fun, fun, fun

Just a quick little tidbit: you should really take a visit to this website. Not only can you test out Katie Holmes' hairstyle on yourself (it sadly did not work out for me) you can make a virtual picture of your 13 month old baby with Gwen Stefani's hair. Ah, the joys of the internet!

homemade Christmas idea #7

This is the perfect gift if you are sans money, sans sewing skills, or sans time. I would LOVE it if my husband would give me a book of Love Coupons with 365 pages that say: "I will do the dishes for you;" or "I will not leave my dirty socks on the side of the bed." Or even one little coupon that said: "I will send you to Belgium to visit your friends and give you $1000 to buy any beautiful antique that you want!" Well actually, my husband is the most kind and generous husband imaginable, even if he doesn't do the dishes. Though I really would like that book of 365 I-will-do-the-dishes coupons! Imagine how much softer and prettier my hands would be without having to do the dishes everyday...

oh no, I'm naked!

The whole reason Melissa and I have this little blog is because I LOVE seeing what Melissa is up to and copying her!! (See doll clothes post from a few days ago). And often, we are oddly enough working on the same kind of thing (remember the branch paintings, Melissa?) without even realizing it. We have some kind of weird craft/art connection thing going on across the country, I think. Anyway, I got this sweet little linen mouse by Jellycat here for just $12.99 (they also have a very cute zebra, bunny and giraffe) and have been having so much fun making her (easy to pull on) spring wardrobe. I really hope my fickle four-year old likes it as much as I do on Christmas morning - if not, I might just steal it away and go play by myself!

my budding artist

Fancy Pants

The above green pants used to be mine. I bought them at Forever 21 two or three years ago. My husband liked them because they were tight on me, hehe! I didn't like them for that same reason. So they recently found their way into the Salvation Army bag. Somehow, they fell out of the bag on the floor of the craft room, (I mean closet, though I wish it were a room!) and I gave them a second thought. Maybe I could reuse these pants. So I cut off the bottom of the pants to make sleeves for a shirt for the baby (hopefully I'll finish that project soon.) Then I realized that there was enough pants left to maybe make some more pants. So I cut and sewed and in about 40 minutes I came up with these, that my daughter affectionately dubbed her "fancy pants." Since I have a tendency to get carried away with projects, I thought, "what else could I recycle?" So I rescued another ready-to-be-discarded stretchy shirt that had belonged to me, and resewed it into a little shirt for the four-year old. I made piping out of a contrasting print and sewed it around the neckline, then added elastic. With a big "H" on the front, the shirt was complete. This project took less than an hour. And H. loves it because it's comfortable and bright. Do you have any old pants that you could transform into fancy pants!

little dress

This is a little dress I made for the littlest one in our house. She is in constant motion! The pattern is for a cross-over shirt, but I just extended it about 5 inches and made it into a dress. It's hard to tell but this fabric has little chandeliers doodled under the big pink roses, new from Tina Givens via Purl. I replaced the buttons with snaps, making it a very quick project...my favorite kind.

piccililli anyone?

Have any of you ever tried piccililly? It's an old, old English recipe of mustard, cucumbers, pearl onions, peppers, cauliflower, brown sugar and spices. I grew up eating it nearly every Sunday along side the rump roast and potatoes. My kids love it; whenever we serve it I hear a continual chime of "more piccililli please!"

To make these lid labels, I scanned some pretty fabric into the computer then printed it on sticker paper. (I'm in love with this sticker paper; I use it for all sorts of projects.) It would be fun to fill jars with other treats for friends and neighbors: hot chocolate mix, a favorite salsa, or homemade candy. You could print a picture of your family for the label or your dog or your house. What a personal gift!

i love christmastime

Are you crazy-busy yet? We're getting there. Still need to mail off presents that are going to cousins across the country. Clearly I am procrastinating this task as I've been standing around taking pictures of the kitchen table this morning. My friend Jen and I made little houses on Monday morning - her cottage is adorable - if you are looking for some very cute little house-making ideas check out her site here.

Homemade Christmas idea #6

Homemade doll clothes are a fun and quick project for a Christmas gift. Some of these patterns I made up, but others were from Simplicity pattern 4707 (reproduction vintage patterns.) They are very sweet and can use tiny scraps of fabric. Homemade doll clothes are much finer quality than most store-bought which are made from cheap and ugly fabric. Long live homemade!

fudge + marshmallows

Today I tried making "Momma Reiner's Chocolate Covered Marshmallows" as seen on the Martha show last week. Above, Martha and Momma's. Below, mine.

Martha would be so ashamed!

melissa's charm idea

Look, Melissa - I tried out your charm necklace present idea. I didn't have a photo of the birthday girl, though, so I drew these little scenes. I love that bluemud.com site! Thanks for sharing.

paperwhite laboratory - homemade gift idea #5

I love growing paperwhites in December. They are one of the few plants I have in the past managed not to kill. This year I am trying to stunt their growth so they don't topple over by watering them with a solution of water (90%) and rubbing alcohol (10%). This might result in their death...or not?

I think you could count a paperwhite in a jar as a homemade gift idea, although I guess a plant isn't really homemade. More like home-assembled.

mini bird chemise

This little chemise was made from a stash of wool fabric that I've had for many years. I lined it with a pretty blue fabric cut from an old frayed work shirt of my husband. The sweet little button has a hand-embroidered bird on linen. It was designed by Keiko Maeo. (I found it on www.reprodepot.com.) The shirt opens at the side and is held in place by the bird button and a tiny button on the inside flap. It is a warm and cozy winter shirt. Thanks to the little bird, my girl loves it!

nativity

This amazing painting is by artist Brian Kershisnik, who we've mentioned before. It is 17' x 8' and I would LOVE to see it in person. Mary looks so real, and Joseph so exhausted...surrounded by all those angels. Amazing!

december dress

I slaved over this dress for my little girl on Friday afternoon -- and when I had her try it on, she did NOT like it. Luckily by Sunday morning I was able to convince her that it was very much like the dress that the Princess (of the "and the pea" fame) wore. Phew! The pattern is actually for a PJ robe, but I just shortened it and added snaps to keep it together. I must say, it does look comfy.