Advent Calendar 2012

Every year after Christmas I carefully take down and store our advent calendar because I always plan on using it the following year.

And at the beginning of the next Christmas season I make a new advent calendar.

I can help it.  I'm a compulsive crafter.  

(You can see our 2010 calendar here and our 2011 calendar here.)

This year I wanted to use the silhouette.  

And chicken wire.

And old fencing.  

This is what we celebrated with this year.

Each tag is actually a pocket which held our daily activity.   

The pockets have a front piece and a back piece that were sewn together.  (Did I mention that I also wanted to use my sewing machine?)  

 We used ribbon and twine to tie the tags to the chicken wire.

 I made the frame with some old fencing and staples.

Definitely my favorite yet.  This may actually be fantastic enough to ward off my craft addiction and need to reinvent the advent calendar next December.  Perhaps I could pour the effort into homemade stockings... or a tree skirt... or ... hmm...

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P.S. I have already uncovered my Valentine's Countdown Calendar already.  Come on February!

Pinspiration and a Happy Handmade Christmas: the Boys

Pinterest can be a bit... girly.

Pink.  Cute.  Ruffles.

Shoes.  Scarves.  Hair.

Cookies.  Cakes.  Suppers.

You have to really hunt for the boys stuff.  But when you find it, oh, it's good.

This year for Christmas the boys got two necessary things for boys...

Beards.

Yes, this is a picture of me... 

finishing the beards... 

late at night... 

or early in the morning... 

giddy and greasy haired.

It was knitted with some crazy yarn by a pattern of my own.  Since it fit me, it was a bit large on their little faces so I'll have to spend another evening knitting some more.  Maybe I'll wear this one when I'm doing chicken chores or getting the mail.  Might cause some neighbors to do a double take.  Fun.  

and bows and arrows.

(tutorial here)

I will say, these little things shoot far!  I'd say 20 feet. Unbelievable.  Also after a couple days of normal boy usage the dental floss tend to get stretched out but its easy to swap out.  I got to use my wood burning tool again to freehand some tribal-ish designs.

I also did a t-shirt for a boy who got a real pair of youth boxing glove (for use on our heavy bag, not his siblings!)  His shirt is a white print on a black shirt of gloves hung around his next and the distressed word CHAMP on the back.  I think it is his new fav.  Yay!

(another blurry Christmas morning photo... 

what can I say?  We are up sooo early...)

My first total success.  Every child got a handmade gift.  Hope I just started a new tradition!

Pinspiration and a Happy Handmade Christmas: Little Girl

I love homemade gifts.

I realize lots of people say that.  Let me clarify.

I can't stop smiling while I am making something for someone I love.  I can hardly wait to give it to them.  I nearly cry when they open it.. and I get all warm and fuzzy every time they use what I have made.

The whole process for me is delightful.  Scouring Pinterest for ideas.  Shopping and scavenging for supplies.  Drinking mug after mug of  wine hot tea after the kids are asleep... Spending nights at the table making wonderful things.

The girls presents are always especially fun for me.  Beyond Barbies, I think it is challenging to shop for girls. I want quality and wholesome but often stores have plastic and superficial.  

Oh well.  So I made my own.

Here is what they found Christmas morning...

A simple wooden box (bought with my 50% off coupon) decorated with clearance stickers and my wood burning tool that I bought last year.  And inside...

... a scrap fabric paper doll kit!  What girl could resist?!?!  Color, cut, glue... ribbons and pom poms.  

(inspired by this)

and the little one found this...

not just a mint tin...

but two new friends in a little bed!

They are adorable.  And again, made from simply scraps! 

(inspired by this)

And finally for the girls to share this matching game.

The original was made of paper but I love using felt.  Next time (because I will make this again for some lucky little friend's birthday) I will glue only the middle so my stitches around the edge look better!

These are three success stories.  I attempt homemade gifts every year and most years they look like attempted homemade gifts.  I feel doubly good this year because they actually look as good as the projects that inspired them.  These lovely presents have gotten lots of use already.  Thanks Pinterest!

More homemade Pinterest success stories to come!!!  

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p.s.  I just remembered that I also painted my first shirt... a gold unicorn on pink shirt using a stencil I created myself on the silhouette.  Now if I can just her to not wear it long enough so I can wash it and snap a picture...you will have to take my word for it! But I did find this blurry shot of her unicorn wearing it Christmas morning...

                     

                                                               

How about you?  Any surprising homemade gift success stories... do tell!!!

                                                       

DIY: Chalkboard Wall Calendar

It has been a long time coming and seeing this project completed is a dream.

One huge blank wall.

Two hours and two rolls of painters tape.

Three coats of chalkboard paint.

A think it is a great way to start the new year.  Organized.

Here are a few more pictures of the process...

Just took the tape off.

Priming.

Birthday Party for My Littlest Girl

Look who is three...

I know! I can hardly believe it.  For the first time in (what?) twelve years our family is out of diapers and sleeping through the night.  She insists on being called a kid, not a toddler or baby, follows me like a shadow and begins each and every sentence with "mommy?"  I love her so much!  What a fantastic reason for a celebration. Of course it is no secret that  I adore a well planned party.  My fingers crave unique homemade decorations and I tend to get a little worked up the days before, but it is always for the best cause, my family.  Plus I love a challenge.  

This year she voiced her first real birthday party request...OWLS.

Owls?  Really?  Well, okay...

When I picture owls I imagine woodlands. I think I crossed the line between normal party decorations and actually crazy this time when I pinned and taped tree limbs to my walls.  Sticks and branches  became trees and thirty balloons became owls.

A little bit whimsical...

A little bit magical...

 Well, at least it was only thirty balloons.  Last year it was 100...

I did some quick searching for "balloon owls" and came up with this for inspiration.  I wanted a truer owl.  Using a scalloped and circle punch I layered big wide eyes.  Simple half ovals became wings and triangles became beaks and ears.  (I assembled the shapes first then taped them onto the inflated balloons.)

aren't they so adorable...

A couple strings of my favorite bunting and a fun owl tree and our place was set. 

Oh and the entire menu was planned around this deli meat and cheese tray idea.  (Soups, chili, sandwiches, veggies and caramel and chocolate apples for dessert)  Achieved? Eh.. close enough.

So all in all this party cost me two pack of balloons, four sheets of scrapbook paper and adhesives.  Is it silly that I'm completely motivated to put together blog-worthy parties for a couple bucks?  Nah... Now I have yet another "theme" to add to my accomplished list.

And a couple more pics of my owl loving baby...

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Come back on Friday for my recipe for chocolate caramel apples, made with vegan caramel and no corn syrup.  I am as surprised as you are that this one worked!  See you again soon, promise!

A Bathroom Redecorated...

I'd gotten tired of my first floor bathroom.  You know, the one that does double duty as a pretty guest bath as well as a convenient place to rinse off sandy children.  It was too dark (red, tan and brown) and just worn out.  After painting the kitchen (post soon to come!) I had a new fresh color to work with.  So with only the cost of a new shower curtain I pulled together a new look.

the new shower curtain

After raiding a friends dilapidated barn with only a single glove and a wonder bar (awesome), I scored this crate.  In its not so distant past it was a nest box in a chicken coop.  Needless to say I scrubbed this thing until my arms almost fell off.  Then after some sanding and a coat of stain, I had a nice clean box.  At first I was going to throw it in the corner and pile it with clean towels but I had been looking for a cabinet to hang on the wall.  Could I mount the crate to the wall?

Definitely.  It's rustic and old fashioned.  And no matter how hard I try or how much I want to avoid it, that is the direction this house will always take.  Use what you have...

The next project was something to fill the opposite wall.  I love browsing prints and frames at stores but can never convince myself to buy any.  I'm addicted to originals.  I built this frame using old fencing and staples.   (My first solo radial arm saw project.  I was scared to death!)

Some paint and some stain to distress it and I was happy.  I had seen bloggers framing sticks and thought I would give it a try with some of my grape vine trimmings.

Another hit.  Wow, could this room be coming together so fast with really nothing but time invested?

The soap dish?  The the base of a planter.  Painted and stained.

The curtain?  Ruffles?  Me?  Hmm... not so sure if I'll keep this one but I'm trying it.  Just muslin and literally scraps I ripped off an old table cloth in the basement.  The only thing I do like is the unfinished look.

Keeping with the "bird" theme (nest box, shower curtain, twigs... see it now?) two brass birds with a coat of white spray paint.  So pretty perched on my mirror ledge.  

Homemade milk glass with upcycled food jars... think vanilla extract, grinder spices and artichoke hearts.

I'm pretty sure that I took about one hundred photos of this tiny room. That's about 95 too many even by my standards.  But in my defense I have been suffering with this room for years. So just a few more if you please...

(Ok, a remodel  for the price of a shower curtain AND a stack of fluffy new hand towels...)

Overall, I like it.  So much brighter and clean.  For a couple days every time I walked past the room I had to stop, turn on the lights and sigh.

A finished project.

One room down...