pink picket fence

Valentine's Day Goodies.

{alternate title: Because timely recaps don't happen here.}

Fidget embraced the Making part of Valentine's day this year.  I dragged out a bunch of supplies from my stash of paper and whatnots and we went to town.

Doilies?  Check.  Stickers?  Check.  Rubber stamp hearts? Check.  Sparkly pom-poms? Check.  (Why do I have those?)  Bakers twine? Check.  I also printed out her name and cut it out so she could just glue her 'signature' on each Valentine. 

Teachers got theirs wrapped around a box of Starbucks chocolates.

Friends got little bags of cookies and gummy lifesavers.  Fidge was adamant about making cookies for her class this year.  Hubs helped her decorate them.

Think they got enough sugar on each cookie?  These make my teeth hurt, just looking at them.

I also came across these little cutters at Target last week (2.99!) and used them to make some X's and O's out of the remaining dough once I had enough ginormous hearts for her class.  I can see whole batches of these next year.  

I love Target.  I'd give it a valentine if I could.

: : : : : : : : : : :

And then there is this:

Good heavens, is this a beauty.  A baby blanket (rather gender neutral, I think) picked up thrifting last week. Or the week before? I can't remember.  Anyway, I just love the colors in this one.  It's like the person who made this knew what I needed in that nursery that hasn't happened yet.  Hooray.

I have more photos and things to post, I promise.  It's the getting-to-it part that is hard.  I have been sneaking breaks to check in on all of you, but haven't allowed myself time to comment.  The job thingy is kind of crazy-busy this week.  That's just how it goes sometimes. 

xoxo (in cookies, if you like)

aprons, aprons everywhere

This year I was on top of teacher gifts.  It's not always like that, so I'm just going to get a little braggy here and say, Yeah, I did it.  This year.

Aprons.  Three of them.  From stash fabric and notions.  Cheap, yes.  Not too time consuming.  Extremely well-received.  The bulk of the cutting was done assembly-style in one afternoon.  I had to get creative with some of the fabric combinations because of yardage constraints.  Each one is completely unique -- I never measure, but I made one longer than the others because Fidget's teacher is, like, an amazon.   I also included several tried and true recipes with personal notes and suggestions, for that little something extra. 

Without further ado, let's begin with the fashion show.

This one went to Fidget's teacher, Ms. Murphy, who wears a lot of green and is so very, very tall.

Up next, something for Ms. Jesse, who also works with Fidget part of the day, and is more likely to wear pink:

Finally, Ms. Hampton received this one from my seventh grader, who insisted that her teacher wears a lot of brown, and was more likely to appreciate a subtle splash of polka dots.  (What?  Giant pink birds and over-sized floral aqua octagons aren't SUBTLE????  mwhahahahaha!)

Thank you, my dear sevvie, for modeling without complaint.  For lifting your arms this way and that, turning and posing and being oh-so-patient with your crazy momma, who was desperate to shoot these before wrapping them up and saying goodbye forever...

So, no, that is NOT my tiny size zero waist. Mine is actually a bit wider these days... and it's not just the Christmas goodies doing the work...Mama's got another little project underway, too. * wink wink *

Here's to 2009! xo

post Christmas daze

Oh, hello.

Yes, the holidays happened around here, too.  We're still recuperating.

From the food.  And the decorating.

And the long hours, spent together, becoming guitar heroes.

It was a full and festive Christmas around these parts.  Hope you and yours enjoyed the blessings of this holiday season as well.  

See you next year.  xoxo  ~misschris

New to me, a good old read.

Fidget's new favorite book in our house:

I cannot tell you how excited I was to find this little Random House popup book book earlier this year while antiquing.  I thought it was a steal at 7.50, and a quick check online confirmed it. It is in perfect condition and totally takes me back to  my childhood.  Fidget is being very careful with the pull tabs because she knows it is special, but she can hardly contain her excitement either.

 Published in 1967, designed by Paul Taylor and illustrated by Marvin Brehm, this pop-up version of The Night Before Christmas takes me back to the imagery of my childhood, although I doubt we ever would have owned something this fancy.  The illustration is so folksy and kitschy and fun.  I can't stop staring at the detail.

 All the photos above are clickable and worth viewing at higher resolution over at flickr, I promise.  There are several more pages, but without the motion, you do lose a bit of the magic, so I didn't shoot them all...

It's blustery, white and cold outside today.  Perfect Christmastime weather, although it is giving drivers headaches... be careful out there, local friends.  xoxo

hello (hello hello hello hello)

real cookies and a virtual quilting bee

And whoosh!  It's December 9th.  How the heck is this happening?  Better start baking.

That is what the girls and I did on Saturday.  We used the original Better Homes and Gardens Sugar Cookie Cutout recipe.  My cookbook is about 35 years old, so you know it's made with the good stuff.  And we topped them with Martha's royal icing recipe. 

We've made these cookies from scratch for the last 9 years.  It's mess, but totally worth it.  We also make about 10 different colors of frosting.  Pink and blue trees are totally acceptable.

This year Fidget helped, too.  She was very protective of her cookies and her work. 

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And, finally.  My late block for Jessica's November Autumn-themed Twelve Square quilt.  She sent me the green and brown fabrics, and I added the florals from my stash. 

There was so much green to use, so I got this crazy idea to gather long strips and sew them into the block.  Autumn for me is all about textures, so I thought this added an unexpected crinkliness.  I hope she likes it.  I really hope it doesn't mess up the quilting part.   

For the gathered edge that hangs off (bottom left in this picture), I left a topstitched edge hanging over the quilt square, so it wouldn't lose the gather before she attached this square to others.  I can't wait to see how it all turns out.

Decking the halls

Busy here.  Busy there.  Who isn't?  Just pictures today because the sun is shining and filling the house with light.

Peeking at the tree.  Fake, yes.  My hands break out in a terrible itch if I touch the real stuff.

And a cheapo skinny little wooden tree I picked up somewhere long ago that looks good no matter where it ends up.  Don't you love stuff like that?   

December

Been keeping busy over here.  Decorating.  Eating.  Planning.  Scheming.

Our Thanksgiving was busy and fun and full.  What more can you ask?  (I do wish I hadn't been battling a head cold, but it's all good now.  Have you ever used one of those personal steam inhalers?  Heaven.  Thanks, Michelle, for letting  me borrow yours!)

I'm behind on my November 12 Square block for Jessica (but I know what I'm going to do, I promise!).  This week!  I have to admit I was relieved when I opened Kristena'sswatches and explicit instructions for a crazy log cabin square.  Whew!  There are also a few aprons in the works for teacher gifts.  I'll share all of it soon.    

Also, I just found out yesterday that the spaghetti-strapped dress my daughter (and those of all the girls she knows) is wearing to the Winter Dance is Not Appropriate, so we will also be fashioning more appropriate, wider straps that match her particular shade of purple satin by the end of this week.   Does Hobby Lobby carry dress fabrics?  I really don't want to go all the way to Joanns for a quarter yard....

This year I buckled and bought an advent calender house thingy.  Every year I have grandiose ideas of making a calendar, and reality sets in.  So far, I'm planning on notes with things to do, and tiny candy surprises.  Nothing outrageous.  The girls are not up at the same time in the morning (my poor middle schooler catches the bus at 6:45), so we opened the first door last night after dinner.  The note read:

December is a time for rejoicing, memories and sweets,
We are lucky to mark each day
with little surprises and treats.
Here's to a Merry Christmas Season, sweet sisters!

Oh yes, it's corny. But they loved it.  Fidget kept putting the note back and reopening the door.  See that Santa standing out front?  They staged it.  Hilarious.  Looks like he is trying to decide which door gets the treat. 

I picked up this little (tiny! Less then 2 inches) Santa a couple weeks ago while thrifting.  I think he's adorable.

Things are in full swing around here.  I miss posting so frequently, but I'm trying to keep it all in check.  You know how it goes.  Happy December, friends.

Window Dressing

It's beginning to look more like Christmas around here.

Even in the kitchen.

Several yards of grosgrain tied onto ornaments, attached to the curtain rings.  This is a new addition to my hall-decking this year, and it is yielding quite a bit of pop for the effort. 

Any tricks up your sleeves?

Christmas Thrifty

I'm jumping into Christmas this year because if I wait until after Thanksgiving and the MU-KU game and our house guests, it will be December before I get anything up.  And that, folks, is just plain wrong.  I kind of go ape when it comes to Christmas. 

So today I resolved to spend extra time here and there purging my house of the autumn decor.  But first I stopped by a couple thrift shops -- looking for some vintage ornaments and maybe some gifts. 

These perfume bottles were just too adorable.  And a bargain, if you ask me, at .50 each.

I could not pass up this strange and cute mushroom tea set for Fidge.  The cups are only about 2 inches tall.  It is a complete set of 3 plates, saucers and cups.  $1.00.

And ornaments.  Egads.  I cannot tell you how awesome it is to walk out with tons of glass ornaments at $1 a box when Target is selling them for $7-10. 

This box of 15 was $1.60.  Perfect.  In the original box with placeholders for storage.  Can't beat that.  Can I tell you how much I love ornaments in random vases and baskets in my house?  There is something inherently cheery about that.  Maybe it's the shiny thing.

One of my favorite places to go is actually part of a retirement village.  Many families donate items to this thrift shop when a loved one has passed away.  I have found the quality of vintage goods superb.  Linens, embroidery, kitchenware and--OH-- the craft supplies!  It is well stocked.  Even better, the sweetest volunteers work the counter. They are always impressed when a relative youngster like me shows up at the counter with some embroidered tea towels or a crewelwork pillow.  :)   Happy thrifting!