Decorating the Doll House

Yesterday for our advent activity we decorated the doll house.

We made a Christmas blanket for the bed.

I was going to whip up a blanket on the sewing machine

but Bailey wanted to stitch it by hand.

She worked diligently

and said (more than once)

"I can tell my friends I made it myself!"

Oh, she is so my daughter.

Now Cinderella Barbie is Warm.

We also made a pipe cleaner tree.

Martha told me how.

It was a simple project but

it did take quite a while just to do the tree

Which of course then needed to be decorated.

We made candy canes and garland and

little teeny tiny ornaments from beads.

Bailey made the star all by herself

(I tried. She rocked.)

We added a few other things-

a little wreath, garland, and a few other odd decorations.

Bailey is using the presents

from her birthday

and having fun with the new theme.

Dana's Christmas Gift

Dana-don't look!

I've finished a bag for my girlfriend Dana.

Her son Ivan has undone at least two of her knitting projects in the last year.

Completely pulled them apart.

(Can't you see the look of amazement on his face as he unravels it row by row?)

So when I found this tutorial

and spied the tied top

I knew it would be a perfect place to stash her knitting.

I hope she likes it!

Welcoming

One of the things we try to instill in our children is the true meaning of Christmas.

The story of Jesus' birth and why He came to earth and what it means to them.

We also don't want them to drive us bonkers.

I had seen the Elf on the Shelf and I never really got excited by it.

So we found a project that ties nicely in to Christmas while rewarding our children for good behavior.

We made cradles for baby Jesus. We set the cradles in a very visible location in our homes. We let the children know that each time we catch them doing something caring, loving, unselfish, etc they will get to add straw to Jesus' cradle. The goal is to have a cradle full of straw to welcome Jesus on Christmas.

The kids have really loved this. One of our rules is that you don't get straw if you ask for it. We made our cradles from little picket fences Dana had found in our local craft store but I've seen them made from paper towel rolls, too.

We started this craft discussing what a King's bed would look like. It was a great opportunity to talk about the significance of Jesus being born in a manger. We also went over the fruits of the spirit (something we had discussed in length over summer) and the positive attributes that we should display. This was a great lesson for the 6 year old crowd but could definitely be shortened or skipped for the younger crowd.

I don't know if we'll keep the cradle or make another next year (I hate to waste but putting the craft together gave a great basis for discussion). Either way I think this is a great addition to our holiday traditions!

Mama’s Holiday Wish List Meme
TodaysMama and Provo Craft are giving away a sleighful of gifts this holiday season and to enter I’m sharing this meme with you.

1. What 5 items are on your holiday wish list this year?

1. Clean dishes when I go to bed on the 25th.

2. An audible squeal of excitement from each of my daughters over one of her Christmas gifts (not necessarily the ones we bought her).

3. No H1N1. Or Influenza. Or anything that makes you sneeze.

4. Free shipping for all the gifts I send out.

5. A rich dude to give me money and to tell me I can only spend it on crafting and sewing supplies.
2. What is your favorite handmade gift you have received?

A picture my daughter drew. And in close second, the Christmas stocking Dana made me.
3. What handmade gift have you always wanted to tackle?

Handmade Christmas cards. I can't figure out how to do them cute and inexpensive.
4. What was the best Christmas gift you received as a child?

A huge teddy bear (well, I thought it was huge at the time)
5. What items are on your kid’s wish list this year?

A nativity set and a guitar (among 100 other things!)
6. What is your favorite holiday food?

Dessert (don't make me choose)
7. What will you be hand-crafting for the holidays?

I can't tell that! It will ruin the surprise!
8. What is your favorite holiday movie?

That's like choosing a favorite child. (Okay, maybe not. But I do like them all-even the cheesy ones)
9. Favorite holiday song?

Silent Night
10. Favorite holiday pastime?

Baking with my kids.

Christmas Crafting

I've been finishing up my Christmas crafting

which is why I haven't been posting.

Not because I've been super busy

(which I have but I always have time to blog

especially if I have other things

I'm supposed to be doing....)

No posts because

I'm a firm believer in surprises.

So I've been crafting

and I love to listen to music while I'm crafting

(because then I can't hear if the children are fighting).

Do you read Nie?

She's a lovely mother

with a wonderful perspective.

Today she introduced my to Pandora.

I am in love.

I can listen to Frank

while I do this

Taking Names and Spending Money

I am finishing up my Preliminary Christmas Shopping this weekend.

What, you ask, is Preliminary Christmas Shopping?

Well, it's the shopping that has to get done so that the

In-Season Christmas Shopping is less stressful

(because just finding a parking space is hard enough!)

and shopping that must be done

so we're not worried if our gifts have made their

Pacific Ocean flight safely and in time.

Basically it's everything

except stocking stuffers.

Now don't go and think I'm all prepared.

I have set this deadline because

I have hit my limit of

brain-cell loss due to Christmas stress.

And like many deadlines, this one

snuck up behind me and yelled

"Boo!"

To which I promptly jumped up and went internet shopping.

These are some of the goodies I've found:

RobotCandy on Etsy.

I instantly fell in love with their tile coasters.

Kitsch and Kaboodle

She has the most darling necklaces!

Jenny's Bake Shop

Wonderful vintage feel with a cute twist.

I love this one:

Wooden Toy Junction

Sarah and Abraham

I got Dana some Mommy Calling Cards here last year.

I think I may have to get the girls olliegraphic name prints this year.

Unicef

Great educational toys

Southern Brand

Such cute kids shirts.

I've done my part for economy recovery. Have you?

My done to-do list

October is always a busy month for me.

Costumes to sew.

Many November birthdays to prepare for.

And Christmas is stirring and will need attention soon.

And then my husband left me.

Not forever,

just for a class in Nevada for a week.

I've had my hands full

and I've been getting it done

except for the blog.

and the stuff in the confessional (see below).

My checked-off to-do list:

Swap squares, cut, sewn and mailed.

I can't wait to see what comes back!

Pumkins picked

and carved

(some are still waiting to be cooked)

the Halloween banner cut, glued, glittered, and hung

and one matching father-daughter

Belle and her prince costume

(the prince prefers slippers-

what do you expect in Hawaii?!)

I am finishing up a baby blanket this week for our school's harvest festival

and working on a gift for my sweet little neice, Maile.

Then it's on to those Christmas gifts.

Confessional:

I opted for the sugar cookie mix when I made the cookies for Bailey's class to decorate.

And I bought Chloe's costume online (GASP!!!!) which I felt horribly guilty about (I always make their costumes) and was instantly vindicated in my disappointment when I tried it on her and practically fell apart (which I then spent as much time trying to fix the thing as it would have taken me to make one). And I didn't do a single dish in the sink for two days last week because my husband didn't come home 'til Saturday and no one but you and me will know. (wink, wink)

Painful Cuts

I am done with the painful cutting.

I usually love cutting a project;

I feel strides of accomplishment,

lovely progress.

But this hurt.

I am making a quilt from my girl's baby clothes.

I cried as I cut each piece

holding it to my face

hoping to find some trace of their smallness

some whimper, a cry

of the littleness that was once them.

But it is gone.

They are big

and fast and loud

and they  laugh and tell me jokes 

and make me laugh too

and make it easier to cut.

It took me over a year

of looking and pawing over the sweet memories 

before I took sharp objects to them.

(I did save a box for each girl of favorite dresses and outfits

which I hope they will pass on)

And finally I am finished cutting. 

I used only knit onesies

and so I backed each piece with webbing

and trimmed them to neat little shapes

and saved each little ruffle and button.

I can see the finished product 

(waiting for me in pieces)

and I am happy.

Giddy.

Excited that these little treasures will no longer be 

hidden in a bag or box.

They will warm my babies again.

Even if they're not babies anymore.

What you should be doing....

is entering all the fantastic giveaways at Needle Little Inspiration.

I just found the Pleasant Home website and I love all the wonderful things on it

(including the Needle Little Inspiration section!)

it's a brand new design and all sorts of fun little sections

Be sure to browse around the site-lots of great ideas here!

School Time

Bailey went back to school over a month ago

but all these great ideas are popping up everywhere

I had to get a post in about them.

Just Something I Made had a cute post on teachers 

with these great graphics and 

a wonderful idea to print them onto a bag for your child's teacher.

Living Locurto has some pretty adorable downloads 

(and not just for school, browse around!).  Some of the ones I was fond of:

The after school routine 

School is Sweet  cupcake tags

Kids clothing tags

and morning routine cards

Over at Ucreate

I found a link to Mish Mash 

and tutorials for a cute clipboard and an apple card

Mommypalooza has cute little school excuse notes

And over at Babalisme, the cutest little labels

There are little apple note cards 

over at creature comforts

And at the very fabulously cute Orange You Lucky, I found bookplates

Today over at Tip Junkie they  had Creative School Lunches

And of course Martha has to put in her two cents with her Lunch labels,

 and notebook labels.

Which reminds me I've got someone's lunch to make...