Friday Photo

There is some Christmas doll making going on over here. This doll is from a fun little book about making dolls from fleece. So very soft and cuddly. She and her sister are soon to be shipped off to my two little nieces. I think they will be well received!

The Glamorous Tightwad

I have long been addicted to being a tightwad. You know it's bad when your mother-in-law stages an intervention. Part of my therapy has been to force myself to buy bread and salad dressing even though it cost considerably more than making it yourself. My progress has been inspiring, at least to myself it has.

Well, my new venture with buying stuff instead of making it myself like the proverbial Little Red Hen has taken a serious hit. A slam into a brick wall hit in the form of this book. Do It Gorgeously by Sophie Uliano, also author of Gorgeously Green and the website and blog, www. Gorgeously Green .com, has undermined all my progress. Her focus is on making your own products (think Pine Sol and insect repellent) to save money, be more "green", and reduce the toxins in our homes. I am hooked! So far I have made:

Green Goddess Washing Powder. Super easy to make and use.

Gentle Facial Exfoliating Scrub. Oatmeal and lavender, can't stop using it!

and All Purpose Cleaner. Makes cleaning the stove and counter easy and quick. I also tried her recipe for Best Ever Cough Syrup, Rinseless Car Wash,

and Gorgeously Green Purifying Green Clay Mask.

Up next is Chamomile and Aloe Cleansing Cream to go with Geranium and Apricot Moisturizer, Regenerative Floral Beauty Balm, Vanilla Body Cream, Whitening Peppermint Toothpaste,

Cough Drops and Citrus Furniture Polish. There's a bit of everything in here.

There is an initial cost on some of the recipes, especially the beauty products, since they use essential oils but they last for a long time. I have my list and will be purchasing things as the budget allows. So, here's to my new venture as a glamorous tightwad. I like the sound of that already!

Christmas Sewing

I've been working on my Christmas sewing projects. One has been in the works for a while and others I just started yesterday. For several years now I have given handmade things to everyone in our family, the kids usually find a mix of handmade and store-bought/vintage gifts tucked under the tree. Every year it's the handmade things that bring me the most joy to give. There is really nothing like seeing someone you love open something you produced with your own hands, if they love it and use, all the better. The scarf and hat sets I knitted for the kids two years ago have seen more use as leashes in their favorite game of "Dog and Owner" than for warmth, but at least they use them for something.

A set of potholders with a matching dishtowel are all ready to be packaged up and sent off to my sister along with some fleece dolls for her little ones. My mother's gift is almost done, can't say what that is, she'll find out! A sister of mine who has a birthday today has something that is halfway finished. The fabric for a darling stuffed elephant is waiting to be cut, that's for Sweet Baby Girl. Last night I even squeaked in a handmade treat for myself.

If you are thinking of making some things for people you love this Christmas, give it a try. Choose something simple that uses materials and skills you already possess and you will find more joy than ever before in giving gifts this year!

Swaddling Blankets

Last week I made these blankets for a friend, I had to wait until after her shower to post them. They are great! Each blanket is one and a quarter yard of flannel so they are square. Much bigger than standard receiving blankets, they are designed to swaddle the baby snuggly like the nurses at the hospital can magically do. On each blanket I appliqued three circles of the contrasting fabric for decoration. What I couldn't believe was how hard it is to find flannel for a boy, but I really like this combination. I'm thinking I need a set for my little one who hopefully will arrive by the Fourth of July. Of course, I'll need to make a boy set and a girl set, all the more fun!

Easter Dresses and Little Girls

Here are my girls in their one-year Easter dresses. Oh my, they are darling if I do say so myself. And I do, quite often. I took this photograph as soon as we came home from church Sunday to document that I finally finished their Easter dresses, and it only took me one year!

You see, last year months before Easter, I began thinking about their dresses. Mentally I reviewed all the fabric in my stash and when I came to this piece I had a vision of their dresses. This fabric was purchased before they were even born from the $1 per yard rack at a local store. Originally it was going to be something for me but I was nagged by fears of looking like I was wearing a circus tent. So it languished in my fabric stash awaiting it's destiny. When the inspiration struck I immediately bought some soft cotton yarn and started on the little sweaters. Big Sister's sweater is the first one I designed myself! As soon as they were finished (which wasn't very soon) I started cutting out the dresses. The week of Easter they were still in pieces by my sewing machine waiting for an opportunity to be made into little frocks.

Three days before Easter, my sweet Mamaw passed away. She loved Easter so I've always envisioned her cooking a big Easter dinner for Jesus in heaven just after she arrived. So that Saturday, instead of dying eggs, we were driving eleven hours down south for her service. Driving eleven hours with five small children isn't my idea of a good time but we made it. It wasn't until the drive back that I begged my husband to let me out on the side of the road with the baby so I could walk home by myself. I was proud of my perseverance.

Anyway, we quickly got back into the swing of thing with spring and summer flying by and our days were spent enjoying swimming and our cute new baby. Finally, when the realization that Easter was upon us again, I dug out the unfinished dresses and put them together just in time. They still fit the girls and they were delighted with them. They twirled and skipped around, took the sweaters on and off and were generally so ladylike. This photograph is proof of that!

Bluebird of Happiness

I love this little bird. A few miles from my home there is a glass and pottery studio that makes these blue glass birds. You would be riveted to watch the artist blow the glowing red glass, then shape it with iron tongs. If the area set up for watching wasn't also used to showcase hundreds of blown glass figurines, we would go there more often. "Bull in a china shop" doesn't really describe what it would be like to have my brood milling around the showroom. But once when my second was still in a stroller, we did go see the artists making the birds. It takes them maybe 3 minutes to make each bird. The whole time I was sure a blob of molten glass was going to fall on their arm or foot. Of course, they are experts who are very good at not melting off appendages with molten glass. Such a relief!

The first time I saw one of these birds was in the one room log cabin we stayed in on our honeymoon. It was a very old cabin that the inn-keepers had purchased and moved onto the property. Perched in a small window, high in the wall next to the fireplace were two bright blue glass bird that glowed when the rising sun shone through the window. Eight years later for our anniversary, I found one of the birds at an antique mall and bought it for my husband. Now it sits on my kitchen window to remind me of eight sweet years and a thousand moments that have flown past. It reminds me of how many things are in my life right now to bring me happiness. Things like my sixth child growing in my belly, a wonderful midwife who will help us have our baby at home, a very wonderful chiropractor who made my hip stop hurting (big happiness there), a home filled with laughter and squabbling from siblings who are learning to live together, a husband who loves me, even likes me, days where I can't seem to do anything productive but it's still alright, a bag of really good chocolate chips that the kids don't know about, another bag of pecans cracked and shelled by my dad who is one of my special friends, a beautiful pink journal from the Valentine's package my sweet mom sent me, a brother who turns 16 tomorrow(!!!), really I could go on and on. What a blessing to have blessings that bring happiness! What is bringing you happiness today?

A Little Bit of Pampering!

Recently, as I was perusing my favorite creative blogs I follow I came across a post about pampering yourself. Unfortunately I can't remember which blog it was, blame it on lack of sleep lately or what, but I can't for the life of me pinpoint who wrote about taking a little extra care of yourself during these long winter months. One of her ideas I already loved was homemade herbal bath salts. I've given this a Christmas gifts in the past, paired with a small cotton bag to fill and drop in the hot bath. I was right at the tail end of my last batch so it was time to replenish the supply.
It's so simple and pretty in a big jar. All you need is a box of rock salt from the grocery store and some dried herbs you like. The batch combines lavender, milk seed thistle and crushed juniper berries. Just mix it all together and store by your tub waiting for the stars to align so you can actually have a long soak in a hot bath. I have a small cotton bag I sewed to fill for my baths but you can pick up little muslin bags in the craft section, they are in the tea supply section of our natural food store where I stock up on herbs. You really have to try this, it is so lovely in jar, that's half the treat of it.

And as you can see, it's irresistible to anyone, no matter their age!

Snack Mats

For me, inspiration comes from many places, books being in the top 5 places for acquiring some good old inspiration for handmade things. On my last trip to the library (by myself even!) I came across a beautiful book called Linen, Wool, Cotton , a lovely book of sewing projects written by an equally lovely Japanese woman. Like so many others, she loves to work with natural materials and out of that passion came this book. There are 25 wonderful project to make for your home and to wear, I could be in serious trouble if I happened across a bunch of linen, cotton or wool that needed a destiny.

One project caught my eye in that it was small and could be put together quickly, also it was just the thing my kids would enjoy using. Her snack mats are made from a gorgeous white fleece with three elegant french knots in the bottom corner so mine don't evoke quite the same spirit but they are very much loved now at afternoon snack time so what can I say. Besides, anything white around my little darlings isn't white for long. The girls' are made from a small flour sack trimmed with thrifted lace and the boys' are made from the remains of their dad's old shirts that were repurposed into Christmas PJ bottoms.

I embroidered their initials on them since my little men aren't into lace. Now, my machine isn't made to do embroidery so I will show you the nice "T" I made with the button hole function and not show the "D" I made with the button hole function. They were all gratifyingly delighted when they awoke from their naps to find snacks waiting on their own snack mats. By the way, those chocolate cookies are my favorite and every time I make them I eat way too many. Those and rice crispy treats. Just keep them away from me, I have no self control!

A White Christmas and The Man Mug

On Christmas morning we awoke to a winter wonderland. During the night as Santa made his yearly trip to visit all the good boys and girls, snow fell on our part of the world. I can't remember ever having a white Christmas so it was as exciting for me as it was for the kids. Growing up in the south doesn't give too many opportunities for snow on Christmas. After breakfast the kids bundled up to tromp and play and of course, eat snow. My favorite way to enjoy snow is on the warm side of a window with a mug of hot cider. That is precisely what I did.

Speaking of mugs, every year I hunt for a Man Mug for Joe and this year I think I hit the nail on the head. It just happened to fit my requirements for the ideal Christmas gift, handmade. The mug below was made by a friend of mine in her pottery studio and it is the perfect size and weight for a man. In fact he was so inspired by the manliness, he made himself a manly coaster for it to sit on. Oh, and if you could see inside the mug you would see a yummy homemade marshmallow floating in the hot cocoa. Just the thing to warm someone who comes in from a snowy walk with a companionable four year old boy. The marshmallow recipe is coming up soon!