Marching Brayden

If you remember, last month I posted the Marching Mariah ornament.  Time for Marching Brayden!  Here's a picture of the kids so you can refresh your memory.

Brayden plays snare drum and the percussion uniforms are quite different from the rest of the band.  I was able to use the same basic body type from Mariah's ornament and just make some basic changes to the uniform and the arm positions.  (Yes -- you can have this pattern.)

I thought toothpicks would be a little too small scale-wise, so I bought the tiniest dowel rod I could find in the Walmart craft department.  The drummers wrap their sticks with colored electrical tape and everyone chooses their own design.  I had Brayden draw me a picture of what his look like so I could duplicate them.  He turned out great!

I didn't bother stitching the "WH" on the chest because I knew the snare drum harness would cover it up.  I was worried about the beret looking like a blob, but I think it looks okay.  I was also concerned as I was stitching that Brayden's ornament was bigger than Mariah's, but once I got them done I could see that it was perfect.   

I can't wait to see these on the tree this year.  I know if I post a picture of these on Facebook, I'll be hit with a million requests for orders.  My answer will be, as always, "You can't afford it!"

Skating Brayden

Since he was along on the trip to Cleveland for everyone's first ice skating experience, Brayden needed an ornament, too.

(Concentration requires his tongue to be out.  I should've put that on the ornament!)

If you recall, I made Skating Mariah last month.  Back to Etsy to look for a suitable boy. Something about this set of clipart caught my eye.  I think it was the hat.  

I had that moment where I asked for an opinion when what I really wanted was approval of a decision I'd already made.  "I was thinking about a red hat," I said.  "No.  Camo." was the response.  CAMO.  I actually did have some camo felt, so I could deal with that.  "And a black coat. Because my coat is black."  A black coat.  BLACK.  That's not festive.  I put my foot down on that one.  I reminded him that his other coat is tan and he relented.  And I made a decision not to ask him for any more opinions.  First, the Playstation logo and now, the black coat.  You, sir, are done having input!

This one turned out GREAT.  I love the body position and that hat.  When he's hanging, he'll actually be tipped back a little -- like the clipart picture.  He'll look great on the tree this year!

DISCLAIMERS:

In case anyone happens by and thinks I've stolen someone else's work or thinks I'm profiting from it:

• I purchased the clip-art.  I did not do a "right click/save as."
• I am not selling a pattern made from this clip-art.  I'm not even giving away a pattern made from this clip-art.  
• I am not selling ornaments made from this clip-art.  

Donatello

Brayden's second request was more reasonable, fun, and challenging.  He wanted a Ninja Turtle.  The purple one, to be exact, whose name is Donatello.  Off to Etsy for some clipart!  There were lots of options, but this one seemed to be the best fit for my purposes.  Since Brayden is older, I wanted the least cartoonish thing I could find.  This had a LOT of pieces . . . about 40, to be exact.  It was worth it, though, because he turned out great!

The clipart picture made it look like something was wrapped around the middle of the stick, so I used some skinny hemp cord I had.  I don't usually do much on the back of an ornament other than stitch the date.  Even though no one will see it, I felt compelled to do something fancy with the design of the shell.

Brayden was so happy with it that I feel sure I'll be stitching the other three turtles in the coming years!



DISCLAIMERS:

In case anyone happens by and thinks I've stolen someone else's work or thinks I'm profiting from it:

• I purchased the clip-art.  I did not do a "right click/save as."
• I am not selling a pattern made from this clip-art.  I'm not even giving away a pattern made from this clip-art.  
• I am not selling ornaments made from this clip-art.  

Playstation Playtime

March was the month for Brayden's ornaments.  He's surprisingly enthusiastic about them given that he's a 15 year-old boy.  I asked him if he had any special requests.  He loves to play video games, so I suggested a boy playing one.  Nope.  He wanted the Playstation logo.  

  

I'll give you a minute.

That's right . . . THE PLAYSTATION LOGO.  That symbol on a black background.  Nothing I said could convince him that would be a pretty stupid ornament.  The Playstation logo on a black background.  That was his first request.  So, with out further ado . . . . here it is:

Is that the dumbest thing you've ever seen, or what??  If it makes you feel any better, he was thrilled with it.  (That's okay . . . it doesn't make me feel any better, either.)