Red and White Country Christmas
Turn your home into a Christmas wonderland with these easy projects.
  
 
 
 
Fleece Snowman
You need: 1/4 yard white polar fleece; paper; 2 pieces black felt; small amounts of orange and red felt; sewing supplies; hot glue gun; fiberfill; tacky glue.

Cutting: From fleece, cut one 10" diameter circle for snowman head. Cut one 3" diameter circle for base. Cut two rectangles, each 6" wide x 9", for body. Round the corners of top of both rectangles for shoulders. On paper, draw arm shape with one rounded end for hands and opposite end slanted diagonally to fit along sides of body. Arms should be 5" long x 2-1/2" wide. Cut out and use as a pattern to cut 4 arms from fleece. From black felt, cut 4-1/2" diameter circle for hat brim. Cut one strip, 3" x 9", for hat crown. Cut two dots for eyes and four smaller dots for mouth. From orange, cut one small triangle nose. From red felt, cut one 1" x 23" strip for scarf.

Assembling: Sew running stitches along edge of head piece. Pull thread to close and stuff with fiberfill. Knot thread and sew closed securely. With right sides facing, sew pairs of arms together, leaving slanted end open. Turn right side out. Stuff firmly and sew closed. Position arms along front body piece with slanted edges aligned with raw edges and pin. With right sides facing, sew body pieces together along side and top edges, leaving an opening below one arm. Sew base to body. Turn right sides out and stuff. Slipstitch opening closed. Sew head on body several times to secure.
 

Finishing: Fold crown in half lengthwise and glue ends together. Glue in center of brim. Glue hat on head. Glue eyes and mouth to head. Roll nose into carrot shape and glue to middle of face. Glue pom-pom to either end of scarf and tie scarf around neck.

--Designed by Michele Filon
 

Penguin Pal
You need: paper; small amounts of black, white, orange and yellow felt; sewing needle and thread; tacky glue.

Cutting: On paper, draw penguin shape, about 2-1/2" wide x 5" tall. Shape should be oblong with a round head at one end and a small semi-circle cut-out for legs at opposite end. Draw wing shapes, about 1" wide and 3" long. Cut out to use as patterns. Cut two body pieces from black felt. Cut two wings each from black and white felt. Cut tuxedo piece that will fit in center of body from white felt. Cut two webbed feet each from black and orange felt. Cut small triangle from yellow felt. Cut two dots from white for eyes and two smaller dots from black to fit in center.

Assembling: Sew body pieces together, leaving an opening for turning. Turn right sides out and stuff. Slipstitch opening closed. Glue white wing to black wing. With white underneath, glue wings on either side of body. Glue tuxedo piece on front. Fold yellow triangle and glue in center of face for nose. Glue black dot in center of white dot and glue on face for eyes. Glue orange foot on black foot and glue at ends of legs.

--Designed by Luba Kierkosz
 

Stuffed Fabric Star Ornaments and Folksy Tree Topper
You need: paper; red and white gingham fabric; sewing supplies; red cord; red buttons; fiberfill stuffing.

Cutting: On paper, draw one large star for topper and small star for ornaments. Cut out, adding 1/4" for seam allowance, for patterns. Fold fabric in half. Using patterns, cut out two stars for topper and each ornament.

Sewing: With right sides facing, sew stars together, leaving an opening for turning. Clip corners and turn right side out. Stuff firmly with fiberfill. Sew opening closed. Leave small opening in between points of topper for inserting on tree. Cut and sew length of cord around edges of star. Sew a button in center on front and back of each star.

--Designed by Janis Bullis
 

Casual Layered Runner
You need: checked fabric; gingham fabric; embroidered fabric; sewing supplies.

Sewing: From checked fabric, cut a rectangle, the desired runner length x desired runner width, adding 1" all around for hems. Length of runner should drape down sides of table. Cut a second topper, about 1" narrower and desired length to fit in center of table, from gingham fabric. From embroidered fabric, cut one piece 1" smaller all around then gingham topper. Fold and sew 1/2" double hem around each piece. Position checked runner down table with gingham topper first then embroidered topper centered on top.

--Designed by Christine McCabe