GardenMama

.: Valentine Gnome & Felt Heart Pin ~ Two Part Tutorial :.

This tutorial will share with you a two-part Valentine's Day gift! 

These Valentine gnomes present your loved one with a hand-made heart pin! 

Here is the two-part tutorial for you to follow to make some for your family and friends!

.: Part one ~ Creating felt heart pins :.

With a small piece of cardboard folded in half, trace half of a heart along the folded side.  Next you will cut this folded half-heart shape out completely.  Open to reveal a complete and symmetrical cardboard heart template that will help us in the steps to follow!

Begin by tracing the cardboard heart template twice on each sheet of felt. 
 

Cut out two hearts in each color.

Next take out several complementary colors of embroidery thread.

You can embroider your hearts or leave them plain.  Now begin stitching up your heart and leave a small opening to stuff them with wool.

Fill your felt heart with wool until it is quite full.  We used a knitting needle to ensure the hearts were very evenly stuffed.

Finish stitching up your hearts. Make sure to hide the last stitch by sewing through just one of the felt sheets and tying off your thread inside the heart.

 

Next stitch a pin back onto the (upper) back of the heart. 

.:Set aside your heart pins and prepare for Part II of this tutorial:.

.: Part Two  ~ Creating Valentine Gnomes :.

Set out a pinecone with a thin point to the top of it.  Place a medium-sized wooden bead over the point of the pinecone, securing it with glue.  This will form the head of the Valentine Gnome.

 

Begin by cutting a triangle shape from felt.  This will create your Valentine Gnome's hat.

Wrap the triangle shape around the wooden bead. You can make alterations accordingly until your gnome hat fits.

Now begin stitching up your hat by folding the triangle in half and stitching up the back.

Your gnome hat is now complete.  Secure it to the wooden bead with a bit of glue.

 

.: Securing the heart pin to the Valentine gnome .:

Now take a length of embroidery floss and loop it through your (closed) felt heart pin back.  The long lengths of thread can then be wrapped around the pinecone and tied in the back.  (Leave loose enough so that the heart pin can be taken off to be worn.)

This little gnome is now ready to gift your Valentine with a sweet heart pin that can be taken off and worn while the Valentine gnome visits your nature table!

.: A Gift For The Birds :.

.: Pinecones gathered on a snowy day :.

We enjoyed feeling the energy of this day through time speant outdoors. The temperatures have dropped and snow storms continue to visit leaving us spending the last few days indoors. 

It felt refreshing to fill our lungs with fresh air if only for a short time, as we set out to gather pinecones to create a gift for the birds. 

We walked to the edge of the pine grove and took shelter under the pine trees. They seemed to be the only place untouched by the snow. We imagined that wild rabbits, deer and squirrels enjoy this place as well. The air was cold and the snow that covered the landscape around us swirled up into the air as the winds blew, creating a beautiful show.

.: The pinecones opened up when brought into the warm house :.

We moved our feet across the pine needles that lay under the trees to reveal tightly closed pinecones that we then placed into our baskets.  We arrived home and set out peanut butter, cooking trays, yarn, and birdseed to craft a nurturing winter gift for the birds!

When the pinecones were brought inside the baskets became even more full as the pinecones opened up in the warmth of home.

.: Each pine cone is strung upon a yarn loop for hanging :.

Many pinecones were strung as we created beautiful ornaments to adorn the trees once again...

.: Buttering each pinecone with peanut butter :.

Each pinecone was first covered in a coating of peanut butter.
 

.: Rolling each peanut butter covered pine cone in birdseed :.

While rolling each pinecone into the birdseed we enjoyed the feeling of  preparing a nutritious and layered meal for these favored friends that faithfully visit each day to grace us with their beauty as we observe them in special moments by sunny windowsills. 

.: The finished treats for the birds :.

.: Looking good enough to eat! :.

Each peanut butter and birdseed covered pinecone was placed onto baking sheets and put into the refrigerator to further set.

We concluded that these treats looked good enough to eat! It was our pleasure to decorate the trees with these sweet simple treats for our friends the birds.

.: One of my favorite birds, a Chickadee enjoying this treat! :.

.: This Tufted Titmouse would take a seed and then sit over on the branch to crack it open :.

In no time at all they found the snacks that we left them. Soon all that was left was a bare pinecone left to return to forest once again!

.: A closer look at this friend who was enjoying the treat we left him :.

.: Seasonal Window Adornment ~ Tutorial :.

As the snow continues to fall we enjoy the warmth of home.  Our gaze outdoors is met with a landscape of white snow so we set our sights on adding a bit of color to our windows indoors!

With many dried pine needles left behind after the holidays, we gathered them up to recycle and craft with for a day just like today...

We enjoyed creating many seasonal wreaths of dried pine, red berries, and pinecones and hung them in the windows of the living room.  The windows are full with color and natural beauty with a backdrop of snow.

This piece of sturdy cardboard was recycled from the back of a watercolor paper pad.

 I selected a bowl just the size I wished for each wreath to be. I then placed it upon the cardboard to trace a circle.

With a cup I traced on the inside of each circle to create a ring that would be cut out.

After cutting out a cardboard ring template we were ready to begin!

Dried evergreen needles had previously been set aside from our Christmas tree as well as a few evergreen branches I have placed on our nature table. We gathered mini pinecones and some red berries that grow right outside our door for all of us to create our wreaths.

The children and I were already cozy in the living room watching the snow fall outdoors through the windows so I set out the cover of a large box for the children to use as a creating area. 

Each child's wreath was coated in glue-- and then--as if decorating a cake, they went right to play!

These little wreaths are simple to create, while also looking natural and beautiful in your windows. They can also of course be as simple or complex as you wish, enjoyed by mamas too as I always enjoy creating alongside my littles.

 

Finished with a piece of natural-colored Raffia ribbon, these wreaths add a bit of seasonal color to our days. I look forward to adapting them to other seasons as well.  We will enjoy creating new wreaths as the seasons change with dried flowers, pressed leaves, or shells.