Faux Fireplace

     Hanging stockings above a fireplace is a Christmas tradition for many, one that I've never been able to participate in because I've never lived in a house with a fireplace.  So I decided to make my own.  This is also a perfect way to get the holiday vibe if you're not a fan of open flames.

Materials:

*Foam board
*Box cutter
*Red cardstock
*Orange cardstock
*Yellow cardstock
*Black cardstock
*Glue
*Gluestick
*Pencil
*Ruler

Directions:

*Decide what size you would like your fireplace to be.  If you'd like to see flickering flames in your fireplace, perhaps size it so that it can be taped to the edges of your TV or computer monitor.

*With a pencil and ruler, mark out the dimensions you would like your fireplace to be.

*Cut out the fireplace shape using a box cutter.

*Determine what dimensions you would like your bricks to be.  Cut out appropriately sized brick shapes from the red cardstock and arrange along the foam board.  Once you're satisfied with the arrangement, glue down.

*If you're not planning on placing your fireplace over a TV or monitor, you'll need a fire to go in your fireplace.  Start by gluing together as many sheets of black cardstock as you need to fill in the opening in your fireplace.

*Sketch or trace flame shapes onto the orange and yellow cardstock.

*Cut out flame shapes and glue them to the black cardstock.

*Glue the black cardstock to the fireplace such that you are able to see the flames when looking at the fireplace.

DIY "Ugly" Christmas Cat Sweater: Now with Ornaments!

     In my "ugly" Christmas cat sweater craft instructions, I mentioned that you could add mini ornaments to the cat's garland.  I finally got around to getting some for my own sweater a few hours before the physics department holiday party.  The ornaments I got came with strings rather than hooks.  I didn't want to tie the ornaments onto the sweater because permanently affixing them would make it difficult to wash the sweater, so I needed to come up with ornament hook substitutes.  What did I use?  Staples.  Read on to find out how to make mini ornament hooks from staples.

Directions:

*Separate one staple from the rest of the staples it is affixed to.

*Slide the mini ornament over one end of the staple.

*Fold the staple over, closing the mini ornament inside.

*Fold the other end of the staple down a little to create a hook that you can use to hang up the ornament.  Now your ornament is ready!

Santa Bats

     These little bats are here to spread some holiday cheer.  What, you didn't picture bats as Santa's helpers?  Bats get a bad rap, but these cuties are more than happy to add some whimsy to your Christmas decor.
     I wish I could take credit for this idea, but I didn't come up with it.  I walked into my department's main office earlier in the week and lo and behold, there were bats with Santa hats on the walls:

They were so adorable, I decided I had to make some of my own.  Here's how I made my variant.

Materials:

*Black cardstock
*White cardstock
*Red cardstock
*Scissors, pencil, and X-acto knife (or Silhouette CAMEO)
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the bat template below (or import it to Silhouette Studio; for directions on how to cut out my templates using Silhouette Studio see this post).  The bat template minus the hat could also be used if you're looking for some cutesy Halloween decor.

*Cut out the pieces of the template.  Trace the bat shape onto black cardstock, the main hat piece onto red cardstock, and the other two hat pieces onto white cardstock.

*Glue together the hat pieces and then glue the hat onto the bat.

DIY "Ugly" Christmas Cat Sweater

Materials:

*Sweatshirt
*Tinsel ribbon
*Felt in the color of your choice (for the cat)
*Small beads (for the cat's eyes)
*Needle
*Thread
*Scissors
*Metallic marker
*Safety pins
*Mini ornaments (optional)
*Mini LED light string (optional)

Directions:

*Trace the cat silhouette given in the template below (or any cat silhouette of your choice) onto the felt and then cut out the cat shape.

*Sew the beads onto the felt to give the cat eyes.

*Wrap tinsel ribbon around the cat.

*Pin the cat onto the sweatshirt using safety pins.  Try on the shirt to make sure you like the placement of the cat before you begin sewing.

*Sew the cat onto the shirt.

*Optional: Hang mini ornaments from the tinsel ribbon.  I'm hoping to pick some up over the weekend to add to mine.

*Optional: Thread a mini LED light string through the tinsel.  For mine, I placed the battery pack in my back pocket, wrapped the lights around my waist once, and then pulled them through the ribbons wrapped around the cat.

Felt Pokemon Magikarp Plushie

     Looking for a DIY holiday gift for a Pokemon fan?  Why not try this felt Magikarp plushie?  For other DIY Pokemon gifts, check out my Meowth plushie, Snorlax plushie, Zubat plushie, and Vaporeon hair bow.

Materials:

*Orange felt
*White felt
*Yellow felt
*Black felt
*Pink felt
*Needle
*Black thread
*White thread
*All purpose adhesive
*Stuffing
*Metallic marker or chalk

Directions:

*Print out two copies of the Magikarp pattern below:

*Cut the various pieces of the template out and trace onto the appropriate colors of felt corresponding to the picture at the top of this post.  For everything except for Magikarp's "crown," bottom fin, and the oval shape that's separated from the rest of the template (which is used to make Magikarp's mouth), you'll need two copies, one for either side of Magikarp's body.

*Using black thread, stitch detailing onto Magikarp's fins, as shown below:

*Sew on Magikarp's eyes, side fins, and whiskers (not pictured) with white thread.

*Place the two Magikarp halves together, right side facing in, with the crown and bottom fin sandwiched in between, the pointy sides of the fins facing one another, and sew together from the top of Magikarp's mouth to the beginning of its tail, and the same thing from the bottom of Magikarp's mouth to the beginning of its tail.  Do not sew the mouth or tail closed.

*Fit the black oval inside Magikarp's mouth and sew it on.  You may have to trim the oval a bit to get a good fit.

*Turn Magikarp right side in.  It should look something like this:

*Add stuffing.

*Place the two tail fins inside the orange outer tail piece and sew closed.

*Glue on pupils.

*For Magikarp's lips, I started with the lip shape that is faintly outlined in the template at the top of this post.  I traced two lip shapes, meeting together in the middle.  I then cut this out and glued it to Magikarp's mouth.

DIY Quote Jar

     Whether you need a good laugh or motivation, a quote jar may be for you.  Fill with your favorite humorous phrases from family and friends, inspirational or motivational quotes, or whatever else you would like to read.  Pull from the jar daily, when you need a good chuckle, or whenever you see fit.

Materials:

*Glass jar
*Printed or handwritten quotes
*Paper, markers, and whatever else you would like to make a label
*Scissors
*Mounting tape

Directions:

*Print out or write down quotes.

*Cut out the quotes and fold them in half, and then in half again.

*Place quotes inside the jar.

*Design a label.  Tape it to the jar.

Sample quote from my jar:

“I make as much sense as squash, mutated squash that eats people” – Brian

DIY RC Roomba for Mini Shark Cat

     I'm excited to present to you one of my favorite crafts I've made.  If you've seen my Halloween costume contest cat trophies, you've seen my original shark cat.  I liked it so much that I decided to make myself a shark cat.  When I made its Roomba, I mentioned to Brian that it would be cool if the Roomba actually moved.  He told me that we probably could make that happen and that's how shark cat came to be.  Before we get to the instructions, here's a video I made of my shark cat a an homage to the original video that inspired my craft.  I didn't have a toy duck, so I let shark cat chase around a wind up Easter chick.  I hope you enjoy!

Materials:

*Small remote control car (such as this one)
*Metal jar lid
*Silver paint
*Black paint
*Paintbrush
*Mini magnets (such as these ones)
*Screwdriver
*Cat figurine with shark costume (I give a rough sketch of how to make the costume in this post)

Directions:

*Paint the top of the jar lid silver.  Let dry.

*Add accents with black paint to make the lid look like a Roomba.  Let dry.

*With the RC car turned off, unscrew the screws attaching the top of the car to the bottom.

*Screw the screws into the screw posts on the bottom part of the car, in the opposite direction of the way in which they were screwed in originally.

*Place one magnet on top of each screw.

*Place the jar lid over the bottom of the RC car.  The magnets should hold it in place.

*Now your shark cat is ready to roll!