Ruffly Little Apron

Henrick got the cute finger puppets but big sister Bryn needed a gift this year too.  I'd made Catie an apron, and Gwen an apron (I can not get over how different Catie looks in those old photos) but not one for Bryn.  These girls like to bake and they can be ridiculously messy so it isn't just a cute accessory but a need.

Three girls in matching aprons would be adorable, I could have used the same pattern but I have a thing for pleats these days and I love the rounded bottom as opposed to the pointed bottom of Catie's, so they may not match but Bryn's might also be the cutest one.

I had Catie model it for you all, in her pajamas (I asked her to hold Mr. Brown out like that so I'd be able to get the apron in the photo, I was surprised when she actually did it though).

I'll have to get a photo of the three cute ladies in their aprons.

Finger Puppets

I needed a Christmas gift for little Henrick and these finger puppets were the perfect solution.  I actually bought this Etsy pattern and they came out really cute.

And some close up photos

I think the monkey is my favourite

One last group shot

What Catie Wore Wednesday #63

Last week I had so few pictures (two to be exact) that I didn't post any of them, I thought I'd add them to this week's post so it will be especially picture heavy.

Lately this has become her favourite place to watch TV.  She goes into the bathroom and brings out her stool and carefully places it right there.

Here's yet another photo of her carefully stacked presents under the tree.

We got the girls together and made cookies for Santa

They're so much fun in the kitchen and they all love to stir and dump.

We made peanut butter blossoms which were especially fun because they needed to be rolled in sugar.  Catie only ate one spoonful of sugar and despite the mess on the counter they really didn't get that much on the floor.  The girls had fun and Santa had delicious cookies so our plan was successful.

Christmas Eve, watching a movie before bed.

We got ready to put out our cookies and milk but I didn't want there to be a problem so first we gave her a cookie and some milk.  When she was done I had her carefully carry over a plate to the fireplace.  She set it down, I put down the milk and then I told her it was time for bed.  "My COOKIES", she sobbed over and over, with huge crocodile tears.  She was devastated that she had to leave the cookies there.  Perhaps she's a little young for that tradition, we'll try again next year.

Christmas morning.  She came out all sleepy and immediately ran to the play kitchen we'd assembled.  She loves it and plays with it constantly. I look forward to the day when she can work the timer herself so I don't have to go over there every three minutes to re-start it.  I'd just say no but she gets so happy every time it dings.

She wasn't so sure she was interested in stockings so I pulled out the top item which happened to be the rubber ducky we got in Utah but left behind.  My sister had to send me a package anyway so she slipped that in.  Catie was thrilled to see it and one ducky was all it took to convince her that stockings are awesome.

Before church playing with the kitchen.  The first gift she opened was some pots and pans and she immediately ran them over.  Next she opened some play food and it too was taken over right away.

Before bed, still playing with the kitchen

She also got some magnetic wooden paper dolls and she loves them.  She doesn't quite get the point of dressing them yet but she really likes to stack them into different piles.

Again, playing with the paper dolls

I loved getting to buy her such fun toys, if only there were more than one Christmas a year.

3 Different Bracelets

I love making homemade gifts for Christmas but I hate that I can't post them until after they've been given.

These particular gifts I made for my friend Michelle.  Her birthday falls shortly after Christmas so I made her the three different bracelets.

They were all easy and I used three different tutorials to make them.  The first bracelet on the left is a knock off Chan Luu bracelet.  I didn't actually follow this tutorial but it's a good one.  There are a couple loops on the end so you can choose which size works best. 

I love the amber beads with the tan leather.

 I used a vintage button from my Grandma to make the clasp.

The middle is a combination of metal washers from the hardware store and satin ribbon.

This bracelet involves threading the ribbon through the washers in a really simple way.  I love the combination of the soft ribbon and the hard washers.  Since the washers really do come from the hardware store they're inexpensive to make.

The tutorial I followed is for a necklace but I think the amount of washers is a bit much so I made a smaller version, great instructions though.

Lastly I made a twine and hex nut bracelet.

Again, the nuts are from the hardware store.  This bracelet requires some braiding and threading and that's it.  Easy.  And this tutorial worked really well.  I used another vintage button to finish off the back of this one.

So there you have it, three easy and unique bracelets that made a great gift.

Christmas Stockings

A couple years ago I made us Christmas Stockings but since then my craftiness has increased dramatically.  My skills are better and my tastes are better so when I pulled out the stockings I knew this year I wouldn't use the old ones anymore.  Plus I think stockings should be made out of felt and the ones I'd made were far too small.  Here were the old ones, don't mock my Santa.

I used the same patterns for the new stockings (except I clearly made a new Santa) but all the pieces are made out of felt and hand stitched on.

I hung them on the mantle exactly the way my Mother always did, a piece of red yarn (only I used red ribbon) strung across the mantle and the stockings pinned on.  I wouldn't mind some actual ornament holders one day but for now ribbon and pins works great.

Here's a close up of each.

I love the way they turned out but I'm really kicking myself for not putting Mom and Dad instead of Brad and Laura.  I don't know what I was thinking but I'm not unpicking the hand stitching, maybe next year.

I think Catie's is clearly the cutest, that Santa is awesome.  She looked at it and said, "Clause!"

Hand Print Ornaments

This week would be full of all sorts of fun posts if most of them weren't gifts.  Instead I have one or two and the rest will have to wait, check back the week after Christmas for some fun posts.

This one is a gift for my Mother-in-law but since she doesn't read the blog it's safe to post.

We gathered Bryn, Gwen and Catie together and this craft was super quick.  

We pressed their hands into embossing ink and then onto the Christmas balls.  We then sprinkled the powder on the balls, tapped off the excess and using a heat gun melted the powder.

I added bows and tags with their names and the year so Grandma can tell apart who's who.

Here's Catie's.  She's actually a little young for this project and kept moving around her fingers so it took a  couple tries.  I was surprised how easy it was to wash off the ink and unmelted powder and start again.  Third time was a charm though and we got a good print.

Gwen was a pro and hers is perfect, on the first try too.

And Bryn's.

We'll give them to Grandma this week so she can hang them on the tree.

Advent Calendar {Re-Post}

Last year I joined Jill in a sew along to make an awesome advent calendar.  It was a ton of work and I barely finished in time but I've been so happy to have it this year.  Every day I pull a chair up to the calendar (I didn't want it within little hands) and Catie climbs up and hangs an ornament; it was the perfect year to start the tradition.  Also, everyday as she pulls out a new ornament I'm impressed with how great they look and I'm glad I took the time to hand sew them all.

I thought I'd re-post my advent so you can take a look, sorry if you've seen it before.

December 1st and my Advent Calendar is finished!  When I started this sew along with Jill I didn't realize just what I was getting myself into, every singe stitch on this calendar is sewn by hand making everything take significantly longer than I had anticipated.  Every time I pulled out a different project my calendar loomed over me.  I'm glad to say that it's finished, I love it and I'm now free to work on other projects.

As a quick recap, week 1  we cut out and embroidered all of our numbers and sewed them onto the backing piece.  Week two we cut and sewed the tree on and made 8 ornaments.  Week three we made 8 more ornaments and then sewed all of our buttons onto the tree.  This last week we finished the calendar which involved finishing up the last 8 ornaments, sewing a backing piece on the calendar to hide all those stitches and adding a hanger.  You're supposed to slip a wooden dowel into the holder on top but I haven't bothered to pick one up so it may be finished but there's now way to hang it.  Oops.

Here it is with the ornaments hung.

And with them all tucked in their pockets.

Here's a close up of the ornaments.

And one more close up of the finished calendar.

Jill has a Flickr group where people can link up their Calendars so if you want to see more you can go here.

What Catie Wore Wednesday #62

Catie's favourite thing to do these days is to stack, and re-stack the Christmas presents.  As long as she continues to not open them I'm fine with it.

We went to visit my parents and Catie couldn't get enough of their dog Spot.  He'd leave the room and she'd look around and ask, "Spot?  Where Go?"  

I think in this picture Spot had just licked her nose, I could be wrong though.

I made her this awesome cardboard car complete with spinable steering wheel, a window and a door that opens.  The one thing it's missing is wheels but I figured she wouldn't notice.  She loves it and decided laying in it was the right thing to do.  She had a great time yesterday colouring it and she loves to bring toys and sit with them in her car.