Merry Christmas

Christmas Gifts from Grandma

Grandma Patti came to visit a few weeks ago and brought these handmade lovelies.  First, a pair of matching Christmas pillow cases.  One for each of my boys.  What cute needlework!

My boys have slept on these pillowcases for the past month.  I was scared to death to wash them, but fortunately all the embroidery stayed intact and the pillowcases still look great.

Charlotte is still too young for a pillow.  So Grandma made her a new stocking.  Every child needs her own stocking, right?

Growing up I had a needlepoint stocking that my aunt made for me.  I've asked my mom for a it a few times since I've moved out on my own.  My mom still won't give it to me.  I think she likes keeping mementos of family around to make her empty nest feel like home.

Back to Charlotte's stocking - If you look closely, you can see that that every piece is hand appliqued.  Every sequin is topped with a tiny bead and sewn on by hand.  This took a lot of time and love.

Isn't that a cheery, warm-hearted little snowman?

Grandma Patti also knit two bibs for Charlotte.  I'm kicking myself for not taking a picture before I used them (duh me!) and now they're in the wash.  Charlotte will definitely be sporting her Christmas bibs on the holiday, so hopefully I'll get a good photo then.

By Brighton: Christmas Knitting

Brighton picked up a new hobby: knitting.  Grandma Patti taught him to knit while she was here.  But Grandma's a lefty; Brighton's a righty.

My one attempt at knitting bordered on complete failure.  So Brighton took his knitting to his school, where handwork is encouraged, and his teacher taught him how to knit right-handed.

Brighton's making a scarf as a Christmas present for someone in the family, though he won't disclose who.

Doesn't this melt your heart?  It's perfectly off-kilter.

Anyone else finishing up their holiday crafts?

Gingerbread House

I am blessed with the most talented, generous friends on the planet.  I really believe that.  Look at this beauty!  Remember the camouflage carseat cover I made?  That mom-to-be brought over this HUGE - probably 18" tall - gingerbread house.  I almost cropped my son's drinking cup out of the photo but decided to leave it because it gives the house some scale.  Look at the windows.  They're colored sugar glass.  All of the edges are piped in chocolate.

The gingerbread house alone is impressive.  But our friend also brought over a complete decorating kit.  Wow!  My boys were bouncing like pogo sticks when they opened this.  Of course they had to take everything out and start calling dibs.

Dad was smart and claimed control of the icing bag.

But the boys had plenty of fun.

With uncharacteristic restraint, the boys saved most of the candies to snack on later.  I thought every inch of the house would be covered by some sugary confection.  But no, they wanted the house to look nice and stopped.

I love the little man waving in the front window.

The back of the house had flower boxes under the windows and a cannon on the ground.  Yes, a cannon.  Why a cannon?  Why not.

The boys built a cannon in the front yard, too.  They tried to build a gumdrop snowman, but it couldn't stand on its own.  So the boys propped the snowman in front of the cannon, then Lincoln decided the cannon could blast the snowman up to see Santa Claus.  I love my crazy kids.  The brownie is a flower box with gumdrop shrubs.

Funny story: We made the gingerbread house last night.  This morning I sent the boys downstairs to eat breakfast and get ready for school.  10 minutes later, I still didn't hear the clank of cereal bowls or pop of the toaster.  I called down in my naggy mom voice, "Are you boys eating breakfast?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I don't hear anything"

"Don't worry, Mom.  We are."

Then I remembered...the gingerbread house was still sitting on the kitchen table.  Nice.  That was breakfast.

Too Much Honesty

I'm sad.  This is what my craft room looks like right now.

The wall that used to look like this...

now looks like this.

The mess isn't what bothers me.

We're converting my craft room / home office into a bedroom for Brighton, my oldest son.  My two boys have been sharing a room since before our daughter, Charlotte, was born.  To make a long story short, my younger son, Lincoln, needs his own space.  He needs to be out from underneath his brother's shadow.  So Lincoln is keeping the boys' current bedroom and Brighton is getting a new bigger boy set of furniture and bedding.  Lincoln's room (see HERE) is perfect for his age, plus it's the biggest bedroom in the house.  So don't think he's being slighted by Brighton moving out and getting new furniture.

I'm sad that I'm giving up MY space.  Is that selfish?  It's not that I'm sad to get rid of so many craft supplies; I'm only getting rid of things I seldom use.

As a stay-at-home mom, my life centers around my family, especially the needs of my children.  My craft room was my outlet, my escape, the place I could go when I wanted to do something other than dishes or laundry.  I could walk into my craft room and see my creations hanging on the walls.  I could see the glossy magazines where my cards are published.  I could even see the medal I earned after months and months of training for - and finishing - a marathon.  Yes, that was on the wall, too.

When was the last time I received a medal for folding laundry?  Or for staying up at night to rock my sick baby?  (She's been sick for a week-and-a-half now.  I'm tired.)  Yet here I am packing away another part of me to give even more to my children.

In two weeks, this room will look fantastic.  Two large boxes from PB Teen are sitting in my front entryway waiting to be unpacked.  I've picked out new paint and scheduled delivery of the furniture.  Soon I will look at my son's new room and be proud of the transformation.  Brighton is already so excited that it melts my heart.  I will be glad that I cleaned out my closets.  I will be glad that my younger son is happy in his space.  And I will still have most of my craft supplies, just in less accessible storage.

I don't anticipate any change to my blog.  I've already s-l-o-w-e-d my blogging to be available for my baby.  But even now I have half a dozen projects to post - even a tutorial for a baby softie! - that I have ready to post as soon as I can make time.  Plus, Santa Hubby let slip about my Christmas present.  Check it.

Squeal!

So yes, life will go on.  And I will make pretty things.

But today I will grieve and tomorrow move on.

Car Seat Cover + Canopy {skulls and camo}

I recovered a carseat for this supremely talented cake artist / chef / all-around-Renaissance mother-to-be.  You should check out her cakes.  She's no longer baking for the public, but she could win any cake-off on Food Network.  A cake-off is like a face-off, but with cake.

I LOVE the fabrics she chose.  Camoflauge skulls.  Seriously, when have you seen a carseat with camouflage skulls?  Never.

Until now.

What makes the fabric choice doubly amusing is that the parents are the nicest, most peaceful adults you'll ever meet.  The fabric is as hard-edged as this baby's ever gonna get.

Baby Boy will rest on soft brown minky while peering up at the calming yoga phrases covering the underside of the canopy: peace and love, relax, breathe, stretch.

I also give myself kuddos because the skull fabric is a knit. Yes, stretchy knit. When I sent Mom-to-Be to the fabric store with her shopping list, it never occured to me to tell her to get a woven fabric, preferably from the quilting section. Duh me. Knits are so soft - no wonder she loved the fabric.

As you can see, the end result looks great. I practiced first, then sewed slowly. Several of the pieces, like the canopy, reversed to the yoga print, which is a tradtional woven quilter's cotton.  It was much easier to work with the knit + woven pinned together because the woven kept the knit from stretching as much.

I made a matching tent/canopy to protect Baby Boy from wind, rain, and peering eyes.  Notice the rounded corners and brown piping.  Details like that make such a difference to me.

The straps around the carseat handle hook together with velcro.  The buttons are purely decorative.

For more details on construction OR to see the pinkified carseat cover I made for my daughter, CLICK HERE.