church Cruise Party Decorations

 Our church had a Valentine Dance. The girl who was in charge chose a Tropical Cruise theme. She and another girl who were in charge of decorating for the dance totally outdid themselves. I had to share pictures of their amazing decorations!
Above there are sand dollars in sand with Sharpies so you could write a Valentine message to give to your Valentine.

 I have never been on a cruise, but the idea here is that there are lots of booths set up with good "for sale".

 Because this was a dance for families, meaning every age, I was a little apprehensive about these items getting touched and handled. Everything worked out, though. Maybe because everyone was having so much fun dancing!

 We had a professional photographer taking pictures of all of the families.

 Here are a bunch of props that you could wear in your pictures.

 This was a little "spa" set up with little towel animals. Insane attention to detail!

 These ladies built all of this! I was just floored by all they did on a relatively small budget.

 Look at the banana dolphin coming out of the jello ocean!

I was in charge of the invitations, and this is what I came up with. I tried to make it look like a ticket.

Christmas Ornaments

 Each year I make all of the kids personalized ornaments. This year I was unwell and did not have a chance to accomplish this tradition. Although it is sad, Zoe made ornaments for everyone. She spent so much time on them and they turned out wonderfully.
Shawna got a felt onesie with pink on one side and blue on the other. For Stephen she made a yarn beard with little pieces of dry food glued into it. She came up with it on her own and it is seriously so hilarious!
She also made Liam a wooden robot and Lydia a felt and glitter crown (not pictured).

 Grandpa Sam got a snowman. Grandma Sam got a lovely beaded bracelet. Aunt Laura got a bow for her hair. Aunt Buzz got some handmade earrings. Uncle Richard got an felt ornament in the shape of a gallon of milk, white on one side, chocolate on the other.

 I got a Santa hat with a little description about how I was like Santa. She said that it seems impossible that he can visit every house in one night and fly around the world. Then it went on to say that I did impossible things everyday: taking care of 4 kids, keeping the house clean and feeding everyone. It was the sweetest card EVER! Especially because I was feeling the opposite of what she described. What an angel!

Yarn mustache for Dad, who also got a nice card.

Stego-Pedaled Airscrew Helio Saurus drawing

My dad drew this awesome picture. Love it. Reminds me of a Miyazaki film.

Handmade gifts: from Texas Sams

These Harry Potter inspired potions were a gift from my brother's family in Texas. They all collaborated on the names and looks of the potions. They are beautifully done and I hope to be able to fashion some great display for them.
Each was filled with candy, some of which corresponded to the name of the potion. The Ingenious Elixir had smarties in it. The Exploding Olio had pop rocks. I guess they must have been eating a lot of that Elixir because this gift WAS ingenious!
This picture on their blog might give a better view.

Handmade gifts: Felix

 Felix is totally on a Toy Story kick so the kids decided to draw him some pictures. Liam drew one with all the Toy Story crew. Felix pointed to each one and knew exactly who they were. He was very excited about it.

Zoe drew a picture of, as you can see, Felix the Cowboy. His hat and little belt buckle says, "Felix" and he is holding a sippy cup. Felix loves this one as well.
We framed them both and put them up in his room. I really like these pictures!

I LOVE these!

I am DYING to make these. They are so gorgeous and look relatively straightforward. I need some peacock blue wool felt for the background and am having troubles finding some.

Past LCB

Sorry this is a little behind the times, but this is what I gave the girls for the lcb back in July. Hand stained, wood-burned, and mod-podged. I also made them leaf presses so they could decorate their own stuff.

Hand made

I hope Melissa doesn't mind me posting, but I wanted to show what we made for Christmas as well. After all, Melissa did help me sew it together, and I am so grateful for her help. When it comes to sewing I am totally lost. (I'm just the concept person, I can't always execute these crazy ideas I come up with by myself.)

We made a cloth book for Ian's kids (--and since we went to all the trouble, for our own kids as well.) We bought these toys and took pictures of them in various places, doing various activities and wrote a story to go along with the pictures. The story is that the toys run away from the store to explore the outside and have adventures, but when it begins to get cold, they decide they need a home. So they get in special boxes and send themselves to two boys they know of who will take care of them and love them, and that way the toys can always be together.

This is the photo that goes on the last page, which personalized it a little for the boys. I think they enjoyed seeing themselves in a book.

We printed it on printable fabric, that works with any inkjet printer, and then sewed it all together. It's even machine washable! (You can find this stuff at Joanne's or even Walmart)

Handmade Christmas

Wooden Blocks with initials and Christmas Tree holder from Dad Sam

Each year, while growing up, we received a handmade wood toy or decoration. My father is an amazing self-taught wood worker and is one of the most creative people I know. He would come up with unique toys each year, that fit our tastes and interests. One year I got a mini baby cradle because I was into babies. The year I got my first Big Wheel (tricycle), on Christmas morning a little wooden Big Wheel was my gift. I still have these and love getting them out with other Christmas decorations.
Maybe it is because of this tradition that homemade gifts mean so much to me. This year we received some wonderful gifts that I just had to share.

Beautiful felt bags sewn by my sister-in-law, Shawna (also filled with goodies)

My brother, Stephen, made these wooden tops for all of his nieces and nephews, except the babies (17 in all!) They are beautiful and work really well! We have races to see whos goes the longest.

I love these so much! Little rolling toys for Felix. They are made only with wood. The elephants little ears are leather and the mouses tail is twine. He even told me that he didn't stain them so they would be safe for Felix to suck on-which he certainly does!

LCB round 3

I didn't take pictures of the things I made and sent but here is what was given to me. This cutest dog from Shawna. I believe she made it from socks. It is super soft and adorable!

From Laura a little potpurri burner with some potpurri she had made with aromatic spices. I love to smell it, because the smell reminds me of the wassail she made and also gave me. It was delectable!

I would love to see what other people made and sent. That was the point wasn't it people?

Gift for Felix

My friend, Brianne, made these for Felix. They are felt/fabric applique, hand embroidered. They are so cute! Can't wait until Felix is big enough to wear them! Thanks Brianne!

silk screened grocery bags (not my creation)

My friends, the Searcy's sent us these bags for Christmas. They are so cool and super handy. They have already been used for many things, and will continue to be very useful. I just thought they were so great (and had told some people about them) so wanted to show them off here.