Hinged Wooden Snowman Family

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, I had gotten myself into a number of projects last week that snagged all my time. This is another one of the gifts I made, this one for my son's teacher.

And I thought I would share with you how this one was done too.

The first thing I did was cut my pieces of wood. I used a 1 x 4 that was in nice shape so it didn't require much sanding. I started by determining the length of the tallest snowman, then I adjusted the other sizes by about 2 inches each. I just did the measurements visually, so I don't know what they were exactly, but I believe the tallest one was about 18-20 inches. That's about as tall as you can go using only one hinge like I did.

I had a family of 5, so I cut 5 pieces. I needed to decide how to arrange the wood, whether I wanted it random...

... or descending. I decided that in this case, I liked the descending arrangement best.

I measured 3 1/2" from the bottom and placed the hinge. I spaced the wood apart about 3/8" to give the hinge room for movement.

After marking the hinge holes, I used a drill to make a pilot hole in each slot. I repeated this step with each board and each hinge. I skipped every other slot, then flipped the whole arrangement so I could place the backside hinges, which filled the spaces I skipped on the flip side.

I put in the screws temporarily, so I could test the size and functionality. I did this with all the hinges.

Then I took it all apart and applied several coats of paint. I painted the front, back and sides, but not the top and bottom.

I also applied a light coat of white spray paint to the hinges. Be careful not to apply too thick of a coat or it will interfere with the functionality of the hinge.

When the paint was dry, I sanded the corners.

Then I put the hinges in place.

So far so good.

Then I began preparing the hats. I decided to put the names on the cuff of the hats. I used an embroidery machine and made them out of fleece, but other options could be used. I think the names add a special personalized touch to the final project.

Next, I began assembling the hats. You can see a tutorial on the hats here. For these, my initial square of fabric was 8" x 9".

I added the cuffs with the names, alternating the height of the cuff to match the alternating height of the wood.

I wrapped a strip of fleece around the wood and looped it in the front to make scarves.

I used a sharp pair of scissors to fringe the ends of the scarf.

I made the noses out of craft foam, cutting them with a pair of pinking shears to give them the textured edge. I also added google eyes.

And the last thing I had to do was add the buttons.

And they're done!





And an added bonus is how neatly they fold up for easy storage. That is, if you ever put them away anyway!

Share your thoughts and your examples!

Here's a fun one done by Brooke at BrookePitcher.com. I think it turned out great! Check it out here!



And don't forget to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.

Wooden Joy Banner

Wow! I know it's Christmas and everyone is busy, but I really need to learn to say "no." I had gotten myself into a few too many things this last week, so I've been a little remiss in posting. I'll try to catch up here in the next couple of days.

On Saturday, I made 20 of these simple wooden joy banners for a party favor and I thought I would share with you how to make them.


First, I needed some wood. I went the inexpensive route and purchased a 1x3 from the lumber store and cut it into the sizes I needed. It was great wood so I needed to sand it very little, just around the edges so they didn't poke anyone.


I needed 3 pieces in varying heights. Mine were about 4 1/4", 3 3/8" and 2 1/2", but there isn't a need to match mine exactly. Depending upon where/how you get your wood, if yours isn't smooth, you'll probably want to sand it a bit.

Next, I cut some papers to match the sizes of the blocks. I made mine just a little smaller so you could see the edge of the wood. I used 3 different coordinating papers.

Next, I glued the papers to the blocks. I used spray adhesive because I had lots to do and it was quicker, but any glue will work.

Next, I prepared my letters. I embroidered mine onto muslin. I thought it would also look nice to stencil the letters onto burlap, to use vinyl lettering, or even have your child write out the letters in crayon -- whatever option is available to you.

I finished the edges of the letters by fraying out the fabric just a bit.

I made the letters slightly smaller than the paper on the block.

Next, I set up the "hinge" for the first set of blocks, which is really the last two -- "o" and "y." I began by flipping over the two smaller blocks. For my first set, I used some small strips of ribbon to match the front. But it isn't really seen when it's finished and didn't seem to be as stable, so I used a single larger piece of felt ribbon for the rest instead. You can use fabric, ribbon, or even a real hinge if you have one on hand. Be sure of your block placement -- you're doing the back, so the sizes need to be arranged backward too.

When I flipped it over, it looked like this.

Next, I took a ruler and drew a line all the way across the bottom. This was my a guideline for where to place the glue and ribbon.

I applied the glue and ribbon onto the first two blocks in one long strip. I used hot glue because I didn't have time to let white glue dry. This ribbon is part of the hinge for the front. When you do this, be careful not to get glue down into the crack between the boards or your blocks will be glued together too (although this project can be done without hinges and turns out very cute too.)

Then I added another separate piece of ribbon to the third block so the ribbon just blended in with the hinge ribbon. If you happen to have a sharp razor blade on hand, you can do all 3 blocks at once, then cut the ribbon between the 2nd and 3rd block with the razor blade.

Next, I applied the letters. I used spray adhesive for this step too. (I have a real love/hate relationship with spray glue.) It didn't matter if I overlapped the ribbons.

Next, I applied a short strip of ribbon near the top of the middle block for the upper hinge.

I added a button to the end of the upper hinge, as well as a couple others into the corners for decoration.

And last, I tied a piece of raffia into a bow and glued it to the top corner of the first block.

And there you have it!

Now you just have to find a place to put it....

... or wrap it up to give to someone for Christmas. They'll love it! Especially since you made it yourself.

Let me know what you think! Check back tomorrow for another wood project that I think you'll like too.

And don't forget to check out the endless list of inspirational ideas at my home page childmade.com.

The Wedding Supply Department -- NOT!

I've been asked to feature at DollarStoreCrafts.com and I'm flattered! But at least this is an area that I feel like I can contribute. Check it out!

For many years now, (I think 13?) I've been working with my church to put together our annual Family Christmas Workshop. This is a make-n-take outreach event in which we provide the prepared materials for 300-500 each of 28-30 different crafts. Kids of all ages come and spend 3 hours making crafts of their choice and working at their own pace(though that's usually warp speed because they want to do as many as possible.) It's a blast! And they leave with a boxful of treasures! The dollar stores have been an invaluable asset for this event, my favorite being Dollar Tree. As long as you can think outside the box, there are treasures galore! And for us, with a budget of less than 75 cents per craft, it's essential!

Dollar Tree carries packages of pyramid favor boxes, though they're easier to find in the spring. It comes in a package of 5 for $1, mixed gold and silver. We were going to make a Christmas snack, but decided the box was too pretty to use for food packaging that would be thrown away afterwards. So we made it into a Christmas tree instead...

Check out the tutorial for complete instructions.

I think one of my favorite areas in the store is the wedding section. Ironically, I've never purchased anything from there for an actual wedding. I thought I'd share a few examples of things we've done the past couple of years using items you can find amongst the wedding supplies.

Next year, we have plans to do an angel with the same favor box ....

I'll be doing tutorial for this soon. Watch my upcoming posts.

Another favorite for the last several years is the little white pails. They come in a package of 3 for $1. This year we did a snowman hot tub, with snowmen made from glove fingers. I've already posted this tutorial.
In previous years, we've also done a snowman treat pail, and the tutorial is here ...

... and a doggie treat pail, complete with dog biscuits (or you could use Scooby snack graham cookies too). Check out the tutorial ...

They also carried some fabric favor bags that were very lovely with jewel trim on the bottom, in a package of 4 for $1. Stuffed with a little gift packaging shreds, these ultimately became a sachet angel ornament, and here's the tutorial ...The little folded gift bags seem to have endless uses for us, especially at a package of 12 for $1! We've made them into little gift bags to hold the earring craft they made. Here's the tutorial for this craft ...


This year, we decorated them up and made a "real" doggie bag, complete with yummy dog treats...But really, they seem to be an endless blank canvas...


These ideas listed come from just one small area of the store. But when we're preparing for our event, there isn't an area of the store that we don't check for possibilities. The chip clips are another of my favorite at 3 for $1. But there's also socks and gloves and doilies and clothes pins and ... well, a whole store of potential.

I hope you try a few of these yourself. You can find the material lists and instructions at childmade.com or at my blog.