Christmas tree topper Inspiration

So I wanted to try something different this year, for my tree topper, something a bit more fun.

So going with the whole Frozen theme that my 7-year-old loves we decided to build a snowman. So after much debate as to how to go about this, I started with designing the snowman's hat, I had a very old picture of a top hat which I used for a leprechaun doll I made a few years ago, so I traced it then enlarged it by quite a bit, the hat is made out of felting but a very Ridgid one, the hat is sturdy enough to wear myself.  

I have added the festive red ribbon and then made a poinsettia out of wired ribbon.

Because it is the tree topper I felt it needed some lighting to light up the darkness, so I wrapped a battery operated set of led lights to the hat.

So the dilemma was what do I make the head out of?.  I went searching for the cheap shops and found a 30cm round bauble, obviously not the colour that I wanted, but, oh well.  I had a can of matt white spray paint that I used outside in a well-ventilated space to coat the bauble a few times. I wanted it to have a nice glittery look to it so while the paint was wet I sprinkled it with a very fine white-ish glitter so that when the lights were on it, it looks like it is sparkling.  I glued a styrofoam ball on an angle with the hot glue gun on top of the bauble because I wanted to be able to use the hat for other projects so the ball on the head would hold the hat in place without limiting the use.

The next step was to paint the face, I wanted it to have a bit of the nightmare before Christmas look to it so I just painted black circles for eyes and the mouth. 

I made a carrot for the nose out of felt, stuffed it and then embroidered a few bumps in the carrot for imperfections in the nose.  I wanted the nose to look flat on the face so I hot glue gunned it on sideways. The next step was to drill a hole and add a pole through the bauble to be able to attach it to the tree, I use a square piece of wood that I had laying around from a previous project, I felt that square would be best so that there is not a lot of movement e.g. head spinning, I also hot glue gunned it so that there was no movement. 

So the tree topper is now in place on top of the tree using some cable ties to hold it in place through the main shaft of the tree. We wrapped the tree with white tuel added a couple of large red baubles for buttons and then added some sticks from the garden for the arms. I hope that I have been able to inspire you to be different and adventurous with your Christmas tree and not just stick with the same old same old, and also to remember, you don't have to do a lot to be different, just have fun on the journey.

Life pre Covid19 getting out to smell the Eucalyptus and see the sights

This is what it was like being able to go out and about before Covid19, getting to see cute little guys like these Koala's at Clealand Wildlife Park in the Adelaide Hills, This little guy was very curious about us and was quite happy to sit and pose for me for ages, mind you I was just as curious about him. Unfortunately due to the current crisis, the park is closed until further notice, such a pity that life can grind to a halt in such a short time as it has in this current crisis. The Park has received 28 koalas from Kangaroo Island that need housing after the devastating fires in February.  There's definitely a lot of Koala's there now, hopefully, they will be able to recover well and the park is not affected by the lack of tourists over the next few months and will be able to reopen.

The Little Mermaid

My very first doll, certainly come a long way since then, can only get better I hope.

  Flynn

Flynn was entered in the novice division of the local Dolls and Bear show in the Adelaide Hills South Australia a few years ago which came 2nd place, I was quite chuffed about that, definitely one of my favourite dolls to make.  

Jester Bracelet

Peyote style bracelet embellished with Swarovski Crystal to give that hint of bling and a little bit of lace ruffle for an elegant look.