i did get to go buy some new materials to get started on my advent calendar. i got red embroidery floss, a pink fabric with tiny polka dots and linen. i'm still not sure about the pink fabric. maybe i'll add some other colors or maybe i'll keep it simple with just linen and red, with a little bit of white for interest. i guess i'm still very indecisive. but, i did decide to go with the banner advent calendar with pockets. i'm going to use linaloo's advent calendar and lululollylegs doll quilt (which looks like an advent calendar) as inspiration. you can also see pictures of these two calendars in the previous post. i'm also thinking of incorporting some of my girls' artwork in the calendar. maybe i'll have them do little sketches for me that i can embroider in the different pockets. we'll see how it goes, but i can't wait to get over this illness so i can get started! right now i just don't feel like doing much.
Showing posts with label xmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label xmas. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Silent
i have laryngitis. i've never had it before so it is a weird experience for me. i first got it on sunday night, but i didn't think it was more than just hoarseness from having sung several songs in a row while playing rock band with my husband. but when i woke up on monday morning with the same hoarseness, i knew it was laryngitis. so now i'm just trying to keep silent and let my throat heal. don't really know what i can do for it, but i don't think a trip to the doctor is necessary right now because it doesn't hurt anymore. it did hurt last night and was accompanied by a cough, but i think that's cause i decided to take a late night shower and was too lazy to blow dry my hair, so i slept with a cold, damp head. i hope nothing worse comes from that. right now i feel much better, but i still can't talk, so i'm going to try to take it easy and take better care of myself from now on.
i did get to go buy some new materials to get started on my advent calendar. i got red embroidery floss, a pink fabric with tiny polka dots and linen. i'm still not sure about the pink fabric. maybe i'll add some other colors or maybe i'll keep it simple with just linen and red, with a little bit of white for interest. i guess i'm still very indecisive. but, i did decide to go with the banner advent calendar with pockets. i'm going to use linaloo's advent calendar and lululollylegs doll quilt (which looks like an advent calendar) as inspiration. you can also see pictures of these two calendars in the previous post. i'm also thinking of incorporting some of my girls' artwork in the calendar. maybe i'll have them do little sketches for me that i can embroider in the different pockets. we'll see how it goes, but i can't wait to get over this illness so i can get started! right now i just don't feel like doing much.
i did get to go buy some new materials to get started on my advent calendar. i got red embroidery floss, a pink fabric with tiny polka dots and linen. i'm still not sure about the pink fabric. maybe i'll add some other colors or maybe i'll keep it simple with just linen and red, with a little bit of white for interest. i guess i'm still very indecisive. but, i did decide to go with the banner advent calendar with pockets. i'm going to use linaloo's advent calendar and lululollylegs doll quilt (which looks like an advent calendar) as inspiration. you can also see pictures of these two calendars in the previous post. i'm also thinking of incorporting some of my girls' artwork in the calendar. maybe i'll have them do little sketches for me that i can embroider in the different pockets. we'll see how it goes, but i can't wait to get over this illness so i can get started! right now i just don't feel like doing much.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Advent Calendar Inspirations
1. Advent dangles, 2. Advent Calendar - Finally Done!, 3. DQS5 Christmas Advent Calendar, 4. advent calendar, 5. Advent calendar, 6. advent calendar, 7. advent calendar, 8. Advent Calendar 3, 9. Homemade advent calendarokay, so these are some of the advent calendars that i like. i think it is pretty obvious that i prefer the kind that hangs like a banner, with little ornaments inside the pockets that are taken out of the pocket each day. i think i can easily slip a small chocolate or piece of paper with an activity, if i want to do any activities with my girls. i can imagine sitting with my family in the evenings and hand-stitching and embroidering numbers and decorations for each pocket. but, i also like allsort's advent calendar pockets pattern. i like it because it is cute, seems simple to make while watching a movie and because it drapes like a garland and could easily be used as decoration for our fireplace mantel. i also like oliver + s's mitten ornament as an advent calendar and stardust shoe's mini stocking advent calendar, but because it doesn't really get cold enough where i live, we don't use mittens, and so i don't think the mittens will make much sense to my kids. and since i'm already planning on making all new stockings for my husband, my kids and myself for xmas 2009, i don't think a stocking advent calendar will be necessary.
i still haven't decided which one i'll do. and maybe i'll make two different kinds, once i finish the first one. as soon as i make up my mind, i'll make a trip out to my local craft store to buy the necessary materials, and get started. if there is anyone out there who actually reads my blog, wish me luck! i hope you can delurk yourself and give me a bit of encouragement!
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Xmas Crafting Throughout the Year
the xmas season is one i look forward to every year. i try to make it special and memorable for my family and i get inspired from all the other craft blogs i read to make my own decorations, advent calendar, ornaments and gifts. but my life starts getting busy starting from october with family birthdays and all the holidays that happen from then till xmas. so by the time my husband's birthday is over, which is december 9, i have only 3 weeks to make anything xmas related. it's a lot of pressure and stress and yet i push myself because i want to make so many things. so by the time it's xmas eve, i'm so pooped that i don't get to enjoy it as much as i'd like to. this past xmas i got so sick that i missed my own xmas eve dinner with relatives coming over to our home. my poor husband had to be a host to family and nurse to me. i stayed in bed in my bedroom all evening and missed out on all the fun. it really brought sadness to my family. my little girls missed me, so they kept coming to see me and my husband was so tired that he also got sick. well, to make a long story short, i've decided to start preparing for xmas earlier in the year. 
craft apple and stardust shoes are starting an advent calendar sew along and they're starting in january. so, i decided to join this sew along in hopes that i'll be inspired to continue making all the wonderful things i've been meaning to make for xmas and get them done in time! and hopefully when the holiday comes around, all i have to do is set up my decorations, buy a xmas tree, wrap my presents and spend more time with my family.
if anyone else is interested you can join and post your progress at the 2009 advent calendar sew along flickr group.
craft apple and stardust shoes are starting an advent calendar sew along and they're starting in january. so, i decided to join this sew along in hopes that i'll be inspired to continue making all the wonderful things i've been meaning to make for xmas and get them done in time! and hopefully when the holiday comes around, all i have to do is set up my decorations, buy a xmas tree, wrap my presents and spend more time with my family.
if anyone else is interested you can join and post your progress at the 2009 advent calendar sew along flickr group.
Friday, January 2, 2009
Happy New Year!
well, that was a really long break from blogging! not from crafting, though. i made many things during my long break. maybe i'll post some of them in future posts. maybe i won't. i'm probably going to ramble from one subject to another, because i have so much to talk about. so, if i get confusing, please excuse me; i'm not a good writer and i've been out of practice for a while.
i don't like making new year's resolutions, but i'm always thinking of things i need to do to better myself, so i decided to start now in the new year. there are several things i want to focus on. here they are, in no particular order:
so, what has happened during my long break? well, let's start from where i left off... in early october we had our yearly visit to disneyland. we all had lots of fun and now it saddens me to think that it may be our last visit for a while because we don't know if we'll be able to afford doing that next year. we'll see.
we also had an old, rotted tree fall on the front fence of our house. the city was supposed to cut it down because it had a fungus that was killing it, but they only removed the tree next to it, which also had a fungus growing on it. so it finally toppled over and broke our fence. it was quickly removed by the city and our fence was fixed a week or two later.
in late october my oldest daughter dressed up as supergirl and my little one dressed up as the tooth fairy for halloween. she was supposed to go as tinkerbell, using the same costume as last year, but i didn't realize till the day of that it didn't fit her anymore, so i had to improvise. i found a nice easter dress that my aunt had given to her for her 2nd birthday. we added some fairy wings we had from that same party and a wand and voila! they both looked very cute and got tons of candy! here they are while trick-or-treating with their cousin J, who is dressed as a pirate girl. so cute! the glowing eyes in the background are my husband, his sister and i. even though we didn't dress up for halloween, we kind of look like zombies in all of our pics. and unfortunately, this was the best pic i could find. oh well!
in november we celebrated C's 6th birthday. we had a fairy tea party theme and it was pretty awesome, if i do say so myself! i made most of the pastry and cupcake stands by gluing various plates to candle holders or fancy candy dishes. they looked very nice! i also made a new table cover and curtains, which i decorated with hand-stamped roses. i made lots of different sweet and savory tea sandwiches, three different teas, and pink cupcakes. i found lots of tea sets from thrift stores. and i made pink and light blue sugar for the kids to mix into their lemonade or tea. i also made shrinky dink charm necklaces, key chains, and cell phone charms as party favors. we only invited C's cousins, which included one little boy (we couldn't leave him out just cause he was a boy!) and all of her aunts, and her two grandmas. it was very girly and very fun!
we also had a very traumatic event happen in late november. my littlest, M, was running around a department store and after yelling at her for the nth time to settle down, she fell and landed chin first on the edge of a display shelf, splitting her chin open. it was a pretty bad injury, but M handled it pretty well. she held a paper towel onto her chin, through the ride to the hospital and was very cooperative right up until it was time to stitch her chin up. my poor little baby was so scared and because she refused to take any ibuprofen, i don't know how much the topical pain killer helped her. the doctor had to put her in a restraint to keep her little arms from flailing and getting in the way. she got 7 or 8 stitches. then she had to go back to the doctor to have those stitches removed a week later. again, she cried and pleaded with my husband and the doctors to stop. it was too difficult for me to be in the room with her both times, but she was loud enough that i heard everything! she is better now and the scar is underneath her chin, so if it doesn't fade (which i doubt will be a problem) it won't be very visible. she was a good sport throught it all. very patient and very understanding for a 2 year old. she amazes me so much!
in early december we celebrated my husband, Mark's birthday. i made him a carrot cake, which is his favorite! he's not much of a cake person, which is unfortunate for me cause i LOVE cakes! he's more of a pie person, but i don't know how to make pies, so we both settled on carrot cake as a compromise. it turned out to be very delicious and he actually liked it! i was very happy about that!
later that same month was xmas! i made most of the presents i gave. i was really proud of that because it was a pledge that i made. there were a few that i bought, but they were so small and so inexpensive that i don't feel guilty about it. there were also some that i didn't get to finish on time. i still plan on finishing them, but now that xmas is over, i don't feel that nagging pressure to get them done by a certain time. i know i should, but right now i just want to relax for a few days before i start crafting again. one of the gifts i made was a scarf for my mom. this picture is from when i had just started it. i didn't get a pic of the completed project, but i did like the end result and so did my mom.
part of the reason why i haven't been blogging much is because i find the process of taking pics and then editing them (cause i'm really bad with photography!) so that i can post them and then write about them, just too time consuming. obviously, i'm not good at this blogging thing, but i do hope to try to get better. one thing i want to improve on is how much i write. most of my blog posts are just too darn long! i can't help it! but i do notice it and after going through the whole writing and uploading pics, i don't want to invest more time in editing. it kind of takes the fun out of blogging. so i'm going to try to post more often but not write too much.
i hope we all have a wonderful new year! here's to a fresh start!
i don't like making new year's resolutions, but i'm always thinking of things i need to do to better myself, so i decided to start now in the new year. there are several things i want to focus on. here they are, in no particular order:
- to be more positive
- to be more productive
- to take better care of myself
- to take better care of my family
- to take better care of my home
- to date my husband more often
- to not let stress get to me
- to not be too critical of myself if i fail at any of these resolutions
- and always keep trying
so, what has happened during my long break? well, let's start from where i left off... in early october we had our yearly visit to disneyland. we all had lots of fun and now it saddens me to think that it may be our last visit for a while because we don't know if we'll be able to afford doing that next year. we'll see.
we also had an old, rotted tree fall on the front fence of our house. the city was supposed to cut it down because it had a fungus that was killing it, but they only removed the tree next to it, which also had a fungus growing on it. so it finally toppled over and broke our fence. it was quickly removed by the city and our fence was fixed a week or two later.
in late october my oldest daughter dressed up as supergirl and my little one dressed up as the tooth fairy for halloween. she was supposed to go as tinkerbell, using the same costume as last year, but i didn't realize till the day of that it didn't fit her anymore, so i had to improvise. i found a nice easter dress that my aunt had given to her for her 2nd birthday. we added some fairy wings we had from that same party and a wand and voila! they both looked very cute and got tons of candy! here they are while trick-or-treating with their cousin J, who is dressed as a pirate girl. so cute! the glowing eyes in the background are my husband, his sister and i. even though we didn't dress up for halloween, we kind of look like zombies in all of our pics. and unfortunately, this was the best pic i could find. oh well!
in november we celebrated C's 6th birthday. we had a fairy tea party theme and it was pretty awesome, if i do say so myself! i made most of the pastry and cupcake stands by gluing various plates to candle holders or fancy candy dishes. they looked very nice! i also made a new table cover and curtains, which i decorated with hand-stamped roses. i made lots of different sweet and savory tea sandwiches, three different teas, and pink cupcakes. i found lots of tea sets from thrift stores. and i made pink and light blue sugar for the kids to mix into their lemonade or tea. i also made shrinky dink charm necklaces, key chains, and cell phone charms as party favors. we only invited C's cousins, which included one little boy (we couldn't leave him out just cause he was a boy!) and all of her aunts, and her two grandmas. it was very girly and very fun!we also had a very traumatic event happen in late november. my littlest, M, was running around a department store and after yelling at her for the nth time to settle down, she fell and landed chin first on the edge of a display shelf, splitting her chin open. it was a pretty bad injury, but M handled it pretty well. she held a paper towel onto her chin, through the ride to the hospital and was very cooperative right up until it was time to stitch her chin up. my poor little baby was so scared and because she refused to take any ibuprofen, i don't know how much the topical pain killer helped her. the doctor had to put her in a restraint to keep her little arms from flailing and getting in the way. she got 7 or 8 stitches. then she had to go back to the doctor to have those stitches removed a week later. again, she cried and pleaded with my husband and the doctors to stop. it was too difficult for me to be in the room with her both times, but she was loud enough that i heard everything! she is better now and the scar is underneath her chin, so if it doesn't fade (which i doubt will be a problem) it won't be very visible. she was a good sport throught it all. very patient and very understanding for a 2 year old. she amazes me so much!
in early december we celebrated my husband, Mark's birthday. i made him a carrot cake, which is his favorite! he's not much of a cake person, which is unfortunate for me cause i LOVE cakes! he's more of a pie person, but i don't know how to make pies, so we both settled on carrot cake as a compromise. it turned out to be very delicious and he actually liked it! i was very happy about that!
later that same month was xmas! i made most of the presents i gave. i was really proud of that because it was a pledge that i made. there were a few that i bought, but they were so small and so inexpensive that i don't feel guilty about it. there were also some that i didn't get to finish on time. i still plan on finishing them, but now that xmas is over, i don't feel that nagging pressure to get them done by a certain time. i know i should, but right now i just want to relax for a few days before i start crafting again. one of the gifts i made was a scarf for my mom. this picture is from when i had just started it. i didn't get a pic of the completed project, but i did like the end result and so did my mom.part of the reason why i haven't been blogging much is because i find the process of taking pics and then editing them (cause i'm really bad with photography!) so that i can post them and then write about them, just too time consuming. obviously, i'm not good at this blogging thing, but i do hope to try to get better. one thing i want to improve on is how much i write. most of my blog posts are just too darn long! i can't help it! but i do notice it and after going through the whole writing and uploading pics, i don't want to invest more time in editing. it kind of takes the fun out of blogging. so i'm going to try to post more often but not write too much.
i hope we all have a wonderful new year! here's to a fresh start!
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