Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has a wonderful and safe holiday! I'll be back in the new year!

And yes, I did get around to using LollyChops wonderful cookie bag idea. (Cookies were not baked yet when the pics were taken).

Super cute and easy!

The Only Knit for Christmas...

...goes to my niece Hannah! As you may recall, I started this blanket forever ago using yarn scraps. I then had to go to Ravelry asking for scraps there, and then onto my friends to beg for their scraps. After all that, I still only had what looked like a doll blanket instead of a lap blanket as I was hoping. But Hannah loves her "babies" and since I can't seem to knit her anything that fits right, I thought a dolly blankie would be perfect. (But she's getting other toy loot just in case!)

I love how pictures make blankets look gigantic. This blanket is just the opposite.

And it seems nothing would be complete from me without an owl or a skull applique. She's 3, so the the skulls can come later. =)

Bring Me Some Twiggy Reindeer

My snowmen seemed to go over well in the holiday decor exchange. They were stolen quite a few times (that's a good thing). Another item that was stolen a lot was Twiggy Reindeer, who is now living in my home. Twiggy is from Pottery Barn and comes in a set of three. I got the small size, which is actually quite large (about 5-6 inches tall). Here is the set:

Aren't they great? I love how their antlers grow leaves as they get bigger.

Here is a teeny version for the tree. Equally as sweet.

And then the mother of all twiggy reindeer are these bad boys. So cool! I wonder how much they'll go on sale after the holidays. I might have to get me one...or twelve. =)

Holiday Exchange: Sweet Snowmen

At work we do a holiday "ornament" exchange, which is actually more like holiday ornaments and decor. Last year I knit this little sweater ornament, but this year I couldn't find anything that I wanted to knit. As I was searching online for non-knit inspiration, I came across this funny vintage snowman bottle on Etsy (actually, it was through a blog first, but I can't recall which one...sorry!).

This is from littlethings1's shop.

I just love the vintage quality to this little guy. However, I wasn't about to go out and scour the antique stores for supplies (that's what I call "Christmas laziness"), so I made a slightly more contemporary version using existing supplies.

They're heads are made from paper clay. Once it dried, I painted them white, painted on their face, put spray adhesive on, and sprinkled with glitter. For those of you who know me, you know I went the extra mile when you see I used glitter...I HATE glitter. I always feel like I need to be powerwashed after using that stuff.

I also used a little glitter inside the glass and then filled the jar with polyfil. I used sticker letters for the front of the glass jars, which are from the Dollar Store like 10 years ago! The rest is just pipe cleaners, pom poms and hot glue. I like how they turned out.

FujiMama, Come On Down!

FujiMama, you are the winner of the 2nd annual birthday giveaway! Yay!!! I'm very excited for you. I'll be emailing you separately to get your info so that I can get your prizes in the mail ASAP! Congrats!

And to everyone who played and shared your favorite yummy birthday treats, thank you! Here's a little Dexter reindeer love just for you! I do believe my dog is Forrest Gump when it comes to taking pictures. I have multiple shots with his eyes closed. But I actually find those shots cuter sometimes.

I made the reindeer antlers from felt. He hates them...but loves to chew on them. I think he thinks it's a soft bone.

LollyChops = Christmas Angel!

OK, aside from being an all around swell gal and Dexter's newly adopted Aunt, LollyChops has again moved up in the ranks to "Christmas angel." The adults in my family don't buy gifts for one another, but I still like to bring a little treat along when we go a wassaling (ok...traveling from house to house). I've made cookies, brownies, and breads in the past, and they're typically a hit. But last year, LollyChops offered up a wonderful hot chocolate recipe and cute bag printables. If you can't remember, here are the ones I made last year:

Super cute, right?

This year, I was planning on going back to cookies, but then the age-old question (for me, anyway) of how to package them created a dilema. Tins are nice, but not that easy to travel with (too bulky). Boxes are pretty, but the cookies slide around. Cellophane (sp?) bags are cute, but I can never find the right size bags...either too big or too small. And just when I'm about to give up, Christmas Angel LollyChops comes up all a glow with these sweet treat carriers, complete with printables. Perfect timing!

Ain't LollyChops great?

Holiday Ornament/Decoration Swap

This year at work, I participated in my first holiday ornament/decoration swap. It was one where you open a present according to a number and then get to steal what other people opened. I never realized just how much strategy I would need to employ, but in the end I do believe I made out like a bandit!

First up, my ornament. I knit up this sweet little cabled sweater and scarf. (Here's the pattern if you want to make your own!) I made the hanger by twisting some wire together. And then I hung a little Popsicle stick off the bottom which reads "Baby, it's cold outside." (The stupid flash makes that impossible to read in the picture.)


My pal Jess, who you might remember from past Craft Swaps/Challenges, walked away with my ornament. Although she was clinging tight to a beautiful Antropologie ornament for a while. I hope this was a fair exchange (but who the heck can compete with anthro!).


And now for my stealing reward...a sweet, handmade snow bunny! Sigh...I love her.


She was made by my other pal, Stacey. And what is that I see...Amy Butler fabric on the toosh of this hopper? Why yes it is. It's like Stacey knew it was coming home with me!

Want to make your own bunny? The pattern can be found in the Softies book. Send me a pic if you decide to make one!

A Gift for Hannah

Now that the holidays are done and the gifts have been given, it's time to share what I did with my December. First up, a little felt house for Hannah. I saw something similar to this on Anthropologie for an extreme amount of money ($7o something???) and thought, I can do this myself. Anthro's included bears inside, so I followed suit, but added a little Goldilocks, too. And then I gave Hannah a Goldilocks and the Three Bears book to go with it.

I fashioned each of the bears off of Hannah's family. Papa Bear is my brother--complete with goatee and Bears shirt (Chicagoans). Mama Bear is my sister-in-law Jenn, who is big into belly dancing. Baby Bear is my nephew Trent, who loves baseball and is a White Sox fan. While Hannah isn't blonde, I couldn't make Goldie a brunette. I just hope Hannah can pretend that it is her. =)

The house is sewn together felt and lines with pretty fabric inside. The outside is all decorated by needle felting.

Here's what the Anthro house looked like:

Merry Christmas to You!!!

I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday. All the best to you and your family!

p.s. I found this picture on Flickr and couldn't pass it up! A reminder: don't eat yellow snow!

A Lot of Hot Chocolate

First things first: Merry Christmas Eve!!!

Usually I bake little goodies to give as gifts for Christmas, but ever since I turned gluten-free, baking is no fun. I mean really, what's the point if you can't lick the bowl! But thanks to LollyChops, I was able to whip up some homemade hot chocolate (completely gluten-free!) AND put them in pretty packages designed by Lolly herself. Here are the ingredients (and salt, not pictured):

Lolly made great templates that worked as tiny packaging all on it's own, but I wanted to go a little bigger. I cut out the template into two pieces and glued them to the bag (directions going on the back of the bag).

I finished them all up with pretty bows and yarn. They'll be headed to the first group of people later this evening.

With that, I hope you have a wonderful day. No crying and pouting...SANTA'S COMING!!

Merry Christmas Baby J

On my side of the family, we just do presents for the kids. Usually that means just my niece and nephew, but this year my step-sister will be in town with her husband and two-year-old son. I knit up this little snowman hat as a gift for him. The snowman is made of store-bought felt and needle-felting. You can't really tell from the pics, but his little carrot nose sticks off the hat.

I'll share more Christmas gifts in the coming days!

"Socks" the Snowman Project

My apartment is looking a little (OK, a lot!) sparse this holiday season since all of our holiday decorations are locked up in storage. I really thought I'd be alright with skipping a year of the tree, stockings, Santas and jazz, but I was wrong. I could tempt fate and venture forth into said storage space, but as my husband says, "the whole thing wreaks of effort." Still, I need a little holiday something something. Enter, "Socks" the Snowman Project.

I don't know where Socks originated...I think it came from some magazine my mom had back copies of such as Woman's Day, Better Homes and Gardens, or one of those. All I know, is I made the first version of socks about 10 years ago when Shane and I were living in our college apartment. It was 500 sq. feet, and our first year of living (in sin) together. We couldn't fit ourselves in there, let alone a tree, so I made Socks as our very first decoration. Now that our living situation has come full circle and we're back in an apartment (temporarily this time), I think Socks needs to come full circle, too.

You may have the luxury of garlands, wreaths and even gasp real snowmen, but that doesn't mean you couldn't still use Socks in your home, too. Or he makes a great gift...and is inexpensive to make! So let the tutorial roll:

First, the supplies. Above shows just about everything you need for your own Socks: rice, a measuring cup, a funnel (or really good aim), a clean white midcalf sock, a clean holiday sock, Polyfil stuffing, three rubberbands, two twigs, scissors, a strand of yarn, pinking shears, a glue gun and sticks, and embellishments (not pictured) such as buttons, puffy paint, needle felting materials, etc.

Pour 1.5 cups (give or take) into the bottom of the sock using the funnel (or impeccable aim).

Wrap a rubberband around the sock tying off the snowman's bum.

It should look like this (above).

Using the funnel, pour in about a 0.5 cup of rice. On top of the rice, use the Polyfil stuffing to create the snowman's belly. Tie off this section with another rubberband.

Pour a 0.25 cup of rice into the top section and then more Polyfil to make the head. Tie off the head with another rubberband and cut off the excess socks.

With the holiday sock, cut off the top 3 -4 inches, making sure to leave the elastic in tact (actually, your scissors shouldn't be anywhere near the elastic :)

Use a piece of yarn to tie off the top of the hat. To make it pretty, try cutting with pinking shears.

Now, the fun part...bring Socks to life. Put on his hat!

I put Socks' face on by needle felting (no, not voodoo), put you can use anything you want...puffy paint, glued on felt, buttons, sequins, blood...oh, wait. Skip that last one.

Snip itty bitty holes in the Polyfil part of the belly section to add twig arms. Your twigs should stick right in, but if they're saggy, put some hot glue on the ends and pinch them in (get ready to burn your fingers). Add buttons or other embellishments, and Socks is all yours!

Sneak Peek

This is one of those gifts that will have to wait until after the holidays to post, but I thought I'd give you a sneak peek at some supplies and sketches, at least. Oh, and when I was working on this, I was home while my husband was at work. I picked up the movie P.S. I Love You that he had put on a hold for me at the library (a surprise since I knew nothing about this movie). Yeah, while this was a really great movie, I don't at all recommend it as a crafting background movie. I balled for about two straight hours watching it. I ended up putting the crafts aside to avoid getting tears and runny nose drippings on it. I think my niece (the giftee) will appreciate that. Although, being only 2 years old, I imagine she'll have her own tears and snots to share with this gift at some point. =)

Christmas Cuties

OK, we're weeks away from Christmas, so let the holiday posts begin! I tend to be a bit of a Scrooge around the holidays, but this year I seem to be feeling better. I even listened to Christmas music in the car the other day...and sang along! (Someone will need to revive my husband at his point because he's passed out in disbelief from that statement.) What's been helping (besides wine and Reese's Pieces) is seeing what crafts and decorations other people are making. I've been so inspired that I have mutliple projects in progress. But here's the kicker...I can't share all of them yet. Boo! But what I can share, I'll definitely post. And what I can't, will get posted when the holidays are done. In the meantime, please email me/or comment with anything you're working on. I'd love to hear about them!

Here's one Christmas craft that I'm really loving right now. I found these on be cheery's Flickr pages, and I'm hoping she sells them in her Lollipop Works Etsy shop.