Another Christmas Craft for Kids

We made these funny gingerbread people to add to our collection of random, funny, and sentimental ornaments.  

They were quite simple - I just picked up a pack of 12 foam gingerbread men at JoAnn's for $1 then printed out pictures of the kids, glued on the faces, glossed them over then dressed them in felt scraps.

Peter and James are both football players, William a transformer, Henry Santa, and the two girls said they were "ladies".

I'm still intimidated by gluten free baking so this is what we did instead of decorating cookies.

Simple Dresses for Christmas

I almost planned for some really fluffy taffeta dresses to wear over their fun and fluffy Easter slips.  I'm glad I didn't because I don't have the energy for that right now.

Instead I splurged on some really nice knit (the same I used for my maternity leggings) and was able to whip these out in just a few hours (pattern info here) - that's why I'm loving knits!  It is also nice that they can pull them over their heads like a T-shirt, they won't wrinkle and I can machine wash them.   The  only problem was Clara throwing a fit because she wanted to wear her's with that fluffy slip I mentioned earlier.

Now all I need to keep this week simple is some cooking shortcuts.  I've already ordered two trays of tamales from Pilar's but I could use some other simple suggestions.  

Something kids can make for Christmas

I've already blogged about how much we love FIMO and here's what we did with it this time.  This nativity scene will be a perfect gift for Nannny, Paul's mom.

I set out our Playmobil nativity set as a guide for scale, color and detail and assigned each of the 4 older children to model different pieces.

William was busy molding beads for a necklace he is making for Clara so he only got to make Joseph and the shepherd.

Peter made the lamb, a wise man, and baby Jesus.

I thought Maryanna would need more help but she had almost completed her angel (or Christmas fairy as she called it) in the time it took me to put the younger two down for a nap.

James was very thoughtful in modeling Mary and asked, "Mom, you know how after you have a baby your stomach is so big and mushy that you still look pregnant, should I make Mary look that way"? Good grief - don't remind me, I thought, but smiled and answered, "why don't you just make her shape similar to the Playmobil Mary". So he did but decided she should be kneeling or resting next to the baby.  He also made the other two wise men.

After all the figures were dried and baked we bought a blank pencil box at Micheals and William sketched the background first with pencil then black ink. Peter followed with water color paints and all were thrilled with the final set up.  It turned out better than I could have imagined and now I'm hoping they make one for me someday! 

Sewing Maternity Clothes

Before I could start on Christmas sewing I had to whip up a few comfortable maternity items. Lately I've been feeling like that mad circus leader on Dumbo who's shirt keeps rolling up onto his face. Technically I only have 5 more weeks but if I'm honest with myself it could very well be 7 and I'd rather have a few more comfortable options to get me through it.  

*Please note: My 8 year old is the budding photographer here and my flash is having problems so the picture quality may not be perfect.

1.  Knit dress 

This first dress is my favorite! It started out as a simple tunic but then turned into a dress giving me another church option. I didn't use a pattern but it is easy to wing it when you are using knits. I got the fabric from yellow bird fabrics in Salt Lake, the main body is a dark eggplant and the bottom panel is a medium brown, both medium weight cotton lycra.  I especially like the pockets because they go along with my "mom wear" list.

2.  Long sleeve tunic



This next tunic was made from what was leftover from the lining of Henry's coat and out of one of the sweaters I picked up while shopping for all my recent furniture purchases. Again there was no pattern but just measuring, cutting and pinning draping it around myself in front of the mirror. I like that this is soft, casual and warm. Paul verbalized exactly what I was thinking but didn't want to admit. He said "now you've have a Lord of the Rings costume".

3.  Leggings



This photo is not very flattering but those those who sew understand the challenge of fitting extreme bumps. I just used a pair of Target maternity leggings to make the basic pattern adding extra length to bunch at the ankles and extra width and length in the panel. I splurged on the fabric, a tweedy gray Eileen Fisher cotton/lycra knit from Emmaonesock but for the same price as the Target leggings I have another pair but of much higher quality.

4.  Mock turtle neck sweater


Not much to say about this next sweater. I bought it at Salvation Army for $3. It originally was a men's XL but keeping the neckline and raglan sleeves in tack I took in over 6" from under the arm and upper torso then belled out the sleeve to the original ribbing then following the seam down to the original ribbing at the hem. It is hard to beat a 5 minute $3 sweater makeover!

5.  Hooded sweater



It's been several weeks that I've been itching to sew this last sweater up. Marie's sister ordered and sent the pattern from Japan (more pattern info here) and both of us made our own versions of it. I would have liked to use regular sweat shirt fleece but have been too indecisive about what fabric to order.  After seeing Marie's finished hoodie I decided to make it work out of two more sweaters picked up from Salvation Army.  In the end I like the contrast of the two shades and textures but admit it would have been nice to make it a longer and have enough extra scraps to add the pockets.  This may not fit over my belly too much longer but will be perfect for the first month after delivery.

Okay - now it's time to start sewing up some things for Christmas!  

Sewing Set Up

Finally! and just in time for Christmas sewing.  Here it is down the in pink carpeted basement of our rental home, it only took $100 and a few more trips to Ann Arbor Recycles and the University of Michigan Disposition Center to get just the right pieces.  I am loving the retro counter with metal back splash and old school steel office furniture.  These are some pretty solid pieces that will last longer than anything I could have found at Ikea - they were also much less expensive.

The counter top is where I do most of my drafting, tracing and cutting, the drawers holding my clear rulers, pencils, rotary cutter and pins. There is also enough room below it to store a few large baskets full WIPs. The office desk holds all three machines plus my snap press. The console is organized with threads, patterns, trims, notions and machine accessories. On top is where I lay my pieces out for quick assembly line like sewing.

Now the only up grade I could use is a new ironing board cover. I suppose I could also use a new stash of thread because Carrie's got me freaked out about what I've got stored here.

Not pictured is the imaginary line that no kids or legos are allowed to cross.

Ha! as if I thought my space would remain undisturbed.  Sharing the playroom with my sewing space certainly has it's advantages but it would be nice if they'd at least lay off my thread tension dials and keep my clear plastic rulers out of the box of swords and dress up.  At least I'm set up and ready to sew like I use to; all while being entertained by the noises, drama, and sweet sounds of children lost in their imaginations. 

Style vs. Warmth

It got down to 15 degrees yesterday!

Paul's mom warned me that the maternity coat I made may not be we warm enough for Michigan.  She graciously gave me her old down coat and luckily it was big enough to button over my belly.

My sisters will think this is funny because they always remember Paul's mom as one of the "safeties" on the elementary school playground. She wore a long purple coat just like this.

I think I kind of look like a safety but James suggested it looked like I was wearing a sleeping bag.  I wore it out on a date with Paul and I admit I felt a bit self conscious after James' comment but I was happy to be warm. 

The coat is a very nice coat but just a bit over sized for me, well over sized for every part of me except my belly.  I felt a little clumsy in it and kept bumping into other shoppers and knocking stuff off the shelves.  When Paul let me in the passenger side of the car the coat would spill out and he would have to stuff it all back in before closing the door.

I kept it on at the Thai restaurant because I couldn't enjoy my basil noodles being too cold.  That may have been over doing it as I noticed many of the young employees smirking at me. But I didn't care - there's nothing like the feeling of eating hot spicy noodles while wearing a sleeping bag on a really cold night.

Now I just need a big Russian fur hat and maybe some old school moon boots to complete the look!    

   

Advent House Tradition

This advent house was purchased 5 years ago at Down East Home for less than $20.  It had another family's name on it but that was an easy fix.

The kids have really enjoyed opening the numbered doors each morning not knowing what the surprise might be.  Some days there would be stickers or chocolates, other days a slip of paper would announce a fun activity or craft planned for the day, sometimes the slip of paper would lead the kids on an adventure through the house and some days there would be a scripture reference for them to look up about the birth and life of Jesus Christ.  

I can't say the doors were filled every morning because just like the tooth fairy I'd forget, sleep in and then tell the kids to all run back to bed and try it again in ten minutes.  That gave me just enough time to scrounge something up even if it was just cough drops.

December 1st crept up quickly on us this year. Just when I thought I was done unboxing from the move it was time to unbox Christmas decorations. As soon as it is time to box Christmas back up again it will be time to unbox newborn baby supplies.

We have decided to simply the tradition of the Advent house. It came to me just as one child opened the first box and with disappointment cried, "it's empty". I told them this year instead of "getting" from the house we were going to give. The little girls helped me cut strips of paper and placed them beside the house for individuals to anonymously record acts of service and kindness given throughout that day. Before any gifts are opened Christmas morning we will open each door and read the crumpled up papers reminding us of what truly are the best gifts to give.

Sunday morning just after recording his kind deed one of the boys ran to me wrapping their arms around what they could of my very pregnant belly, beamed and whispered, "I just can't help but smile". I have never witnessed such a response of joy with any other gift, treat or offering that has been retrieved from the Advent house or even unwrapped from under the tree.  So this simplified version of the Advent House will become our new tradition with hope to fill all our days with moments where we "just can't help but smile".