Merry Christmas!

Since we moved in to our new house last night, Christmas was small this year. I quick put up the tree after Peanut went to bed and wrapped all the presents. Have a Merry Christmas everyone!

Christmas Ornament Contest

Papa B's company had an ornament contest for their tree at the office. We didn't have a lot of time to come up with an idea, but I thought doing something with the company logo and Christmast was sure to be a winner. This isn't the only thing we made, but this is the one we submitted for the contest. I had never worked with salt dough before, but I'll be sure to do it again. It was easy to make and easy to work with.

Update on Fishing set

Here is the completed fishing rod. I bought little magnets at the craft store and slipped it into the hook while stuffing it. It works really well catching the fish.

Practical gifts for Peanut

I'm all about practical gifts for people. I know that Peanut will be getting a ton of toys for christmas from other people and so I wanted to make her some things she needed. The pants were made using an old McCall's pattern borrowed from a friend. The Belt was super easy and I'm sorry I don't have a link to the tutorial. If you want one just let me know and I'll look for it.

For baby H

My Neice, H, lives in California. She'll be one just a few days after Christmas. I'm very grateful for that because it means I get to make her a Christmas gift and a birthday gift! It was really hard narrowing down all the choices. This dress and headband make up the Christmas gift. The dress tutorial is by Homespun Threads and can be found here: http://myhomespunthreads.blogspot.com/2010/08/free-reversible-smock-pattern-12-24.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=Feed:+homespunthreads+(HomeSpunThreads). The headband tutorial is by Make it Love It and can be found here: http://www.makeit-loveit.com/2010/08/blog-post.html. I can't believe how well they turned out!

freezer paper stencil pillows

Papa B's extended family does a gift exchange every year. Everyone draws a name and they buy a gift for that person only. I got one of Papa B's aunts. I had a hard time coming up with an idea for her. I finally settled on decorative throw pillows. I figured the safest way to make some that would match her decorating style was to make them seasonal versus everyday.

I used my Cricut, fabric paints, freezer paper, cotton fabric, and throw pillow inserts to make these. The Cricut was able to cut the freezer paper easily and saved me a bunch of agony trying to design and cut out my own images. I made the pillow cases first and then painted them. They're the kind that overlap in the back.

My little Jumper

Peanut loves to jump. Even love seems like an understatement. So, one of her Christmas gifts will be this great indoor hopscotch game. The tutorial came from Komfy Kountry Krafts found here: http://komfykountrykrafts.blogspot.com/2009/09/fabric-hopscotch-tutorial.html. It's not the easiest thing I've made, but I think it turned out really well. My biggest tip is to not use any fabric with lines in it for the background. Nothing on here is straight, but you can't tell with the pattern I used.

Munchkin had a little lamb

There's a little bit of a back story to this project. My eldest daughter, Peanut, has a lovey. It's an adorable bunny and she's attached to it at the hip. The bunny was given to her by our neighbor back in PA and only cost about $10. Since then the original bunny has gotten "old" and we ventured on the task of buying back ups for her. I soon found out that the bunny was stopped being made shortly after ours was purchased and they are very hard to come by. Almost $100 and 2 Ebay purchases later, we now have 2 replacement bunnies. When one gets dirty we just swap it out for a fresh one and throw it in the wash.

I did a lot of searching for a lovey for Munchkin, but haven't been able to find one that liked that was machine washable like the original bunny. And since I've vowed to only make gifts this year, I decided to make one for Munchkin. This way if something happens to it I can just make another. I found the most adorable teddy bear, but then found out the pattern is in a magazine only available in the UK. This lamb was made using Simplicity's 2921. He's not perfect, but hopefully E will love him for his uniqueness!

- J

Black Friday Madness

Since I am only making gifts this year, I had only one stop on Black Friday. Of course it was the craft and fabric store! Since the point of making gifts is saving money, I had a very specific list of what fabrics and materials I needed and how much of each. I was surprised at how many women were there just buying everything they saw without any plans for it. I hope to be able to do that myself one year, but this year it just made my wait that much longer. Now, to work!

- J

Happy Thanksgiving!

This turkey was too beautiful not to share. We brined it using Alton Brown's recipe and then stuffed it using a recipe I got from one of my magazines. It was the most amazing and flavorful turkey I've ever had. If you want the recipe, just let me know!

Felt Fish

These fish are for my daughter and for my nephew. I'm using this tutorial found at Just Another Day in Paradise: http://zitzmanfam.blogspot.com/2010/07/felt-fishing-set.html. My only modification is that I decided to stay away from the velcro and use magnets instead. I went to the hardware store and for just a couple bucks got little metal washers. I sewed them on using embroidery floss in the same color as the felt for the body. I think they make great eyes. I will be making the fishing rods later, so stay tuned!

- J

Advent Calendar!

Well, I thought my pocket advent calendar was super inventive until I found a bunch of other people doing it as well. I was inspired last year by a banner with the word "Joy" on it my grandmother had hanging up in her house. Each letter was felt sewn on a felt square and then placed on a piece of fabric. The felt squares were pockets, though that seemed more like an accident or laziness on the part of the company making them. I thought it would be great for the girls to put little toys into for christmas. It was hard keeping the pockets small, but I think it turned out great! I can't wait to fill it!

- J

College Football

Today I made footballs for two of my friends' little boys. One is a Michigan fan, the other a State fan. These are made with fleece and are nice and plush. I used the tutorial found here: http://www.makeandtakes.com/toss-around-this-toddler-approved-toy-football. I think they turned out really well!

-J

Christmas is Coming!

Hi All!

I know that it's early yet, but Christmas is just around the corner! This year in order to save money I have decided to make ALL christmas gifts for my family and friends. So, stay tuned for updates on what I've made!

- J