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The Little (Felt) Gingerbread Boy

I’ve been thinking about this year’s Christmas tree.

Last year our homemade Christmas tree decorations melted and dripped onto the floor just as the proceeding were hotting up. They created a rather sticky mess that took well into the New Year to clean up. (although all that scrubbing did bring the floor up with a lovely shine)

This year there will be no edible tree decorations. This year there will be a clear distinction between the decorative and the edible. There will be no multitasking decorations  and no sensory confusion.

There will no crunching of baubles or nibbling of the decor in between courses. Visitors may not chew on the doors or lick the window panes. Any coins found in the sofa will be real (mine!) and the only gingerbread on my tree this year will be crafted from felt;  stitched by hand and embellished with buttons. If it is on a plate – you may eat it. If it is on the tree – you may not.

And so yesterday I busied myself making some felt gingerbread figures for the tree and just as I was working on the last one I was rudely  interrupted.

 

“What are you doing?”  asked the boy suspiciously.

“Making some gingerbread men for the tree .” I said.

“Can I eat one now?”

“No, they’re made of felt – ho ho ho!” (jolly Santa laugh)

“What’s the point in that?” (eyes rolling in such an exaggerated manner that one detached itself and rolled across the floor.)

“Well I thought it would be nice to make ginger bread effigies of ourselves and we can hang them on the tree every Christmas. It could be a new family tradition. Look that one with the scowly face is you”

“What’s the point in having a gingerbread man if you can’t eat it?” the boy scowled.

“It’s a DE-COR-RA-SHUN. The clue is in the word!” I snapped.

“All right! There’s no need to bite my head off!” and with that the boy grabbed the little gingerbread man, skipped across the kitchen and ran straight outside.

gingerbread boy 2

The little gingerbread man was on his way down the road before the woman was out of the house.

‘STOP!’ cried the woman, as he approached the river.

“You’ve forgotten how it ends”

gingerbread boy 4

How to Make A Felt Gingerbread Man

You will need:

  • A small amount of ‘ginger’ coloured fleece.
  • A felting needle.
  • A small piece of foam.
  • Some white thread, tiny amount of black fleece, small buttons – or anything else you might want to decorate your figures with.
  • A gingerbread man cookie cutter.

Lay your cookie cutter on top of your foam on a firm surface.

Fill the cookie cutter with fleece and prod with the felting needle until it is completely felted.

Decorate however you wish. You can use the felting needle to felt woollen yarn onto the figure to depict white icing, and either felt the eyes in place using black fleece, or you could use small black beads, or buttons.

Stitch some buttons down his front.

and you’re done!

This post is a link in a circle of blogs called Sisterhood Stories. Please hop over to Laura’s post next and leave some love on the way…..

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. I just LOVE how you integrated the storybook in this! How sweet! And I believe it’s a great idea to separate the edible from the ornamental 🙂

    1. Mercerie

      The Real Person!

      Author Mercerie acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
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      Thank you Isabelle 🙂

  2. Fantastic – I remember that book – I love the gruesome ending. This is a very clever piece of writing, I really enjoyed it. Thank you for the felting instructions – I must have a go at that, it looks intriguing. I am just knitting a bag that has to be felted in the washer – wish me luck!

    1. Mercerie

      The Real Person!

      Author Mercerie acts as a real person and verified as not a bot.
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      says:

      Thanks Jill – and yes, good luck with the felted bag, I hope it’s a success 🙂

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