Homemade Presents

I always have dreams about taking the hand made only Christmas pledge, so I start early and plan ahead, but I never make it. This my attempt for the gift exchange family, on my husband's side.

I ended up really loving this apron by the end, and wasn't sure she would like it. I made it back in November or October, but then by December she kept mentioning that I had never made her one, so I ended up making the perfect present.

Best part, I sewed so straight! and the pocket magically lined up with the other material.

Her daughter got a flower tutu. I had no idea what I was doing when I started out, I just had a picture in my mind. I was happy with the results.

P.S. The Pledge doesn't quite work for me anyway, because I'm a cheapskate so I don't buy handmade, I only make handmade, and the site is buy not make.

Apron Craze

If you haven't noticed I've sort of been on apron kick. I made one for my son, he picked out the yellow material, yellow is favorite color right now. And he picked out the button and told me to put it on the top, and picked out the ribbon I used for ties.

I probably should have not used it for the trim on the pockets. My husband said oh well he will use it twice then his sister will use it all the time. I have been planning to make him an apron for a while now, I use to make him wear bibs when we baked but the bibs were all put away when we moved since he had boycotted them for eating. (Which is fine because now he doesn't need them.)

Here is my latest apron. We have quite a few roosters/chickens in our kitchen when its not christmas time. Not to mention it goes with the color scheme of my plates.

Close up now, Teresa might start charging me royalities, with as many aprons as I have made.

another one bites the dust

I recently acquired another sister in law, to go along with the other ten I already have. I made her a lovely apron for her bridal shower, which I did not attend since I was in the hospital. I have only met her twice so it was hard to pick out material because I don't know her. My husband told me after I went shopping to get pink, I said does she like pink? He said have you seen her of course she likes pink. (He in no way means that as a derogatory comment, he often picks pink things out for me.) (Although I am pretty sure I don't like pink as much as some of his family thinks I do. I'm much more a purple girl.)

Here is the matching card I made, because I'm a cheapskate and don't like to spend $3 on a piece of paper. Which is the whole reason I make presents in the first place.

Homemade

I wanted my son to have a big brother shirt, because it seems like an exciting thing to have for a two year old. I was right it was exciting, he loves the shirt-- his badge of honor. I didn't want to spend $15 or more on such a shirt, so I made one. My son picked out a black long sleeve shirt for $3, and then I used a scraps for the rest. I think it turned out well.

When he first came to see his baby sister, after a few minutes I said baby sister has a present for you. And he looked at her, and looked back like a present for me?! It was cute. Although a shirt was slight anti climatic for him, he later liked it.

Cookies

Thank goodness for grammy to help make christmas cookies, when mommy is recovering from birthing a new baby.

Home Tour

Welcome to the bloggy tour of my home. Come on in.
Right inside the door hanging on the wall, is my newest nativity. I love it, a nativity and a tree. For only $8.If you look to left you will see our fireplace. With most of our Christmas decorations, and of course stocking (I love stockings.) Which is why I made our advent calendar 24 stockings.Here are some close ups. Note the antique looking Santa in the corner.I love my new pillow nativity I made this year.Also Christmas would not be Christmas without Charlie Brown's Christmas. I have watched that movie every year since I was a kid, hence the snow globe. If I was giving someone a tour of my house, I would play the soundtrack.Then if you turn around you'll see our tree. This is the first year my husband and I have had a full size tree, let alone a real tree. So ornaments are a little sparse.
In the next corner, I set up my Fontanini Nativity. I really love that one. Along with the snow ballerina I made, and some cone trees.
Across the room on top of my pantry, is my mini ornaments that I'm afraid would be thrown away with the tree if I put them on the tree. They date back to being engaged to my husband when we were in school, and I obviously didn't have a tree in my apartment.Next up, my kitchen. Here is a close up of the clock.
I live in an old bungalow so we have a cute shelf to decorate over our sink.I love this decoration, I made everyone lists, so maybe other people don't really want what I thought they wanted. Although my son did tell me he wanted a yellow choo choo, wall-e, and halloween candy. I asked do you think you would rather christmas candy, and he said YEA! CHRISTMAS CANDY. I'm also pretty sure my newborn could careless about anything concerning the holiday.
Here is my son making Christmas sugar cookies with his grammy, in our kitchen. I made the apron this year, to have festive cooking gear.Sugar Cookies
2 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup butter
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp. milk
2 tsp. vanilla
Combined flour, confectioners’ sugar and salt and sift into bowl. Cut in butter or margarine until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Add egg, milk and vanilla; mix until dough holds together. Press into ball. Wrap and chill well. Roll 1/2 of the dough at a time on lightly floured board. Cut into shapes with floured cookies cutters. Arrange 1” apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for about 8 minutes. Cool cookies on racks.

Since my son is almost three Christmas is obviously very magical. (Back in september he saw a picture of Santa Claus and told me who it was, we hadn't mentioned Santa for the previous 9 months.) But also much of it is very breakable, so I've tried to give him Christmas stuff to touch. Here is the tree downstairs (the same handme down one we have used the previous 3 years of marriage, pretty sorry looking). My son decorated the tree which is why most of the ornaments are at the bottom. He also painted some of them.
Plus the santa that is on the other side of the door, and the snow globe nativity from his grandma, which is surprising durable.He also has some christmas in his bedroom. Like the stocking my sister made me in home ec, and santa's red long johns.Plus two more nativities on his dresser. I love how he matched up wiseman for wiseman, mary for mary, etc. The lambs, and donkey are by far the most favorite pieces.the end...

Star or Angel?

I told my husband when I was little I thought stars were secular, because growing up my family had an angel on top of the tree. He told me he thought angels were pagan, because its like you are worshiping the angel. So I made a star, I decided to make it because it seemed easier than finding what I wanted. I wanted a star in complete glitter. I picked the wrong type of glitter, using crystal (white) colored glitter instead of silver, but I put a little silver on top of the white. If I wasn't about to pop and I wasn't feeling a little poor this holiday season, I would have redone the star is silver glitter. Here is the finished product. One version with the flash and one without the flash.

I told my mom what my husband said about the angel, and she said what does he want to do put the baby Jesus on top of the tree? I told him that, and he said, he doesn't think we should have trees in our houses. For some reason he has decided to be anti christmas tree this year.

Finally a big brother

I made a gift bag for my son when I was at the hospital. I got this gift bag at his baby shower, still works.
First things first I wanted him to have a big brother shirt, which I made the applique.The other things in the bag were books. A birth scrapbook, and My New Baby, its very something, the mom nurses in it, which I was unaware of when I bought the book from Amazon. But there are no words, a lot of people in the reviews said they were disappointed with the lack of words, other said they liked that it didn't fill the kids head up with ideas like being jealous. Speaking of new baby books, I also like The New Baby by Mercer Mayer. He has become one of the favorites to pick up at the library. He does include a plot, but doesn't mention negitive emotions a toddler might feel, we have checked it out a few times.
I envisioned the scrapbook to sort of being a thing to explain to J about where mommy is what she is doing. Not to mention, I need a place to store things like our medical bracelets.His baby socks, and baby hat.Yes I know a little over the top. But as my husband said about my advent calendar, its not your style to do something simple.

The last holiday craft of 2008

These little pillows are pretty self explanatory I think. The buttons are about 1/2 inch tall. I decided to put the phrase 'believe in hope', from Elder Uchtdorf's talk in October. There is no point in celebrating Christmas if we don't have hope in the redeeming power of our Savior, right?

Here are the wise men

Together next to each other on the mantle. They are too little for the couch, they would get lost under someone when they sat down.

Here is the back material, I absolutely love it. It is so unlike anything a chain store like JoAnns would sell. I bought it two years ago in March on super clearance at a quilting shop. I usually can't afford quilting shops.

Now its time for the baby to come. Sure, since I'm over due I bet some of you faithful readers are waiting in anticipation to figure out when the baby is coming. I'm boycotting talking about it, because the baby is boycotting being born. She is getting close though, and when she is done with her boycott, I will post a terrible picture of a newborn, and your anticipation will be over. Tonight is a full moon, and it is suppose to storm all weekend. Both good signs in my opinion, my first was born in the middle of a snow storm, so I've been waiting for the storm to come.

J's Holiday Craft #2

We have a full size, 6 foot christmas tree this year. It was payment for babycare help with the new baby. We don't really have enough ornaments for a full size tree, so my son and I found pine cones outside our public library, and he glitterized them. His grandma helped him as I took pictures.

I thought glitter was expensive, so I ended up only buying paint pens.

He sure had fun making his sparkly pinecones.

J's Holiday Crafts

I'm not the only one making holiday crafts in my house.

My son picked out this fantastic snowflake mask in the store and wouldn't give it up. So then we came home and he painted it.

Snowwoman Ballet

I few weeks ago in a craft store ad I saw a skinny snowwoman, and I thought that is the snowman for my house. I went to the store planning to spend about $10, it was $25, I decided no. It wasn't as cute in real life less ballerina like and more gaudy woman like. So I decided to make my own. The two look nothing a like, I love mine, especially way more than the one in the store. The tutu is huge, for the size of the snowman.

Here is what she looks like on our key spot. I have a thing for gaudy christmas tree cones.

Plus it only took one nap time to make.