Quilt for Camille

 Child #1: Can you please take me to Target so I can finish Christmas shopping?

Me: Ask your dad. I'm so busy now and completely exhausted. I have no time!

Child #2: Mom, I need more deodorant.

Me: What do you think I am- made of money? There will be some in your stocking.

Child #3: I want a Christmas quilt!

Me: Of course I'll spend a hundred dollars in materials and 20-plus hours during the busiest month of the year to make you a special Christmas quilt, my little princess. Anything for you, sweetheart!

Backstory:

After Audra made her beautiful purple and blue quilt for fair, I decided I wanted to use the same pattern for a Christmas quilt. Our 4H helper, Eileen, was incredibly kind and gave me several yards of Christmas fabric to use. I did put together a Christmas quilt for Ben and me, but I had to admit: It didn't look very Christmas-y. While I am grateful for the kindness and generosity of Eileen, I simply didn't like the colors. To me, it doesn't look like a Christmas quilt, it looks like a winter quilt.

So I was wanting to do a quilt with all the colors I got to choose- pure red, green, and white- the perfect Christmas colors. So, when Camille asked for one, I didn't even blink an eye- I was in.

And, I LOVE it. It's exactly what I wanted to make.

Camille was so sweet when she saw it. She gave me the biggest hug and said, "thank you so much, mom. I love it!"

But, yes, she is absolutely spoiled!

Tiger Blanket

After Claire finished her stuffed animal yesterday, I thought we might be done sewing for awhile.

But, then I decided to pull out this project from my Grandma High.

When we were little, my grandma started making tiger blankets for all the grandbabies. Well, there were 24 of us, so I think she gave up after my oldest sister was born as she is the only one from my family who got one.

Apparently, however, she did cut out all the supplies for another blanket. It was missing a couple of pieces, but somehow I ended up with this extra set of fabric that just needed to be put together- over 40 years from when Grandma cut the fabric.

It's pretty cool that today Claire and I finally finished this blanket. Claire will get to keep it, even though she just wants to turn it into a rug. But, every time I look at it I remember Michelle having the same quilt growing up. It's pretty cool to see how this fabric has now made it down 4 generations to her great granddaughter. I am pretty certain she would be very happy about that.

Easter Banner

It took way longer than it should have, but the girls put together this cute bunny banner.

Project Linus Quilt

We FINALLY finished the Christmas quilt that Audra and Claire have been working on for the past several months, and it has not officially been turned into Project Linus. They did a great job on it!

I Rock!

I am definitely not a crafty person, but I am pretty proud of this concoction. I took an old shirt of Ben's and turned it into a dress for Audra! How cool is that?!?

This is Ben wearing the shirt back in 2007 (doesn't he look so young?):

 This is the shirt re-purposed as a dress for Audra after Ben wore out the elbows and couldn't wear it anymore:

 Claire wanted to get in on the photo action:

 

This is the original idea, which you can find HERE.Sometimes Pinterest does work out.

Admittedly, hers turned out better. But, I took a shortcut and went with the belt because I didn't have elastic thread to do the shirring, and I got impatient (as often happens when I sew), so I went with the belt. I think it still looks cute. I also took a shortcut on the sleeves. I like her ruffle sleeves better, but again I went with a shortcut. I am really not good at sewing at all, so when I had Audra try on the dress and realized the way I cut the shirt made a nice little cuff sleeve, I decided to just leave it.

I wouldn't say that this is a nice church dress or anything, but it is a perfect everyday play in dress- which she happens to need a lot of. Next time I want to try the shirring. I just need Ben to wear out some more shirts!

Projects

I have been having some fun working on some projects this past week. I have been wanting to try some new things, so this week I found some ideas and gave them a go. I think they turned out quite well.

This first one I am super excited about: flannel board stories! A set of Book of Mormon stories cost hundreds of dollars if you purchase them pre-made, but I am making them for about 30-40 bucks. Not super cheap, but definitely cheaper than on-line. Just a flannel board on-line can cost 70 dollars, but I made mine for 4 dollars- not bad, eh? You can make flannel board stories for virtually anything, which is what is most exciting: Old Testament, New Testament, or even fairy tale stories or educational games. The opportunities are endless! 

 Then, I made Audra some more file folder games. I tried to make more educational ones. There are hundreds of file folder games on-line ranging from toddler themed to 6th grade advanced science. What a great resource! The girls love these games, and they are perfect for church or whatever.

 And then, I really got out of my element and made some baby flannel blankets. Whew! That took some courage, but I love how they turned out! So, if you are having a baby anytime soon, now you know what your gift will be. I have LOVED every one of the homemade baby gifts I have gotten, and now I LOVE them even more! Who doesn't love a handmade gift? Well, as long as you are not a type A personality when it comes to perfect seams/stitches. If you are, let me know, because you may not like the quilts I make.

But here are some questions for my more seasoned crafters:

1. Is it worth buying a laminator? Right now I am using contact paper, which works great, but doesn't look as nice. How expensive are laminators with the lamination equipment? Worth the investment or not?

2. The blankets I made are 36 x 45 inches. Do you think I need to tie them at all, or are they small enough to not need it?

3. When I sewed the quilts, the top fabric would bunch slightly and cause there to be little puckers. How do you avoid that?

4. I  bought like 15 yards of flannel from Jo-Anns, and then this week it is on sale for a $1.50 less a yard then last week. Will they reimburse me the difference if I bring in my receipts? I know some stores will do that and some don't- anybody have experience with Jo-Anns in that regard?

Remember My Rants?

Remember when I complained about not being able to do crafts for Relief Society activities? Well, last Saturday we did this:

Isn't that awesome? It's a 12 x12 inch plaque and cost about $18 to make. You could choose from several different temples (this is the Denver Temple). It was a huge hit as well- a lot of people signed up to do them, so we were all really happy with that!

Sew Not a Sewer!

What is it about being a stay-at-home mom that makes me think I should be able to do domestic things? I saw pictures of some really cute dresses my sister made for her daughters, and I thought "If she can do it, I can do it!" (No offense, Steph, but you work full time AND still had time to do that?!? I am way super impressed!)

So a lady from church was selling a bunch of patterns. I e-mailed her and told her I couldn't sew at all, but would like some easy skirts/dresses to try. She went through and found her easiest patterns- no zippers, no buttons.

Audra was super excited to pick out the fabric, and I whipped this up in about 3 hours. Not too bad, huh? Just don't look too closesly at the seams! And, I skipped about 5 steps, but did I really need to press the hem? I didn't think so.

Here is Audra, very much NOT excited to have her picture taken, obviously. She wanted me to turn the TV on and I wouldn't until I took her picture. This is what I get for not turning the TV on immediately.