Boys, Boys, Boys

We're so excited!

My cousin and her husband just had a baby boy!

My sister and my brother-in-law just found out they are having a baby boy!

And my brother and my sister-in-law just brought home their baby boy!

We are so excited for them all!

O Christmas Tree

Every year I can remember, my Grandparents have had a live Christmas tree.

This year, Grandpa let us go with him to find the perfect one.

The kids got all bundled up.

And loaded up in the pick-up truck with my Grandpa.

We finally found a place that looked promising so we started our search for the perfect tree.



There were some that suggested very tall trees... and some that suggested very small trees....

And finally we found the perfect one.
Check out that saw! And my Grandpa with some of his Great-Grandkids.

We (I use the term "we" very loosely here) put lights on, decorated it and then vacuumed several times.

And there it is.

In all it's glory!

Makes me want to start singing.... 'O Christmas Tree, O Christmas Tree......

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!!!

Gingerbread Houses

Okay, so they were actually Graham Cracker Houses. But we applied the same principles.

I saw the idea at Smockity Frocks and thought it was brilliant.

I made up the houses a couple hours before we started so the royal icing would dry and the structures would be solid enough for the kids to decorate.

We had a selection of yummy Christmas candies to decorate with along with several selections of icing for the glue.

And we all had fun and I think they turned out pretty cute. The kids really had a great time with them and they were not that hard to assemble.
Her goal was to get as much candy on the roof as possible. It was quite a site to behold.His goal was to do enough to make a presentable house without having to add any more candy than necessary.
His goal was symmetry. It was all about perfection.

I think this is one new tradition that we really liked and will try again next year.

And if you happen to live in my area and want to try these tonight or tomorrow, I've got half of all the decorating supplies left and you are more than welcome to them, just let me know! We surely don't need all the extra candy around here!

Merry Christmas!

Who was that masked man?

The kids loved their capes. The oldest wasn't for sure if he was too old for it or not....unitl we got home. They've all been wearing their capes morning, noon and night. It's been nothing short of a superhero fest. Which makes all the agony of the sewing worth it. I think.

But next year, if I decide I must be creative and sew something for all the kids, I'm gonna start a whole lot earlier!

Sew Tired

So, they are finished. And so am I.Quite exhausted here, if I do say so myself.

The supercapes and masks were a little more intense than I anticipated. I think next time, I'll just buy them on etsy. No I won't, because I have this compulsion to do things myself. But I'll sure think long and hard about it.

For the boys capes, I appliqued with satin emblems and letters.

For the girls capes, I was wanting to do a princess crown in the background and thought the satin would be too tricky, so I used felt.

All in all, I think they turned out pretty cute. Just as long as you don't look too closely.

The necks were a nightmare. Sewing curves with satin is something that I am going to avoid at all costs in the future.

Well, I'm off to finish packing.

My sister and her family are flying in to Oklahoma tomorrow so the kids and I are headed up to see them, then drive to Missouri to visit Grandparents with them and my parents, then turn back around and head back to Oklahoma for our family Christmas next weekend. And yes, I know that was a run-on sentence. But that is how I feel this next week is going to be. So I'm keeping it.

Have a great week!

Crazy Sewing

So by request of Mrs. Troop, I am posting pictures of the baby quilt I made before Thanksgiving.

I wasn't for sure how it was going to turn out because I was using such an eclectic combination of fabrics.

I loved the colorful oval dot fabric and picked the rest of the fabrics to go with it. I was even able to incorporate some vintage popcorn chenille fabric which I adore.

I backed the quilt with a pink chenille and I think it turned out pretty cute. At least it is original and they won't find any others like it. So there's that.

And now I'm off to my next project. Superhero capes and masks for Christmas.

I need to have these done by next Monday and so far I've just got one mask and one cape done.

Wish me luck!