A Sewy Little Christmas

No, this post isn't about actual Christmas events.  It's just the usual rundown of crafty things I did for Christmas this year.  In other words, look at how talented I am!

(lawl)

Mostly I made stuff for Baby this year.  The biggest project was a little quilt for her, like the one I did for Mr. C's first Christmas.  I should mention that he treasures that blanket and sleeps with it every night.  

JUST KIDDING, it's in his closet...

(As for that Winnie the Pooh blanket, he DOES sleep with that one every night.  Figures!)

But here is her blanket:

The colors look rather washed out in photos but you get the idea.  It was fun to pick out the fabric (thanks, Jo-Ann!) and I think it's really cute, despite my best efforts to mangle every corner.  Here it is in its natural habitat:

A byproduct of going to Jo-Ann's was that I found this great London-themed fabric.  So I made myself pajama pants:

Just because I've torn holes in like six pairs of pajama pants in the last year *weeps bitter bitter tears*.

I also made Baby a sleep sack and hat, like I did for Mr. C last year.  I think the hat is super cute and the sack keeps her cozy.  

I will NOT say that I did my best sewing on the sleep sack.  In fact I did some of my worst but it is functioning just fine and no one but me and Baby ever see it anyway.  And did I mention she looks super cute in that hat?  Mr. C calls the knots "kitty ears."

Speaking of Mr. C., I made him this bag for his library books because he likes carrying bags and he likes library books:

Let me clarify: I bought the bag at Hobby Lobby, the patron saint of Christmas craftiness, and then added the letter.  It's felt that I cut out using a template I made and then just hand sewed on.  Easy peasy.

In ornament news, I made these candy canes of my own design for my family this year:

(I bought the bows, after attempting my own...)

We also made Baby's handprint ornament for ourselves and the grandmas.  Only one of them got broken by a certain someone and had to be remade.

Finally, since Drew works at an actual office now I gave him a bunch of stuff for his desk.  I made this to go along with it:

lol indeed!

Crafty Christmas

As per usual, the craft bug hit me at Christmastime again this year.  It wasn't my most crafty year, but with a number of Poppy crafts on the horizon, it was a good idea to take it easy.  Anyway, here is what I came up with this year, starting with the year's holly ornaments:

The berries are jingle bells!  I had this idea a few years ago, and I like how they turned out.  If you look closely you can see a sixth sitting on the branches because I forgot to sew in the ribbon loop.  Oops.

When fall/winter arrived, I noticed that Boo Boo's room is a little chillier than the rest of the house so I fretted over if he was warm enough at night.  One day at Hobby Lobby I noticed that sewing patterns were $1.99 ($1.99!) and so I grabbed one for a sleep sack.  Fleece in hand, I went to work.

I had Boo Boo model it for me before he went to bed.  He decided to demonstrate his unimpeded mobility:

I think we both sleep better at night knowing he is cozy in his sleep sack.  I had to put in my first zipper, and it actually works!  Whew.  Maybe one day I will feel capable of making my oranges dress?

Anyway, the pattern included a variety of other cozy babywear, such as a hat.  I had just enough fleece leftover to make one:

He wears it and everything!  It's a good thing too because his Toothless hat is getting a bit small and his Yoda beanie has vanished :( :( :( :( :( :( 

(Has anyone seen a Boo Boo-sized Yoda beanie??)

This last item is not really a craft and not an idea I can take credit for either, but it is BRILLIANT.  What do you do with the Christmas cards you want to keep year to year?  Before, I would have said you put them all in the decorations box where they can float around in a mess.  But NOW I will say this: punch a hole in the corners and put them on a binder ring!  They're easy to look through without being a mess and you can keep them organized by year.

(I happened to have a binder ring leftover from the quiet book--which I finished but needs its own post.)

Thus concludes my Christmas craftiness this year.  Who knows what next Christmas will bring and what crafts the Poppy will inspire.  Maybe I will do some more matching jammies again next year?  Only time will tell. 

Picture a Christmas(time)

Another year, another Christmas.  Funny how fast it sneaks up and then how fast it's gone.  We stayed here this year, and while of course it's always nice to visit family, it was nice to just be us in our house.  Overall, it was a lovely Christmas season, complete with lots of food and activities out and about.  Let's take a look!

We took a trip to see the lights at Temple Square.  They delivered, as always.

You know what the best time to see the Temple Square lights is?  At 5:00 on a weekday, at the beginning of December.  No crowds (plus perfect weather).

We took the Frontrunner train up, which was popular with the little master.  Don'tlookatmeI'menormous.

With Drewbles on vacation, we took ourselves (and our free passes) to the Museum of Ancient Life or whatever it's called.  There were many delighted exclamations of "Saaaaaaur!"

You know what the best time to visit the museum is?  In the morning on a random weekday.  Even during Christmas week, it wasn't crowded.

Hee hee, hat.

On the shopping list for next summer: a sandbox.

We started Christmas Eve off with bringing in the slide from the backyard.  It has been a BIG hit.

Aside from some bead fascination, I will say the tree was mostly safe from little hands.  (Also, next year I am REALLY going to make a tree skirt.  For reals this time.)

Hard to believe there will be four next year!  Did we get the third from Target (3) dollar bins?  Yes.  Did we get several more for future use?  Yes, yes, we did.

Hold your horses!

A little dinner in his new jammies from Nana, then we watched the short Nativity movie and it was off to bed!
(We stayed up to watch more Amazing Race and have a traditional [mini] buffet.)

As expected, this parking garage was the big hit!  Did we buy it in August at the Just Between Friends sale?  Yes, yes, we did.

The banana in his stocking was also a favorite.

"Now do you like my hat?"  "I do!  I like that party hat!"

I got Drewbles some new running shoes... (the sign reads: "Just kidding! Let's go shopping!")

He opened Grandma's presents all by himself.

This seems to be a good summary of Boo Boo's feelings about Christmas.  (Also note the snow leopard, which I got for Christmas, lo, many moons ago.  It is frequently sat upon.)

A merry and happy Christmas to all!

Pretember: Blankets for the Blanketing

While in Missouri, I happened to peek in my Mama's sewing closet, and found some classic Winnie the Pooh fabric looking for love.  She had no use for it, so we decided to make Boo Boo a blanket, just because.  Didn't it turn out cute?

Really, she did most of the work on this one--all I did was do some of the tying.  Boo Boo sleeps on it every night.

That blanket came after Christmas, but there was one final present I wanted to make for Babycakes: a quilt!  I put it off until last because it was pretty far out of my realm of experience and I was so scared to mess it up.  If you look up "easy quilt patterns" online you will get many results and most of them will not look easy at all, at least to my inexperienced eyes.  

I did a lot of planning beforehand, mostly to put off actually cutting the fabric.  But eventually I found a simple pattern online and there was no reason to put it off anymore.  So I bit the bullet and cut the fabric!  And it was not so scary after all. I laid it out and made some adjustments to the rows.

Then I sewed them into strips and into a top!  I won't say my corners are all perfectly lined up, but I won't say I'm not proud of it either.  For the finishing touch, I stitched Boo Boo's name and the year in one corner.  It may be kind of off center, but I am still proud of that too.  

Drewbles helped me pick out a backing fabric and then I took the two to Missouri, where Mama helped me finish it up.  I spent Christmas Eve sewing it, which took forEVer because I am slow.  

(I had a very uncooperative model for these pictures.)

As for the fabric, which you may notice is extremely fun and so suitably nautical, my art history friend, Shelley, so generously gave me the whole lot during a fabric purge.  Does she not have excellent taste?  Thanks again, Shelley!  I hope I did it justice.

All in all, it was a really fun project, and the hardest part was just getting started.  But isn't that always the case?

Also: While you are admiring the fabric, please, if you would, take a moment to say some prayers for Shelley's baby Eloise, who has been in the NICU since birth with 
some serious health obstacles.  I have never met little Eloise, but I can tell she is a darling baby.

(Pretember Explanation, Part 1, Part 2)

Pretember: Pants for the Wearing

When I got my sewing machine for Christmas last year (=2012), Drew requested I make him something.  Instead I made myself something, made Babycakes several somethings and even made somethings for other babies.  Then came Christmas and it was finally Drew's turn. 

Once upon a time, last spring, Drew found some Kermit fabric perfect for pajama pants.  Naturally, we said "Let's get it next time" and, naturally, there wasn't enough left next time.  Fortunately, my mama came to visit after Babycakes was born and she found enough in St. Louis before her flight.  Mama to the rescue!

And then, naturally, I put off the actual making of them until November.  This is how I roll--just in time.  When I discovered there was *just* enough fabric left to make Boo Boo a tiny pair of matching pants, well, you know that had to happen.

There is even a pocket on the back, so Drewbles can carry his wallet on a late-night milkshake run (not that those EVER happen...) and Boo Boo can carry his binky around.  I used a real pattern for Drew's, and this tutorial for the little ones.  It was a fun project!  But I was glad when they were finished.  So much pressure to make pants!  Whew.

(Pretember Explanation, Part 1, Part 3)

Pretember: Ornaments for the Hanging

Another Christmas, another craft spree.  Here's a confession: I have always secretly turned my nose up a bit at the notion of "homemade Christmas."  Not that I didn't appreciate or like getting homemade gifts, but as far as my own gift giving philosophies go, I always balked at the idea, snoot that I am.  Apparently I have changed my tune these last few years because now I think it is really fun to make things and foist them upon people.

This year, I made my family these gingerbread men ornaments:

I looked at a few ideas online but mostly made them up myself.  Looking back, there are some things I wish I'd done a little differently, but for the most part I think they are pretty cute.  I've said it before, but it's worth repeating: Hobby Lobby is a magical place.

Not satisfied with one kind of ornament, I made some hand print ornaments for Boo Boo's grandparents.  I found lots of tutorials online for salt dough ornaments, but then I had the epiphany of using the Crayola model magic stuff, like I did for the snowflakes last year.  It's easy to use, requires no effort on my part and it's light when it dries.  Ideal for an ornament, yes?

I think it will be fun to compare it to his hand next Christmas.  It's not super visible, but I stamped his name and the date at the bottom, using metal stamps.  I could have just written it in with a toothpick, but I guess my nose is still a little turned up after all.

(Pretember: Explanation, Part 2, Part 3)

Pretend December

Sometimes, when one goes away for Christmas, one does not blog at all.  Which is fine, except I have so many Christmasy blog posts to blog and to post!  My solution to this very serious problem is to pretend it is still December--hence, Pretend December.  It could also be called "I Made Stuff for Christmas So Look at It!"

But before I delve too greedily into the crafts of this past Christmas, here are just a few fun things to get into the Christmas spirit.  First off, I took pictures of Boo Boo playing with some Christmas lights.  Yes, Pinterest gets to me sometimes, even when I am not actually on it.  So, here:

Cute, right?  He was torn between eating the lights and unplugging them, but only succeeded at one of them.  

And lastly, our Christmas card this year.  For once we actually underordered so cards didn't make it to all our peeps, but it's okay because apparently we have more friends than we thought!  That's never a bad thing.  Anyway, Drew's sister Cami took the picture for us on Thanksgiving and we did the rest ourselves.  Look at that baby!

Look at that baby some more:

Happy Christmas!

(Also: no, I'm still not using Babycakes's name on the blog, but I'll make an exception for this picture.  Did you see his face?  DID YOU?)