Monday, December 31, 2007

Craft a day

I have this plan for my days with Lucy - one craft project/activity per day. So far it's been going pretty well. Thursday we made Shrinky Dinks (remember those??) and then on Friday we made little felt dolls. The Shrinky Dinks were a blast to make - it really is pretty cool to watch them shrink right before your eyes. Does anyone remember the commercials for them? Anyway, mine were all some sort of log cabin block. Lucy's were a bit more creative - spirals, kites, rainbows. Well, at least a 3 year-old's rendition of those things.
Shrinky Dinks

The felt dolls also were a great craft to do. I clearly got into them more than Lucy did! I need to order some nice felt on-line but in the meantime, I bought some from Jo-Ann's - a mix of rayon and wool but they still worked. The yarn pieces are from my yarn-bits stash. Lucy proudly shows our visitors her creative work.
wooden dolls

We made cookies on New Years. The cookie cutters were mine from childhood. They're really fun to use since they imprint an image on the cookie. It brings back a lot memories for me.
Sugar (!) cookies

Today I think we might try marshmallows. A few others have made them here and here. I'm going to use this recipe.

Oh, and I made a skirt for Lucy yesterday - she helped so that was our craft for the day. I'm not sure how long I can keep this up but it certainly has been fun.

Friday, December 28, 2007

Christmas

Well, Christmas has come and gone. It was a pretty good one for us despite not going home to Oklahoma. We went to Brooklyn to be with my brother and his wife and enjoyed their 9 foot tree! Lucy was really into the whole Santa concept so she was quite excited in the morning when she saw that the stockings were full and that there were even more gifts for her under the tree! Lucy asked every "Mall Santa" (Lucy's term, not mine) for a Dora doll with a pink shirt. Despite my hesitancy to give into the whole Dora thing, Santa complied and had one of his elves find the doll in Oklahoma City as they were sold out in Jersey! Of course, Lucy squealed with delight when she opened it and said something like, "See, mommy, Santa did know which one I wanted." Sigh.

Here are just a few Christmas pictures:

Christmas Stockings
The holiday stockings I made for everyone. My first attempts at machine applique. Lucy's was the first and the most rudimentary. By the time I got to Mitch's I got better. Sorry Harper. I used "Cool Girls Quilt" by Linda Lum DeBono for guidance on the applique part.


My pink Christmas tree
I love this pink tree. It's actually a Barbie tree I picked up a few years ago at Michael's. The ornaments are a mix of vintage, Martha Stewart Kmart, and Urban Outfitters. And of course, the "skirt" is Heather Bailey.

Can you find the pickle?
Can you find the pickle?

Lucy making cookies with Uncle Harper
Lucy making Holiday cookies with her Uncle Harper. The cookie recipe is from our preschool - we've been making the same cookies for 32 years!

Cheese!
Lucy loves her Fisher Price Digital Camera. It was her last gift on the eighth night of Hanukkah and has been a huge hit. She's actually pretty good at it. I'll post some of Lucy's pics next week.

As for me, I got exactly what I wanted: a 24 Watt Ott Lite. I left the flier with huge arrows in red ink on Mitch's desk and kindly reminded him almost daily. I was a bit disappointed on Christmas Day as it wasn't under the tree but when we got home, there it was on the stairs in all its loveliness waiting for me. It's wonderful. I don't know how I ever functioned with out it!

And Santa (me) got me two other books: How to Make Books by Esther Smith and Tricia Guild Pattern. Both are fabulous and make me dream of greater, prettier, craftier things....

Monday, December 17, 2007

Projects

I have actually been busy with projects despite the fact that I haven't posted any. I am currently at work on stockings for everyone and will post those closer to Christmas so as not to spoil the surprise for a few family members. In the meantime, below are pics of two handbags I made, both from the Amy Butler Frenchy Pattern.

This bag is a kit at the shop:
Frenchy Bag

This bag was a gift for one of Lucy's friends:
tasty frenhy bag

Here's a picture of Stash and Dash bags I made for Mitchell's grandmother:
Stash and Dash Bags

Sunday, December 16, 2007

Cousins


Cousins, originally uploaded by stitchingpink.

I love this picture. I don't do too much matchy-matchy stuff but I couldn't resist buying Lucy and her cousin, Morgan, these very cute winter pajamas. Lucy was so excited to see Morgan in the same pj's! Morgan adores Lucy and will go anywhere, do anything Lucy wants and Lucy is happy to have her cousin tag along. It makes me so happy that she loves her cousin and that she wants to see her. Sometimes Lucy will look at a picture of Morgan and quietly say "I miss my cousin Morgan." It melts my heart.

Back to writing thank-you notes from my birthday!

Oh, and check out angry chicken for some really kicky holiday gift tags. I think that you could actually use them all thru the year....

Friday, December 14, 2007

bummer

This is a quick post. I just read that Blueprint Magazine is no longer going to published after the next issues. Ugh. I loved this magazine. It was perfect with great photos, ideas, colors. It seemed that it was really picking up a following so I'm not sure what was behind the decision. Personally, I think they should get rid of Body and Soul - it's just plain boring.

Anyway, I guess that the blog will continue but it's just not the same.

Bummer.