Nativity Advent

My advent calendar is finally finished just in time for a countdown to Christmas!  I searched and searched for some figures to make for my nativity that I liked.  I finally found some here at barefoot in the kitchen. 

For my calendar, each piece was made with rainbow felt and is at least two layers thick.  A round piece of the soft side of Velcro is sewn on the back of each one.  Aren't they adorable?!

 I cut the rough part of the Velcro into little stars and sewed them, along with the stable, onto a 20x30 inch piece of felt.  There are 24 pockets that are each 2 1/2 inches square.  I used a chain stitch to embroider all of the numbers.

Here is the final product.  You can't see in the picture, but there are four felt loops sewn into the top and a long wooden dowel with a string attached to both ends for hanging.  The baby Jesus should be put in pocket 24 to signal that the next day is Christmas!

And because I want everyone to be able to make one too, I got permission from Stephanie at barefoot in the kitchen to share the templates that I created to make my nativity figures.  Sorry they aren't the greatest templates in the world, but it's a start!  Just click the links below to download the templates for free.  I'm not sure if you have to create an account or not to access them.  Please let me know if there is a better way to share templates. 

Nativity Advent

• Nativity 1
• Nativity 2
• Nativity 3
• Nativity 4

+ Add your docs to this collection

Create a collection on Scribd

1. For each figure, cut two of the overall figure in the main color felt. 
2. Cut out the smaller pieces and stitch them onto the top layer.  Stitch the eyes using a french knot. 
3. Sew the soft part of your Velcro onto the back of the bottom layer. 
4. Last, sew the top and bottom layer together. 
Now get to work!

Tree Bookshelf

판매가 : 제조사 : designArtist Shawn Soh 원산지 : R.O.KOREA 상품코드 : 10 수량 :

‘A tree becomes a book becomes a tree’ A bookshelf in home no longer has to be just a rectangular piece of furniture; it can now be a piece of art in its own right. This concept was inspired from Designartist Shawn’s early memories of sticking letters on tree branches. Introducing the “Tree Bookshelf”, a tree-themed bookshelf which changes form dynamically as books are stacked up and removed from the tree branches. Books become flowers of the tree, and indeed part of the artwork itself in its day-to-day use.   Material:           Powder coated Metal Dimension:      W 1500(mm) * H 2160(mm) * D 200(mm) Weight:             22.5kg . Every product is produced exclusively in the designers own studio. The Tree bookshelf takes one week to produce; every single process (welding and bending etc) is done by hand. Shawn takes pride in the fact that each product is handmade. 2500.00USD If you want place an order please let me know by email shawnsoh@naver.com

Santa Letters

*The Idea room

Have you seen the fun deal at GroopDealz today? I want these! Aren't they cute?



$9 Letters to Santa Kit - Set of 4 cards, 4 envelopes & 4 labels - Free shipping to U.S. ($18 Value)



This is a great deal and is available to anyone no matter where you live. So go and check it out at GroopDealz.

Monogrammed Hand Sanitizer/ Soap Bottles

I'd like to welcome all my newest Followers! CrAzY! I hope you stick around and enjoy what you see here at The Idea Room. Today I would like to share with you a fun, easy and inexpensive gift that is perfect for teachers, neighbors and friends...Monogrammed Hand Soap and/or Sanitizers.



All you need are a few simple items:

A bottle of hand soap or hand sanitizer
A sheet of overhead transparency
goo gone (to remove labels)



I usually buy my bottles of soap and hand sanitizer from the Dollar Store. {Or you can buy empty bottles and fill with soap and sanitizer}. Then I remove all the stickers and labels from the bottles. I got my paper labels wet and they easily scraped off. To clean off any glue residue, I used Goo Gone which I purchased at Home Depot.



**Download the free monogram label here.

**You will have to save it to your computer and then open it up with your Word program, photo program or insert it into a blank Word document. Then you should be able to send the image to the background and then type over the image to add the letter you need.

Measure the width of your bottle. In your word program edit the monogram and size it to the proper size for your bottles. Add the letter you need in the center. Then print out the monogram. If your printer is a laser printer, you can print the monogram right onto your overhead transparency paper. If you don't have a laser printer, print the monogram onto a regular piece of paper. Then copy the monogram onto the overhead transparency with a copy machine. Most Copy Centers will be able to do this for you.



**The above step is very important. If you don't print it with laser printer or copier, the lettering will fall off your vinyl and float in the sanitizer or soap...which doesn't make for a pretty present!

**You can always forgo the above step and just cut out some vinyl in the monogram and place it on the front of your bottle too.

Cut around your printed label as straight and as close as you can get to the writing so that it fits properly into your bottle. Check before you cut the bottom of the label to be sure that it will sit as high in the bottle as you would like it to.



Roll up the label so that the writing is in front. I roll mine backwards. Stuff it into the top of the bottle carefully.



Use the soap dispenser to push the label to the front wall of the bottle and to straighten it in the right position.



The best part of these is that they are so afforable and practical. They are also completely customizable. You could really put anything on the transparency and they could be used for so many things...birthdays, home decor, for new parents and their frequent guests, etc. Here is a version I made two years ago for one of my child's teachers.



**For the "hand in hand" download, click here.

Happy gift-giving!

If you have a favorite Christmas project, feel free to link it up here. *Please remember to include my button (or a text link) below your post! From this link up I would love to find and feature a few of your Christmas ideas on my blog in the coming weeks. Thank You!

*I reserve the right to remove any link for any reason! Then remember to leave others some link love in the form of comments on their link ups! We all love comments right?

christmas felting

To make this cheer-inducing winter scene, you will need:

1. 1 9-inch wooden embroidery hoop

2. a piece of cotton or linen about 12" square

3. wool felt (or craft felt) in white, pink, brown, red, yellow, green, and turquoise (or the colors of your choice)

4. coordinating thread colors

5. embroidery floss in brown and turquoise

6. sharp scissors

7. pinking sheers

8. glue

9. a few straight pins

Stretch your background fabric (I've used this polka-dotted robin's egg blue cotton for a clever snow effect, but you can use whatever you like!) on your hoop, tightening and pulling gently until you achieve a nice, tight, drum-like effect.
Print and cut the templates and pin to appropriate felt colors (or trace around the template for teensy bits). Cut all your pieces, and arrange tree, house, roof, and snow bank without pinning in order to determine the appropriate position for tree and house.
Pin the tree and the house, and attach with a small, neat running stitch.
Pin the snow bank in place, overlapping the bottom of the tree and the house, and attach with a small, neat running stitch.
Attach the roof top with a running stitch. Use a small whipstitch to attach the rooftop snow at the top left corner.
Attach the window in the center of the house with a whipstitch. Position the wreath base at the bottom of the roof, slightly overlapping the house, and attach with a small whipstitch at the outer edge only.
Using two small stitches for each, attach the leaves to the wreath base, lining up the inner edge of each leaf with the inner edge of the base. You can tuck each successive leaf between the wreath-base edge and the previous leaf's edge.

Attach the tree snow to the left branch of the tree with a small whipstitch.
Position all three pieces of the snowman's body to the left of the tree, getting them just how you like them. Pin and attach each segment with a running stitch. (I also attached each segment to the other with a couple of whipstitches, to ensure a tight connection.)
Insert the side piece of the scarf into the space between the snowman's head and his middle, and attach with a few stitches. Then position the neck piece and attach with a running stitch all around the edge.
Attach the eyes and buttons with a small "x" of black thread in the middle of each. (Though I've used felt, tiny black buttons would work very nicely here, too!)
Using brown embroidery floss (all strands), make arms with two side-by-side rows of backstitches. The position of the arms is totally up to you!
At the end of each arm, attach a mitten, using a running stitch.
Use a sharp pencil to mark "let it snow" (or any winter greeting you like) on the banner, and trace the letters with a small, neat backstitch in turquoise floss (two or three strands).
Use a running stitch to attach the banner to the snow bank.
Use a doubled strand of black thread or floss and a backstitch to outline the window and create a t-shaped crosspiece inside the window.
The hard part is over! Now to neaten the back, trim away some of the excess fabric, and run a bead of glue (almost any kind you have will do) around the inner hoop. Now fold the fabric down all the way around the hoop, pressing with your thumbs and fingers until the glue takes hold of the fabric. Let the glue dry, and trim around the hoop, using your pinking shears, until you end up with a neat, close edge. (I haven't photographed this step, but you can see it in the "Pink House" tutorial if you want to.)Tah Dah! Let this little man welcome your holiday guests this year!