Buffalo plaid snowman and light box

When I visited the craft show last Thursday I noticed a lot of buffalo plaid decor.  So of course on the way home I kept thinking about how I need to get some and make a runner.  I stopped at Jo Ann's and sure enough they had one with snowflakes in their Christmas fabric.  Well you know I had to get some (I might have gotten a few other prints too). I mean with a sale and then 25% off coupon too how could I pass that up!

I opened up EQ to see what designs I might be able to pull together in there.  Next thing you know I had these cutie pies drawn up and texted a friend to run it by her. She liked it;)

Over the weekend I cut, pieced and quilted it.  After cutting my applique pieces I just wasn't sure I liked the red and green.  Something about it bothered me.  Again I texted my friend, Wendy, she still liked the red and green because it was a pop of color.  I decided I needed to set it aside for the night. I really appreciated Wendy's input but...

The next morning I knew why it was bugging me, I didn't want it to look like he was wearing a santa hat.  I just wanted him to wear a regular stocking hat.  I auditioned many different fabrics and even had my hubby involved.  He encouraged me to look at what I liked about my other snowmen runners.  They are all gray/red/white/.   Hmmm that got me to thinking and it came together quickly then.  Here is the finished one.  I even redid the shape of his hat cuff.

After snapping several photos I managed to get ones I liked and he is now listed in my Etsy shop, well he was in there last night and he sold in a couple of hours!!  Guess what I'll be making again this week:) 

Did you notice the striped binding, it makes me a bit giddy!  The snowflakes are stenciled on.  I used a fabric paint from Pro Chem and stencils from TSC Designs.  

I have something new to show you.  My new light box for tracing designs onto fusible web!  I know there are many light boxes out there to purchase. But I asked my hubby if he could build one and a week later I am using it!  I love it.

He ordered LED light strips from Ebay and used double stick tape to hold them down to the box he made.  On top he placed a sheet of plexi glass. 

Here you can see the Precision Fusing Mat I lay over the top of the pattern pieces. The mat holds the pattern in place and I place the fusible web on top and trace away.  Plus those lights are super bright and hurt my eyes if I don't have the mat over the top before I turn it on.  For someone that never really liked doing applique I sure seem to be doing a lot of it!  Of course it is all done on my sewing machine.  And I know that I will be using this light box a lot!  

Linking with Monday Making, Design Wall Monday, and Look What I Made