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!!!

                                                       

Lovey Dovey Christmas Wreath

Well, we might as well call this "wreath week" here at Two Blue Houses.   We are keeping things simple and real on the blog and at my home the welcome of a new season always begins with a wreath.   

This is indeed the same wreath I did here and yet once again at a "Friends" supper we hosted in the fall (geesh, I'm embarrassed to admit that I have not posted pictures...).  I'm not sure when I'll give it up and move on.  There are so too many possibilities.  I was still loving the all white (from its most recent upgrade).   

Red felt roses, moss and a few twigs... The ornament is a dove and I'm pretty sure it was given to me by Lauren (because all my favorites are from her).  How do you think it looks against my yellow door?

A few notes about our Advent Calendar... I know it is only a couple days into the plan but I'm happy to say it is so much fun.   I catch the glitter shimmering off the handmade snowflakes strung across the kitchen window and actually caught the sunset peeking through them.  This very evening we did Christmas puzzles and challenged the boys to create scenes with their vast Lego collection.  

Let me tell you, these creations are not as simple as they look.  I consider myself pretty crafty and thought it would be no problem to enlist my crew to build a brick nativity.  I tried to build a manger for a Lego baby Jesus and after only moments gave up and instead opened up a Lego guy hospital.   As you can see, they gave up and had a Santa making contest.

Then spent a few minutes in front of the seasons first fire... with peppermint hot cocoa of course!

That is our advent calendar hanging over the stove.  As you can see, it operates on a day to day basis.  Last year we planned the whole month ahead of time and then each night had to rearrange.   Not sure which I prefer, but it is working and all the stress is on me; the kids couldn't care less.  They are simply so excited to turn the card!

Lots planned for this weekend... two kids birthday parties, a shopping trip, round one of decorating, and a Sunday supper with the extended family.  Whew, I need a nap just thinking about all of that.  Hopefully there will be plenty of cuddling time by our fire too!

Deck of Cards - Christmas Advent Calendar 2011

I'm not a big fan of leftovers (unless of course it involves the take out kind and even then it usually doesn't make it to the morning).  So even though I meticulously saved my advent calendar from last year, I knew deep down I couldn't use it.  Again with literally hours before December was to begin I gathered some supplies and headed my little studio in search of some inspiration.  Want to see what I came up with?  No fancy tools or punches, with the most ordinary of supplies... just a glue gun, stickers and a deck of cards.

The stickers were free (the kind that come in mailings) and I stuck them to card stock and cut them out.  I added a bit of dimension with wood circles so the stickers seem to pop out.   Add random bits of twine, ribbon and buttons and they were finished.  Then I glued clothes pins to a old piece of fence (yet another purpose for that fence) and clipped on the cards.  On the back of each of the cards is the activity for the day.  We tried to remember all of our activities from last year but couldn't of course.  That is one reason a blog is wonderful.  I used all the ideas from last year plus a few new ones.

• pack and eat a red and green lunch
• make a paper prayer chain
• make gingerbread houses out of graham crackers and frosting
• go for a chilly walk outside and warm up with cocoa after
• purchase toys to donate
• camp out under the Christmas tree
• send a package to a friend 

The cards are not even hung yet, (I was excited and hung them just for these few shots) awaiting a planning and scheduling session for the parents, but the kids are already asking if they can turn today's card.  I love to see that kind of excitement.  To spend time with each other, to unplug from all the technology around us.  To choose quality time over empty minutes.  To get this family back on track, away from the consumerism and the wants.  To fill this Christmas season with sweet little moments that cause us to pause and to hope to never forget.

p.s. I think these would make adorable mini Christmas cards to hand out this year!  What do you think?

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Toddler Rock Backpack

First let me say this: girls are different than boys. From the womb. My boys are loud, messy and in constant motion. What a change when I had the girls. Eden at a very young age could barely walk but still knew to get a towel when something had spilled. She and Alette play babies in their room quietly for hours and days. Their fascination with dolls alone is a stark difference from their brothers. With all the contrast there is much in common to. Insatiable hunger. Seriously, these girls can hold their own with their big brothers. Fearless. All my kids have no sense of what could possibly cause serious bodily harm to themselves and/or others.

And rocks. What kid could resist. I remember even into my college years gathering a shoe box of rocks. Of course, I was a geology major. Anyway, the girls are definitely into rocks. Climbing, tossing into puddles, and of course collecting. While the boys have experimented and pushed my limits of where to keep their rocks, they are finally at the age where they know and understand where it is appropriate to hoard them. As a toddler, Eden would just pop them into her mouth, lick them clean and spit them out. I know, disgusting. But my littlest one, her obsession with rocks goes beyond normal. Everywhere. I find them everywhere. Drawers. Closets. Piles on the edges of counters. Cupboards. Cups. Pockets and therefore in the washer. Cuffs of my jeans! This last one is what finally drove me to make something of her own to drag around full of "baby" rocks, as she calls them.

Between projects on an already busy day, I made her this little backpack. Scrap fabric, both inside and out and two strips of jersey for the drawstring and she's an (adorable) happy camper.

She wears it all. the. time. And she's also at that stage where she spends plenty of time, ahem, without clothes, so sometimes it is all she is wearing. I'll spare you that photo... for mommy's eyes only!

The soft drawstring lets her feel accomplished opening and closing it all by herself.

Let me tell you, that little bag can hold quite a few pounds of rocks. We will see how long this lasts.

And the print is so cute. I can see her toting this little bag around filled with other things she adores... like strawberries, frogs and grasshoppers. Just not all at the same time...

W.A.D.E.

Wood letter craft. This is the step by step guide to how I spruced up some rough wood letters.

After my lovely little one was 3 months old, I was finally able to start making his nursery personal. I had purchased the rough wood letters at a local craft store but had not decided how I wanted to use them in Wade's room. Note: We knew we were having a boy and had settled positively on his name before spending money on the letters.

Step 1:
Gather supplies. This part was easy for me because my room looked like and explosion of crafting and art supplies because I was in the middle of organizing them.

Step 2:
These were solid wood letters but were roughly cut so they needed some sanding. I grabbed a sand paper block (medium grain) and sanded away rough edges and wood splinters.

Step 3:
Painting. I knew I was concerned about the edges of the letters more than the fronts and backs. I had another plan for the front of the letters. My husband offered to spray paint the letters for me in the garage. I accepted his offer thinking that I just saved myself a chunk of time. But it turns out "spraying" the sides of the letters didn't quite cover to my satisfaction. So I used an artists paint brush and some white acrylic paint I had to paint the edges in a nice thick coat. Only one coat was needed. Don't forget to have a helper.

Step 4:
Next I selected the paper I wanted to cover the front of the letters. Wade's nursery theme was woodland creatures which inspired our baby shower invitations among other things. I found a large book of scrap book papers that were a perfect match for the woodland theme. Even better the book was on sale at the same local craft store the wood letters were bought at. (Bought at a separate time though).

Step 5:
I flipped the paper over and the letter over and traced the letter onto the back of the paper as shown. Using my X-acto knife I cut out by hand (I have a really steady hand) the letter. Repeat for as many letters as you have.

Step 6:

Using glue and a paint brush I applied glue evenly on the back of each paper letter and placed the paper on top of the wood. I used heavy books and objects to press the paper down on the letters for almost 24 hours. I repeated the process for all the letters.

Now hang on your wall and enjoy!

Valentine's Countdown Calendar

I was so delighted how my advent calendar kept my December calm yet eventful that I started thinking, why not again? Why not another holiday? Finding creative and meaningful things to do forced me to be mentally present in the physical moment. So often, when times get tough or busy, we tend to check out or put our happiness in the future. We have thoughts like, "is it bedtime yet?" or "when do I get a moment." I'm realizing this life is not about me. Nope. Not even a bit. It's about the people I love. Making sure I give them the best of me all the time. Now, I'm not suggesting to become a slave or doormat, but give wholeheartedly. Why not? Everyone knows that you reap what you sow... The love comes back.

Enough with the mush... here is my Valentine's Calendar.

Since the idea is to countdown the days until Valentine's, you will need to brainstorm 14 activities. I tried unsuccessfully to copy lists other people had already put together but discovered most of the stuff out there was composed of mass amounts of money and/or sugar. So... Here is my list.

• Make and hang hearts (and strings of white lights-- how can you ever go wrong with those)
• Watch a LOVE movie as a family.
• Bake something SWEET... and share it.
• You are SPECIAL! Let's eat dinner by CANDLELIGHT.
• Make VALENTINE'S cards to pass out to friends.
• Share the LOVE...Camp out in Mom and Dad's room.
• Learn how to say "I LOVE YOU" in other languages.
• Wear lots of RED and WHITE (or PINK) today.
• Give someone a call and tell them they are LOVED.
• Enjoy some family time reading all of our LOVE books.
• Send a package to someone we LOVE who lives far away.
• Sow seeds of LOVE -- start our garden seedlings indoors.
• Share hot cocoa with heart shaped marshmallows (cookie cutter)
• Happy Valentines Day -- small gift or treat

-- Upon review, some of mine are not so cool either, but hey, do what works for you.

(And just like my advent calendar, I am going to spend a couple minutes in front of our family's February schedule to see what days can afford some of the more involved activities and what

days deserve an easy one.)

I printed out the fun stuff on graph paper (just because) and cut them out. Since I never do anything the easy way, they were all different sizes. Then I took the graph paper that was all different sizes and glued them to red card stock. Then I cut the card stock into all different sizes. Did I mention that I like to do everything the hard way... If I were you I'd make them all the same size in the first place. But didn't they turn out pretty...

To finish them off, I punched a hole and thread some black ribbon.

I could have stopped here and simply numbered them, but I always look for the path of most resistance... and I really wanted an excuse to sew with paper.

A while back, I inherited hundreds of postcard envelopes. Those plus clearance Christmas ribbon, pages from an old hymnal and cardstock scraps equals...

Love.

This was by far the most intimidating part of the project. But the lack of both pattern and expectation was kind of nice for a change.

Then I needed an equally lovely way to hang the envelopes...

Just clothespins with ribbon and paper and glue.

Simple and beautiful.

And here they are.

The kids are going to go nuts in the morning when they see this at breakfast.

I still have to print the numbers and actually coordinate the "do's" with the days, but that is waiting for another evening...

P.S. I loved dandee's posts about her thirty days of kindness... and kindness after all is all about love. Check her out for some more lovely ideas of how to keep the love going even after Valentine's day.