Candy, candy everywhere!

Tis the season!  Time for gingerbread house decorating 2012.  For reasons that I can't remember, we didn't decorate a house last year.  But made a point to do one this year.  We gather at my aunt's house and get to work. 

We all take the easy way out.  Buy pre-assembled houses that come with the icing all done (no messy mixing needed!).  All that is needed is (extra) candy and a willing person to get messy.  We tried the house kits one year that come baked but not put together.  Yah.  Pain in the butt.  These are better. And while it's not "home baked"; who cares??  The kids want the candy, not the cookie house.  At least my kid is that way.

Here's most of the extra candy that we all donated to the gingerbread cause:

Hmmm, looks like I missed the OTHER end of the table because there was a lot more than that!

I wasn't sure how Punk was going to be.  In the past, she showed no interested or very limited interest in the house.  This year, she and I planned our decorating strategy.  What we wanted for a roof.  What other things she wanted to see on our house.  She wanted a chimney and we bought candy to make a chimney but we both forgot about it.  I took her to Walmart and spent a MINT on candy.  The cashier probably thought I was a bit late for Halloween for all the candy I bought.  LOL!  It's okay. We all shared.  She surprised me and was very excited to decorate and actually sat there with me and decorated.

Okay.  On with the show.

Here is Josh's house.  He is going to be a big brother TOMORROW!  I'm so excited!

he kept giving me "bug eyes" with his smile.  LOL!

And some of the others.  There were 2 other little boys there and then my 2 cousins and my aunt who all decorated a house.  Amelia and I shared one.  Next year, I will make my own.

And our creation:

Punk is eating a candy cane

By the time we were done, there was no rhyme or reason to the candy placement.  We just stuck it all on there.  Amelia and I added a candy sleigh to our side yard and everybody else followed suit.  It far from perfection but it was envisioned by my little girl and that's all that matters. 

We had a great time and hope to remember to make time and decorate again next year.

Enjoy your day!
Jen

This post is brought to you by the letters A, H, K and M

Pillows.  Lots of pillows being cranked out over here.

It all started with the innocent question on Facebook to my cousin of what would my God-daughter like for Christmas?  She and Amelia are of the same age - Hope being 8 months older but her interests differ a lot from Punk.  Amelia loves to play with dolls and play pretend.  Hope loves to draw.  I've given art supplies a few times but I needed something different.  One thing on her list was an "H" pillow.  Oh.  I can so handle that!

Gears turning in my head, I came up with an idea.  An initial pillow but with some pizazz.  Gotta have some pizazz.  Hmmm.  Turn it.  Yeah.  That works.  Turn the block a bit so it looks wonky.  Okay.  Now we're cooking.  But it needs more.  It's not speaking too loudly yet for me.  It needs more WOW!  Ah.  FUR.  Faux fur in a fun color.  Ooooo yeahhhh.  That's it!

NOW the pillow is talking to me.  It tells me is works just fine for a little girl!

Hope

Here's where the "lots of pillows" comes in.  My other cousin is Hope's sister's Godmother.  And of course, on Katrina's wish list was a "K" pillow.  When I answered my cousin on FB that I could handle an "H" pillow, my other cousin asked me ever so sweetly "Since you're making one for Hope, can you make one for Katrina too?"  Of course.  Part of me wanted Hope to be "special" and have her own pillow but I had a feeling that on Christmas Eve when the gifts are exchanged between the extended families, I would have been asked anyway if I could make one for Katrina so why not.  I'm on a roll with them as it is.

I couldn't stop there.  I have my own little one who will certainly spot the pillows and ask for her own so I had to make an "A" for her.  THEN I remembered that another one of my cousin's got married in July and his step-daughter is of "fun pillow" stage so I had to make one for her too.  That's 4 pillows so far.

But I needed a guinea pig pillow.  My LQS had this aqua fur on their shelves that totally remind me of Sulley from Monsters Inc.  This guy:

So I bought some "Sulley Blue" fur and got to work and put my ideas in action.  Since I had color choices already assigned to those above, I made a pillow for my friend's daughter.  We exchange a little something for the girls every year.

As I was working on Amelia's pillow, who by the way, picked out her own fabrics for her letter and outer borders - so much for that surprise - it dawned on me that there is one more little girl in the bunch who would like a pillow I'm sure.  So I added another one to my list and quickly decided on her color scheme so that I could order the faux fur for hers.

Total of 6 pillows.  I love how they came out.  I can't wait to give them out at Christmas.  If you happen to be wondering... Amelia can't have hers until Christmas morning.  It's going under the tree.  :)

Maya

Kaleigh

Amelia

Abbey

Katrina

This isn't a "letter" pillow but it falls into the pillow and gift category.  Out on evil great Pinterest, I found a tutorial for some cute applique Christmas ornaments.  They were too cute.  My hairdresser needed a gift and she appreciates all the work that goes into handmade items so I made one for her.  I really like how it came out.  I ended up doing an envelope back so that she can remove the cover and wash it or store it easier.

D'OH!  Forgot to take a picture of the ornament pillow and I'm at work today.  Picture coming soon.   

For the Christmas Through the Year Grand Finale - I can say that I made more Christmas gifts.  I started out the year just fine with some small gifts but then I ran out of gift ideas and sewing steam.  I will be better prepared for next year. 

Enjoy your day!
Jen

Baby Gifts - Round 1

I have 17 more days before the new baby of the family will be making his birthday debut.  I have been scrambling to get baby things made for my cousin to use with him.  My problem is this: I keep ADDING to my list!

I need to stay off Pinterest. 

Seriously.

It is toooo addicting.  Too much eye candy.  Too much of "ooooo!  I can make THAT!"

Instead of waiting for everything to be finished, here's what I've completed so far.

Bibs.  I found a very simple tutorial for the bib and I have 2 more in the works.  One patchworked and another with the waterproof PUL baby fabrics.  I should have modeled them on one of Punkie's dolls.

love the woodland animals



soft flannel for the back

 Next... burp cloths.  I think these are going to be the death of me.  I was a bit zealous and bought the 10 pack of cloth diapers instead of the 6 pack.

my favorite flannel in the bunch so far

And lastly, some flannel blankets.  Bigger than receiving blankets.  I have one more of them to finish.

On my Baby Gifts - Round 2 list are: last 2 bibs, finish up the burp cloths, 1 more blanket, a wipe holder and diaper clutch with changing mat and a soft fabric basket to hold some of this stuff.  Do you think I can do it in 17 days??  My cousin told me not to sweat it.  I asked her to hold him in a bit longer but she's really uncomforable (I remember that) and her c-section is all scheduled so I have no choice but to finish what I can and give the rest when Baby Boy #2 is here... the parents are still deciding on a name.  I gave them MY pick of names but they aren't biting.  Texas Ranger* (T.R. for short) was one of my picks.  *If you have seen the Will Ferrell movie "Talladega Nights: the Ballad of Ricky Bobby", you will understand my "Texas Ranger" name reference.* 

Sadly, I have been calling the baby "T.R." since she found out she was having another boy.  I hope my bad habit will go away once he's actually HERE! 

Enjoy your day!
Jen  :)

A room with a view

Heading back to kitchen remodel mode.  Our old kitchen is going to become our new dining room.  What I really wanted was a back door.  There is no way to get to the backyard in the house from inside the house.  It's a pain in the rear.  My husband and I settled on a door style over the summer but didn't purchase since we were going to Disney and didn't have the extra money for it.

He finally got on it and ordered the door and guess what!  30'F today and the door was installed!  It was a tad chilly in the house this afternoon but it was so worth the sacrifice.

tarped to keep the heat in

big hole in the house... turn your head

don't mind the view of the backyard junk.  Bonus - those side windows open!

my pretty door handle

taking shape

I love it.  I love that I can look outside and SEE all of outside.  I love that I can get to the backyard without walking outside and around the house.  I love that my husband is so knowledgeable with these things and it only took him a couple of hours with a friend to get the install done and not all day long with many trips to Home Depot like that  Renovation Realities show.  I love that show, btw.  It cracks me up that people who have no construction background think that they can tear down and install a brand new kitchen in 3 days on a $1.50 budget.

Next on the list is new insulation, new sheet rock, electrical and paint.  Then our new hardwood floors.  YEEHAW!  Next Spring, a new back deck is going to be built but I won't bug him too much about that.

I will be back soon to show you what I have been working on. 

Enjoy your day!
Jen