Meet Mister Santa!

Do you know, I started this sweet little Santa Claus last Christmas? I got a bit stressed with him because it streeeeetched my sewing skills....and fraaaaaaayed my temper.

{I should probably tell you that 'a bit stressed' is an understatement of the hugest proportions. But I think you probably knew that already....}

 I decided that getting so frustrated with a little stuffed toy was a sign that I was doing too much in the run-up to Christmas and so I popped him away in my craft stash until this year.

{And I didn't do the gingerbread stuffing that year either.....I went and read Christmas stories with the children instead.....Yes, I was officially a Christmas slacker....}

When I got him back out, I found that I was full of renewed vigour for completing the project in time for this Christmas and that it was actually far easier than I'd been stressing about. Yay!

{And that is basically the crux of my excuse for keeping so many craft projects on the go at once. Are you listening, Mr Modern Country? It's all about waiting for renewed vigour, you see.....}

I made Mister Santa following a mix of patterns in the brilliant Christmas books by Tone Finnanger: Crafting Christmas Gifts and Sew Pretty Christmas Homestyle. Have you seen these books before? If you haven't, and you like sewing, then I have to warn you that these books will take you to another level of craft-book ecstasy!

They are packed FULL of brilliant and gorgeous Christmas sewing projects, for all skills, and all styled completely beautifully. I've put them over on my Amazon sidebar if you want to link through directly.

I used material that I already had: pinky-beige cotton for his skin, pale cream wool for his hair, thick red velvet for his lovely coat and some bits of my red tea-dyed checked/striped fat quarter for his trousers and hat (the same fabrics that I used for my Cinnamon Heart Garland).

I love his big ole feet!

Every time I see Mister Santa perched on his radiator cover throne, I give a little inner squeal to myself. He's just so darn cute, isn't he? It's honestly as though he has taken on a character all of his own!

Just before I go, may I just tell you that Cath's gorgeous blog, Tigs White Canvas, has *the* most fantastic tutorial for making Christmas clay ornaments?

Really gorgeous ones that totally inspire you to have a go yourself. Have a look and see whether you can resist her charms. Yes, did I mention that she's LOVELY too?

Oh, and I'm just putting the finishing touches to one of my favourite Christmas projects this year. It's a very special two-in-one extravaganza.  

I just can't stay away from the cinnamon, can I?! Come back and see....

I'm linking up to my favourite linky parties in my sidebar....