Saturday, November 27, 2010

Needle Felted Santa

Is it strange to have a life-size Santa head on your windowsill? I'm on the fence on this one. You'll have to let me know what you think in all honesty. Most of the time I feel pretty good about this guy. He was so much fun to make and watch as he was coming into creation. I love the look of an Old World Santa (even if it is just his head). I made this guy last year, just when I was beginning blogging....but I never posted about him. What better time that now?? It's after Thanksgiving right?? Do I have your permission to go hog wild on the Christmas decor?? :-) 

I wish I could give you a full tutorial, but it was a year ago and I'm a little fuzzy on the details. I can tell you some basic things you'll need to make it:
Muslin fabric
Poly-filling
Fabric Paint
Clean Sheep Wool (uncarded)
Red fleece
White fleece
Needle Felting tool
Hot Glue
~Take the muslin and sew it into a oval pillow shape. Fill it with poly-filling and sew it closed.
~ Shape the wool into a beard with the felting tool by gathering bits together and tamping them firmly together with the tool. Make a separate mustache that is nice and full. Sheep wool that hasn't been carded or dyed makes the BEST beards, and most of the time they come in pieces that are already beard shaped. I bought and cleaned this wool all by myself. You can read about it HERE in my very first blog post about traditional felting.
~Use lots of hot glue to glue the beard and mustache in place. I used some straighter pieces of wool for Santa's hair, which I glued separately. I also made some fluffy eyebrows from wool as well.
~Use pink and red fabric paint for some dramatic rosy-red cheeks. Brown and tan colors work well for the eyes. 
~Sew two large red fleece triangle shaped pieces together and sew on a white trim for the cuff of the hat. I attached a little bell to the tip of the hat for fun. 
~Hot glue or sew ( or both, which I did) the hat onto Santa's head. 
Voila!!
That's about the best I can remember of how I made Santa's disembodied head. ;-) 
Let me know what you think!!


P.S. YAY!!!! This post was featured on Punkin Seed  Productions here:

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16 comments:

  1. I really like him. I too adore the old world Santas. We've been putting Christmas Decorations up today so I think this it a totally appropriate time.

    Thank you for the instructions too. I live the face and the use of the wool.

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  2. I think he's cool! And yes, please DO go hog wild!

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  3. You know -- I really love the Santa head. He has a personality all of his own. It could be that if you put a body with the head, he might lose some of what makes him so "special". But then you would probably make the body special too. I love him!

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  4. I just wanted to stop by and let you know that I linked to this post today from the Home & Garden channel at Craft Gossip. :)

    Your feature will appear in the main Craft Gossip RSS feed, on the main home page and can be found directly here
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/9-santa-crafts-for-christmas/

    If you would like a "featured by" button, you can grab one here!
    http://homeandgarden.craftgossip.com/grab-a-craft-gossip-button/

    ReplyDelete
  5. Outstanding job!! I love him but then again I am a true Santa Believer. I make clay Santa's so I always love finding another Santa artist.

    So happy I found you at House of Hepworth's "HOH".

    Hugs,
    Regi

    Ohh congrats on the feature too ^_^

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  6. wow, you did an amazing job!! Thanks so much for linking up to handmade tuesdays @ ladybug blessings!

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  7. Oh he's great!! Faces can be so difficult to felt! You did a great job!

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  8. I think it's great to have a Santa head on your windowsill! He's very cute, too! Great job! Susan

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  9. I LOVE,LOVE,LOVE him. So what if he's only a head! BUT if it really bothers you all you have to do is buy or make red longjohns and STUFF them for him, a little pair of boots, mittens and INSTANT body!!! I fell in LOVE with him at first sight, Hmmmm, I think it may have something to do with my obsession to OWN this VIETRI Old ST. Nick @ http://www.vietri.com/store/CategoryDisplay.cfm?cat=3153&cid=251&CFID=4976540&CFTOKEN=82778719 ...Thank you SO MUCH for sharing your creation with us. "LOVE IT"... Hugs to you, Donna

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  10. Thats quite the santa! Very very fun. Thanks for linking up to Topsy Turvy Tuesdays!

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  11. I love your Old World Santa...I've never done needle felting, but I love looking at projects made with that. You did a wonderful job!

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  12. Love the texture!
    -Amanda
    www.theivycottageblog.blogspot.com

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  13. I LOVE it!!! I have a HUGE Santa head on my wall so of course I have to love yours! I'm really lovin his beard!

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  14. Phewwwww, I finally found your comment box. Lots of tags to skip over. Now, about the santa...that is INCREDIBLE!!!


    My Show n Tell Link - A Jim Shore Find

    Do stop by and say 'hi' if you can find time. Have a great week ahead.

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  15. Such a darling ole fella...I’m having a Christmas Open House…would love to have you join in on the fun. Merry Christmas to you and your family!

    Blessings,
    Linda

    ReplyDelete

gimme dat comment.