2 of my friends.  Of course after having made them I'm really wanting one for myself and my mom has already put in an order for me to make her one as well.  A crafter's to-do list is never ending.

 

I searched blog land to find a coffee mug cozy tutorial and found this one, but of course in my usual style I used the measurements (the one thing I hate most about crafting is figuring measurements) and did my own thing with the rest.

 

I've seen quilted mug rugs many times and have had them on my to-do list for awhile.  I love how these turned out and just like the cozies I now want a set of these for myself.

 

Here is how I made mine:

 

I cut 2 pieces of fabric 6x6inches and 1 piece of quilt batting 6x6 inches.  I layered them with the batting on bottom, 1 piece of fabric with right side facing up on top of the batting, and 2nd piece of fabric with wrong side facing up on top of that one.  I pinned the 3 layers together, stitched around the 4 sides using 1/2inch seam allowance and leaving bout a 1 1/2inch opening for turning on one of the sides.

 

 

Clip your corners.  This helps when you turn your mug rug right side out.

 

Turn right side out.

 

 

Pin opening closed and stitch around four sides using 1/4inch seam allowance, making sure to stitch opening closed.

 

 

I made a design on my mug rugs by just going around making a square inside of a square until I reached the center.  I think it just gives the rugs a little something special about them. 

 

 

 The best part is you can raid your scrap pile to make these and they make great gifts for friends, co-workers, bus drivers, teachers, or stocking stuffers for family.

 

Now for the mug cozy.  As I said in the beginning I used the measurements from this blog and she made some super cute cozies but I wanted mine to be a bit different and to me mine are a smidge easier and quicker to make.

 

You will need 2 pieces of fabric 3 1/2x10 inches and a piece of Insul-Bright 3 1/2x10inches (you could use quilt batting but the Insul-Bright is what's used in pot holders and I have tested it out with my cozies and your hands will be completely protected from the heat of your mug.  I prefer the Insul-Bright over anything else).

 

 

Layer and pin these pieces as shown below with the 2 pieces of fabric right sides together and the Insul-Bright on the bottom (it doesn't matter which side of the Insul-Bright is up or down).

 

I used hair elastics (I bought a package of 100 various colored elastics at Dollar General for $1) instead of velcro (as is shown in the tutorial I reference above)to hold the cozy onto the mug.  If you choose to use hair elastics cut the metal piece off of 2 of them, if there is one, and place them in between the 2 (right side together) pieces of fabric.

 

 

Using a 1/4inch seam allowance stitch the elastics into place, making sure not to stitch the top layer in place (fold this piece of fabric back while you stitch the elastics in place).

 

Fold the top piece of fabric back down covering up the elastics and pin in place.  Stitch around the 4 sides using  1/4 inch seam allowance making sure to leave an opening for turning.

 

Turn right side out.

 

 

Pin opening closed and stitch all the way around using 1/4inch seam allowance.

 

For the finishing touch, hand sew 2 buttons on the opposite end of the elastics,  The hair elastics will loop over these to hold in place.  I made the gray and yellow chevron cozy reversable.  If you want to do the same make sure you put 2 buttons on each side.

 

 

TA-DAAA!  You're done.  You now have your very own mug cozy perfect for drinking hot chocolate on a cold winter's night.  I will forwarn you, after making one of these you will have the urge to make many many many more, as they can be addicting.