Christmas

Since this post is late, I'm sparing too many pictures.

Christmas eve with maternal cousins.

More christmas eve

Christmas morning, J was so excited when he saw the choo-choo Santa brought.

And never wanted to wait his turn to open presents.

Gingerbread House

yes this post is a little late, but I had a baby. My son and I decorated a gingerbread house, before Christmas.

Like all fun things, it needed to end in tears.

My son lost interest near the end, and I did wood panneling on the back, it was my favorite part.

Homemade Presents

I always have dreams about taking the hand made only Christmas pledge, so I start early and plan ahead, but I never make it. This my attempt for the gift exchange family, on my husband's side.

I ended up really loving this apron by the end, and wasn't sure she would like it. I made it back in November or October, but then by December she kept mentioning that I had never made her one, so I ended up making the perfect present.

Best part, I sewed so straight! and the pocket magically lined up with the other material.

Her daughter got a flower tutu. I had no idea what I was doing when I started out, I just had a picture in my mind. I was happy with the results.

P.S. The Pledge doesn't quite work for me anyway, because I'm a cheapskate so I don't buy handmade, I only make handmade, and the site is buy not make.

Trees

I have a thing for christmas tree decorations. I have spent more money on little christmas trees when it comes to christmas decorations than anything else other than ornaments. The only thing I have more of is, nativities, but I don't think we have bought a single nativity since we have been married. They are all either hand me downs from my mom, gifts, or nativities from Chile my husband bought for his mother, which she since gave back to us.
Here is the tree run down
top left: a hallmark ornament holder, I am afraid my mini ornaments will be thrown out with the christmas tree at the end of the season so this number made a come back
top middle: my feather tree to give me a flash back of my wedding reception at my parents house
top right: cone trees I bought at the dollar store,
bottom left: aspen? bark tree thing, with fake snow glitter, I'm digging it, its new this year, but terrible quality I don't know how many years it will last
bottom middle left: new nativity this year, a christmas tree and nativity all in one, how awesoem
bottom middle right: the tinsel tree pillow my mom had me make and design for her last year, so far success, my son has not pulled out the pipe cleaners
bottom right: the tree my mom gave me this year, its paper mache, I didn't know that, so I stared at it quite a while wondering what medium it was made out of.
I like gaudy little christmas tree decorations.

Here is a close up of the tree nativity.

Christmas Pictures

Isn't it the greatest that any picture taken in december automatically looks more exciting, because of the Christmas decorations in the background?

Cookies

Thank goodness for grammy to help make christmas cookies, when mommy is recovering.

Star or Angel?

I told my husband when I was little I thought stars were secular, because growing up my family had an angel on top of the tree. He told me he thought angels were pagan, because its like you are worshiping the angel. So I made a star, I decided to make it because it seemed easier than finding what I wanted. I wanted a star in complete glitter. I picked the wrong type of glitter, using crystal (white) colored glitter instead of silver, but I put a little silver on top of the white. If I wasn't about to pop and I wasn't feeling a little poor this holiday season, I would have redone the star is silver glitter. Here is the finished product. One version with the flash and one without the flash.

I told my mom what my husband said about the angel, and she said what does he want to do put the baby Jesus on top of the tree? I told him that, and he said, he doesn't think we should have trees in our houses. For some reason he has decided to be anti christmas tree this year.

The last holiday craft of 2008

These little pillows are pretty self explanatory I think. The buttons are about 1/2 inch tall. I decided to put the phrase 'believe in hope', from Elder Uchtdorf's talk in October. There is no point in celebrating Christmas if we don't have hope in the redeeming power of our Savior, right?

Here are the wise men

Together next to each other on the mantle. They are too little for the couch, they would get lost under someone when they sat down.

Here is the back material, I absolutely love it. It is so unlike anything a chain store like JoAnns would sell. I bought it two years ago in March on super clearance at a quilting shop. I usually can't afford quilting shops.

Now its time for the baby to come. Sure, since I'm over due I bet some of you faithful readers are waiting in anticipation to figure out when the baby is coming. I'm boycotting talking about it, because the baby is boycotting being born. She is getting close though, and when she is done with her boycott, I will post a terrible picture of a newborn, and your anticipation will be over. Tonight is a full moon, and it is suppose to storm all weekend. Both good signs in my opinion, my first was born in the middle of a snow storm, so I've been waiting for the storm to come.

J's Holiday Craft #2

We have a full size, 6 foot christmas tree this year. It was payment for babycare help with the new baby. We don't really have enough ornaments for a full size tree, so my son and I found pine cones outside our public library, and he glitterized them. His grandma helped him as I took pictures.

I thought glitter was expensive, so I ended up only buying paint pens.

He sure had fun making his sparkly pinecones.

Holiday Jammies

I decided I wanted Holiday jammies, so if the adult was in them, the kid needed them. I was going to go for a little more green and red traditional looking bear suit. My son liked these better, and I figure moose with red scarfs is plenty festive if its the ones he wants. He loves them, he never wants to take them off.

So he decorated the tree in his jammies.

J's Holiday Crafts

I'm not the only one making holiday crafts in my house.

My son picked out this fantastic snowflake mask in the store and wouldn't give it up. So then we came home and he painted it.

Snowwoman Ballet

I few weeks ago in a craft store ad I saw a skinny snowwoman, and I thought that is the snowman for my house. I went to the store planning to spend about $10, it was $25, I decided no. It wasn't as cute in real life less ballerina like and more gaudy woman like. So I decided to make my own. The two look nothing a like, I love mine, especially way more than the one in the store. The tutu is huge, for the size of the snowman.

Here is what she looks like on our key spot. I have a thing for gaudy christmas tree cones.

Plus it only took one nap time to make.

Can I make a christmas list?

It is not a very big christmas list,
(although I do for the most part agree with Shannon, I'm still making a list)

1. I can't remember what I wanted the most, I've been trying to remember it for days. I guess it wasn't a very good number 1.
2. A new blow dryer, the handle on mine is broken so it falls forward, and the handle is eternally sticky, how it got sticky I don't know
3. New scrapbooking markers, I don't really scrapbook anymore but, I do use the markers, and I haven't gotten new ones since I was dating my husband, I want medium tip ones, like this. (By the way people, I told my sister and my husband I wanted some so if someone takes me up on the idea, they should email the other saying its done.)
4. Flannel Christmas PJs, button upshirt and matching bottoms. I don't know why I want them, I've never had them before, I think I'm going to buy some this weekend if I don't go into labor, that way I can wear them all month long.
BUT yet I'm getting a wheat grinder, sure a wheat grinder is important but its not very fun.

Oh and if we were really talking about wishes, I would want a blu-ray player for our computer.
So my sad complaint isn't very true, I will be receiving gifts from siblings. Plus my husband said he needed to take our boy out for shopping for mom. And I can't complain because I am the one that told my mom money for a wheat grinder, but a wheat grinder is so blah.

Countdown

You might have thought I was counting down to the baby born, but no I'm counting down to CHRISTMAS!

I made an advent calendar for this year. I plead insanity for the moment I designed it.

I sewed 24 little stockings, to help my child count down. They are about three inches high, needless to say it took a near eternity, I didn't think I would finish them in time, for the beginning of December.

The garland that the stockings hang on took FOREVER to make, literally. I spent more than 4 hours on the garland. I couldn't decided how to do the numbers, I didn't really want to use a fabric pen, but I definitely didn't want to embroidery the numbers, I ended up doing the tags. I think the tags are cute, and it was a very non committal way of doing it, next year I can always cut them off and chose to do them a different way.

I used left over halloween candy in the stockings. I thought it was ingenious of me to use Halloween candy, after I came up with it, I found multiple blogs suggesting it.

I love the stockings!!! I wish I would have taken a picture of them before I put the candy in, because the candy makes them a little droopy. I put the candy in on Sunday night after my kid was in bed, he didn't notice until around 4:30 pm on Monday. We played in the living room all morning, and he never noticed. He was very excited when he saw the candy, but then very sad when I told him we only got one a day, and we needed to wait until daddy got home from work. He was so happy when he finally got his piece of candy.

Christmas Tragedy.

Around the holidays you hope for things like Mother's Day Miracles (probably the only people that will get that reference don't even read my blog). But instead when I was setting up Christmas in my house we had a tragedy. I open one to find this:

Armless hands, and a present that can not be held.

You see that shocked look on his face?! He is wondering why he has no hands.
He should look more like this:

This is my husband's favorite nativity from Chile. I felt terrible, when I told him, he said what the google happened? I said I don't know, and started laughing uncontrollably. I do that (laugh) whenever my husband appears to be truly shocked, (probably because hardly anything shocks him).
PS sorry for the sorry blogposts lately. I'm terribly uncomfortable, and I'm hoping this baby comes in a matter of days or hours, not a week or more, I don't know how much longer I can last. Almost everyone I see tells me I either look miserable or really tired. Both would be the case. Today I looked in the mirror and realized what they are talking, the circles under my eyes look about as bad as a meth addict. I can't help it, I sleep as much as possible, but that isn't much, I'm too uncomfortable and any sleep I do get is not very restful. My husband says I'm miserable but no where near labor miserable based on our last experience. I told him maybe I was just handling it better this time, he said that was true, but I still have a ways to go. Six days until my due date. We'll see if I get lucky. Plus I'm hoping I don't get as miserable as I did last time.

Happy Holidays

As I have already mentioned I have way too much holiday material in my house. So I used some of material to make a fall/thanksgiving apron, and a Christmas apron. The first is thanksgiving if you couldn't tell.

My favorite part, the jack o lantern on the back of the neck. It was no accident.

The Christmas one.

The material was rather dark and busy and needed something to break it up, so I used the lace I had bought but decided not to use for something else. I love the way it turned out, maybe its a little grandmaish, but I think it adds to the retroness of the print. Plus it reminds me of a scalloped design on a cookie, or frosting trim on a gingerbread house.

I've been wanting to make a birthday apron for months now, but haven't been able to find any good material for it. I saw one at a store for a large lump sum and thought it was a cute idea. I thought my small children would think it was fun if their mom had a special birthday apron for their birthdays. I know that sounds cheesy but none the less, I decided to jump on board. So now I'm well on my way to having an every holiday apron. I now need to go get some clearanced Halloween material so I can be ready for next year.

Add a fourth

Stockings are my favorite Christmas decoration. Here are my family's stockings so far. Please Please Please click on the link. I love them.
If you will recall, I went on a stocking craze last year.
Luckily this year, the only one in my family having a baby is me, which means, I only had to make stockings for one child. MINE!
So all I had to do this year was add a fourth to the family collection. Luckily I already had everything to make this stocking. My son picked the main material, out of a stack of Christmas material.

I had to buy the green bobbles for this stocking, but that is all. At first I planned on keeping this one, but I'm afraid its too fancy, and I'll set too high of a precedence for my future children.

So I haven't really decided which one is staying at my house, and which one is going to live with all the cousins at grammy's. I like the green bobbles, and it is by far my son's favorite out of two. But I also the how the silver trim brings out the silver in the red material.
Not to mention, my husband confirmed my fears. My son was "helping" me sew the green trim on, and when we finished he went to show his dad. His dad, said pretty fancy, are jealous its not yours? Luckily my kid looked at him like he was crazy and said, no. I was so annoyed that my husband asked him if he was jealous, I don't need anyone teaching him that, I'm sure he'll figure it out on his own, no need to bring it on early.

First Holiday Post

For some crazy reason I made a Christmas dress for my unborn daughter. I've been wanting to try this pillow case dress, From Freshly Picked.
Obviously a newborn is too small to wear a full size pillow case, but I didn't have a Christmas pillow case anyway, I made a small one out of this material. My real problem is not having a baby girl inside of me, my real problem is way too much Christmas material in my house, because this is not a holiday were I can go spend money at JoAnn's every time I turn around, its about making due with what I already have.
When I finished it looked like a potato sack with holy berries on it, so then I took it some under the arm pits, to give it an A line appearance, instead of a square pillow case.
For the record, Making your own bias tape is about the most ridiculous thing in the world.