Thursday, December 24, 2009

{More} Make & Bake goodness

Just some random goodies that have been made with lots of love and care this year.


Wednesday, December 23, 2009

Christmas Quilts!

Quilts were on the top of the request list this year. Not only are they the most time consuming thing to make, they're not cheap to make either! And I'm certainly no PRO!


On the tippy-top of Lauren's list was a "sock monkey" quilt. She'd been raving about the "Mid-mod quilt" on the Amy Butler website for quite some time (link here). So, here's the Mid Mod quilt...sock monkey style:








64" of square cuteness! It turned out so much better than I'd expected! I'm certain she's going to absolutely LOVE it! The brown border fabric looks JUST like knitted socks!


For about a year now, I've been trying to make a quilt that matches my living room. Everyone in the evenings like to snuggle up & cuddle under a blanket. Except said blanket drives me NUTS! It's either a worn out Pottery Barn chenille throw that sheds like crazy or an '80s comforter that is SO cheesy it makes my stomach churn! So, this year, here's the solution....






It's brown, gold, red & ice blue and backed completely with MINKY! Could this possibly be ANY cozier?!? I think NOT! Approximately 10 different fabrics make up this luxurious slice of heaven!!! I even included some rectangles of minky on the front for extra texture!
Utah winters, chill no more! This house is PREPARED and ready for all the chilly-ness one desert winter can bring! And might I add it's with chic style we stay warm! :)

Sunday, December 13, 2009

Make or Bake (girl verison) vol. 2 - WORKDAY

As mentioned HERE, my plate is quite full these days trying to come up with options for "make or bake" gifts for the family.

Today I worked on multiple projects. I really want the gifts for my kids to be things they'll actually use and love. For Mira I've been working on some re-decorating items for her room:


She needs some type of artwork for the walls and I decided to go with something more 3-D than a painting. This is two canvasses that have one scene and its done with FELT. The little wing of the lovebird looks a bit like a paisley which is what her bedding is.

The girls have TV's in their rooms (another post all it's own!) and each night she spends so much time trying to track down her remotes. Most of the time they've gotten made right into the bed! So behold the remote caddy that exactly fits the side rail of her sleigh bed :)

It's been more challenging than I'd anticipated converting from a pink flower-y room to a brown & turquoise room. I still have a TON of shelves to finish but I think when it's all done, it will be darling.

For Nolan I made a hot wheels caddy that has a figure 8 race track and pockets to tuck his cars into. It folds in half and rolls up to toss into a bag & take on the go.

Now that he's potty trained we really don't take a diaper bag anymore, but even at home this will be great because it doesn't take up very much room to store.


For some of the other girls in our family, I made a few fabric headbands and some matching hairclips...what girl could have too many of these?


For my mom & sister I also made some functional goodies but since they read this blog, the details will just have to wait :) It feels really good to see so many things crossed off my list of things to "make or bake." Hopefully I can finish in the next week (or so) and be able to enjoy more free time with the family....I'd like to take them to see some Christmas lights and to see the Princess & the Frog. Maybe I should put those on my to do list so they're sure to get done, huh? :)

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Make or Bake (girl version)

What on earth could I make for two picky tween/teenage girls for Christmas that they'll actually like? Well, let's break it down a bit...what do they spend most of their time doing? Getting ready! They love hair things and blingy things so....


since feathers are the big thing right now, I've come up with some hair clips in the colors they wear the most. Then to coordinate with those, there's these little cuties:






Ribbon Rings! The possibilities are ENDLESS for these and I feel an addiction coming on strong. Watch out cuz I just may be sportin' some of these guys too :)


Also, Mira chose new bedding for her birthday a couple of months ago and there's a few re-decorating items on tap, these being two small ones.



There's a BIG hopeful score I'm trying to locate and it will be the coup d'etat if I can find it! So keep your fingers crossed for me :)

Make or Bake 2.5 vol. 1

As I may have mentioned in previous posts, I am really trying to get back to enjoying the holiday season. This year I have committed to slow down and savor every moment. Along with keeping it simple, we are going with a "make or bake" theme for our gift giving. While I do want to truly take in all the holidays have to offer, trying to come up with creative gift ideas for my family has been tough, even a bit stressful. So I will share with you here on the blog the things I come up with.

For Nolan I was trying to come up with games or educational type things he could play with. A 2.5 year old doesn't have a very long attention span but he does love to play games. So, first off I thought of a "memory" game. There's a few different approaches I could use, but I decided to go with something more tactile than fabric or paper. Here I used wooden discs! I stamped the fronts with his initial "N" and the back with pairs of jungle animals.

Supplies:



Then I was going to make ABC flash cards, but thought these would bigger and more fun!

(can't get this picture to rotate :( They are quilted with colorful fabric on the front, flannel on the back and batting sandwiched in between.

Hopefully he will love them and it will make his

a little brighter :)