Moving Day

Today is moving day at our house and oh what a day it will be.  I have moved across states a few times but never with a family in tow.  I'm not looking forward to the act of moving but I am very anxious to see my family and celebrate a late Christmas with them. 

Wish us luck!

More Christmas Gifts

Since I was up until 2 am Christmas Eve morning trying to finish some of Grant's Christmas gifts I didn't have a chance to post them before the big day.  Didn't I say last year I wouldn't procrastinate at Christmas? Oh well.
I'm very proud of myself this year, with everything I made for my little man I didn't buy any new fabric.  With us about to move I didn't figure I needed any extra fabric to pack.

On the eve of Christmas Eve I finished his doll.

I used my Bit of Whimsy pattern to make his doll.  I was very suprised my husband did not object to the doll since most men consider it "girly".  I must say he came out really cute!

I kicked myself over and over again after making the fleece hat.

Derrick wasn't crazy about the poof on top, but I think it's just too cute!

I used this tutorial over at Made By Rae, it was so super easy and only took about 10 minutes to finish.  I have had it on my to-do list for a good month and could have finished it a dozen or more times.

I made Grant's Christmas ornament this year too.  However it did not turn out the way I wanted at all.  I have seen dozens of cute ornaments all over the internet made from these little wood blocks.  Of course when I was thinking of what I wanted Grant's to look like I had lots of ideas.  At 2 am Christmas Eve morning I was exhausted and was trying to finish it quick and this is what it turned out like.

Needless to say I plan on painting over the writing and making it look a better but I just didn't have the energy.

PJ's for Christmas

If you have read my blog I have made lots of PJ pants using the tutorial over at Handmade Mommy,  I really can't say enough times how much I love this tutorial and it has probably been the one I have used the most.  I tell every sewer or wannabe sewer about this tutorial because it is easy and quick, and for beginner sewers it's a great first project to build their confidence.
When I was little every Christmas Eve we got to open one present, that present was always new pj's to wear Christmas morning.  I loved this tradition and wanted to start the same one with my son.  After finding the tutorial at Handmade Mommy I knew it would be so easy to whip these up every year.  Last year I made Grant these pj's:

He was so cute in them so this year I was even more excited to find the perfect fabric and make him some more.  Here's what I came up with this year:

I found the green checked flannel at Joann's after Thanksgiving sale for $1.69/yd.  I had planned on buying a fabric that screamed Christmas but of course they didn't have any on sale for super cheap, then I saw this fabric and thought, "that could work".  I'm so happy I bought it because it was perfect.  I could not find a solid red long sleeve shirt anywhere, and yes I think I looked everywhere.  So what is a crafter to do? Make one of course!  I have a pile of clothes to repurpose and in that pile are a few red Ohio State Buckeye shirts that no longer fit.  I took 2 of those (hence the 2 different shades of red on the front and arms of the shirt) and cut the pieces for the shirt, then just sewed it all together.  I still have yet to master the repurposing of shirts.  The neck on this one once again is not just right and I can't for the life of me figure out what I'm doing wrong, but that is for another day.

I decided to keep the theme of appliquing a "G" on the front of his Christmas pj's every year.  Since I chose to make a red shirt instead of matching the green I just used a scap piece of fabric from the pants to make the "G", used Heat N Bond to adhere it, and used a blanket stitch around the edges.

After finishing his Christmas pj's and being so satisfied with them I whipped up another pair using the Curious George fabric I had bought and intended to use for his 1st birthday before changing the theme to Toy Story.

Are they cute or what?

I adore this fabric and I have to say, my little man looks pretty darn cute in them too.  This will be a tradition every year at our house, new pj's to wear Christmas morning and new pj's under the tree.





Another Doll

I made this doll with intentions of giving her as a Christmas gift to my 7 month old niece, however after finishing it, I was not at all pleased with the turn out.  I didn't have the blue thread I wanted for the dolls eyes so I had to use one that was brighter than I had intended.  I also wasn't crazy about the light green fabric I chose for her dress mixed with her dark brown hair.  In an attempt to like her better I made her a little Christmas nightgown.

However this didn't satisfy me either.  Needless to say I have put this doll aside and have cut all the pieces for another.  Lucky for me we aren't celebrating Christmas with my family until we get to Ohio at the end of this week, so I have a few extra days to finish her.

Christmas Morning

I can not believe Christmas is over.  December 26th is always a sad day thinking the season is over for another 365 days. 

Anyway,  I always love looking at the tree Christmas morning with all the gifts placed underneath.  My brother and I used to wake up before dawn and sit staring at the tree and all the gifts before everyone else woke up and before the first gift had been opened.  There was something magical about that time.  Now as I'm older and Santa no longer visits me but visits my son, there is a new magic to Christmas morning.

I knew Grant wouldn't be running out of his room before daylight to see what Santa had brought him, or even be overly excited about the gifts under the tree when he finally did decide to toddle out to the living room.  I even figured he wouldn't touch a single gift under the tree since we had been telling him for the last month not to touch the gifts.  It's for this reason we decided to only wrap a few gifts.

The bean bags, hat, and pj pants I wrapped with ribbon so they were a little more festive.

After the fact I'm glad we decided not to wrap most of his gifts because he went straight for the tree after he realized there were new toys under it.

I had questioned the toys I made Grant, wondering if he would actually play with any of them, since they are so simple and make no music or noise.  I can say this much, the bean bags and cloth blocks have been all over our house.  He has thrown them, kicked them, played catch and hide and seek with them, and I am so glad I made them for him.  Sometimes it's the simplest toys they enjoy the most.

Another Wipes Case

When my cousin's friend saw the wipes case I made her as a baby shower gift, she decided she had to have one too.

Every time I make one of these I am reminded how easy they are and wonder why I always procrastinate and wait til the last minute to finish them.  I think these are my favorite baby gifts.   Most of the moms I know aren't part of blog land and have never seen them before.  I often get the comment, "oh my gosh how in the world did you make something like this?" and comments about how cute they are, both of which make a crafter smile.

Sausage Bean Soup

I just got my first subscription to Taste of Home magazine.  I lucked out and used a coupon code to get it for all of $3.99 for a whole year, SCORE!  I haven't had a magazine subscription since I was a teenager getting TEEN magazine, so I'm super excited.

I love trying new recipes but hate buying 50 different ingredients for one dinner.  It completely defeats the purpose of trying to eat at home and keep money in my wallet.  So I saw this recipe in their November issue

I thought it would be perfect to try to use up some of my stockpile ingredients and since it is getting a bit colder here, I try to make some kind of soup at least once a week now.  I didn't have all the ingredients, so I started improvising.  The recipe doesn't call for meat but I bought this sausage at our local grocery store for $1.00 a package and decided it would be tasty thrown in.

I also didn't have the lentils it said put in, what are lentils anyway?  So I grabbed the kidney beans out of the pantry and put them in instead.

Sausage Bean Soup

1lb smoked sausage (or any other meat you have on hand)

4C water

1 (6oz) tomato paste

3 sliced carrots (1can of carrots)

2 celery stalks chopped

1 med onion sliced

1 cup kidney beans (you can use whatever beans you have on hand or even canned ones)

couple shakes of garlic powder (or 1 clove minced)

1T brown sugar

1T vinegar

1T parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Make sure if you are using dry beans you have soaked and cooked them until soft (don't do what I did and throw them in thinking they will soften quickly, you will be wrong).  Put all your ingredients in a pot and let cook until the celery and carrots are tender, and your finished.  The smoked sausage I used is already cooked, it just needs heating through.  If you use any kind of raw meat cook or brown in before adding it to your soup.

This would be great in your crockpot too.  If using your crockpot you wouldn't need to cook your beans before hand, you could just soak them overnight and throw everything and cook all day.

I do so love soup on a cold winter night!