Sunday, December 22, 2013

Sock Snowmen & Animals

Hello Crafty Friends! 
Sorry I've been MIA for so long. The whole family had came down with severe colds and the flu... yay,fun times... NOT! Everyone here is almost fully recovered with the exception of the baby who is teething. It really kicked my butt sideways and had me out of commission for about a month. But now I am back and crafting and not a moment too soon!

All last week I've been seeing a lot of my crafty friends posting on facebook these super cute snowman creations made from socks... yes, SOCKS! One friend had posted a link to an easy-peasy tutorial on how to make them. The best part... it is entirely NO-SEW!

 I used a tutorial by Kim Landmesser from Ms. Kimm Designs to make my snowman.  So, here it is... my very first sock snowman.


I was ecstatic! It came out soooooo cuuuuutttee! I enjoyed looking at my newly finished creation and pondered... "hmmm, how can I make the different?"... then I thought... "why not change the sock color and make something else?"... "ooooh, what about a penguin or a bear?". So, here they are...


&


My little sock family was growing. And each of them turned out better than I imagined. 

I had lots of great feedback from family & friends and sooo many requests for a tutorial that I decided to include it in my blog post.

Supplies needed to make the penguin & bear are very similar to the ones needed to make the snowman but with a couple additional items. 

Penguin Supplies
black socks
cozy socks
rice 
rubber-bands 
white felt
assorted buttons & embellishments
flat-back pearls & black sharpie or black buttons (these are for the eyes)
hot glue gun & glue  (high temp preferred)
Orange 3D fabric paint
scissors
steel rule die (optional)
pink chalk & q-tips for the cheeks(optional)

I started off by using the Kim's tutorial but didn't see the need to start off with two ends open just to close them back up again... so instead of using the tube of the sock I used the foot... already shaved time & work off.




Cut socks like so...

When turned open side up the ends should be straight across.

Fill a tall glass with rice. You'll need about 2 1/2- 3 cups of rice. You may need a second glass ready on the side.


 Place sock over filled glass of rice.
Turn glass over.

Now the sock should hold it's shape and hold itself open. Pour the remaining rice into the sock.


Tie open end close with rubber-band. I like using hair ties instead of rubber and I do this because rubber and elastic over time gets old and brittle. Excessive heat (especially if stored in attics and storage sheds) will speed this process up. And, even if the elastic breaks the threading covering it will still hold hold it close. Set aside.

For the face and tummy I used my old Sizzix  steel rule dies. They cut through felt like butter. I used the Original die Hearts (item#38-0157) & Oval #2 (item#38-0815).

 
If you don't have these dies and have an electric die cutting machine or are cutting by hand you need an oval that is 2 3/4" tall and a heart that is 1 3/4" tall. Set aside. 

Color flat-back pearls with black sharpie. Set aside to dry. 
If you don't have or cant find flat back pearls black buttons also work fine. 

Hot glue heart & oval to sock with heart slight touching the top of the oval.

Then hot glue flat-back pearl eyes in place.

With Orange 3D fabric paint...


Draw a rounded diamond shape for the penguin's mouth...

Fill in the shape completely with an extra line of paint going across for the beak. Set aside to dry.

Once dry stand up your penguin and shape it like so.

I only could find the cozy socks with toes at my local dollar store so I improvised the snow caps.

Still kept to the basic pattern as Kimm's. Cutting the ankle band as the main (neck) part of the scarf. And about a 2 inch wide segment for the tie. And the rest for the hat.

Cut the 2 inch wide piece so that it becomes a strip.

Your pieces should now look like this

Insert strip into the band like so...

And tie it off.


With a rubber-band and the remaining piece of sock...

Gather all the toes as pictured above...

Tie off with rubber-band.

Flip open end up to create a cuff.


Now dress your penguin. And hot glue in place.

Add embellishments with more hot glue.
 And, with q-tips lightly dust checks in a circular motion till you get desired affect. Tip: Apply small amounts at a time.

Your penguin is done! Yay!!

Now, for the bear! Which is really close to making the penguin but with a couple differences.

Bear Supplies
brown socks
cozy socks
rice 
rubber-bands
light brown/ tan felt 
flat-back pearls & sharpie
hot glue
scissors
assorted buttons &embellishments
steel rule dies(optional)
pink chalk & q-tip for the cheeks (optional)

Just follow the previous tutorial on how to make the body. But instead of heart and oval you're going to need 2 circles.


Top circle measures 1 3/8" and the bottom circle measures 3 3/4".



Hot glue eyes and nose.

And for the ears cut out 2 - 1 inch circle from the remaining brown sock material. and put a dab of glue on one end of the circle as shown above.

Pinch that end together making a semi-cupped shape.

Dress bear & hot glue ear to top of the hat.

Repeat and glue remaining ear to other side.

Embellish & chalk.
Add three dots on each cheek with a sharpie, creating muzzle.

TA-DAH!! Sock bear is done! 

Here's something extra...

Repeat the same steps for the bear but cut the ear circles at 2 inches and it becomes a mouse!!

I hope you enjoyed this tutorial!
Now, go make some awesome sock creations of your own!!