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Popsicle Stick Christmas Ornaments

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It's November, which to many over-enthusiastic holiday lovers means CHRISTMAS! Yes, I love Thanksgiving as well—it's just one big holiday celebration for me from now to the end of the year. So far, I've refrained from putting up my Christmas tree, but that doesn't mean I can't prepare, right? This past weekend, I spent some time making some ornaments. I love to create handmade ornaments to add to my little tree each year. 
Lately I've been interested in popsicle stick crafts. I found some super cute ideas on Pinterest (see the links to my Holiday Crafts and Food board and specific posts below). I like that such a simple material can have so many possibilities. Just add paint and glue!
I was able to get my kids involved for part of my craft day. They are ages 2 and 3, so they didn't do much beyond just paint a few popsicle sticks. I turned these painted sticks into little Santa Claus ornaments—two for each daughter as they're bound to ruin some of them …
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Santa Doll Makeover

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Well, it's officially the Christmas season, which means sparkling snow, pretty twinkle lights, cookie baking, and holiday crafting.

To kick off this December, I thought I would share this DIY gift that I had fun making for my mom a few years ago. She likes to collect Santa dolls to display in her home at Christmastime, so I came up with the idea to design and make her a custom doll. I ended up buying a Ken doll and modifying it to look like Santa Claus. See below for my work-in-progress pictures and the end results.




BEFORE
This particular doll worked well because I could use the boots in the final Santa outfit.



I used permanent markers to add some wrinkles and rosy cheeks to the face.



I sewed batting scraps around the body of the doll to plump him up a bit. I then designed and knit a miniature winter sweater, and also sewed him a pair of pants and hat from fabric scraps.



I glued strips of white specialty fur yarn to the face to create the eyebrows and hair, and knit a small block with the yarn to create the beard.



AFTER

Happy December!
Niki



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And don't forget... My Christmas coloring book is for sale on Amazon!



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**UPDATE - 2015** The miniature sweater knitting pattern has been revised.  View/Download the new pattern here:
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DOWNLOAD
A gift tag template for creating a Christmas ornament from this sweater can be found on my Templates and Patterns page. Additional sweater patterns are available for sale in my Etsy shop.


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