Gift Wrapping the Easy Way!

A few years ago I started collecting cute Christmas fabric on clearance. Then I sewed pillow-case style bags in all different shapes and sizes with ribbons attached (usually in the side seam). It makes wrapping SUCH a breeze!


The first year, when I made most of the bags, I figure it took me just as long as wrapping, but every year since, it's become SO PLEASANT to wrap gifts! Now, each year, I just add a few new bags (as needed) for new/different sizes/quantities.

I still plan to make some customized tags for our family members, for now, I keep the gifts in separate piles.


While it's too late for most of you to wrap in fabric this year... you CAN take advantage of after-Christmas sales starting this week. Scoop up that cute Holiday fabric for 75% off, buy several yards of ribbon (maybe on sale too) and then you'll be good to go for NEXT year. Oh yeah... remember to keep the fabric out when you pack up your decorations, so you'll be able to sew them and start wrapping early next season!


PS: My hubby likes the boys to have SOME presents to rip open, so he wraps a few for them. ;)

Pumpkin Patch

About three weeks ago, we helped set up the Galloping Grace Youth Ranch Pumpkin Patch. Friday our homeschool group had a field trip to the (now operational) patch. This Patch (just like the Youth Ranch it benefits) is unique in that all the rides and activities are free! In this case, if you wanted a pumpkin or some dried corn (which we did), you pay for those things, but the activities are all just setting out there for the kids to do.

A few of our favorites were:

Tractor Pulls

This was the first thing Jack wanted to do... ride in the John Deere Tractor Races. There were no lines at the horse ride, but he HAD to do this first! For some reason, I REALLY notice his (first lost) missing tooth in this photo!

Duck Races

Manually operated duck races... what a great idea!

Jack was just as interested in how the water came out of the pump as he was in getting ducks into and down the channel.

Frank & Jack had a side-by-side duck race.

I think Frank won the duck race!

Hiding around the Patch

Frank jumped out of the car and ran off with his friend. Eventually, they gathered the friend we drove over with and the three boys ran all over the Patch. I'd see them from time to time, but mostly, they were "being shown the best places to hide." Even though we'd been here before, and the patch was full of homeschoolers we know, I definitely had moments of pause as I allowed Frank to begin stretching his wings of independence. Parental Growing Pains, I suppose.

Frank. Mischief. Trouble.
Yep... I can see it right there in this expression!

Horse Rides

Finally, Jack decides to ride the horses... and so did everyone else. He patiently waited his turn in this line too.

Jack didn't remember riding our family's horse, Midnight, in Wyoming (he was just three (or maybe two) at the time). Perhaps he'll remember this ride?

Frank remembers riding his great-Grandad's horse, Duke, WITH his Dad... I guess this is the first time they've been on a horse alone.

Most kids put the horse shoe on the corral rails. Frank is so tall, she had him put the horse shoe above the gate.

We also tried Bean Bag Tosses, Scarecrow Dressing, Corn and Hay Mazes, and Digging in the Corn Crib (full of dry, shucked corn, like a sand box).

I really should take the boys back for another bit of play, they enjoyed themselves tremendously.

After looking at this, I guess I forgot to take pictures of the actual pumpkins!


PS: This is post number 444 (and still counting!) I always notice the weird numbers like this.

Shoulda-Woulda-Coulda

I haven't written resolutions since I was a kid.

I should. Probably.


My Mom always had us sit and write them after Christmas, then we'd stick them in our stockings to find next December and review. We never seemed to keep the papers them beyond that.

Making goals and working towards them, integrating them into my daily To-Do lists. I need to do that. Perhaps I'll make it my resolution. That and taming my PAPER TIGER which lays claim over all my paperwork and consumes an "extra" counter in my kitchen.

Puppycakes and Cat Biscuits

Talking with Jack about his upcoming birthday I asked "what do you want to do for your birthday?"

"Eat cake!"

"What else?"

"Not pupcakes, a BIG cake. Pupcakes are for grown-ups, kids get CAKE!!!"

"And what should it be like?"

"Brown... inside AND out!"

So, one big-ol' Chocolate Cake coming up! ;)


When I called to relate this story to his Great Aunt, I mentioned all it would take to make Jack happy was a big cake, when from the backseat I hear "AND PRESENTS!" So. Apparently, he *needs* presents too! ;)

As we were finishing our errand run, Jack added, "No Puppycakes and NO Cat Biscuits!"

Gee Tom, thanks for that one! How did we go from talking about birthday cakes and presents to cat poop? These are the things Mommy's of small boys the world over wonder about. At least This Mommy wonders!

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PS: The photo in this post was snapped the same day as the photo used in my header (in fact Jack's fingers were cropped out as they moved the red piece (notice how it's not lined up with the others)).

No one came close to guessing the origin of the colored squares... does this photo of Jack help?

Favorite Holiday Tradition

Whenever I am queried as to my "favorite holiday tradition" I always refer to The Gingerbread House. First of all "Mom" builds a stable gingerbread house form.


Then the children spend an evening getting rid of their old Halloween Candy.


Tricky as it is, the kids don't realize they are getting rid of "good" candy!


It can be delightful to listen to the sounds of joy when the children's collaborations come to a successful conclusion as they reach a consensus on the "perfect" roof design!


This house decorating is serious business... it takes concentration (and a steady hand)!


I *really* wish I could get a photo of their excitement about making the Gingerbread House AFTER they finish. Instead, they are usually tired out and turn to goofy-picture-making-antics...


Finally, we enjoy our creation throughout the Holiday Season.


You know how after Christmas, Santa's Elves don't have a lot to do? Well, many people don't realize it, but The Elves actually go around the world filling Gingerbread Houses with popcorn and treats!


The grand finale arrives on New Year's Eve!


On New Year's Eve, the children get to stay up as late as the littlest one can. Then, just before going to bed they smash up the house, Pinata style.


The kids also like to try the stale gingerbread and candies, but seldom eat much of it.


Often they also enjoy a special sweet drink (link Orange Soda or Raspberry Frapee) before heading off to bed having brought in the New Year in the best way a kid can... with a little bit of destruction leading to sweet treats and tiny toy surprises!


Did you notice another "sneaky Mom tactic"? Getting rid of the prized creation, through it's untimely destruction, at the hands of it's creators, with hammers? Yeah. We Mom's are tricky that way... of course, I learned from the best, my very own Mom!


Here's wishing you a Happy New Year!

I thought this day would never come...

You know the one? The one where I'm enjoying and looking forward to time spent knitting. The day where I'm shirking other responsibility (like cooking and cleaning and talking with people) just so I can sit and knit! Yeah, that's the day I never expected to see. It's ONLY taken me 25 months of diligently performing my Domestic Duty of knitting to stumble upon The Project. The one with the perfect yarn and the perfect needles and the perfect me!

Since I hurt my back over Thanksgiving weekend, I've been required to do a whole lot of resting. After talking with my friend Marie about a shawl (Show Your Colors by Spunky Eclectic) we saw at her former LKS (local knitting shop), and how much she loves her finished version, I dug around in my stash and found some Sport Weight Lorna's Laces Wool Yarns I'd bought in California last Fall.


I've since started the shawl, which I intend to use all three color-ways (called: Child's Play, Apple Hill, and Uptown). I'll be knitting them progressing from dark to light (or right to left in the picture). And I just LOVE making it! It's the first knitting project I've worked on that I WANT to do (not just NEED to), know what I mean?

{the above is a photo of the test swatch, not the shawl}

This morning, Tom said "What are you doing?", then looked over to find my head literally bobbing along in time with my stitches. It was so subtle I didn't even realize I was doing it. I was just in a groove and smiling as I stitched away. This is my biggest project so far, and I know it will feel slower going as I move along, but I hope I can keep up my enjoyment with it and that I'll love the finished product as much as I am enjoying making it!


I also love watching the way the color pools together... look how it coagulated perfectly on my needle on this row.


By the way, it's quite a bit bigger now, this photo was from two days ago. ;)

What are you doing on your holidays?

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This is my 400th blog post, and somewhat by the way of noting it, I've updated the blog format AND, ***FINALLY***, created my own blog header. Anyone recognize the objects used in the photo? Mayhap I'll send a prize (I've been cleaning out my sewing studio and I have collected a nice little bag of goodies) out to someone who knows from whence the objects come. I'll give you until noon on New Year's Day to figure it out and leave a comment! ;)

Waiting for a Turkey

Happy Birthday Sera!

Hey, Sera's just one year from driving and *I HOPE* just three years from being able to talk with me again. When her Dad and I divorced, she and I were cut off from each other. As I've told you before, I miss her terribly and am just biding my time until she's old enough that we can talk again.

I love you, Sera and hope you're having a GREAT BIRTHDAY!!!

Kids Art Project - Pokémon Valentine

Frank and I came up with (what I think are) some pretty clever Valentine's for this year.

Frank likes Pokémon. Frank likes Pokémon A LOT. In order to keep Frank from starting to purchase and collect cards, I spent several months last year diverting his attention by having him MAKE his own cards.

This year, while designing other Pokémons, we thought it would be fun to make a Valentine Pokémon... there are plenty of ideas here:

• Heart Attack
• Cardiac Arrest
• Love Bug
• Straight to the Heart
• Luv Needle (Frank's Creation)
  

Frank designed the card. I designed the envelope. Jack assembled the envelopes. Here's the finished product:




I realize it's a little late to make these for a class party, but there's still time to make a few for friends / family ON Valentine's Day...

If you'd like to do this, here's what you need:

• two sheets plain printer paper
• one sheet card stock
• 1/2 sheet white construction paper
• 3" x 5" scrap red construction paper
• drawing supplies
  
• black marker
• glue
  
• scanner
• printer (if you don't have color, draw in black and white, then color after printing)
  

Here are the templates I've made, please feel free to use them to make your own cards.
Here's how we make the cards and envelopes:

1. Print out the lined page, as well as several "blank" pages. Then, stack them together with the lined page underneath a blank page.
2. Draw picture of imagined Pokémon.
3. Fill in the name, "hit points" and other information.
   
4. Scan into the computer.
5. Pull it into Adobe Photoshop, where you can clean up any stray eraser marks or "mistakes". You can also intensify / adjust the colors.
6. Reduce the cards to proper size (2 1/2" wide x 3 1/4" tall).
   
7. Print nine per page on cardstock.
8. You may either design a card back, or find an image online to use, then print the second side before cutting.

Envelope:

1. Fold a sheet of white construciton paper so the edges meet in the middle. The finished size should be about 5" from fold to fold. Trim almost a 5" circle, being sure to leave about 1.5" of the folds intact. (If this step sounds confusing, take a look at the second photograph, with the open envelope and the card tucked inside.)
   
2. Set the white circle over the red paper, lining up the edge of the red with the center of the circle. Trim the red to match the circle shape.
3. Cut about a 1" circle out of a white scrap.
4. Draw a black line around the small circle.
5. Glue the side edges on the bottom half of the circle together. This makes the inside pocket. I only glued the top of the sides (not the bottom of the curve); just incase my card was a little big for the envelope.
6. Glue the red flap to the outside front.
7. Glue the white dot with the black outline to the center front (only glue the half that touches the red).
8. Let the glue dry, the put the card in the envelope.
9. If desired, write a name on the back of the envelope.
10. Deliver. :D

This would also work well to make invitations to a Pokémon Party.

I'd love to see your efforts if you make use of this fun little project.

Felted Wool Cornucopia Birthday Hat

In October I was working on some crocheted wool Candy Corn bags. The entire time I was working on them, I was thinking my Mom’s Costume at the Arizona Renaissance Festival.

My Mom wears a Wicker Cornucopia on her head, as a hat, with a carrot dangling off the tip of it, right in front of her nose. It’s actually become her trademark to where another actor tried to wear a Cornucopia and the Management made them stop. I thought it would be great to make her a brown wool cornucopia, complete with wool carrot, and send it for her birthday (January 20th) which is just two weeks before the Faire Opens.


Yesterday I started working on my design. Ripping it out twice before really “getting into a groove”. Today, I wanted to make good progress and hopefully finish it tomorrow. I’ve made progress, but I’ve also realized I’m going to run out of brown… and I only have the one skein.


So. Here are The Options for Mom:

1. Do you want it finished for your birthday, with another color around the brim? If so, what color(s) do you prefer? (I have scraps from the candy corn bags.)
   
2. Do you want me to order some yarn online (same color, but different dye lot, so probably a different shade of brown) and have the hat around beginning of Faire?
3. Do you want me to try to contact some other people who have the EXACT same Dye Lot in their Ravelry Stash, and beg them to sell it to me (which some people will do)? This option could take the longest but be the “most perfect”.
4. Oh yes, I could finish it in another color and then it could be over dyed... or I could even try to dye the white, but with our current temperatures I just don't know how I'd dry the wool without felting it, so, you'd probably have to try and dye it later.
   
5. I guess I could also start all over in a totally new yarn that I’d go out and buy (my least favorite idea).

What do you say, Mom?

PS: How big around would you *like* this to be? I'm not sure about my FELTING skills, but I'll try!

UPDATE: 15 Jan 09: Mom "choose" number 3 and one of the people on Ravelry was more than willing to share from his stash! (I'm still hoping for a third skein, but the second will be wonderful!) I should be completing the transaction and moving along toward finishing the hat soon! YEAH for generous people!!! :D

Sending Out an Invitation

Jack has been practicing every week for two months to be in a Nutcracker Performance. Now, he's practicing a few times a week. The ballet will have five performances, plus the two dress rehearsals. I thought I'd mention them now, in case you might like to come and see him.

Performances:

Wednesday 3 December 2008
Friday 5 December 2008
Saturday 6 December 2008
Friday 12 December 2008
Saturday 13 December 2008

Dress Rehearsals:

Monday 1 December 2008
Tuesday 2 December 2008

So. If you'd like to watch Jack as a Soldier in the Nutcracker, in his On-Stage Debut, please mark your calendars now!

Also, let me know so I can find out about getting you tickets. :D

Halloween Check In

Costumes completed!

YEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!

This morning I made the Satchel Bag for Jack, finishing it minutes before leaving for our playgroup's Halloween Party.



Isn't it funny how all the little kids are looking every which way? They had no clue what they were doing there, but I was pleased with how well they were sitting. I wished I'd had my voice to tease them into some smiles, but it's still fun to see them doing their own things.

Here are the boys with our homeschooling-neighbor friends.


The Monkey costume is from Old Navy. I was in charge of the other four costumes... getting Amy's help with the gloves and hats for the two Ash costumes, and teaching her while making the Witch. That was sure a lot of sewing to get through!

I'm most pleased with Jack! He looks so stinkin' cute in his Indiana Jones costume!


I bought each of the boys a surprise accessory which was waiting for them this morning... A Light-Up Crystal Skull for "Indy" and Pikachu for The Pokemon Trainer! I told Tom that "costumes are all about accessories... what's Vader without his chest box, belt or light saber?" Tom smirked.

Even with the $15-20 each on the boys "accessories" I made both costumes for under $50. We couldn't have bought one of these costumes for that price! I'm so pleased with myself... and modest too!!! ;P

Frank was so happy with his Pikachu!


I'll get some better costume pictures of the boys a little later, especially all the details that you can't see here on Jack's costume, but for now, I thought I'd share the beginnings of our fun Halloween. :D

An Update from the Nearly-Mute Girl

I'm feeling better still today... not so congested.

Tom took yesterday off, but today he's not had ANY calls... so, he's been able to spend the whole day playing on the computer... I mean resting!

Jack and Frank seem to be fine. Hard to keep tabs on their rambunctiousness while nearly Mute myself.

As of this morning, I've finished sewing FOUR Halloween costumes (pictures of all the kiddos will come after they wear them tomorrow) and am about 1/4 done on the second sock to make my FIRST PAIR of socks.

Also, I made my family's Zucchini Brownies Recipe and mixed in some chips / Reese's Pieces. They all sank to the bottom! My neighbor told me I should bake 1/2 the batter for 5-10 minutes, and then sprinkle the goodies on, and top with rest of the batter. I guess every so often, I need to have a cooking attempt flop! Oh well! You live and learn and they still taste good.

I'd thought about carving our pumpkin this afternoon, but it's a VERY tall and skinny pumpkin and I just don't feel like I have the energy at the moment, so, we'll see!

How did October get over? I have so many fun Halloween-y things to do and I did so few of them. I never even got out my Halloween decorations, and I know right where they are and I can reach them... it just didn't happen. And quilting, I have plenty of projects to do for Halloween that involve sewing... but wait, I did sew, and sew, and sew! Costumes times four kids! Se-la-vi (did I spell that right).

Oh yeah, and today's Heather's birthday! I hope you're having a GREAT DAY!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY HEATHER!!!

Suzy :D

Crusing through the Holidays with FLYLady

If you haven't heard about FLYLady from me before, prepare yourself!

FLY stands for "Finally Loving Yourself". FLYLady teaches you about organizing. Organizing what? Your home, your life, your family, your mind and even your body! She does this in a fun and encouraging way.

One of my favorite things about FLYLady is her "Cruising Through the Holidays" plan. Basically, she starts you in October with preparing for your Holiday Celebrations. The goal is to be ready for whatever you celebrate by December 1st, so, you can pretend you are "going on a cruise" December 1st and arriving home the night before your special holiday... and everything is ready and in place.

I discovered FLYLady in 2003. I have yet to get *everything* ready by December 1st, but, I've certainly been getting more done each year and in a calmer way.

The Cruise Program started this week. I invite you all to join me in preparing to Cruise Through the Holidays. Go check out her website, and maybe even sign up for the encouraging, helpful emails. I'll see you on board! :D

Costume Update - Indiana Jones Coat

So. Since I constantly hear Jack wandering around "singing" the Indiana Jones Theme Song, I decided to offer up to him the option of being Indy for Halloween. Of course, he jumped on it!

He already has an Indy-Like hat, plus a whip (Tom made out of a piece of rope to stop Jack from hitting things with his leather belt). Pants aren't a problem. I still need to find a plain button-up shirt. The "biggie" was the coat. I decided to find a leather coat at a thrift store and then to make a satchel out of some canvas/denim-type fabric. Here's the main reference picture I'm using for the project...


Here's the leather coat I found at a Goodwill in California.


I paid just $5 for the coat! As you can see... it's big enough to fit me (and I did think about keeping it for me, because it's a nice coat!) Instead, I found Jack's "Lumberjack" Fleece Coat.


Which is a little big for him (that's okay though, if I'm going to the work of making him a leather coat, it would be nice if it fit more than a year!)

Here's a reference of the Lumberjack coat that I made the pattern off of, and the Leather coat to be cut up. As you can see, it looks like there will be plenty of material!


Before cutting anything out, I removed the front placket, zipper, collar, cuffs, and waistband.

This should give you an idea of how the pattern pieces are cut out of the coat.


Then. I started cutting.

Foolish me, today, I started sewing but didn't take any pictures of the pieces pre-assembly!

Yesterday, I watched my friend's kids for something like 7 or 8 hours. Today, she took my boys for 5 so I could sew. She's also planning to watch them again tomorrow morning. Here's what I accomplished so far today...


Shoulder seams, collar, zipper, armhole seams, fake pocket flaps.

Indy's coat has patch pockets with flaps. The coat I'm using had side-seam entry to it's pockets. I cut the front pieces so that I could use the existing pockets. I had everything else done today and Tom came in. I ask his opinion on adding the fake pocket flaps. As you can see...


...we decided I should put them on.


The pocket flaps "only" took about 1 1/2 hours to design, sew, and attach (my one broken needle (so far) happened while attaching the first pocket flap).

I was going to modify the collar to a smaller, size, but decided to use the original, and just enlarge the neck-line. I've never seen it before, but the collar had an extra "facing?" piece on it... I'll have to get a better picture.

In any case, it made modifying the original collar shape a very challenging prospect, so, I just used it as it was. Which means it has a nicer patina and character and all the original stitching on the points... which I like.

Here's a snapshot of the inside of the coat. I've labeled some of the parts, to make it easier to see what's what.

I found several things about the original interesting, and I'm trying to recreate them. One thing was that they snipped the armhole seams to ease the leather before topstitching. I did that too, but whenever a seam intersected, I just let that area lay straight, instead of folding it back and creating a lot of bulk.

Tomorrow, I'll sew the side seams, finish the lining, attach the lining, waistband, turn it right-side-out, hand sew lining, topstitch zipper facing down.

I'm very pleased with how all of this is going! So much so, I think I'll ask Tom to make dinner and I'll head back up to My Studio! :D