My top favorite Christmas movies are The Santa Suit, Last Christmas, The Holiday, and of course Elf. So when my daughter asked for an Elf on the Shelf this year, I had the idea to make one Jovie-style!
True, Jovie is a human and not an elf, but at the end of the movie she wears an adorably pink elf dress complete with hat and shoes, so other than the lack of pointy ears, she looks quite elven. Plus I just love Zooey Deschanel.
I used my daughter’s vinyl fashion doll that was from Dollar General. So the pattern probably won’t fit a Barbie, but you can adjust it if that’s what you use.
Materials
Vinyl Fashion Doll
Felt (pink & red)
White Fleece
Red Spandex (or red paint)
Metallic Silver-Edged Ribbon
Acrylic Paint
Fine Tip Black Sharpie
Card Stock
Elastic String
Thread (pink, red)
Supplies
Nail Polish Remover (or acetone)
Q-Tips
Hot Glue Gun/Hot Glue Sticks
Sewing Needle
Scissors (fabric + paper)
Printer/Paper
Paintbrush
Toothpick
I started by giving the doll a little haircut.
Remove the doll’s eye print with some nail polish remover on a Q-Tip.
TikTok Video
Paint two eye whites, then the iris color (I did Zooey’s blue color) so that it is looking to one side. Paint the black pupils next, then a tiny white dot using the toothpick. Lastly, draw around the top of the eye with the Sharpie and also draw eyelashes. The Elf on the Shelf has eyelashes on the same side on both eyes, which I didn’t do, but it’s up to you!
Use the toothpick to paint thin lines for the eyebrows (I used brown paint then dabbed with a paper towel).
Painting the cheeks was a little tricky. I used some red paint mixed with water to thin it out, and dabbed it on then off many times with a Q-Tip until it was blended in nicely. I left the mouth as is.
Now for the outfit! After printing and cutting out the pattern (HERE), cut out the hat base out of card stock and glue it together using the tab. Glue the pink felt hat piece on top of it, then the red felt band, matching the seam at the back. Glue a small piece of elastic to the inside so it will stay snugly on the doll head.
Cut out the pink felt skirt and white fleece skirt trim and glue the trim on top at the edge. Cut about 16″ of the silver ribbon and glue it underneath, creating a ruffle that shows about 3/8″ below the skirt edge. I used some wired ribbon I had and just removed the wire.
You can either sew the outfit by hand (or cut off the seam allowance and hot glue it together. I thought that would be easier but I don’t really recommend it as it gets quite stiff). After putting the pink pieces together, glue the white fleece trim collar & cuffs on top. Sew or glue onto the doll down the center back then glue the red felt belt on top around the waist.
For the legs, you can either sew fabric or just paint them red. To sew, cut out the 2 red leg pieces out of the red stretchy fabric and sew down the sides. Turn them right-side out and put onto the doll. I didn’t make a top for them like tights since it doesn’t show but you can add if you like!
For the shoes, cut out the 4 pieces out of red felt. Starting at the heel, glue the large piece on top of the sole. Glue the entire sole to the sides of the shoe, then glue the middle front together. I also added a drop of glue to the back inside to keep the shoes from falling off the doll.
And that’s it! Jovie’s dress also has a red design on the chest just below the collar, which you can add with paint, thread, beads, or whatever you like. What does your elf look like? I’m so glad to craft inside when “Baby it’s cold outside!“
