Custom Built-In and Cushion

Our 7 year old needed a better system for storage and use of space in his room. I measured and sketched what I thought would work best, and my Father-In-Law built this amazing piece and installed it while we were on vacation.  It is so much more than I dreamed, and he even included a secret compartment for our spy-obsessed little guy.

I bought a piece of foam and covered it in gray duck canvas, because the fabric I wanted was $60/yard. I used the same method I did with my dining room chairs to create "subway art" word art. Now, it's a perfect match for his NYC themed room, and it cost less than $25 (with coupons)  to make the custom cushion for the reading nook.

Elf on the Shelf Ideas and Printable Links

If you are a Pinner, then you may have seen some of these ideas, but I hope that I have some new ones to share and some helpful links to free printables for you!  (I have several more, but I need to pull them from my SD card.  A second post may be in order.)

***Update: Check out our coffee cup and newspaper free printables, too! (Not pictured below.)***

The Elf Photo Booth has endless options.  Different backgrounds, locations, printed photos, iPad/tablet photos, different props, different "friends" (living or dolls), etc.  Here, we used the free printables from Living Locurto, a sparkly piece of cardstock from a craft store, and an iPad.  (I also try to make lunches to match the elf's hiding spot if the kids find him early enough in the morning before it's time to leave for school.  It's in a Laptop Lunchbox.)

Maybe you have a few hiding places for your elf, but with all of his other antics, you want to add a little something on days where he's hanging around.  Elf Jokes (3 printables) by Over the Big Moon make hanging out in a stocking or dangling from a sleigh bell even more entertaining.

Christmas stockings are one of our favorite family traditions.  I have made all of the stockings for our extended family, and our elf, Buddy Kringle was feeling a little left out.  He was found making his own with miniature spools of thread and scraps from our stockings.  He did a pretty good job!  His stocking hangs perfectly from the "loop" at the top of the "O" in our "NOEL*" stocking hooks.

As Christians, it is important to us that our children remember what the true meaning of Christmas is, and our elf, Buddy Kringle, agreed.  He donned a felt scarf (super easy and no sewing required: cut a strip of felt and then snip the ends into fringe) and joined our nativity scene to lovingly hold baby Jesus. 

Our three-year-old son touched our elf, and we needed some magic FAST!  Fortunately, Over the Big Moon had already created a printable Magical Recovery Kit.  I took some white felt and created a bed (on a piece of cardboard, a sheet, and a pillow.  I snipped a small piece from a washcloth to create one that was elf-sized, and our elf decided that the front porch wasn't really going to work for our family, so he arrived in the fireplace with his kit.  I decided that his elf friends would really be worried about him, and they delivered a bunch of elf-sized get well soon cards (through the chimney) at some point during the day.  I didn't write in them, but I'm happy to share the file I made to print these.  (I just used images from free printable cards online and made 1 page of mini cards.)

Here he is feeling much better and break dancing at his very own street party in our Christmas village.  (The disco balls are ornaments from Hobby Lobby.  They came in a package of 6.)

We had an unusually warm day this month, so Buddy Kringle made a joke about it.  He borrowed an Adirondack chair from our daughter's dollhouse, our son's sunglasses, some aluminum foil and a drink umbrella from my pantry, sand from the sandbox, and our sunscreen.  He tossed that super easy felt scarf to the ground and enjoyed sunbathing.

 With 3 kids, our elf was not allowed to take over a sink in our home without the risk of losing his fishing pond.  He found a glass bowl that worked perfectly.  He perched on one of my small decorative trunks and used a chopstick and thread to fish.

 Here was the matching lunch in a Laptop Lunchbox.  I used a gingerbread cookie cutter, fruit leather that I hand cut and a pretzel stick.

Maybe you have a winter magazine that your elf would like to read?  I miniaturized this winter issue of Bliss Bridal Magazine.  My event planning team and I did the cover and cover spread for this issue, so our elf really needed to check it out.  (Note that the color from my home printer doesn't do the real magazine justice.)

Buddy Kringle put on some mouse ears and looked through the autograph books from our trip to Disney World a few weeks ago.

The (Cheerio) elf doughnuts were definitely a favorite.  I created "Mrs. Claus's Crullers" and boxes to go with them.  They needed a little bit of work, but they were cute, and it was the perfect excuse to get doughnuts for a weekend treat for the kids.  We have updated the doughnut boxes and have created a FREE download for Elf Donut Boxes!

Buddy Kringle decided to roast marshmallows on toothpicks over tealights.  He got a little carried away with how many he needed to roast.

I am creating more free printables, so come back to check on ELF on the Shelf posts!

RoyalBaloo has a whole set of free printables, too!
What mischief is your elf into?  Feel free to link up!  Please feel free to share, pin, or blog about this, but always link back to our blog and not the individual download links.