Believe in Santa

It was weird to walk into the house and see our bare coat closet door.  So I wanted to try & make a large door decoration for the Christmas season.  I found a great pattern!

Rudolph The Red Nose Reindeer

Two Christmas trees with a star on top.  Not a great picture, though.

Of course, Santa Clause!

"Believe"!

Not the best lighting for picture, but you can see the size of Santa better.

It's finished size is about 18" tall.

This pattern, "Believe" was designed by Donna Harelik and can be purchased through e-PatternsCentral.com

I chose to do his eyes using the Googly Eyes and didn't bother to put glasses on him.  I used Red Heart brand Cherry Red and Aran color yarn for his suit and face.  I used Simply Soft Caron yarn for all the white parts.  It's very soft & helped his beard lay beautifully.  Rudolph is made with Simply Soft Caron yarn as well; Chocolate.  The trees were made with Red Heart Paddy Green, stars were Simply Soft Caron.

This pattern was a bit frustrating.  I found mistakes with the mittens, beard, & the trees.  I totally screwed up Rudolph the first time I tried putting him together.  But that was no fault of the designer.  I just had a big brain fart!   But I love the finished product and the closet door doesn't look naked anymore:)

Merry Christmas!

Christmas Recital

Kara had her 1st recital as a guitar student on December 8th.  She'd been taking lessons for exactly 3 weeks and she learned AND even memorized "Jingle Bells" to perform.  She's so awesome!    I have to gush, it's a mom thing, you know.  I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished in the few short weeks of guitar lessons.

Kara was nervous, but she bit the bullet & willingly played her solo.  She didn't even hesitate on her way up to the chair.  She was so swift & sure that she was half way through "Jingle Bells" before I could even start recording!  So of course, I didn't get it.  But she played again for me at home so that I could record it.  Now I just have to convert it in order to blog it.   I'm just not getting it done fast enough:(

Not only did she do her guitar solo, she learned a few chords so that she could be part of the accompaniment for the Sing Along at the end of the night.

For the Sing Along, she played Silent Night, Jingle Bells, and Jingle Bell Rock.  Yah, Kara ROCKS!!!

Kara loves her teacher, Mrs. Haggarty!  She used to substitute in the public schools for the music classes.

She's amazing with the kids and has great incentive programs they enjoy.

Kara was so happy and proud of herself for accomplishing such a hurdle.   She even SMILED for me to take a couple of pictures!  That's almost unheard of for her:)   I haven't seen her countenance sparkle like this before, so I know that she's enjoying every minute of it!

Kara is so totally AWESOME!

(Movie footage coming soon)

New Tradition

I've never made a ginger bread house or graham cracker house before.  But this shouldn't surprise you, because I'm always saying that I don't get out much:)   We were invited to a friend's house to make cracker houses.  It was a lot of fun with plenty of mess and at the end of the night, vomiting!  Thanks Evy!

BUSTED!!!!   Kara:  "What?!  I didn't do anything!"

Who needs all the candy when one can just suck the frosting from the bag?

Nice scallops and shingles, Brynn!  Very detailed.   Santa's feet are sticking up out of  the chimney and his body is just inside the house.  Very clever!

Terry's is still a work in progress.  So far, he has half of the shingles on his house.

Thanks to our friends for the invite!   It was totally worth the $22 of sugar.  We had a great time!

No More Braces!

After 2 1/2 years of braces, she now has a beautiful smile!

Brynn is taking a wood shop class in school.  This is something to put on your table or counter to place hot pans on.  Works like a pot holder/hot pad.  I've already used it & it works great!  Brynn received the highest grade in the class!  Great job Brynn!

Christmas Is Coming!

With Christmas on it's way, I was able to FINALLY sort through Halloween decorations that were still out.  I then put them and the Thanksgiving/Autumn decorations back up in the attic & pull down all the Christmas crap.  "Crap" is my word for "stuff" or "things".  I love most of our Christmas decorations and enjoy the look once it's all in place.

The girls all helped with decorating.  This year I wanted to try the tree in front of the window.  That meant moving the couch, which is awkward, but I think I can stand it for the month:)  I love having the tree there!  The girls did a great job decorating it and they plead with me to rearrange the red bows.  But I didn't do it until AFTER I took this picture.  So you get to see the original workmanship!

My mother-in-law made this Nativity set.  For years, she gave us another piece of the set for Christmas until the set was complete.  She is awesome with ceramics and painted every piece herself!

Traditional fireplace decor.  Elsy & Eli are lovin' it up there with Santa Clause (who, by the way, was also the creation of my mother-in-law).  The Snowmen in the middle of the hearth say "Let It Snow" across the front. Mother-in-law made that, too!

Advent Calendar House is a favorite at our house!  It holds candy, jewelry, toys, and any other small prize I can come up with.  The ceramic tree stump is out all year long.  It holds 3 ceramic characters on it and can change for each holiday or season.  Guess who made it???   Yep, my mother-in-law!  Told you she was awesome:)

The grand piano is holding the Jingle Bells Reindeer this year.  Aren't they cute?!  Yah, we have our own ceramic maker.  The snowmen and penguins are ceramic, too.  However,  they were made by my sister-in-law years ago.  She's awesome, too.  But only 2 awesomes.  (not that I'm counting)  Mother-in-law is 22 awesomes.

The upright piano gets the village.

Sorry people, these were all store bought!

See how green & sunny it is outside?  I love those kind of Christmas's the bestest!
SAY NO TO SNOW!

Morning Boost

15 minutes before the girls' alarms start going off, I see movement in Livvy's room.  I went in to investigate:

Me:  Livvy?  Are you awake?
Livvy:  Yep.
Me:  How come you're up so early?
Livvy:  Because my tank was full.
Me:  *Giggle*  What?!
Livvy:  My tank was full!


I haven't laughed so hard in a long time!  The tears in my eyes helped wipe the sleep away.

Me:  Where did you get that from?
Livvy: *Smiling*  From TV on Saturday mornings.

Seriously, feeling the effects of a full bladder will never be the same again:)

Elsy

This is Elsy.  I just can't have one boy elf without making a girl to go with him and the name Elsy just seemed to work for her!  I used the same pattern as Eli and did different colors.

I used to have long hair when I was little & I often wore it in two braids.  So I wanted a girl elf with soft, long, dark brown braids.  I used Simply Soft Caron Chocolate yarn.  Love that yarn!  It took me a few tries (days) of experimenting to figure out how to crochet long strands into a hair piece.  Once that was accomplished, I found I needed a "part" down the center back of her hair to complete the braids.  It's a good thing I sewed her hat on her head so that you can't see the mistakes and struggles I had.  But in the end, it all came together!  I think I need to add ribbon bows to each end of her braids, though.   Elsy's hair was the most challenging AND my favorite part of making her.

I wanted all of the trimming of her shoes, arms, and hat to be different than the main color.  So to help brighten her up I chose white.   I thought it would be fun to add bells to her shoes, too!  I crochet so tight that I decided to make her buttons bigger than Eli's.   Then I found scrap Christmas varigated  yarn to make her hat pom-pom.  It too, is bigger than Eli's.  Next time I'll make it smaller.  With Elsy's head of hair, she tends to be a bit more "top heavy".

Eli and Elsy

Eli the Elf

This is Eddie Eli the Elf.

Why the name change?  When I was first thinking of a name for him, I wanted to call him Eli.  I love that name!  But in the end I decided not to.  I should have.  His story is almost complete and because it begins in Jerusalem, he cannot reasonably have an American name.  By the way, Eddie means, "wealthy guardian".  It just doesn't work for the story!  In the Hebrew language, Eli means, "the Lord is my God".  Which, for his story, is absolutely perfect!

Eddie Eli sits at about 13 inches tall, excluding the hat.  His legs are about 14 inches long, including the shoes.  When his hat is straight, it measures just under 12 inches.  That includes the pom-pom I made & sewed on to the end.  The hat was a bit boring without one.  His only non-yarn accessory is his eyes.  They are supposed to be stitched on.  Hand stitching is NOT my forte.  It took me 5 tries to get his mouth halfway decent!  His hair was fun to learn how to make.  It only took me a couple of tries.  I know how to make a toupee now!  My favorite thing about Eddie Eli is his ears.  LOVE them!

Eddie Eli is a special elf.  He loves to serve others.  He wants to share his story with you.  He's currently writing it all down and making it just right for the holiday.  So stay tuned!

Meet Tommy's Wife....

Betsy!

Man was not meant to be alone.  Tommy just seemed so lonely sitting up there on my stereo, that I was persuaded to make him a wife.  I had fun making her, too!  But, then again, I have too much fun when it comes to crocheting.  These are Pilgrim Turkey's, & I wanted to make her look like a female pilgrim as much as my limited expertise would allow.   I actually had to think a bit on my own, though.  It was only mildly painful & my ears were blowing steam, but I'm happy with the results!

For the bonnet, I used the pattern from the yellow chick I made a couple of months ago.    To add a bit of detail, I hand tied a black ribbon bow & stitched it off center.  I left off the strings used to tie the bonnet under the chin.  It looked too busy with all of the feathers & collar.  

I made eyelashes for her and chose more feminine feather colors.  It wasn't until after I'd sewn on her feathers that I compared her to Tommy.  That's when I noticed that I had chosen 3 colors that were the same as his.  I had even placed them in the same places!  Funny, I think.  'Course, I'm easily amused.

Betsy's beak is slightly smaller (I don't really like the size of Tommy's) and I changed the wattle stitching for a different look.  I like it better.  It's the same one that I used on the turkey door hanger. 

The collar is where I had to just experiment for a few days to see what I liked.  I ended up using half double crochet stitches to make the shells. Then I needed something for her to "cover up" with.  Tommy has a vest.  I looked at girl pilgrim pictures and decided to do a shirt front.  So again, I experimented for a few days.  I ended up making armholes for her wings.  This way it doesn't look like something's just hanging in front.  I wanted to do a white front so that I could add black ribbon for embellishment.  Two hand tied bows did the trick!  I sewed the shirt on between her feathers & the back of her wings.  The collar is tied to the shirt front at the end shells.  So nothing will freely fall off.  I added the same stitches as her collar, to the bottom of the shirt.


Tommy is very happy with Betsy.  And do you know what?  Betsy knows that she's the luckiest turkey in the world!  

And they lived happily ever after!

   

Quiet Door Decor

I have a few Christmas Door Hangers that are made from wood.  They're very cute & I love hanging them on our doors.  But by the time Christmas comes, I'm glad to take them off because I am annoyed at how much the bang around every time the door is opened or closed.   So when I saw this Turkey Door Hanger to crochet, I wanted to try it.  And guess what?  

SSHHHHHHHHHHHHH...... It's Quiet!!

Since making a few holiday decorations, I decided to try a couple more book marks.

The Cherry book mark was a PAIN.  It looks very festive, though.  It reminds me more of mistletoe than cherries.  The cherries made me swear in my head more times than I can count.  Let's just say it's a one timer unless someone pays me to make them one:)

The Sunflower bookmark was quite easy.  I finished it in about an hour and a half.  I learned a couple new stitches.  So next time I should be able to whip it out in a half hour.  The colors are more pale than I was looking for.  But it just gives it a softer look.   It's one of my favorites!

Pretty Pictures

Brynn has been making her own paintings on cardboard.

Here's a couple that she's finished:

Beautiful job, Brynn!

Happy Halloween!

Kara & Emma

Olivia

Brynn

HAPPY HALLOWEEN SQUIRRELS!

Meet Tommy

This is Tommy the Turkey.  He sits at about 8 inches tall.

Legs add another 6 inches.

It took me longer than I thought possible to get his feathers situated on his fanny.

His home is on my stereo in the kitchen.  

It's fun to see him sittin' there!

He was so much fun to put together,

I think I need to make another one:)

Pumpkin Painting