Robot Mittens

I try to make a lot of the gifts I give out for Christmas and birthdays, it's usually budget friendly and I feel like it's a little better than giving a gift card. Now don't get me wrong, I love getting money for a gift, who doesn't? But I also enjoy gifts that are unique and have had some time put into them.  .

Last year I waited until a month or two before Christmas to start making our gifts and almost didn't finish making everything, I figured it would be smart to start a little early this year. It's no fun when your stressing out a week before Christmas because you have so much to get done. The holidays are more enjoyable when they are stress free, don't ya think?

While looking for things to make Charlie I came across this wonderful mitten pattern and I crochet him some mittens. The pattern is well written and I was able to get the gloves done really quick. The pattern can also be used to make gloves for older kids and adults too. After looking at the mittens I felt like they could use a little more protection. I don't know if you've ever played in the snow with crochet gloves but after a few minutes the snow starts to seep through the gloves and your hands get cold really quick. If there is snow outside it is inevitable that Charlie will be in it. So I needed to come up with a way to keep the snow from getting through right away.

I found some felt in my craft room and came up with a robot that I could sew onto the gloves. It will give Charlie's hands a little more protection from the cold and it looks cute to boot! I made a printable robot pattern and a simple oval pattern that you could put on the gloves instead of the robot if your looking for something quick.

The materials I used where

-Yarn

-Crochet needle

-Scissors

-Needle

-Thread

-Crafting felt sheets in any color you choose

-Craft glue (optional)

Step one! Crochet your gloves. 

Step two! Cut out your Robot!

Step three! Sew the eyes to the Robots head and the hands
 to the robots arms.

Step four! Place both heads on each of the gloves
 and make sure their placement is the same. You need
to also make sure that you are putting the Robot
on to the palm of each glove. Sew them on.

Step five! Do the same thing with the body of the
 robot and sew that puppy onto your mitten.

      Step six! Sew on your arms and your done!

Notes- I used a stitch similar to a blanket stitch for this project. You want to be very careful to not go through both layers of the glove when trying to sew your applique on. 

You can use a craft glue to stick the eyes and hands in place before you start stitching but it isn't necessary.

If you would like to use a different fabric like cotton for your mittens you may want to add fusible interfacing to it so that it isn't so flimsy. It will also keep the fabric from fraying.  Double sided fusible interfacing like Heat and Bond, will not stick well to your mitten and you run the risk of melting your yarn if you try to iron it on. So if you go the interfacing route then iron it on to your fabric only and iron it before you place the pieces on your glove so you don't burn anything.

I hope you really enjoyed this tutorial. Its really simple and lots of fun, you don't even have to use a robot. Make your own applique and put it together and post a picture on the Divine Crafting Facebook Page, I would love to see what you've come up with.

Wreath Tutorial #2

Here is another wreath tutorial. The women at my church made these at an activity last year and I was not able to attend, so I though this would be a good chance to give it a try.
I had to do most of this project while Charlie was asleep because he really wanted the hot glue gun. He has grown tall enough that he can reach things on the table now. He almost pulled the whole container of beans off the table, so I had to put everything away until he took a nap. I was lucky that he took one of his rare 3 1/2 hour naps, I was able to get a lot done.

The materials you will need are...
- 1 foam wreath
- pinto beans (any type of bean will work)
- hot glue gun
- glue sticks
- spray paint
- ribbon
- lots of time and patience

I started by gluing the beans around one row at a time .

I glued ....

and glued.

This is what it looks like close up.

It took me most of the day to finish adding all of
 the beans on the wreath.

Then my wonderful husband spay painted it for me.
I decided it wasn't as good idea for me to do the painting since I'm
pregnant.

Put 2 or 3 layers of paint on it and let it dry over night. Just remember when painting anything make sure that you do it in a well ventilated area. After you are sure that your paint is dry you can attach your ribbon and hang it on the door. 

Wreath

I am so excited for the holidays, it is my favorite time of year! I love the cold weather, hot cocoa, Christmas lights and the cookies. Since we are so close to Christmas time I thought I would do an easy tutorial on wreath making. 

This is a very simple project and it didn't cost me more than 6 bucks. The materials you will need are

-1 wreath (I bought one from the dollar store)

-Yarn (You wont need more than half a skein of  yarn)

-Hot glue gun

-Decorations of your choice for the wreath.

-Wreath hanger (I also found this at the dollar store)

I bought this wreath at the dollar store but you can find foam wreaths at your local craft store for about 5 bucks and up.

Tie a knot around your wreath to
 keep your yarn secure.

Wrap the yarn around the wreath

Wrap some more...

and more...

When I had about 10 inches left to wrap,
I added in some silver berries. 

I cut the most of the stem off of the berries
 leaving  about 2 or 3 inches,
then  I stuffed the end into the wreath 

This is what it looks like close up.

Next I started wrapping around the berries
until the first cluster looked like this.
Then I pulled the remainder of the stem up
and wrapped the under it the .   

Hot glue the end of the yarn and berries
down to keep it from unraveling.

Add any other decorations you want
then hang it on your door. 

Thanks for reading!