gifts 2011

UPDATE: Hate when I realize a month later that I've typed a post and not posted it or ever remembered that I typed it at all. This one should just go down as long and boring now that I reread it. Oh well. It's done and it makes me look like I actually keep up with the blog a little bit more. ;)


This year, to be economical as well as thoughtful, I made many of our Christmas gifts. I'm from a family of 4 as well as my husband and we also have 14 nieces and nephews! And grandparents and tutoring students- just makes for a lot of gifts!


For my tutoring students, I made personalized clipboards. These turned out great and didn't take much work at all. I spray painted the clipboards purple and then cut out the names with yellow vinyl using my Silhouette. Then I sprayed a coat of glaze/spray lacquer on the clipboards and while it was still wet, sprinkled glitter from about 4 feet above so it would land randomly. I think they're precious and my 10 year old girls loved them!


















This gift was one of Henley's "pocket gifts" this year. A Christmas tree shirt. Just cut out a tree, used Heat-N-Bond to make it sticky. Ironed that on, the got to using the sewing machine to sew on the tree. Whew- that was TOUGH! Haven't figured out how to sew backwards or just turn off the feed dog (the thing that automatically pulls the fabric forward?) so I did a lot of using the backwards stitch feature. Then I sewed on a couple red/brass buttons with gold thread. Cute, huh? [Totally being lazy by not re-uploading this picture rotated correctly.]














My dad, also known as Pop around these parts, is a meticulous breakfast eater. A bowl of cereal, an orange, a banana, a cup of coffee- probably in that same order, every day, always, always. He eats at the same spot at the table with a dishtowel in his lap. We made him some dishtowels to make each day great. I cut each design out with the Silhouette and weeded out the actual design so the outside was left. Then I stuck that on some flour sack towels from Walmart and painted a base coat over it. Left it to dry mostly and then, Henley came along and painted over it. Mostly it just added color to the base color. Looks cute and she loved helping. We did the design on both ends of the dish cloth and then I sewed another layer to make it sturdier with a zigzag stitch.




















This project is the most sentimental one for me. I had worked and worked up to the last minute to give this to my mother-in-law who ADORED her grandkids. She has my 2, two adopted from Russia from another family and 3 biological and 6 adopted and one in heaven and 2 more on the way from Ukraine from another family. Whew- that's a bunch. I made this from Pinterest inspiration but knew I would have to modify because of the number of kiddos! I painted a canvas green and waited for that to dry overnight. I cut the letters out with vinyl and applied them. Then I sprayed the whole thing generously with spray glaze. I was worried- the spray clouded up and it looked like i had ruined it but it dried clear. I took 20 clothespins- we could be adding more, right? And I glued buttons and scrapbook paper and ricrac and gold glitter glue on them. Then I glued the clothespins on with E6000 glue. It turned out really cute. So sad that she never saw it- she passed away the night before Christmas Eve. We ended up using at the memorial service and people loved looking at all the adorable kids on it. It hangs at the family ranch now and will be something special for me to remember her legacy everytime I look at it. I know she would have LOVED it.

counting my blessings

I think I figured out a few reasons why I feel like writing on my blog.

1. This whole staying at home and talking just to my kids 95% of the time leaves me having LOTS of little conversations in my head. Or I go to Wal-mart or the playground and talk a little tooo much (aka, I'm the psycho-starved-for-conversation mom) to complete strangers. Better to type them to no one than have them with random people.

2. My poor sister has to remind me to send a text with pics of the chickies- she's dying to see what's up with them and what kind of crazy notions they get into.

3. I like to document my little projects I work on at naptime or after bedtime.

There. And if no one is reading, it's ok. Just for me. And my sanity.

Here's a little naptime project from yesterday. I needed a little visual reminder right in front of my sink. Sometimes, I'm washing bottles and cleaning up from dinner and I get to staring out the window, having a huge grouch-fest in my brain.
"Why am I the only one around here who washes the bottles?"
"If I load the dishwasher, couldn't someone else unload it?"
"Why can't Mia drink 3 10 ounce bottles instead of 6 5 ounce bottles?"

And on and on. Some days I'm in a good mood- husband brought me gorgeous pink roses, potty training went great all day, scored some cool finds for 10 bucks-and the grouching isn't so bad.

AND come on- I'm a stay at home mom! I live in a comfy house near family and friends! I had a delish dinner! My babies are in their beds, safe and happy and healthy with full bellies to sleep a good night's sleep. My life is so wonderful. But those dishes just get me.

This is what I made to help me remember. I finally bought some vinyl to play with on my Silhouette. Oh, how much fun it is! Basically, I'm just learning the ropes right now. This was going to be on a plate but I messed up the actual vinyl letters and decided to use the surrounding vinyl as a stencil.

Basically, 3 steps.
1. Stuck the vinyl to the window. Smoothed out as much air as possible. [NOTE: I am in no way a perfectionist. I am a get-it-done kind of girl. My projects do reflect this quality of myself. I realize this and move on. Hope you can, too.] I also had to stick on the circles and ovals in the O, B, E and G.


















2. Painted with yellow acrylic paint over the stencil. I did two layers.


















3. Peeled off the vinyl. I freaked a little because paint seeped under the vinyl and it looked a mess, but by using a toothpick, I was able to scape it off really easily. I cleaned it up and was left with this.



















I like it because it will remind me how blessed I am and to quit griping in my head about the stinkin' (literally) bottles. And when I get sick of it, it will easily scrape off. Love. I plan to put one on the bathroom mirrors too. And yes, it is backward when you look at the window from outside. I don't care. I'm such a rebel. ;)