Gift Tags

By the time you read this it will be Christmas day (or after) and you won't care anymore about putting tags on gifts, but... here's one way we got SB involved with gift-giving this year.  She and her daddy sat down with a pen and lined paper (cringe!!!)  to make gift tags for everyone.  He drew circles and labeled each one while she drew in the faces of each recipient.  I backed them with scrapbook paper and they were later attached to gifts.  They could be prettier, but at this point I don't really care.  The drawings are awesome enough. 

I hope some of these end up as refrigerator art.  They should.

Baby Pictures

 Today was the first day I've seen Remy in person.  He's my other sister Crystal's baby.  I've only gotten a few snapshot sent to me here and there over the phone since they live in Florida.  It's always a joy to take a few photos of new babies who normally put up less resistance than toddlers.   I was glad to snap a few while they were here.   He's a cutie!

A photo tip:
These pictures were taken in a small bathroom where the walls were close to each other.  I used a bounce flash since I don't own studio lights anymore.  (A bounce flash is just an added camera flash turned toward a wall instead of directly on the subject.)  It produces a more modeled effect rather than a flat, bright flash on the face and cast shadow. 

Smile

It's nice to have family over especially when you don't see them much.  My dad's side of the family came for a visit this weekend for Christmas.  We exchanged gifts, ate a big meal and spent time together which is always a pleasure.  I wish my whole family lived within a few miles of each other. 

My step mom makes great desserts and brought over an entire dessert for each person since we all like different things.  Cupcakes for the girls, pecan pie for me, cherry pie for my sister Katee, and brownies for the men since they're not as keen on sweets.

Katee likes pictures, so we took a few of Mary Ellen and Lilly Mae and SB. 

Unfortunately SB's patience for picture-taking runs thin.   This is what we get when we ask for a smile.  I guess I'm happy for at least a look in the direction of the camera.  Actually, I really like this picture.  Her resistance was probably waning due to the fact that we had cousin Lilly Mae over.  Lilly Mae enjoys the occasional snap in her direction and doesn't immediately run the other way.   I wish some of the enthusiasm would rub off.

Smile! Please?!!! PLEASE Smile!

Like this, Mommy?!!!




I'm 8 weeks old and you don't see me complaining about taking a picture.







About Christmas

This picture is worth a thousand words.  Todd and I want so much to translate what's here into our girl's heart.  There are a lot of tv shows, music, stores, well-meaning adults, other kids, and whatever else I've left off trying to tell SB that Christmas is about getting lots of presents and that there is an old guy in a red suit who's gonna creep into our house at night and drop them off to her. 

We've come to realize that we have to be vigilant in teaching her about Immanuel - God with us.  Christmas is about Jesus coming to earth as Immanuel.  He was and is our ultimate gift.  That's enough.

I'm SEW Awesome

Made with Glossy ModPodge and fusible web.

Yep, I hand stitched these letters.

She likes the shirt!

A cheap, 30 minute, AWESOME Christmas present for a good friend.   (I say cheap, because I had all these things on hand except the shirt.)

Ingredients:
$6.00 Hanes t-shirt from Wal Mart
Barbasol shaving cream
Temporary Spray adhesive
Black screen printing ink or acrylic paint
ModPodge (Glossy)
Image (Sewing Machine) printed from a color (or black and white) inkjet printer
Small piece of white scrap fabric
Wonder Under or fusible web
Iron
Sponge Brush
Scissors
Embroidery Floss if you're in the mood to sew by hand.

If you'd like to see a tutorial, comment.

Christmas Dress

The Photo:
In the past, I've prided myself on my Christmas dresses for Sarah Beth.  Not this year.  I have way too many projects going on right now to fuss over cute Christmas pictures.  I had invisioned dressing her up as an angel with real feathered wings and doing a very overexposed angelic portrait of her.  These days I'm lucky to get her to look my way when I have a camera in hand much less expect her to cooperate.

It's already December and I have yet to get my Christmas cards printed and in the mail.  One of these two will have to do.

The Dress:
I did make this dress one night out of some fabric I found at the Fabric Krazy Quilt Shop which I love because of its subtle festive qualities.  The applique file comes from Planet Applique which is my one of my favorite online shops.  It happens to be the first thing I've ever made for her with zipper.  An invisable zipper.

Update on the Chair

For anyone interested, I DID finish the chair this week, and painted the walls blue.  I like them both.

Elf on the Shelf Shirt

This is what I've always perceived the Elf on the Shelf to look like because it has been in my family since I was a kid.  I have no idea how old he is, but Green Guy's the real deal.  My grandpa gave me this guy (along with two others just like him) last Christmas.  He and my grandma used to hang them on their tree. 

The elf on the shelf below (Red Guy) came along a few years ago and I'm still not sure what the "tradition" is but he's not quite as cute as my green striped guy.  Ok, Red Guy's a little less creepy than Green Guy.  I might rather find him staring at me from different places in the house, than Green Guy.

 

The reason they are even mentioned in this post is because of the shirt I made below.  I got this knit striped fabric and really wanted to use it to make a shirt.   I made a a pattern for myself and sewed away.  It fits well and is really cute . . .except for the fact that it reminds me of Green Guy.   When I wear it, I keep waiting for someone to tell me I belong in Santa's workshop.

This is Exactly what it looks like.

Todd and I decided to let SB decorate her first set of Christmas cookies.  Last year she was a little young.  She decided to sneak a few M&M's during the decorating but plenty of  them still made it on the cookies.

Family Fun

I don't think this needs an explanation. 

Psalm 107  ...Give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind...
Happy Thanksgiving.  Go spend some time with the people you love and thank God that you have them to share life with. 

I'm back...The Chair

I've been trying to save this entry until I was done with this chair so I could show a start to finish set of pictures but I've been really busy.  There.  That's my excuse.  My last post was from October and frankly I'm ready for my costume to make its way to the bottom of this blog. 

What's happened since then?  Two sisters had babies, one boy and one girl.  I went to my first quilt festival ever and enjoyed myself immensely.  I took 2 photos but remember everything except what those photos were about.  At school I've been the go-to girl for all things creative including theatre sets, photography backdrop painting, custom portraits of dead dogs, 110 decorated ornaments for the town Christmas tree, face painting on the fly, and raffled crafts.  At home, Husband has been working LOTS lately and we've been to lots of birthday parties.  SB is now telling me she wants to "go backwards" meaning that she wants to redo the day so she can spend more time with Peaches the horse.


The story of  this chair:
I went to an antique store looking for a sofa to borrow for my brother's engagement photos.  I was sidetracked by this hideous chair and fell in love with the $15 price.  (The tag said $30 dollars but when Mrs. Saleslady saw me looking interested she immediately cut the price in half without me even asking.  I would have paid the $30.)  I've had high hopes for this little rocker.  I bought some supplies to reshape the cushions and some swanky new fabric.  Mind you, this is my reupholstery debut.
Well, I'm still not finished with it.  I haven't even worked on it since September when I bought it.
My problem is that I'm at a point where I need an extra set of hands.  This week, the love of my life is home on vacation and I think I can get some help out of him.  He's already earned brownie points by helping me paint our living room and hall way.  11 feet of vertical misery.  New inspiration for sewing projects though.  Mark my words, you WILL see a finished chair.  Soon.

Nurse/Candy Striper Costume

Dorthy? No.

 My school hosted a family fun Halloween night this past week.  Costumes were definitely a must.  I was looking for some inspiration from the internet for a candy striper costume, but most options were not even PG-13 rated.  Here's my more conservative/ mod/ retro take on a candy striper costume.

My job at the event was to paint faces so I've spent some time practicing.  This horse was by far my most elaborate undertaking and it was painted a few hours before we even opened for business.  Marian, one of my students, wanted a horse to go with her cowgirl costume.  I tried to talk her into something more simple, but no - a horse.  She wanted a horse.
Even though he got washed off later that evening, he will live on in this post forever.  My favorite part is that he is attached to the wood post on the other side of her face.

Here she is...

Katee finally had the baby.  Guess what?  I was wrong.  It's a GIRL and her name is Mary Ellen.  You're a good mama, Katee.

One sister's pregnancy down and one to go.

Funny Face Painting



 She says she has a giraffe neck. Well now she really does!!! Of course it's a pretty giraffe who smiles when she smiles. Thanks for being a good sport and letting me paint your face Brandy.






I painted a smiling fish on my face with a little help from the guidance counselor. I need guidance sometimes.

Belle

Since my sister Katee is so pregnant and overdue, I feel sorry for her.  She could ask me for anything and I'd probably do it for her.  Lilly Mae asked me to make her a Belle dress.  How could I turn her down. 

Crazy enough, this dress cost me less than $6 to make.  It's got four layers of various types of material from knit to netting to satin to tulle and has some hot fix crystals too.  I enjoyed making this so much because all I had to go by was some basic measurements over the phone.  There was no pattern, only one of SB's princess books to reference.  I hope it looks enough like Belle, LM.

It cost so little I had some stuff in my stash I figured I might one day use, and because of my sweet neighbor who thought of me and found this yellow satin at Hobby Lobby for a mere $2 a yard.  She bought almost three yards and gave it to me.  What a blessing!  Katee and LM you can thank my neighbor Neila. 

A Date, a Dog, and a Llama (Random Stuff)

 

It was high time for us to go on a date.  I love the local outdoor mall.  So pretty at night.  It was good to have some adult conversation too.  We talked about art... I love my husband.  We also visited Charming Charlies...in his opinion kitschy.  I just like the layout of the store and a few of the gaudy headbands I would never actually wear, but like.



This reminds me of why I don't want anymore house pets.  That's the dog eating cat food. 



Why is the Llama slightly blurry?  That's how close he kept getting to me.  SB and I went to the fair with some friends.  She wanted to pet the animals.  I wanted them to stop eating my shirt.

When's the Happy Birthday?

Katee had LM's birthday party a couple weeks early in case the baby came sooner than expected.  I forgot my camera so these are a couple of photos I was able to use from my phone.  Here we are about 3 weeks later, a week after a failed induction, and still no baby yet.  He/She's almost a week overdue.  You are a strong momma, Katee! I admire your self control.  I'd be a basket case right now.

Engagement Photos

This is my baby brother, J.  I'm glad he gave me the pleasure of photographing him and A.  I hope you don't mind my posting these.

What she remembers most about...

When you ask her about her time at the gym she will tell you about the stamps she got on her feet.  She won't tell you she got to play with a parachute or hang from bars or go through tunnels or balance on beams with rubber chickens in hand.  Nope, she'll tell you she got a happy face flower and a bumble bee on her feet.

Excuse the photos.  It seems that I prefer to carry a phone around these days and not a 10 lb. camera.

Super Hero

Todd gave SB a bath last night since I spent 5 hours in the car with her while he relaxed at home.  He's a pretty good illustrator in spite what he says.  This is his rendering of SB as a superhero.  I think it's cute.  He's a good daddy.

This makes me laugh...

Inside I feel the same way as this panda when I don't get my way. 

There are three or four of these Panda Cheese commercials on Youtube.

I Dread This...

Sunday night, on the spur of the moment, I decided it was time to get rid of the pacifier.  I've put it off for long enough! 

The method: 

Reward good sleep.  

She fell asleep at 10:30 after a few hours of struggling.  The next day we went to the Dollar Tree where she picked out a prize.  We came home with a jumbo cat coloring book.

Some frustrating but funny moments:

"I'm crying, Snuggle Duck, I'm crying."  She wasn't really crying; she was declaring.

"EYEBROWS!  EYEBROWS!!!"  She shouted this word repeatedly for about 10 minutes.

"I want Aunt Dale!"  

"Get me out of here!"  A reference to her bed.

"I need____."  Think of anything off the top of your head, she needed it.

 

Recycling

Lots of the gifts I make for friends and family come from previously owned articles of clothing.  Case in point- this little girl's shirt that was given at a birthday party today came from my hubby's closet.   It doesn't look the same as when he had it, and it's been washed, but somehow I feel a little cheap about giving it as a gift.  I also gave her the pink thingie in the other image.  I made it from all new materials, but it's not my favorite of the two. 
I'm gonna keep recycling old clothing and give it away as gifts.  If you get one from me, don't be offended.  Its' because I love you!

Baby Gifts

Some cute shoes made of weird stuff I found laying around

including an old dance costume and some blue leopard fur.

Some burp cloths made with appliques from one of my favorite sites.

Some incomplete sentences.