Post Pals: Mrs Claus

I'm mainly sharing this little creation to inspire. You may have heard of a wonderful little charity called Post Pals? They send post to seriously ill children (pals) and their siblings all year round. At Christmas time, they ensure their pals get extra post, from Santa's Elves, Santa's Reindeer, and Mrs Claus herself! I couldn't resist signing up to be a Mrs Claus this year. I love the magic of Christmas, and had so many ideas to share with children!

I began by finding a free letterhead on Google, which I printed out on some lovely thick sketchbook paper, before hand writing my letter. I also found a free printable for a recipe card, which I printed out and handwrote a recipe for Gingerbread Playdough on. (The pal I was assigned to cannot eat, so I thought this would be a nice festive alternative.) I also printed out some free printable Christmas designs on to card, and put them through my Cricut to create these cute stocking decorations. I found the SVG for these free over at Fleece Fun.

I had a lot of fun decorating the envelope! The internet has lots of "elf mail" free printables which I was able to use to make the envelope seem like it had traveled all the way from the North Pole!

I sealed it with my wax seal. I'd love to grow my collection of wax and seals, but this is all I have for now and it gave that special touch. It was fun to use too, though I did cause a bit of a splatter!

And then, as happens in the North Pole, Rudolph had to add his mark. The hoof print is made with acrylic paint, and applied with lots of texture so it really seems muddy!

It may be too late to send a pal something for Christmas, but January can be a very slow time for post after the craziness of Christmas. If you could send a pal a simple card or letter, a drawing, or even a small gift, it will put a smile on a seriously ill child's face. It might be the thing that makes them smile after hours of chemotherapy or ending up in hospital again.

Felt Penguin in Rudolph Disguise [Free Pattern!]

I wanted a little extra something to slip in a Christmas present for a friend who loves penguins, and designed this decoration - a penguin dressed as Rudolph (obviously!), complete with antlers and a bright red nose.

If you want to make one, cut two bodies out of black felt, a round tummy out of white felt, a small nose out of red felt (or you could made a yellow triangle for a beak), four antlers from brown felt and a pair of feet from yellow felt. (The feet are optional, but help anchor the design as a penguin and not a confused reindeer!) Stitch the tummy and nose on to the front body piece, and embroider some eyes. Stitch down the centre of each pair of antlers to hold them together, and then stitch the two body pieces together inserting the feet, antlers and a small piece of hanging ribbon as you go. Get the template below, and let me know if you have any questions :)