elliemoon

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BLOG!

yes, amazingly i have blathered on in this spot for a full 365 day swoop around the sun. least surprised? big b, who gets to hear me blather day in and day out, perhaps wishing that he too could get his dose in short blog posts with the weekends off. but i digress.  it's been a year and looking back, i have really enjoyed having this blog. hope you all are enjoying it as well. thanks to all of you for reading and commenting!  

i'll end this post as i did my first one, with a few of my favorite's from this holiday season. bella wasn't the only one to get a refinished yard sale score! check it out, a killer sewing "basket" (thanks dad!)::

my christmas card from big b::

and more titles to add to the crafting library!::

hope you all have a great weekend and a very happy new year! thanks again for stopping by my site! here's to another year of crafting geekery, high calorie baking, garlic laden cooking and maybe even some honey!! 

MAY THE SYRUP BE WITH YOU

one of my christmas gifts this year was an assortment of pancake molds. i admit, i picked them out. i also ordered them and wrapped them, but thats neither here nor there::

darth vader never looked so sweet! of course i had to grab a couple of other sets too. and so bella enjoyed herself as well::

you can find these here and here. the holiday ones are now on sale. i also couldn't resist these. pancake molds are fun. time consuming? yes. tricky? usually. infuriating? only if not properly greased. but fun, yes, fun nonetheless. we only use them on special occasions. which is probably a good thing as there is sometimes mild cursing involved!

A SEMI SUCCESS

shockingly, the refurbished crib made it under the tree::

notice the lack of bedding and pillows. luckily bella's birthday is right around the corner so i have time to get those together. i'd like to make a little quilted bed spread and coordinating pillows. we'll see if they show up in april.  i already have the fabric, so things look hopeful.

BELLA'S SUPPLY BASKET

here's where that sewing project and that mini knitting project wound up! i finished it just in time and bella was very pleased. she has just recently taken to doll play and has been using little lu's changing pads and supplies for that specific purpose. i had already made her a doll blanket and finished a doll changing pad this summer. those little squares i was sewing (and the knitted flowers) turned into this::

a repurposed travel wipe case. i stitched up about 10 cloth wipes to stash inside. i found some old school bottles that drain when you tip them up and picked up some cute little doll shoes and a couple of diapers and i was set. here was the finished product for under the tree::

so now there is even more diapering and wiping being done around here. which is hard to imagine, for me anyway. if she practices enough maybe she can start doing a few of little lu's. one can only hope!

THE COOKIES

aaaaand exhale.....another christmas gone by! what with all the last minute crafting, i really didn't expect to have my christmas baked goods done for the big day. we were at christmas eve eve and i had only made one batch of italian cookies. some of these recipes involve inhumane amounts of butter and this is the one time each year that i get to consume them. i set my alarm for an excruciating hour and the rest is history::

oh yes, santa was a happy man::

a happy man with a stomach ache. i sincerely apologize if he threw up in anyone's stocking!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

hope you all have an amazing weekend. 

and happy happy holidays, from our neck of the woods to yours!

A LITTLE SOMETHING ELSE

did i say the crib was the final project? i forgot about this one. its small and its almost done. wish i could say the same about the crib::

i know somehow everything will fall into place. tonight will be a late night for sure. kai has some last minute crafting to accomplish as well. we're down to the wire, the race is on!

 

THE LARGER PROJECT

here's a sneak peek of the final christmas project::

this little crib was a yard sale find a while back. all it needs is a couple coats of paint and some bedding and pillows. yeah, thats all. and i have two nights left. but i'm hopeful. i picked out the paint color yesterday and i've got big b sketching up some stencils to replace that suspender sporting bear. he's got to go!

DELIA SWEATER TUNIC, CHECK

this was the other anji beane pattern that i wanted to try. i had planned to make one for each of the girls for christmas, but time is running out and there is a larger project in the works for bella that i think she will appreciate more. so this one goes out to little lu::

side note; i have yet to even start that larger project for bella. but i've come to terms with the fact that it will be my final project before saturday.....and thats okay. really. i'm fine.

i think i figured with little lu being older, this years holiday season would be somewhat easier. i was reminiscing about last year and wondering why it seems as though i got a whole lot more accomplished with a two-month-old. then i realized; she was napping two to three times a day, she was significantly lighter to wear and she was immobile. 'nough said. she has also settled in comfortably to her attachment phase. and her enthusiasm has me wondering if she'll outgrow it by her late forties. if i break eye contact for longer than five minutes, she assumes i'm plotting to abandon her by moving to a remote location in the sub saharan desert. i don't get it, doesn't she know i'd prefer hawai'i??

on a lighter note (pun intended) happy winter solstice to you all! let the festivities begin!

THE TUTU EXPERIMENT

the first thing i finished over the weekend was, of course, the one thing thats not on my long long list. but it was a success and i think bella is going to love it! she is all about the fancy lately. i've already locked in on a tulle source and i'm planning a bunch more of these. i wouldn't be surprised if they show up here again or make an appearance at the next installment of the MILF market::

i had little lu try it out while bella wasn't around. how do you get a one year old to stay still for a few nice photos? you don't. you snap away at full speed whilst she is frantically running towards the lens or bolting in the other direction, and hope that you will end up with at least a couple that aren't a big blur! i'll have to share a better representation after bella unwraps it this weekend!