benjamin's Christmas presents

This year I was determined to have a (mostly) handmade Christmas, gifting things that I had crafted with care instead of simply things I purchased. The only problem is that I have a hard time figuring out things to make for Benjamin. After much searching for ideas (something not too cheesy, not too useless, not too fru-fru, etc.), I found one that inspired me to make the following photo/calligraphy gift for him to put at his desk at work.

I also put the finishing touches on the scarf I had intended to give him for Christmas last year but hadn't finished in time. He has worn it most days since Christmas, so it was definitely a success!

In addition I gave him the two books he needed to complete his C. S. Lewis space trilogy set. Books are one thing for which I don't mind breaking my all handmade rule of thumb. I knew he'd enjoy getting them because they are some of the few books he has actually reread.

He was delighted with all his gifts, and I was pleased that I made good choices. : )

my dad's Christmas present

For my dad's gift this year I decided to do a calligraphy of part two of his favorite psalm, Psalm 19. I made part one for his birthday last year.

I had an entirely different idea of what this calligraphy was going to look like when I started, but it simply was not working. I became tired, discouraged, and (I must admit) a little frustrated, so I put it away. When I finally returned to the project just days before Christmas, I just didn't have it in me to continue rehashing the old plan and came up with a new one instead.

I'm very pleased with how it ended up turning out. I love the contrast of the two fonts and was delighted with how perfectly the text fit in the frame.

firsts

Yesterday morning we had a little scare that ended up amounting to nothing. It was enough, however (especially after my miscarriage last year), that my doctor ordered an ultrasound and asked me to come in for a quick check up.

This was the first first trimester ultrasound that I've ever had. It was fun to get to see my growing baby earlier this time. Not to mention the relief and joy I felt to see the baby's heart beating away healthily and to see its' little feet kicking and arms waving!

This is the first picture ever taken of little Sweet Pea. (Sweet Pea is waving "hi" to you all.) : ) It blows my mind to think that this tiny baby is only about two inches long, yet it has fingers, toes, a little face, and the ability to move around. Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made!

my mom's Christmas present

And so I begin my series of better-late-than-never Christmas posts in which I catch up on documenting all of the projects that I couldn't share before.

For my Mum's Christmas gift, I enjoyed reworking a doodle I came up with back in October. I was delighted with the final result. (Click on the photo to see it larger.)

I'm loving this more flowy, free form calligraphy style. I'm also getting a little spoiled because the pencil sketches I have to begin with make for a one-draft project which suits my project-hopping personality to a T.

announcement

Oh, how I've missed my little space in bloggy-world. I feel badly about not posting, have great intentions about posting (oh, I have a lot to say!), and then I procrastinate. I think the break has been good, though, and I have excellent excuses. First I had a miserable cold/sinus infection combination followed by a flu. By the time we all recovered, we were in a whirl of Christmas celebration. My computer dropped out of commission. Then I caught another, uncomfortably violent flu. And on top of it all there was the morning sickness...

That's right! We're having another baby. :D I just passed the 10 week mark and am beginning to feel less sick and regain some energy. My first appointment is this Friday, and I can't wait to hear the baby's heartbeat! And I must admit that I'm hoping for a girl, though another little boy would make me just as happy.

Monday Menu

Two weeks ago we had a fabulous trip with Benjamin's family! I suppose that I'll get around to posting photos eventually. During the trip I caught an awful cold. After spending over a week feeling miserable and pretty much doing nothing, I'm finally getting back on my feet and doing things like planning out menu again. This week is going to be a little crazy, but I'm going to try to stick to the plan. Here's what I'm cooking this week:

M-Chicken pot pie

T-Chicken curry

W-frozen pizza

Th-grilled chicken spinach salad

F-grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup

What are you planning on making?

my niece's Christmas present

It is so much fun to have a little niece for whom to make girly gifts. Don't get me wrong, I love crafting and designing for my little guys, but it's very nice to have an outlet for the sweet, feminine things I love to make.

This year I decided to make a tiny purse for my niece. It's about 4"x5"x1" and closes with a not-very-effective magnetic closure (I'll have to work on that...). I'm hoping that the cuteness factor will make up for the shortcomings of the closure. : )

I filled the purse with all sorts of goodies: crayons and a tiny notebook, princess stickers, chap-stick, life savers, and a tiny folding brush complete with a mirror. I had a lot fun putting it all together! In addition to the purse and the goodies filling it, Little Man chose a princess coloring book to give to his cousin, and I decorated plain clips with some of my fabric flowers to make oh-so-girly hair accessories for her too.

I can't wait to see her face when she opens our gifts to her!

my sister-in-law's Christmas present

Benjamin drew one of our sisters-in-law's names for Christmas (the one whose husband requested the hat featured in the previous post). When she found out that I had drawn her husband's name, she jokingly suggested that I make a pink and brown apron with cupcakes on it for him so that she could use it. While I didn't think he'd go for that idea, it did give me inspiration on what to make for her gift!

I combined a predominately pink cupcake print fabric with a chocolate brown fabric adorned with whimsical multi-colored dots to make a cute reversible apron. It's not really my style, but I feel quite confident that my sister-in-law will love it!

[fun details on the pockets]

my brother-in-law's Christmas gift

I am excited that since we are celebrating Christmas with Benjamin's family this week, I'm able to start sharing some of the exciting projects that are making up our (almost) completely handmade Christmas.

I'll admit that when I drew Benjamin's oldest brother's name I was a little dismayed. He tends to be rather opinionated as well as difficult to predict as far as his tastes go. Plus I'm just much better at thinking of and making girly gifts. : ) After corresponding with him, though, I was excited to discover that he had his eye on a $98 newsboy hat that I was quite sure I could imitate.

I was disappointed that I simply could not find an eight-paneled pattern and had to make do with one that only had six panels (I'm too new at this hat business to attempt making my own pattern yet). I was, however, delighted to find beautiful (and inexpensive!) vintage wool suit coats that I cleaned, cut apart, pressed, and used for this hat.

Here's hoping that he likes it as much as I do... : )

my sister-in-law's house warming present

Benjamin's sister just moved into a new apartment. To celebrate and to help her get settled, the family is planning surprise house-warming gifts that we will give to her while everyone is together. Since she let it drop that she had hoped to find the red, white, and black fabric I have been using recently to make some potholders for her kitchen but had been unsuccessful, I thought I'd use the scraps to make some for her!

I paired the scraps that I had with solid black and a couple of other prints to make abstract geometric hot-pad tops. Then I sandwiched four layers of cotton batting between the pieced tops and a solid red back. Since I've been becoming so much more confident with stippling, I decided to try a new free motion pattern that I've been wanting to try: loopy flowers. It's harder than I thought it would be, but overall I'm pleased with the results--as long as I'm looking at the pot holders from a distance. : )

Hopefully she'll love them and give them a long, useful life in her, white, and black kitchen fulfilling the destiny of potholders.