old fashioned santa ornament tutorial

My tree is mostly filled with red decorations. Of course, I welcome the non red, but I prefer my favorite color - red. So, I wanted to make an ornament with red and to top it off, I wanted Santa. Well, clothespins are fun to work with, so I came up with an old fashioned Santa. He's easy, but I think it's best to make an entire league of Santas at once if you are going to go to all the trouble - plus, more is always better when it comes to ornaments! So, let's get started.

Here's what you need:

*wooden clothes pin with flat end (I bought my pack at Hobby Lobby)

*wooden ball knob 3/4" with one flat side (also from Hobby Lobby)

*Cranberry color felt (or dark red) - 3 pieces (1 - 3"x4" for his coat, 1 - 2"x4 1/2" for his arm sleeves, and one in a semi circle for his hood and I will show you how to make the pattern for this.)

*1 piece of warm and natural batting - 3"x4"

*mini liberty bell (Hobby Lobby)

*jute - 7"

*black paint

*cream color wool yarn (I used the extra soft kind)

*tan color pipe cleaner - 6"

*glue gun and lots of glue

*red embroidery floss - 6"

1 - First, paint the bottom of the clothes pin black. You just need to go about an inch up since that's all that will show when he is done. Make sure you get in between the feet really well

2 - With the glue gun, glue the wooden ball knob on top of the clothes pin.

3 - Paint two eyes on the wooden ball. I used a stylist for paper embossing to do this.

4 - Cut 4 pieces of yarn about 3" long and separate them to make them look full like a beard.

5 - Glue the beard on to his face pressing all the yarn in to the glue to make sure it all gets attached.  

6 - Cut 2- 1" long pieces of yarn to go across his head (in the front only for bangs!) and the other to go across the top of the beard to kind of look like a mustache.   Separate to make them fuzzy. Attach one piece to go a top his head with the glue gun bringing it forward right above his eyes. Then, attach another piece over the top of his beard to look like a mustache.  I don't have a photo of that step until later on, but you will see it in the finished product.  

7 - Take your 3"x4" piece of felt and your 3"x4" piece of warm and natural and wrap around Santa's body going right under the bead head.  The warm and natural will be on the inside and the felt on the outside.  Glue as you go and make sure to end the opening in the front.  You might have to trim up the warm and natural since it kind of gets larger as you wrap it around! Wild!

8 - This is the best time to tie the jute around this waist.  Lift up his beard and tie it in a knot in the front. 

9 - Take your piece of 2"x4 1/2" piece of felt and your pipe cleaner.  Run a line of hot glue along the top of the felt and pull it down approx. 1/2" covering the pipe cleaner.  Then, run a line of hot glue on that seam and pull the bottom of the felt to meet it.  Look at the photo if that isn't too clear. 

10 - Wrap these arms around Santa bending the pipe cleaner.  Glue in place in the back.  

11 - Now it's time for his cape.  To make the pattern just draw a 5" line on a piece of paper.  Then out from the center measure 2 1/2" and make a dot.  Take a plate and use the round arch to meet the middle dot at 2 1/2" from one end of the 5" line.  Then do it from the other end.  

12 - Run a line of hot glue along the straight part of the cape starting 1/2" in and ending 1/2" from the end.  Place the brim of the cape on Santa's head making sure there is just a little of his hair (bangs!) sticking out and pressing the rest of the cape along his head and ending on his arms. Then, glue the under side on the back of the cape, pinching as you go to look like the photo above.

13 - Take your liberty bell and slide it on one of the pipe cleaner (his hand) and roll the end of the pipe cleaner up so the bell doesn't slide off.   

14 - Take a 6" piece of embroidery floss, run it through the top of his cape and tie at the top. You are done and he can now hang on your tree.