Tap, tap...anyone there?

Hello, bloggy land! Did you miss me? Wait, don't answer that.

Although I haven't blogged in 6 months (!!!), that doesn't mean I haven't been busy crafting, sewing and crocheting. In fact, quite to the contrary. The good news is that I always photograph everything I make with the intention of sharing it here, so I now have enough blog material for rest of the year. ;)

Let's dive right into it, shall we? How about a crafty Christmas wrap-up?

First up, a queen anne's lace scarf.  It's a little messy looking if you don't block it, but some light blocking worked wonders! I know I always say this, but I want one for me now!

  

I made two of these doll sets for my sister and niece's American Girl dolls. Apparently the fit is not great, though. Guess I need to pay attention to gauge when I'm crocheting clothes!

  

This Christmas runner was for my mother-in-law. I made another one in a different print my my mom, but forgot to take a picture.

  

This bag was for my sister Katie. I actually bought a pattern for this one, which I rarely do, but in this case it was totally worth it. Terrible picture, but I'll definitely be making another one like this for me. I scaled the pattern down for Katie's purse, but the original pattern, the two zip hipster, can be found here. 

 

Some wool wrist warmers for my sister Hannah: 

 

This was my first time experimenting with crocheted cables and it couldn't have been easier. This was for my sister and her almost-fiance, a quote from Song of Solomon: 

 

And a framed hymn for said almost-fiance (his favorite): 

 

An reversible apron and matching hot pad for my sister Rosie: 

(Tutorial is here. The end result was fantastic, but it was a pain.in.the.butt.)

  

I didn't really do much homemade for the kids this year, but I did refinish a little table for Maddie to use as a vanity. She looooves it and uses it every day, so that was a win!

  

I was pretty crafty this year with my home decor this year and finally made new stockings for the four of us. But I'll wait until Christmas time to share those - no one feels very Christmassy in January! Alrighty! Signing off for what I hope is not another 6 months...

Molly

All about Advent... and a calendar round-up

Last year, one of my facebook friends made an incredibly awesome Advent Calendar and I was totally inspired. Honestly, I really wasn't even sure what Advent was, we never celebrated it when I was a child, but all I knew was that she made a really cool looking calendar with pockets and I wanted in on the fun! Of course, it was too late in the season to make one last year, but I've been eagerly anticipating the start of this Christmas season so that our little family could participate.

But, first things first. What is Advent?

Quite simply, Advent is a countdown to Christmas. It's traditionally a time for Christians to reflect on the birth of Christ and to prepare for his coming. Advent is taken from the latin word "adventus" which literally means "coming". Advent actually begins the 4th Sunday before Christmas, but Advent calendars begin on December 1st.

The Advent Calendar is simply a physical way to countdown the 24 days of December leading up to Christmas and there are literally a hundred different ways you can do it. There is no right or wrong way and it can be a simple or elaborate as you want it to be. In most cases, the calendar contains 24 vessels of some sort - one for each day of December. Pockets, drawers, cones, stockings, envelopes, tins...you get the idea. Alternatively, the advent calendar could be something that is added too every day until it is finally completed on the 24th. An example of that kind of calendar would be a mini tree that gets an ornament each day.

The web is chock full of amazing homemade calendars and fabulous ideas for celebrating advent and there are plenty of other calendar round-ups, but here are some interesting ones that I thought were worth sharing.

Make an Advent Calendar:

This is about the cutest thing I've ever seen - A felt garland of bulb lights. You've got to click over and check it out. If we had a mantel, I'd totally go that route.



I'm really leaning toward making something similar to this for our calendar this year. Love, love it.





This activity advent calendar requires a minimal amount of sewing and is totally functional AND adorable.




Here is a basic quilted calendar with pockets - there are so many variations to this calendar!



Another cute non-quilted hanging calendar with pockets. Love the linen look!



No sew, easy advent calendar ideas:No sew, easy advent calendar ideas:

Paper Chain - It doesn't get much simpler than that! We used to make a paper chain to countdown to birthdays and other exciting events when I was little. This would be a great way to get the kids involved in making the calendar - have them decorate paper to be cut into strips and linked together. As a twist, write an activity (or the first clue for a scavenger hunt!) on the inside of each chain. Each day as the links are removed, the child can find out what fun activity is planned for the day.



Paper Origami Boxes - This is a particularly cute little paper calendar.



Paper Cones - Okay, this is adorable. You could just as easily make this into a garland for the mantel or staircase.



Buy a Calendar or Kit*:

These are all from Etsy, because 1) Etsy is awesome and 2) supporting local, home-based businesses is so vital at Christmas time!

This one is PDF file that walks you through printing little paper boxes that can be arranged anyway you want:

Here's another DIY kit that is SUPER cute. This one has a pocket with a ornament that signifies a different part of the Christmas story that can be hung on the tree each day.

This one is another garland version with little distressed tags for each day of Advent.

Another garland with a pennant look. This DIY kit includes Bible verses paraphrasing the Christmas story for each day.

*Note: I found all these calendars just by browsing on Etsy, I've never ordered from these sellers and thus can't personally recommend them - I just think their stuff is super cute. ;)

I think I've finally decided on plan for our advent calendar this year - I have fabric ordered and list started for activities and gifts for Madeline. But I think I'll save all that for another post - this is getting lengthy! Look for that post next week.

Pillows, Pillows, Pillows!

When I stumbled across this tutorial a couple months before Christmas, I knew I had to add a few of these floor pillows to my Christmas "to do" list. Then, a few turned into...eight. I've already showed you the one that I made Madeline - and here are the rest!

For the boys! I think these are my favorite of the whole bunch.

For the girls!

These were a custom order for my sister's nieces - I love the fabric she chose!!

I did adjust the pattern slightly - Madeline's pillow was a little tall, so I made these wider and shorter. Perfect for older kids.

Even though I'm totally sick of this pattern, I'd really like to make a couple more for my living room! I'll save that project for post-baby, I think.

These pillows below were a big hit! I made one for my grandparents (forgot to take a picture!) with all the great-grandkids hands on them and then these two for my sister's inlaws and grandmother. I shamelessly stole the idea from this tutorial!

I know, I know, I'm almost done posting old stuff. I *am* working on new crafty stuff, though! I just made new living room curtains and I'm working on my "if it's a boy" quilt. 'cause I think it is. 5 weeks and counting.

Molly

Merry Christmas, Madeline!

Somehow it's two days after Christmas...was it just me or did December fly by abnormally fast? Hope you all had a wonderful weekend - we sure did!

My homemade Christmas didn't go exactly according to plan, but I did manage to make a lot of my gifts this year. I have more to share, but I'll start with the homemade goodies I made for my own little girl.

First, a softie doll. This was SO much fun to make. This was my first attempt at making an actually toy - and it's a whole new sewing experience. Not a super fast project, but worth it. Especially when she gave more attention to her little homemade doll than she did her store bought one. Mommy was just a *little* happy about that. :)

See? Love at first sight. Right now she's still nameless, Madeline has just been calling her "bonnet baby".

There was something so satisfying about watching my little girl open a doll that I had made especially for her on Christmas morning. Makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Maddie is calling this her "house purse". She does like the house, but she was more excited about the little peg people family that I painted.

She's at the age where she does a lot of pretend play, so I think these little guys will get lots of love.

This was the first thing I made for her in early December - a floor pillow to match her new quilt.

I have so much more to share! But I need to track down the recipients of a couple gifts I forgot to take pictures of (whoops!) and edit some more pictures. But I'll share it all at some point before next Christmas. Joking, joking...I think. Pregnant people shouldn't make promises, they'll just forget them the next day (or minute.) Seriously, this little munchkin is sucking what little bit of brain power I had left completely out of my head. 8 weeks and counting.

Notes:

The tutorial for the softie doll can be found here. I ordered the felt for the face and limbs from Praire Point Junction. Fabric is Hunky Dory by Chez Moi.

The tutorial for the floor pillow can be found here. This is one of EIGHT of these suckers that I made this Christmas - pictures of the others to come. Fun project! But...I'd really be happy to never sew another piece of piping...

The dollhouse tutorial can be found here. It was really pretty simple to make. I found the peg people from this awesome Etsy seller. Less than $5! Can't beat that. I used regular acrylic craft paint that I had on hand and a small detail brush (and a toothpick for the eyes and buttons!).

Molly

Linking up at the following parties:

Skip to my Lou

Sugar Bee

Tip Junkie

Christmas specials...

We interrupt your reguarly scheduled programming for some shameless self-promotion.

I've listed some new stuff in the shop recently...like this black newsgirl (isn't my sister the cutest model?),

and this blue newsgirl (that's my adorable niece!).

I'm only guaranteeing Christmas delivery on custom orders until December 6th (you know, because I haven't started in on my *own* Christmas crafting), and until that date you can get 10% your entire order by using the coupon code CHRISTMAS2010 at checkout.

I also started a new section called "Ready to Ship" and everything in that section is pre-made and can be mailed immediately. I'll guarantee Christmas delivery on anything ordered in that section between now and the 16th. Use the coupon code READYTOSHIPDEC for 20% off any ready to ship items. Seriously, folks - they are just sitting here waiting for a new home!

To sweeten the pot just a bit more - I'm issuing a special coupon code to customers that order anytime in the month of December that will give you 20% off a future order anytime in the year 2011! The code will be emailed after your order has been recieved.

I will say that I've finally had a chance to at least prep a few projects for my (uh, semi) homemade Christmas and I'm so excited to actually start sewing!

Can you guess what I'm making? The one on the right is kind of obvious, I think. :)

Okay, over and out! Happy shopping!

Molly

Homemade Christmas Ideas - Kids

I'm working on several of my Christmas gifts now (I'm not sure why I always feel the need to work on multiple projects at the same time) and I'm starting to feel like maybe, just maybe I can actually get all my projects done in time for Christmas. Did I mention there are exactly 24 people on my Christmas list? Eeek!

I have a couple original ideas for gifts, but most of the items on my list are from tutorials and free patterns on the web. There are some seriously crafty people out there, ya'll! Here are some of my favorite ideas for gifts for the little ones on your list.

Row 1
Oopsie the Octopus
Superhero Cape
Car Cozy
Baby Bonnet

Row 2
Fabric Dollhouse
Journal Cover
Floor pillow
Mini me Apron Set

Row 3
Bow Ties
Softie Doll
Art Bag
Flat Dolls and Matching Bag

Personally, I'm madly in love with the little softie doll in the 3rd row. That, along with the fabric dollhouse and the floor cushion (one of my works in progress!) are on Madeline's Christmas list.

Next up: Bags, bags, bags!

Molly

The Quilt and Plans for a Homemade Christmas

Last year we had a semi-homemade Christmas. This year I'm committed to making the majority of my gifts. *insert nervous laugh* I'm a little freaked out that it's almost November and I've barely started, but I'm trying to just ignore the calendar and just get down to business. My gift to-do list is almost complete and I've assembled most of the materials that I'll need to make this happen (I'm hoping that will motivate me to actually DO it.)

Over the last year I've been bookmarking and saving tutorials and ideas like a crazy person. Seriously, it's a problem. I'm working on sorting through all my saved projects and putting together some Christmas gift idea posts based on recipient.

Oh! Guess what I finally started? *Squeal*

Somewhere inbetween all this Christmas crafting, I need to squeeze in finishing this quilt and making matching curtains and bed linens for the big bed switcheroo. It needs to happen soon, people. We're ready, she's ready. Anyway.

I'm almost finished piecing the top and simultaneously working on a pretty awesome pieced strip for the backing. I'm still terrified to actually *quilt* something this size, but we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Molly