Gift Giving

I cut back on the number of handmade gifts this year, but I did squeeze a few in. I finally made something for the leading man in my life. These are the Tommy Boxers from Carla C and Jennifer Paganelli using some great vintage plaid fabric.



Both of my nephews received one of these little hats. The pattern is by Leila and Ben.



I had not made my standard pj set for my nephew Ford yet, but when I saw this Urban Circus elephant print I knew it had to be done. I paired it with lotus dots by Amy Butler.

2010 In Review

I've been seeing these all over the blogosphere today, so I thought I'd put one together too. It's amazing to look back at a year of projects.


1. IMG_5370, 2. blue feliz and sophie pant, 3. Framed Selvage Tutorial, 4. Orange Crush 4, 5. pumpkin patch dress 1, 6. darla peasants (3)b, 7. purple avery sweater 2, 8. ava 1, 9. berry sweets 3, 10. berry dress b, 11. P1010029, 12. love bird gracie, 13. P1000330, 14. Owl Vida for A, 15. Easter Analise, 16. Darling Darla Skirt

A Texas Christmas

We are still enjoying our extended stay in Texas through the New Year, so it is a bit harder for me to keep the blog up to date. For the few days surrounding Christmas we headed up to Dallas to celebrate with my sister's family. Avery was able to meet her cousin Ford for the first time. She adored him and referred to him as "my baby Ford" constantly.





You couldn't get the silly grins off of Omie or Opa's face when surrounded by their grandchildren.

Merry Christmas 2010!

Secrets for Santa

I'm not sure what she asked for here since it changes quite often, but lately she's been asking for a teddy bear and a stroller. She switches from calling him Santa to Ho Ho too.

Toddler Christmas Fun

It has been tons of fun watching Avery get into the spirit of Christmas this year. I know this is just the beginning, but she is starting to grasp some of the wonder of the season. I've been able to get her involved in some of the preparation and activities as well. Baking cookies has been a new fun adventure. She was a great sorter of snowflake sprinkles for me (and taste tester too.)



The cookies underwent a grueling inspection process.



We plan on doing some cookie decorating with a bit more hands on time, but these were to be included with Avery's teacher gifts. I grouped some dressed up towels with the baked goods for the gifts. There is a great tutorial over at sew4home if you need to pull together some cute last minute gifts of your own.



Here's Avery at her Christmas performance this morning. I'm not sure if she actually did any of the singing today, but she did enjoy being on the stage. Her amazing teacher is the one next to Avery. Mrs. Jennifer has the most creative style of crafting and teaching for toddlers. We absolutely LOVE her.

Paradise Island

A while back I posted these before and after shots of our kitchen in Oxford. Well, you won't believe the massive improvement I get to display this time. Tada!!



Todd's Dad is an amazingly talented craftsman. This was his gift to us. He creates his own plans and builds with the detail of an engineer. He even built the beautiful wood counter top. If you aren't convinced of his talent yet, check out these corbels. One is store bought the other is hand crafted by Mr. Kim himself. After searching for a match at home depot, we went home with only one corbel. HE MADE THE MATCH!! Before my wonderful husband painted the island, we could tell which one was the duplicate since it had penciled design notes on it. Now, I'm not sure if even Mr. Kim could tell them apart.



Anyways, I hope you (Mr. Kim) can tell how grateful we are. This lovely addition is great for extra storage, more counter space, and it makes a great cutting table for fabric too.

Jesus Loves Me

I finally figured out how to post this, but I haven't figured out how to rotate it. Sorry!

The other day Avery stepped up on a small safe Todd had bought during the black Friday sales. I told her it was like she was on a stage and she should sing something. Here is what I got. You better believe it melted my heart.

Bebe's the Best

So, you've heard me rave about the talents of my sister-in-law Brooke. You've seen the amazing results of her work. But, did you know it just keeps getting better!! And, these are the photos that didn't make the cut for the Christmas cards!! (enough with the bad grammar here.)

Avery was light years easier to work with than the last time, and we really had fun wandering around old town Clinton, MS. Brooke captured Avery's spirit in a few of these. They are treasures.
















This is so Avery. When asked to smell something, she never fails to scrunch up her nose. I think she is actually blowing instead of inhaling, but that's our girl!






I can't leave without sharing the details of Avery's Christmas dress. This is the Feliz pattern by Farbenmix from the Sewing Clothes Kids Love book. The possibilities with this pattern are infinite. The ruffles up the back are not part of the pattern, but you can find examples of them all over Flickr and a detailed sew along here. The fabrics are by Pillow and Maxfield for Michael Miller.

BTW, Brooke is working on her professional photography blog. We're so excited about her work, so I'll pass it along when she's ready.

Little Nephews

I'm addicted to the iron-on transfers for holiday outfits! I made matching outfits for my two handsome nephews with another cutie reindeer. The pants are the same pattern I've used over and over for little boys from Amy Butler's Little Stitches book. The red block fabric is from Jennifer Paganelli, but I'm not sure about the candy canes.




Here's Ford getting a kick out of his outfit.

Christmas Decorations 2010

This is the first year Avery has really been able to be a part of the decorating, so putting up the Christmas tree was tons of fun. Hot cocoa, the wonder of unwrapping each ornament, hanging multiple ornaments from the same spot, and hearing "more, more" filled the evening. Actually keeping the ornaments on the tree is the new challenge. Our living room decorations are pretty traditional. I haven't found the perfect spot for my "time for Christmas" garland, but the large clock on the mirror boasts the saying.


The dining room is all pink and glittery.







Did you even have to guess what would be in the kitchen? It's simply sweet!



You can find the details here on the yarn wreath above the mantel from last year. There is also a yarn wreath tutorial here. The cute vanilla ice cream recipe card in the jingle bell clip is from Heather Bailey.



I hope you're starting off the holidays with joy and celebration!!

Check out the sweet contest that Bless Your Heart (the best shop on ever!!) is hosting on their blog!!!