New Year Cards

New Year Cards are something I might buy after this year.  I have a pile of Christmas cards staring at me and the reality that they will be in the mail after Christmas day.  Truly, I sent out a few, and sent some with the arrangements that we made.  But friends that are farther away will not be hearing "Merry Christmas" from us - at least not when the exhortation would still be relevant.

The arrangement we kept for our table. 

If I look in the mirror there will be a backwards "L" on my forehead.  I'm tempted to blame my husband.  When it comes to Christmas, it's 99.9% my job.  But the truth is I enjoy it all, until I fail! Then the temptation to blame. So I won't - but I will send out cards a little late, hopefully catching people while they're enjoying a week off from shuttling kids to school or a week off from the normal work day.

Please forgive my tardiness, dear out of town friends!  We'll get those greetings out soon!  Merry Christmas!

Another Re-do

My mum gave me a velour sleeveless sheath dress in a lovely blue.  The size is a junior's 7, but I put it on Laney who is a child's 7.  It puddled on the floor and gaped around the neck.  The perfect dress to try a redo!

I shortened the dress at the shoulders, making the bodice fit better and raising the armholes.  Then I took it in on each side by 1/2 inch and cut off over one foot in length.  A simple hem using a fancy stitch that Laney picked out and the dress was done.

Best sewing machine in the world!
19 years old and still going strong!

As Laney and I sat at the sewing table, we eyed the extra fabric from shortening the dress.  This knit velour fabric might work for the frilly t-shirt scarves that I made as a few gifts.  The idea to do so was found at Restitch Me, as usual. Kelly made a beautiful red frilly scarf for her daughter.

So, in under 10 minutes we cut out and stitched a matching frilly scarf, using up all the extra fabric.  Laney may wear it with the dress, or with her dressy coat which is a dark blue and grey.




Wow, was that fun and rewarding.  A big thank you to Mum for the dress!  And to Laney for the modeling!

AAA

It's getting time to box up some gifts for family and friends.  One thing we are putting together are some food gifts.  I am going to spoil it for some - if you read further you will know what you're getting!  As we've written out favorite foods and snacks of our loved ones, a particular item has been mentioned quite a few times.  Partly because we have an addict among us.  And he is related to another addict in the family.

My dear husband and his brother are perfect in every way, EXCEPT that they are both addicted to cocoa dusted chocolate covered almonds.  Their argument is that they are SO healthy for us!  More on that later...

AAA = Almond Addicts Anonymous - they need to start their own club.

Personally I am the chocolate lover of the family, so these little babies should be a favorite of mine, as well.  But only so many can I eat - maybe because they are a little healthy?


As a treat, I'll bring home a bag of them and put them in the lazy susan corner of our kitchen.  Where do I find my husband rummaging, guiltily seeking, at all hours?  Yes, sirreee.  The once mocked secret stash is no more mocked but ravaged!

These fancy almonds are sold at lots of stores, but none can match the Bulk Foods department at Oleson's!!  Not good.  Because they are sold in bulk, at a fair price, these guys are able to go buy copious amounts of the delectables!  And we both live about two miles from Oleson's as the crow flies!  Yes, another problem for these poor tormented guys.

Honestly, it could be worse, right?  They could be addicted to lobster or caviar.  Chocolate covered almonds are a lot easier to wrap, too - compared to a pinching lobster!

Not a creature was stirring, not even a MOUSE!

This blog is for moms with kids who like to help in the kitchen.  This project is easy and cute!  And it's a finger licker. I found the recipe/idea on Meijer's site.

The punch we make each year for the Cookie Exchange contains a little marachino cherry juice, so we have the cherries kicking around in the frig.  This recipe utilizes the cherries and other ingredients we're more apt to have on hand - slivered almonds, chocolate candy coating/almond bark, Hershey's kisses, and dots of frosting.

After rolling the cherries around on paper towel to partially dry them, dip them in the warmed candy coating.  Place on wax paper and attach the almond ears and squish the kiss in front of the ears.  They'll set up quickly and the ears will freeze into position.  Add a couple dots for eyes.  If the cherries had stems, the stem would be a tail for the little mouse.

I made one of the mice with red eyes for my mom.  She HATES mice.  So that one represents the mouse that would like to 'Get 'er.'  (said in one's best Red Neck voice)  These are cute, but I think they'll be really tasty, too.  I'll use them around the edges of an appetizer tray we're bringing to a Christmas party this weekend.

Easy fun sweater to pillow project

Thanks to my friend, Kelly, at Restitch Me, I look at fabrics and clothes with new eyes.  Kelly has a knack for crafting and sewing beautiful creations - perfectly done.  She's inspiring.  Back in my personal reality, I like to hack and stitch, crossing my fingers as to the outcome.  My older daughters will all attest to that feeling in the pit of one's stomach when, over the years, I've asked them if they needed me to 'refashion' a dress or fit it more properly.  How does one say, "Uh, mom, I'm just not sure you're going to get it right...."  I can take it.  And I continue to learn things as a self-taught sewer.  (I refuse to call myself a seamstress.  Kelly is a seamstress - accomplished and talented.)

I think it was through Kelly's blog that I saw sweaters being turned into the cutest throw pillow covers.  Phil had a couple of Cabela's vests with plenty of knit with which to work.  I picked up a couple of $1 pillows at the Goodwill - I just want the pillow form inside, so they can be ugly.  Make sure to smell them - if they are smokey from cigarettes it'll be wafting all over your house.

The buttons on the front of the vest, I thought, would look best running along one side.  Turn the vest inside out, fold with the buttons off to the side, and sew around the perimeter, a little smaller than the pillow form so it's snug.  After trying to sew through a wooden button a couple times, (the button wins, by the way), both covers were done.  With a cardigan or vest it was possible to sew all the way around, no need to leave an opening to turn right side out, since I just unbuttoned them to turn and insert the pillow forms.

I like them.  And the girls, who are a difficult audience to impress after all the duds over the years, liked them, too.  They almost seemed impressed.  Almost.  Well, maybe next time.

Making Arrangements...

Each year for about eight years now I make floral and greenery arrangements or centerpieces to give as Christmas gifts for some family and friends.  I love to make them, mostly because of the flowers.  If I could, I'd have fresh flowers in every room all the time!

This year Laney helped me quite a bit.  In years past the older girls have pitched in and the guys always cut the greens.  This year my sister-in-law had leftover greens from her wreath and kissing ball projects - which turned out beautifully - and so the guys did not even have to lift a finger.

The beautiful and inspiring Kissing Ball!!

After buying a few carnations and roses, Laney and I collected the other supplies that I bought throughout the year when I saw them on sale.  I especially watched for the baskets and vases or bowls that might look nice within which to build the arrangements.

Bucket holding wet foam under water

Miscellaneous bases

Phil's table

Oh, I forgot.  At the Christmas Tea last week I saw a beautiful arrangement made from three birch logs.  Phil happened to ask me if I needed any birch logs just the other day - he was getting rid of some from which he had made a really cool rustic table, so I asked for a few of the three-log bases.  He made some and tonight Laney and I fancied one up.

We delivered this one right away - to the Kissing Ball family.
 I need to bring them a bow
for around the candle.  Oops.

Laney was given the china bowl - a small one - to do an arrangement within.  I used one of the sleighs.

Wet foam is the green stuff used by florists.  Soak it in a bucket of water, trim to fit, and the stab in the greens and  flowers. It's that easy. It'll usually keep the flowers looking good for up to a week, especially if the recipients add water.

I like to use a candle in most of them, but Laney's was just too small.  It'll be nice on the recipient's side table, not as a centerpiece.

Laney's creation

1st one - sleigh base.

We finished six in about one hour.  Next year I told her she could be the big boss and I'll be her helper.

This morning, while it was still dark, I finished the rest so I could clean up the kitchen!

I have to call my neighbor and ask her what colors she's decorated
with this year.  Then I'll decide which one to send.

This one is for a lady who has the perfect mix of rustic elegance in her home;
I think she'll like the black, even though it's Christmas.

I'm not sure who's getting this one - maybe the neighbors?

The Christmas Tea

Have you ever had an out of body experience?  I think I did two nights ago.  If it's when you can't get a bearing on where you are, what year it is, who these people are around you, then maybe I did.

Next to me on my left was my mom - white-haired, warm and plump, cheerful and generous; on my right was my friend Amy - let's see if she reads my blog and say that she's just like my mom except brunette....Ok, she's not plump, either. :)  Around the table were some of the nicest ladies I know: Kim, Shireeny, Kara, Marcy, my mom-in-law Carolyn.  We were all together for a Women's Christmas Tea at our church.

The out of body part was when I looked toward the front of the room and there were my three daughters, all grown up, two playing instruments and singing, and one the speaker for the evening.

How can they be there - shouldn't they be playing Barbies?  How can I be sitting here next to my mom, feeling like a 20-year-old and behaving like a 9-year-old, with my DAUGHTERS off doing their things in an adult fashion?  It was like a generation gap explosion in my head.  It truly seems like yesterday that I was matching up Garanimals tags and picking out size 5 Toddler, 3 Toddler and 12 Month outfits that, yes, all matched.

What struck home was the fact that they really didn't need me.  They were invited to play/speak at this function.  They planned what they would play/speak about on their own.  They packed up, drove there, ate dinner, picked out outfits - all things that I used to do with them, or for them, when they were younger.  I was off in another town getting their grandma to the Tea.

And then when it was over, they fit right in with our group of ladies.  No generation gap explosion in my head, or anywhere, just a bigger bunch of ladies standing around and gabbing like we do so well.

I'm a grateful lady tonight - for friends to share these times with, and who love my daughters and fit them right into their own lives, and grateful for these daughters, who love and honor me, their 9-year-old mom, and who also honor their Lord with their lives.

DIY Sweater projects

The older girls send things to the donation pile on a pretty regular basis.  After perusing some really great DIY blogs, including my friend Kelly's, ReStitch Me, I've decided to look through their castoffs with new eyes.  Recently I grabbed a couple sweaters from the pile and hacked away (my sewing and crafting style), attempting to re-purpose them into knit skirts or knit tunics for our youngest girl.

The sweaters were really forgiving, and so was the model.  She actually likes them!