What I've Been Up To

For the past few months, I have been getting back in to things I really enjoy--sewing and crafting. I've had a little more time now with Brooke and Nathan in preschool for three days a week. The only problem is that my project list keeps growing bigger by the day and at this rate I don't think I'll ever get to the end of it. I've found so many neat things that I want to do and make.

For Christmas, I decided to make some gifts. One gift that I was most excited about completing was a quilt that I started for my mom 13 years ago. Yes, you did read that right. I cut the pieces for it and then put it away for about five years. At that time, I finally sewed it together and then put it away for another five years. When I was pregnant with Brooke and Nathan, I picked it up again and started doing the hand quilting on it. About a month before they were born, I gave up again. So when I knew that Brooke and Nathan would be going to preschool, I was determined to finally finish that quilt. I had told mom about it years ago and shown her a few glimpses of it. She's been asking me for it for years. I don't think she was expecting to get it for Christmas this year.

I'm not exactly sure about the size but I think it is queen sized. All of the quilting on it is hand sewn. I told mom that she better keep it because if I become famous some day it might be worth something. There will never be another quilt made by me. It's definitely a one and only.


When I was finished with it, I didn't know what to do. It had consumed a few hours a day of my life for over a month. At that point, I decided to take on some other fun projects.

I had been planning to make a chair tent for the kids for a while. I had an old white sheet set that I planned on using to make it. I finally got around to tie dying it and then making the tent. It's huge inside. Brooke and Nathan can stand straight up in it. Notice the heart shape tie dye. :-)


I made these pillows for my nieces and nephew.


I made this word cloud for my sister. I typed up a bunch of words that remind me of my sis and then put them into the word cloud.


I was having a difficult time deciding what to give Lenny's teacher this year. I wanted to find something different and personalized. After making my sister's word cloud, I came up with the idea of making one for Lenny's teacher with sight words in it. I was very proud of this one too.


Some things I made but forgot to take a picture. I made some handkerchief purses for Brooke and all three of my nieces. I also made some fleece scarves for all of them. I made candy cane flavored marshmallows from scratch and included hot chocolate for some gifts. That was really neat and fun. I could have kept going but I ran out of time before Christmas. I was having a blast.

The kids made some salt dough ornaments this year to give to both of their Grandma's and to Aunt Kristi. They even cut out the shapes and painted them. We all had a good time with it. I loved watching them.



They also made some applesauce ornaments that smell like cinnamon. Lenny gave those to his teachers and bus driver along with some other goodies.

Just the other day I finished the crayon keepers for the kids that I've been wanting to make for a while. I was especially excited because Kristi gave them all scented crayons for Christmas that they've been wanting to use. I wouldn't let them use them until I finished these.

I used the tutorial at Skip to my Lou. I did not use the cord stop or ribbon that she used. I decided to use a button so that it would hopefully be easier for the kids. I was able to find cute little crayon buttons.


Lenny loves frogs and loves to read. Mom and I were so excited to find this fabric that has frogs all over it and says "Reading is 'toad' ally cool" and "Leap into Learning". Okay, maybe it's a toad and not a frog. Oh well.

Nathan was so excited about his Cars themed crayon keeper.


They all three love them and think it is cool to roll it and unroll it. It's been much easier keeping all the crayons on the table and not the floor now too.

Needless to say, we've been pretty busy being crafty around our house lately. I'm anxious to see how long this lasts. I was very excited to get two gift cards for Joann Fabric for my birthday.

From the Mouth of Three Year Olds

It's funny to hear things come out of your kid's mouths and then realize that they are definitely little sponges. Brooke and Nathan each have new phrases that they use and I know who they got them from. If something doesn't work for Nathan or I tell him no. He will say, "Oh, gosh darn it". Brooke's favorite thing to say these days is "Oh my goodness". I don't realize how much I say these things until I hear them repeated a lot.