Bottle Gnome with Kunin Felt

 It's that time of year when I get the urge to craft for the Holidays, and Kunin Felt is a mainstay in my crafting supplies. I just love Kunin's bright holiday colored felt, so decided to make my project in those. You could also use one of the many other felt colors Kunin offers (so many choices...). In fact, I liked making this Bottle Gnome so much, I think I'll make another one with a Woodland Theme using "Forest" colors! Maybe I'll make two, I do love working with Kunin Felt - "no-sew" easy crafting, what could be more fun? 

I also had a small piece of the NEW Gwen Studios Die Cut Snowflake Silver Ribbon left over from some other Christmas projects I'm making for a NEW HOLIDAY CRAFT BOOK I'm doing for Bella Crafts Publishing and was delighted to see the snowflake ribbon piece fit nicely around the bottom edge of the gnome, adding a little sparkle. And of course, what would a holiday project be without a touch of "Peppermint" Taffy Stripe Ribbon (also from Gwen Studios)? I do love my ribbons, you'll find Gwen Studios Die Cut Ribbon in Walmart stores, and on walmart.com

Get your supplies together and let's make a Gnome!

Supplies Needed:

Kunin® Felt 9" x 12", Red

Kunin® Felt 9" x 12" Green

Kunin® Felt 9" x 12" White (If you don't want to use the Faux Fur)

Gwen Studios™Die Cut Ribbon, Silver Snowflake

Gwen Studios™Gwen Studios Red/White Taffy Stripe Ribbon 5/8"

White Faux Fur

Empty Plastic Bottle (mine was from the Walmart Flavored Water)

Three 3/4" Wood Doll Heads (half balls or wood balls will also work)

Pine Greenery (to make a little wreath, or a purchased mini wreath)

Hot Glue Gun

Scissors

Pinecones for Wreath, or a Pre-painted Sign Embellishment

Round Wood Slice (not shown in supply picture - for bottom of bottle, I found mine in Walmart in the crafts section)

3/4" Silver Jingle Bell

Ready to make your Bottle Gnome? You are going to love how easy it is!

Instructions:

1. Remove label from bottle, rinse out inside of bottle and let dry. When dry you are ready to cover the bottle with felt. NOTE: If you bottle Gnome is going outside, you'll want to weight it to keep it from blowing over. Rice, beans or kitty litter are good for this. Be sure to put the cap on the bottle after filling. My project is staying inside, or maybe going on a wreath, so I left mine empty.

2. Wrap the Red felt around the bottle so that there is about a 1" overhang of felt at the bottom of the bottle. Glue felt onto bottle. I didn't bother to trim the excess felt as it was only 1" on my bottle, however if you are using a smaller bottle, you will want to trim away excess. Don't worry if the felt doesn't cover the top part of the bottle, as the hat will cover that area.

3. Next, tuck and glue the felt toward the center of the bottle. Work small sections at a time so your hot glue doesn't cool before you press the felt to secure. When finished, your bottle bottom will look like this:

4. Now, lets cover the bottom of the bottle. You could use a cardboard circle covered with felt and glue onto the bottle bottom, but I found these wood slices and decided to use one. Since I choose not weight my bottle,  I am using a wood slice that I found in Walmart's craft section. It will give it some weight and a flat bottom. A tip about cutting the fur trim: You don't want to use scissors - it's best to work from the back of the fur and use a craft knife to score away just the lining of the fur. That way, you won't have a straight cut edge on the fur. If you do use scissors, use small sharp ones and slide the blades through the fur cutting from the back of the fur. It will preserve some of the fur "fringe" using this method. The width to cut fur is 3/4" to 1" and of course it needs to fit around the bottle. 

5. Glue the wood slice to the bottom of the bottle. Be generous with the hot glue here so the wood slice is firmly attached to the felt. Next, apply the fur trim to the felt around the bottle bottom - leave the wood circle uncovered, we'll add ribbon later.

6. Now it's time to add the beautiful Gwen Studios Die Cut Ribbon above the fur trim. You'll need to brush fur away from the felt with your hand. I applied a dot of glue at the center of each snowflake to apply the ribbon to the felt.

7. Time for a hat! Fold the felt in half widthwise as shown. Draw a line diagonally from the bottom straight edge (opposite from fold) of the felt up to the fold as shown. I used a sliver of soap to mark the line on my Green felt. Cut along the line, save excess triangle felt scraps for another project or embellishment! Open out the folded felt. Bring cut edges of felt together overlapping slightly to make a cone shape, then glue along the cut edge. Don't worry if your edges don't align exactly, they will be covered with fur trim.

8. Glue the hat onto the bottle. You may need to stretch the felt a little as you snug it over the bottle top. After the hat is on the bottle, lift edge up and spot glue in place. Leave area at sides unglued as the arms will be slipped under the hat there. Again, don't worry if the back bottom edge of hat doesn't align, it will be covered with fur. Or, if it's bothering you, trim it away!

9. Here is a picture from the front of the Gnome:

10. Make a beard from Faux Fur - remember to use your craft knife to cut from the back, or use scissors as outlined in Step 4. I also cut two smaller pieces of fur to use as a mustache. The photo below shows the front and back sides of the Gnome's beard.

11. Glue the beard at the bottom front edge of the hat.

12. Make two arms from Red felt. Cut 2 pieces of felt 3" x 4". Make a tube arm by folding 4" long edges to meet at center, overlap slightly, then glue. Repeat for other arm.

13. Tuck arms under hat at sides of Gnome's body, set over just a bit away from the beard. Refer to photo. Lift arm, then glue arm to body, then spot glue hat to arm.

14. Glue a 3/4" doll head into each arm sleeve for a hand. 

15. Glue a strip of fur around the edges of the hat. Positon remaining doll head (the nose) over the mustache and beneath the fur trim. When you are pleased with position, glue in place.

16. Add finishing touches: Glue the Red/White Taffy Stripe Ribbon around the wood base. Make a circle wreath from the greenery. Tuck the wreath in the arm, then glue in place. Glue a Red/White bow on the wreath and add a mini sign or pinecones. For a final touch glue a jingle bell to the tip of the hat.

Happy Gnome Crafting,

Jean

If you are looking for more fun felt designs, visit Kunin.

Gwen Studios ribbons and trims are found at Walmart stores.

See more great projects with Kunin Felt with other great Designers on Designer Craft Connection. Click

HERE to see the other designs!

Holiday Cards with Gwen Studios Die Cut Ribbon

I love making quick and easy cards and tags, and I'm always on the lookout for components that save time and add extra pizazz.

You can imagine how delighted I was, when Gwen Studios sent me samples of this adorable and intricate Christmas Die Cut Ribbon. I immediately saw how simple strips of this ribbon run vertically or horizontally on a greeting card would look fabulous!

I'm not one for all the time consuming fancy techniques some use to make their cards, but I DO like my projects to look great! Packing in some intricate detail with these Die Cut Ribbons was just perfect for my style.

Here is how I made the cards and the supplies I used:

Gwen Studios™ Gold Reindeer Die Cut Ribbon

Gwen Studios™ Silver Snowflake Die Cut Ribbon

Gwen Studios™ Silver "Falala" Die Cut Ribbon

Gwen Studios™ Red Lightbulb Die Cut Ribbon

Gwen Studios™ Gingerbread Die Cut Ribbon

Gwen Studios Christmas Ribbon Pack

Gwen Studios 7/8" Blue Satin Ribbon

Gwen Studios 7/8" White Satin Ribbon

4" x 6" White Notecards with Envelopes

Beacon® Zip Dry™ Adhesive

Your choice of Christmas Scrapbook Paper (I used: Candy Cane Stripe, Holiday Saying Squares, Blue Pearl, Red with Metallic Dot, Red and Green Cardstock)

Scissors and Paper Trimmer

Reindeer Card

1. Cut your choice of holiday paper to fit the front of the greeting card, or leave it plain White like I did with the Reindeer Card. 

2. Layer a square saying with Green Cardstock, then glue on the Reindeer Card. Glue a strip of Die Cut Reindeer Ribbon to the bottom 1/3 of the card. From the Christmas Ribbon Favor Pack  to add a glue strip of Green and Gold Snowflake Ribbon then Gold Metallic Ribbon under the Reindeer ribbon.

3. I added a Gold Metallic Ribbon bow to embellish the saying square. Card #1 done!

Gingerbread Card

1. Cut and glue peppermint stripe paper to the front of the card.

2. Cut and glue strip of coordinating Red paper across the card. Add a strip of White grossgrain ribbon (or White yardstick) onto the Red paper.

3. Glue the Gingerbread Die Cut Ribbon on top of the White strip.

4. Create a layered square embellishment using a Red cardstock square and gingerbread icon from scrapbook paper (or print one from clip art on your computer). Card #2 done!

Snowflake Card

1. Cut and glue Blue Pearl cardstock to the front of the card.

2. Cut 7/8" Blue Satin Ribbon, then glue across the bottom area of the card. Glue Snowflake Die cut Trim on top.

3. Cut Blue Satin Ribbon for the middle area of the card, notch both ends of the ribbon then glue in place.

4. Glue "Falala" Silver Die Cut Ribbon on top of the Blue Satin Ribbon.

5. Trim 3 Snowflakes from the Silver Snowflake Ribbon, then glue them across the card, centering between the upper and lower ribbon strips. Card #3 done!

Tis the Season Card

1. Cut Red Cardstock (mine had metallic dots) for the front of the card; glue in place.

2. Cut a Green Cardstock rectangle, 1/2" smaller on all sides than the card; glue in place.

3. Cut Green Holly Leaf Satin Ribbon and Red Holiday Lightbulb Die Cut Ribbon to go across lower area of the card (refer to photo for placement). Glue in place.

4. Layer a holiday saying square paper square with Red Cardstock. Glue in place on the card. Card #4 done!

Each of these cards took me less than 10 minutes to make! My kind of crafting!! I am sending these to a special friend to use for Christmas. She just moved away from her dear friends, and I know she'll love being able to send them a handcrafted card this Christmas. This is my "handcrafted gift from the heart" to her.

I hope you'll try your hand at these cards, or other projects you can make with the Die Cut Ribbon. It's available right now in your WalMart Store and on walmart.com. Here is a picture of what the display looks like:

Create your own "gift from the heart" this Holiday Season!

Thank you to Gwen Studios for providing me with the ribbons to make these projects!

And, thank you to Designer Craft Connection for inviting me to participate in this blog project!

Please be sure to visit these blogs to see the other Designers who also did projects with this fabulous Die Cut Ribbon! You'll enjoy seeing the variety of different projects and gift items. Just click on the Designer Crafts Connection logo or HERE.