Hip, Hip Hooray! It's Presidents' Day!

Sorry that I haven't blogged in a while but I took a little leave to enjoy some family time. D#1 had a program for grandparents at her school Friday, February 1st. She is in the choir and they sang the sweetest songs.  My in-laws came to visit and we had a blast. D#1 came home from college for the day Saturday, Feb 2nd. Fun family times!  This past weekend my mom came to visit. We had a great time with her. She made us fudge and a Mississippi Mud Cake or as my grandmother use to call it Mississippi River Mud Cake.

I have made one more Presidents' Day craft. A Presidents' Day shaker. I wanted it to look like a "Vote" button. I think that little "Vote" button is so American! I have looked for them at antique stores, but they are so expensive. Around $15 a button for the small ones. I think they would look so adorable on my vintage style bears. Hmmm.....I think D#1 has a button maker some where in her closet......

 

I hope that you didn't put the Christmas tinsel garland away. I love that stuff. Not only is it retro and sparkly but you can use it year around for craft projects. It makes great sparklers for Presidents' Day or the 4th of July. Bend white floral wire into swirly shapes and glue tuffs of tinsel onto the ends. Shaker instructions here just don't forget the cardboard inserts which help stabilize the shaker. Instructions on the inserts can be found here.

"hip, hip, hooray....it's Presidents' Day!" is embroidered on the shaker. Add a tinsel collar (instructions here) and paint the stick red, white, and blue.

I will have some St. Patty's Day crafts coming up soon. I think that I jumped the gun and said my next crafts will be Easter....I forgot St. Patrick's Day. Mustn't forget the wee little leprechauns and their pot of gold! Until then, Happy Valentine's Day and Happy Presidents' Day!

Holly

And remember, if you have a question about the construction of the shaker you can email me or leave a comment.

Did You Not Know....?

Did you not know George Washington was the only president who did not live in Washington, D.C?

Did you not know George Washington was the only president who was unanimously elected?

Did you not know George Washington had all of his teeth pulled out when he was 57?

Did you not know that George Washington never shook hands with people?

Did you not know that George Washington never had any biological children?

Did you not know that there were only 13 stars on the American flag when George Washington became president in 1789?

Did you not know that five states were added to the Union while George Washington was president?

Did you not know those state were: North Carolina, Rhode Island, Vermont, Kentucky and Tennessee? 

Did you not know that George Washington's shoe size was a 13?

Did you not know that George Washington was 6'2"?

I hope that you have enjoyed these "Did you not know..." trivia facts. Sweet little daughter #2 loves to treat us to facts she has learned from various places. She always starts her factoid sentence with "Did you not know.....?". 

"Did you not know that lizards' tails pop off and grow back?" "Did you not know that each snowflake is different?" "Did you not know that bats use echo location?" "Did you not know that dolphins breath air?" "Did you not know that the flu is worst now than a few months ago?" Ummmm..."Did you not know that God knows how many hairs are on our head?" Oooooo...."Did you not know that some birds can fly upside down?" Well......"Did you not know that cows have 4 stomachs?".....Ok.......we arrive at school. Time to get out and start the day and learn more "Did you not know...?" factoids. Only 6 1/2 more hours until I become smarter than I am right now :) Can't wait!!

George Washington

George Washington is made just like all of the other felties. 

His Tricorn Hat. Cut out the circle and sew "a" to "a", "b" to "b" and "c" to "c". Take tiny stitches, just enough to tack.

Make George's body first. Flesh arms and head, tan upper legs and pants bib. The pants bib is sew on last after everything else is sewn in place. The purpose of this bib is to make the pants look like they extend up to the waist line. You could also glue the bib in place if you wanted to. The body and hair are made out of white felt. Coat is blue with tan trim and gold embroidery floss tassels on the shoulders. The buttons are just pieces of aluminum foil cut out with a tiny hole punch and glued on. The ruffly shirt is just lace glued in place. Boots and hat are made out of black felt. Use these links here, here and here if you need help on how to make the felties. 

An unraveled piece of yarn or tiny piece of wool roving makes a perfect ponytail. 

His flag only has 13 stars and is hand painted on a scrap of fabric and glued onto a q-tip with all the tips cut off and painted brown. On the lid I painted the American flag. The bottom of the box I hand painted each president's name. I then painted brown (very very watered down) layer over the lid and bottom and them immediately wiped it off. This gives an antique look to your box. 

Happy (early) Presidents' Day!! I have one more Presidents' Day craft to share with you and then it is off to Easter! Can't wait!

Have a wonderful crafty night,

Holly

Why, hello Mr. President!

February brings two of my favorite February holidays: Valentine's Day and Presidents' Day. I love Valentine's Day for the obvious: express love to the ones that you love. I love Presidents' Day because of the history. I have always loved history, even political history. In 10th grade I had a history teacher, Mr. Carter. He was a kind, gentle old school soul who enjoyed history and enjoyed talking about it. He loved to call us "Dear hearts". The year that I had him would be his last, he retired after that year. 

When I think of Presidents' Day, I automatically turn to President Abraham Lincoln. With his iconic tall hat and black beard he makes a perfect Presidents' Day figure. 

He holds a miniature Gettysburg Address in his left hand and a feather pen in his right. I did some research and found out that Lincoln likely used a type of fountain pen but I thought the feather pen looked old fashion.

 

I know that it looks like he has a lot of parts, but he really doesn't. I didn't want to squish them all together onto one page so I spread them out over two. 

He is made the same was as all of the other felties. Follow the beard and robe (this will help with Lincoln's coat) instructions for Father Time and the hat instructions for the Snowman Trinket Box. If you notice the hat brim has a section cut out. This cut out will help the hat fit better on Lincoln's head. 

His head, nose and arms are flesh colored felt. His hair, beard, hat, eyes, eyebrows, coat and legs are black felt. His body was made out of white felt. Rub some blush on his face for cheeks. 

 A 1" piece of black ribbon was tied in a knot and used for his necktie. It is easier if you start with a 2 1/2" long ribbon and cut to size. I cut a feather down to size to use for his feather pen. His mouth was stitched on using two strands of embroidery floss.

I painted the lid to his box black. I printed out a copy of the Gettysburg Address and then mod podged it on to the bottom of the box. Go ahead, make him in honor of your favorite history teacher. What fun! I will use him in my 4th of July decorations, too! If you feel too crunched for time  to finish him for Presidents' Day, start on him now and finish him for the 4th of July!

I do have another historical president coming up. Can you guess who it might be? Hint, he did use feather pens. And I will also have a Presidential shaker soon. Can't wait to share with y'all!!

Have a wonderful, crafty night,

Holly