WATCH OUT..it's a reindeer stampede!!

Finally...after working on these lil guys since Sunday...I have rounded all 18 of them up. The Chazman wanted to give each classmate something FUN for Christmas and I think these little whimsical guys will be just what he ordered.

The reindeer itself is one of the Chazman's doodles....not one that I did for him but one he did for me. I just took that and made my pattern. If you don't have an upcoming artist in your household...no problems...just draw you a pattern for my "HOW TO" that I'm getting ready to do for you.

Supplies Needed:

Felt or Fur (in two different shades)

Black Seed Beads

Black Pompoms or red if you want to make Rudolph

Pin backings

Jingle Bell

Brown Embroidery floss

Black thread

Stuffing/Batting

Hot glue

Glitter or MICA flakes

Now keep in mind that these are simple, FUN pins to make..so you can design your head and antlers in any shape you want. Decide what size you want and then fold over the felt or fur....leaving the fold as the top of the head. (do not cut the fold) This what you should have once you cut out the head.

Next step is to sew on the eyes, nose and pin backing. I use regular black thread to sew these on with. I don't cut my thread after sewing the face but I do make sure I knot each one before I move on to attaching the next eye and then the nose. I add one line under the nose over to the side for a mouth. You can add one...or not. Remember..this is your reindeer. After face is complete then turn the head around so the back is facing you and sew the pin backing on. Here is what you should have after this step:

Next are the ears and antlers. Again...keep in mind what these look like on a real reindeer. Here is the design that Chaz did. The antlers should be a darker color than the reindeer and ears.

I sew the ears first. Just a few stitches...simply fold them in half and sew at the bottom...so they have what looks like a tiny ear hole in them. Open them up and then sew them to the bottom part of the antler. Then sew the two bottom corners of the antlers over the bottom of the ear. Here is what they should look like.

Now...let's attach those ears to the face. Take the face and fold over so the face is in front and the back is well....in the back ^_^.  Take the ear and place right at the fold in between the face and back. I use a simple whip stitch with 3-ply embroidery thread. Once you have the front whip stitched then turn it around to the back and stitch the same way. When starting on the front I start at the bottom of the ear so that I am working my way up and around to the back and then I'm lined up to whip around the face. Now...whip around the face. When you get to the other side about half way...STOP...it's time to stuff that face ^_^. It doesn't take much....you just want to fill the face out a bit so it doesn't just lay flat. Our reindeer needs a bit of personality!! Here is what it should like at this stage.

Once you have the face filled out, place the other antler in it's space and stitch the same way you did the other antler. Just remember to stitch it to the front and the back. Don't want any little hands pulling Chet's (that's what Chaz calls his reindeer...LOL..yes we watched the Santa Claus movies this weekend) ear to hard and pulling it off. Now add a jingle bell or two to the bottom and your finished. Here is what the finished piece should look like.

Of course....all of you that know ME...know that I can't have a plain reindeer. I took all of my little herd and using my glue gun and some MICA flakes...I made it look like they had played in the snow. The possibilities are endless here people...honest...just use those imaginations. OK...you need some ideas..well..here are a few. You could sew some of those miniature strings of lights to his antlers and top of his head like he got all tangled up in em. Or perhaps some of those tiny plastic snowflakes that come in a string like garland...sew those to the antlers. Or maybe if you want to make him look "cool" you could make him a tiny leather collar....and owwwww maybe a little leather hat to go ummmm....HEY...I know YOU and I know that you have just as vivid an imagination as I do...well..ok..maybe not everyone but I know you can do it...so do it!! Then let me see what your reindeer looks like...I love to see when someone else has used a shared idea.

So.....on to the next handmade Christmas gift. I think it's MONSTER time....LOL!!!!

Until next time....Hugs, Regi