Tiered Christmas Skirt

Since Kyla was supposed to wear a dress to her school program, I made her a festive skirt. It flairs out when she twirls, so of course she was thrilled! I used the tutorial at Crap I've Made (I love her tutorials!) I also loved how easy it was to make so it came together really fast.

And of course and matching headband:

Christmas Stockings

It took me several days, but I finally got our Christmas Stockings made. (and hung)

I used a picture of a stocking and made the top larger to make the cuff. Then I cut 2 of the main fabric and 2 of the lining. I serged the tops together (lining to the main fabric and then laid them out to stitch the long way around both stockings leaving an opening in the back part of the sock of the lining for turning. Then I stitched that hole shut, pushed the lining in the main fabric and turned over the tops to make the cuffs. It may not make sense, but hopefully it's good enough for me if I ever want to make stockings again.

Update: I finally got around to adding our names with white htv. 

Christmas Keychain

My keys are now a little more festive :)

Teacher Gift

I debated what to do for Kyla's teacher, but finally decided on this apron. This is the first time I've added a pocket on the front.And since it's kindergarten and they are learning their letters, I chose the letter trim.

Christmas Pillowcase Done

This year's addition to our Christmas pillowcases:

Snowman

I found this cute idea at "Crafting" Some Talent and knew my kids would LOVE to build a snowman on our fridge!
The kids were so thrilled! Everytime Kyla walked by the fridge, she said "That makes me happy"! And it was super cheat, fast and easy to make :)

For the baby

A little crinkly toy. The inside is a plastic wrapper (securely stitched) so it makes lots of crinkly noise and the ribbons will also keep him busy.

Barbie Clothes

I made a few Barbie clothes: I started simple with some tops and skirts.

Patterns can be found here and here.

Boys Toolbelts

Christmas gift for the boys:
This is perfect for my two little guys that like to help their daddy fix things around the house! I used some Duck fabric so they are thick and will hold up.

Covered Notebooks

I've started making a few Christmas presents for my kiddos...so I thought I'd start sharing them:
Kyla LOVES to draw and is always wants paper and something to draw with...so when Walgreens had the little spiral notebooks for 19 cents, I grabbed a bunch for Kyla. Then I grabbed some scrapbook paper and covered the fronts of them:

Now they are put away for Christmas.

Countdown all about Christ for kids

December's Friend magazine has this wonderful countdown to Christmas and my kids have really been enjoying it. I love that each day has a question for my kids to listen for the answer as we read the listed scripture. We just include this at the beginning of our family scripture reading every night. It is a great way to read the story of Christ's birth out of the bible to young kids (like mine) with short attention spans. It is also keeping us focused on our Savior's birth this time of year, which is really important.

"Let us all make this year’s Christmas season a time of rejoicing and celebration, a time when we acknowledge the miracle that our Almighty God sent His Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to redeem the world!" -President Dieter F. Uchtdorf

My Christmas Apron

I had fun making Christmas aprons with one of my super good friends. I had to laugh that we picked the same fabric, trim and all! Best part was making it with a friend! Thanks Jessica!*Nathan liked the fabric so much, he wanted to lick it :) He was super excited about the candy!

Santa's got a Brand New Bag...

I found the idea for this last year here. I just didn't have time to get it done last December...so I made it in January and put it away for this season...
I sewed the bottom corners in so it makes a large opening to hold lots of stuff. I found the feather trim on clearance (75% off) after last Christmas and knew I had to add bling for the belt buckle...isn't it fun?

In the Winter,You can build a Snowman

I made a snowman kit last year, but we never got the snow to use it and Kyla was so disappointed, but with all the snow that's been dumped on us we finally got to use it!I need to modify the kit now that I know what will work best...I just did not expect to every have the snowman be this big!
The kids were thrilled! (We even went sledding) Now they are begging to do snow painting :)

Thankful Tree

This year I finally got our Thankful Tree made:
It was fun to add leaves as we thought of things we were thankful for. Kyla liked cutting out the leaves. It was a nice fall decoration for our hallway. We will have to do this again next year!

Birthday Pillowcase

Since my kids love holiday pillowcases...I looked and looked for a cute birthday fabric to make a birthday pillowcase....and finally I found it:

Birthday Banner

One of my friends showed me how to make these fun banners at our ward Super Saturday...it just took me a while to get mine done.... I sized mine down so to 7 inch triangles and I really like it! It is about the length of our dining room table, so it looks good on the wall above it.

I don't think the picture really does it justice, but I took one close up to show you, too.

Halloween Party Invitations

I saw this idea somewhere, even recently, but I couldn't find it again when I went to make them, so I don't take the credit for the cute idea, but I did like them...so I used the idea for my party invites this year....
I think a size smaller wiggly eyes would have looked better, but I just used what I had. Hopefully the ones I mailed will hold up to the abuse of the postal service.

Our Scarecrow

Finally...I've had this done for a while I just needed a stand and this weekend John helped me make the stand. He did a great job. And the best part is that we used stuff around here to make him. I love how he brightens up the yard!

Baby Gift Card

The card I made:

I am a Child of God Baby Gift

I loved this Idea from: Made with Love and Glue and thought it would make a cute little addition to a baby gift I was sending to one of my friends.

Fall Table Runner

I really liked how this turned out. It really helped pull some more fall colors into my front room. Yeah...I put it on my piano that is in need of a refinish job...something that is on my to do list....a ways down on the list.
I used the tutorial on Diary of a Quilter. She also has a tutorial on how to do binding something that was new to me. Hopefully that part will go a little smoother next time. I had some issues with the corners...but I'm hoping it's something that gets better with time.

Her Halloween Skirt

I just thought it would be fun to have a Halloween skirt since she loves wearing skirts so much:

Halloween Pillowcases

I took the kids to the fabric store and let them pick their very own fabric. They were really excited, esp. Nathan...he chose the eyeballs :)

Brown Paper Bag Pumpkin Treat Bags

So these would have looked much better with orange paper bags, but I couldn't find any at Target and didn't have time to look everywhere else just for bags....so I just used brown ones. Kyla still recognized them as a pumpkin, so I was good with that. I filled them with some Cinnabon popcorn and gave them with visiting teaching last month. (I used floral tape for the stems)

Fabric Pumpkins

ok...not as cute as the ones they posted, but I like them.
I found this on Ucreate and followed the tutorial on Blogging with Holly . My favorite part is the felt leaves. I got that pattern from here.

Let the Countdown Begin!

Apron

Isn't it nice when your friends tell you what they want? Hope you enjoy it Kari!

Fabric closeup: The fabric looked so cheery, it reminded me of Kari, so sorry I couldn't find roosters to match your kitchen Kari :)

More Crayon Rolls

Thanks to my friend, Michelle for hanging out with me for an afternoon and getting me motivated: I got 2 more crayon rolls done.

In case you need the tutorial it is here at Skip to my Lou.

How to Make a Towel Bib

These have been my favorite bibs for my kids as babies and toddlers. They are super absorbent and cover their entire front.

These are made using hand towels.

First, fold towel in half and move the front down so it hangs about 3 inches lower than the back. (You want more coverage in the front)
Next, find the center across the top on the fold and mark with a pin. Use another pin to mark 2 inches down.
Measure 2 7/8 inches from the center pin and mark. Do this on both sides.

So your pins should look like this:

Now your going to cut in a circular shape matching the pins.

Now it's time to cut some ribbing. Make sure you cut it so that it will stretch. Cut a strip 10inches by 2 1/2 inches, then serge (or zigzag) the raw edges together.

Fold in half, with your seam on the inside. Using four pins, mark the ribbing into equal 4ths.

Mark you opening the the towel into equal fourths as well. Then match your pins and pin into place, right sides together: (I put the seam on the ribbing in the back)

Then serge the ribbing in place: You'll need to stretch the ribbing to match the towel as you go. This is why we divided it in 4ths....It's much easier to stretch one section at a time.

And your done: