New Year, New Projects!

Ringing in the new year with my partner in crime, Brian

     Hi everyone, I hope 2020 is off to a good start for you!  I wanted to take a moment to give you a sneak peek at what you can expect to see from Amber's Craft a Week blog this year.
     First up, I've started a video series, which I'm Calling the Hey, Day Challenge.  Basically, we'll be taking a trip back to 2001, going through various activities inspired by the book Hey, Day! Super-Amazing, Funk-da-crazing, Ultra-glazing Things to Do, Make and Ponder Every Day of the Year by Clea Hantman and Keva Marie.  Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to film a video every day, so we'll be going through select pages from the book, with a target goal of about 10 projects a month, plus a monthly roundup video.  Some of what we'll be doing are are crafts, some are writing exercises, and others are just random activities that seemed interesting.  The first video goes live tomorrow, so keep your eyes on my Facebook page or YouTube channel for the launch.  I don't know if I'll be able to keep this up for all 12 months, but I'll make as many videos as I can.
     Note that the Hey, Day Challenge is separate from my craft blog, so you can still expect to be getting weekly blog posts (assuming life doesn't get too hectic) with the usual sort of crafting fare.  My first craft post of the new year will also go live tomorrow, so stay tuned for that as well.
     Speaking of life getting hectic, Brian and I are planning on getting married in May.  Since we don't have a ton of money, I'm planning on doing a lot of the decorating myself, so hopefully I'll have a bunch of wedding DIY ideas to share with you.  I've already filmed a DIY wedding invites video, which I plan to post later this month, and have filmed parts of the "dress" video  (Dress is in quotes because it's not a traditional wedding dress; I made an overskirt to convert one of my rompers into a ballgown, of sorts).  That video, like most of the wedding craft posts, probably won't be coming out until after the wedding is over, but if everything goes as planned, you can expect to see some wedding blog posts starting in June.  Our wedding is Alice in Wonderland themed, so the DIYs may not all be applicable to a general wedding, but hopefully they will give you some ideas about how you can save money by doing your own decorating and if you're planning on throwing an Alice in Wonderland party, then they should be perfect for you.
     Since my birthday is literally a week after our intended wedding date, I won't be hosting a birthday party this year.  However, I have years' worth of themed birthday party ideas in my blog's archives, so if you're looking for some party ideas, you can always check there.
     I have a ton of things on my plate right now (have I mentioned I'm also working on finishing up my Ph.D.?), so I'm a little nervous, but also excited to see what 2020 has in store.  Wishing you all the best for this new year!

Amber

Little Debbie Felt Gingerbread Christmas Ornament

     For our final snack themed Christmas decoration of 2019, I decided to make a gingerbread ornament inspired by the Little Debbie gingerbread cookies.  If you love snack cakes, you may also want to check out my Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake ornament, Swiss Roll ornament, and Christmas Tree Cake throw pillow.

The three snack ornaments all together.

Materials:

*Light brown felt
*White felt
*Red and green seed beads
*Sewing needle
*White thread
*Light brown thread
*Red thread
*Green thread
*Scissors
*Metallic marker
*Stuffing

Directions:

*Print out the template below.

*Cut out two copies of the large gingerbread shape from light brown felt and one copy of the small gingerbread shape from white felt.

*Sew red and green seed beads onto the white felt to look like colored sugar crystals.

*Using a back stitch and white thread, attach the white felt to one of the brown felt gingerbread shapes.

*Cut off a narrow strip of scrap brown felt and fold it in half to create a loop.  Sew the loop to the back of the undecorated felt gingerbread shape.

*Place the two felt gingerbread shapes wrong sides together and stitch around the edge using a blanket stitch and light brown thread.  Leave an opening for stuffing.

*Add stuffing and sew closed.

DIY Christmas Tree Cake Throw Pillow

     This Christmas season, I let my love of snack cakes inspire my decor.  If you're a fellow snack cake fan and you haven't seen my previous posts in this series yet, be sure to check out my Christmas Tree Cake ornament and my Swiss Roll ornament tutorials.  Plus, stay tuned for one final snack cake themed craft next week!

For size comparison, here's me with my Christmas Tree Cake throw pillow, my Christmas Tree Cake ornament, and a real Christmas Tree Cake.

Materials:

*White flannel
*Red felt
*Green felt
*White thread
*Red thread
*Green thread
*Stuffing
*Metallic marker
*Scissors
*Tape

Directions:

*Print out the templates below, each one on an 8 1/2" x 11" piece of paper.

*Cut out the four tree pieces and tape together to form a tree shape.

*Cut out two copies of the tree shape from white flannel and one copy of each stripe from red felt.

*Sew the stripes to one of the tree shapes with red thread.  Use the template as a placement guide.

*Cut out small rectangles from green felt to form the sugar crystals.  Sew on felt rectangles with green thread.

*Place the two tree pieces right sides together and sew around the edge using a blanket stitch and white thread.  Leave an opening at the bottom for stuffing.

*Add stuffing and sew closed using a ladder stitch.

DIY Swiss Roll Ornament

     Friends, I think I have found my calling: making snack cake ornaments.  Okay, so I'm kidding (mostly), but look how adorable these are.  The Swiss Roll ornament is simple to make and relatively inexpensive, so if you're looking for a sweet treat to add to your tree, why not give it a try?

Materials:

*Dark brown felt
*White felt
*Metallic marker or fabric pen
*Scissors
*Needle and thread
*Ruler
*All purpose adhesive

Directions:

*Cut out a strip of white felt and a strip of brown felt the long way that are about 3" wide.

*If the felt squares you're working with are initially the same size, cut about half an inch off the end of the strip of white felt and layer it on top of the brown felt, making sure the front and side edges align.

*Carefully roll your two felt strips together to form the cake roll shape.

*Glue the overhanging edge of the brown felt down.  By now your ornament should be looking a lot like a Swiss Roll, minus its chocolate outer coating.

*To create the ornament loop, run a needle through the geometric center of the ornament, starting at the bottom of the ornament and going through the top.  Find the center carefully, as if you're off by even a small amount, your ornament may hang at an angle (thanks, physics).

*Poke the needle back through in a spot very close but not identical to the original spot.

*Tie the ends of the thread together at the bottom of the ornament.  If you don't want this knot a the bottom showing, you can add the thread before gluing down the overhanging brown felt and go through all but the outermost bottom layer of the brown felt,.  You can then use the overhang to hide the knot.  As long as you don't hang this ornament at the top of your tree, though, you probably won't have to worry about the knot being too visible.

Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cake Felt Ornament

     I have loved Little Debbie Christmas Tree Cakes ever since I was a child.  They were a special treat my dad would buy for us at Christmas time, and they have become a Christmas tradition that I share with Brian.  I thought it would be fun to try making a Christmas Tree Cake ornament to add to my tree.  Check out the video below for a video tutorial, or keep reading for a written tutorial.  If you love snack cakes, stay tuned because I have several snack cake themed Christmas projects in store for you.

A real Christmas Tree Cake next to my Christmas Tree Cake ornament.

DIY Christmas Tree Cake ornament video tutorial.

Materials:

*Red felt

*White felt

*Green seed beads

*Scissors

*White thread

*Red thread

*Green thread

*Metallic marker

*Stuffing

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the template given below:

*Trace two copies of the tree shape onto white felt.  Trace one copy of each stripe onto red felt.  Cut out the tree shapes and stripes.

*Sew the stripes onto one of the tree shapes using red thread, using the template as a guide.  I used a blanket stitch for this step.

*Sew green seed beads on to look like the green sugar granules using green thread.

*Cut off a small segment of white felt, about 1/4" thick and 2" long.  Fold the ends of this strip together to make a loop.  Sew this loop to the back of the blank tree shape using white thread.

*Cut off two strips of white felt that are about 1/2" thick and 9" long.  Sew the ends together to form one long strip of felt.

*Using a blanket stitch and white thread, sew the strip of felt to the striped tree shape.  The strip of felt will likely be longer than you need it to be, so when you reach the place where you started, cut off the excess felt and then sew the two ends together.

*Sew the bottom tree to the strip of felt using a blanket stitch.  Leave a small opening at the bottom.

*Add stuffing and sew closed.

DIY Felt Christmas Light Garland

     Brighten up your home this holiday season with this fun, festive garland.  While I opted for a rainbow color scheme, you can use whatever colors of felt you would like to make this DIY your own.

Materials:

*Sheets of felt in colors of your choosing.  Since I used seven different colors of felt for the "light bulbs," I only needed one sheet of each color.  However, if you are using fewer colors, you may need more sheets of each color.
*Gray felt
*Metallic marker
*Scissors
*Thread in colors of your light bulbs
*Silver or gray thread
*Stuffing
*Ribbon to string the lights together

Directions:

*Print out a copy of the light bulb template given below:

*Cut out the whole template as one, leaving the light bulb cap attached to the rest of the bulb

*Determine how many lights you would like to have on your garland.  Trace and cut out twice as many felt pieces as you would like lights, one piece for the front of each bulb and one piece for the back of each bulb.

*Trace and cut out twice as many copies of the light bulb cap as you would like lights from gray felt.

*Take two light bulb pieces and two light bulb caps and sew the caps to the light bulb pieces using a back stitch and gray or silver thread.

*Place the two light bulb pieces wrong sides together and sew together using a blanket stitch.  Leave an opening at the top for stuffing.

*Add stuffing and sew closed.

*Repeat the sewing process until you have sewn all of your bulbs together.

*Sew the bulbs to a piece of ribbon to complete your light garland.

Thanksgiving or Autumn Pie Garland

     For many of us, the best part about Thanksgiving (aside from spending time with loved ones) is the food, and what better a way to show this than by adding a pie garland to your seasonal decor?  One great thing about this pie garland is that it is easy to customize.  I opted for apple, pumpkin, and chocolate pudding pie, all classics in my family, but if you have a different pie you'd like to include, such as cherry, all you need to do is use a different color of cardstock.
     This craft is adapted from a craft by Martha Stewart.  For her version, see this post.

Materials:

*1 sheet dark brown cardstock
*1 sheet light brown cardstock
*1 sheet orange cardstock
*2 sheets cream colored cardstock
*Scissors and pencil or die cutting machine
*Glue
*Hole punch
*Ribbon
*Large white pom poms

Directions:

*Use the template below to cut out 4 dark brown triangles, 4 light brown triangles, 4 orange triangles, and four cream colored lattice grids.

*Glue the lattice shapes over the light brown cardstock triangles.

*Punch holes in the top corners of each triangle and string the triangles onto the ribbon.  Use a dab of glue to hold each triangle in place along the ribbon.

*Cut the cream colored cardstock into strips that are about 1/2" wide.  Fold strips accordion style, making little handles at either end to use to attach the strips to the pies.

*Glue the ends as well as the bottoms of each fold to the pie shapes.

*Glue white pom poms to selected pieces of pie.  Let dry.

*Once your garland is dry, it's ready for display.