DIY STOCKINGS

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 Take everything out of the package and lay it out on a sturdy surface so you can take it all in. 

 Decide if you want the hang tag to the left or the right then lay the stocking flat. Now, it’s time to have fun! No glue is required yet, as you are just going to play around to see what works. Lay the animal onto the stocking. Grab those decorative elements (snowflakes, rhinestones, etc) and place them on the stocking in whatever order you like. Move them around. If you have some of your own decorative elements you want to add, this is the time to see what they'd look like. I love using buttons, clay cabochons, mini tree ornaments .. again, have fun! I recommend taking photos along the way so that you can remember what you’ve done and can reference back if you preferred something more than others. This is how you create that “one of a kind” look to your stocking and make it completely your own. 

 The cats have their tail attached to the body. The tail can be a little flimsy and floppy when you try to glue it into place. I'm leaving it up to you if you'd want to leave the tail attached or not. It's very simple to cut off. With the dogs, you do not need to worry about this.

 Don’t forget the top of the stocking! This is where I like to put that large green felt starburst. If you received lettering, play around with that too, put it at the top or even put it on the red stocking part. Play around with it .. Have fun!

  Once you’ve decided on a layout you’re happy with, then it’s time to craft! Find the strip of red and green rhinestones and choose which you prefer, this is the collar for your pet. You'll cut the strip to the size of the animals neck. Lay it where you'd like it, with the backing paper still attached, then just snip off what you don't want. These rhinestones have adhesive on the back so you can stick it directly to the animal. Just peel off the backing paper and stick!  

I’d suggest gluing the animal first as it is the largest and anchoring element of the stocking. Turn the animal over, as this is the side you’ll be gluing. Just lay the glue around the edges of the backside of the animal. Once you have the glue on, you’ll go ahead and flip the animal over and lay it upon the stocking. You get one shot at placement so be patient and go slow.

Once you’re happy with your animal placement, then it's time to move onto the eyes! Find where you want to place the eye(s) on the animal. You can either eyeball it (HA!) or use a pen or chalk to mark where you want it. (Personally, I just kind of go for it blindly and it works out 99.5% of the time). Lay down a dot of glue and place your googlie eyes on top. With clearn fingertips, press down gently. Please let it dry before you start waving the stocking around to watch the googlie eye(s) move otherwise they may shift or even fall off.

Just lift an element (snowflake, rhinestone, sequin, whatever) either with your fingers or with something else (tweezers, crayon, etc) and place a very small dot of glue onto the felt where you'd like the element. Then place the element on top of the glue dot. I have found that if you put the glue onto the stocking and not directly on the element then there’s less room for mistakes. If you’ve doubled up elements (for example, a rhinestone on top of a snowflake or a sequin) just double up the process - glue dot then element, glue dot then rhinestone. Repeat this whole process until all of your elements are glued down.

For a more structured look, meaning straight lettering, you’ll need lots of patience. Grab a ruler and tape*. Put the ruler down on your table and place the lettering along the top of the ruler. This should give you a straight line. You may have to adjust a few of the letters. Once you’re happy with their placement, grab a piece of tape long enough for all the lettering and gently place it onto them - do not rub the felt too much into the tape as you do have to remove it. Now, flip it over and add glue to the back of the letters. Once done, carefully flip the lettering over and place it onto the stocking. Go ahead and give the letters a rub so they stay in place. Gently press the lettering onto the stocking and carefully remove the tape while holding down the lettering as you remove. If you want, you can leave the tape on until the lettering is dry then remove. 

*I do suggest a low tack tape, meaning a tape that is not permanent so no duct tape. I do suggest either a cheap masking tape, painters tape or even Scotch tape.  I used painters tape in the photos above. We're looking for something temporary not permanent. 

From personal experience, wonky is the easiest layout of lettering as you’ll just place them wherever. Plus wonky is more fun! For wonky: Turn the lettering over (like you did with the starburst and animal), add glue, flip them over and place them onto the stocking.

If you'd like to attempt hand writing the name with paint, let me suggest Tulip fabric paint. It's a glitter paint that comes in a tube with a pointed tip. In the photo above I printed the name with just a regular ball tip pen then traced the lettering using the glitter paint. It's not perfect but does it really need to be?! I think it adds that vintage homemade look to the stocking. 

The glitter isn’t included but it is something that can be added onto the felt. I prefer to use craft glitter paint or glitter glue (yep, the cheap stuff works!) as it doesn’t cause such a mess AND it does work really really well on felt. I sometimes glitter up the animal, starburst and/or the lettering. This is totally up to you. I prefer to use small, cheap brushes so you can really pile on the glitter. Yes, it’ll soak into the felt and you may need to do several coats to achieve maximum glitterocity. This can take some time. But, I promise.. It’ll be worth it!

To add glitter paint or glitter glue, wait for all the glue to be completely dry. I suggest 24 hours but it can be less. Use your judgement. Once it's dry, just brush on your glitter. If you need to add more than one coat, just make sure it's dry before doing so. 

To add glitter, again wait for the stocking to be completely dry first. Brush on glue then add glitter. It will be messy and I have no tips for you as I never mess with the stuff. I wish you luck! 

Be sure to tag me on Instagram @kukukitchoo or you can send me a pic at kukukitchoo@gmail.com