Mama-made

A little glimpse into my little one's Mama-made gifts:


C's Phoebe mouse with sweater to match her own Phoebe sweater.




K's Phoebe mouse also with matching sweater







Mouse sweater rav notes here. Mouse doll rav notes here. I had fun knitting these guys up. I decided to forgo embroidering  their eyes and nose and went with wool felt instead. Their little faces are quite endearing. These mice have been dragged everywhere since Christmas day so I am glad I decided to go with superwash wool for them after much debate.

*Oh, right now might be a good time to mention that I took all of these photos late in the day so they aren't the best but hopefully you get the idea!*





K's Mama hen with chicks. My Aunt actually got K the Mama hen (who was made by our lovely school store manager, I believe) but I decided her wings (which are pockets!) needed some babies to snuggle in. I used a yellow felted sweater and made two chicks for K and then one each for C and Little L.





Little L's tree blocks (some made by me and some found in consignment at our school store) and fabric bucket for storing them. I knew right away when I saw this Heather Ross dwarfs fabric that it would be absolutely fabric for use with tree blocks. The fabric sadly is now out of print but I found some on Etsy or you could check out her new book which has software to make your own fabric from her prints! The fabric bucket pattern is from Maya Made.







Lastly, and the most popular of the gifts, C Baby and K baby were once again re-done and just like new. The girls do not have a lot of toys and really play with their dolls more than anything so they get destroyed well loved very quickly. I made new dresses and pantaloons for them, too.

One gift I do not have pictures of yet is Little L's Christmas sweater, even though he has worn it three times since he got it. I'll snap some pics of him in it soon. It looks so warm and cozy. I think he might need one in every color!

Up next will be the gifts my children made.

p.s - I forgot all about New Year's day falling on Tuesday and I am imagining that not too many of you will be up for participating in KCCO on that day so we'll postpone it one more week.
Happy New Year!

Mama-made

The Grotto (on the 2nd day of Christmas...)

This guy cracked us up!









We are still in the midst of Christmas celebrations over here but I wanted to stop in quick to share a few glimpses into the past couple of days. Purple Grandma is here with us so we have been out and about more than usual lately. Of course we visited our usual hangout - Bob's Red Mill, and I am happy to say that after three years of living in Portland, Oregon, we finally visited the Grotto for it's Festival of Lights. I dare say we found a new favorite place to visit!
Be back again soon to share our handmade gifts (both mine as well as the girls!) and to catch up on responses.

The Grotto (on the 2nd day of Christmas...)

Joy

We wish all of you a Merry Christmas from the very bottom of our hearts!

All our love XOXO

p.s - KCCO will return next week.

Joy

Giving

Do you see those blissful smiles??? They are all thanks to a gift of giving.

Giving from the heart is part of loving.
Giving when the heart is not in it, is a lie.
Giving out of duty becomes a burden,
Abundant giving is something all should try.

When we give, we share what we have with others.
It makes life worth living and gives others a smile.
It matters not the size or quantity of the gift imparted,
It's the love perceived that makes it all worthwhile.

What would life be without giving?

Everything in nature gives to us.
The clouds empty their load and showers come refreshing
Birds sing, and their choruses to us entrust.
Flowers bloom imparting fragrance.
The scent gives our noses sweet whiffs.

Dogs and cats nestle right beside us.
Loyal companions to mankind they exist.
Trees in grandeur lend their beauty
Pointing towards mountains which paint a scene.

Yes, everything in God's natural world ministers to us.
Sharing and giving. What joy they bring.
We are made in the Creator's image.
He richly gives to us all things to enjoy.
When we give to others are simply
letting him to use our hands
To bring to others
His happiness, blessings and joy.

-Toni Doswell

Christmas miracles abound! With hearts full of joy and eternal gratitude - THANK YOU!!

Giving

Sugar Plum Bunny Bites

Last weekend was a milestone of sorts in K's life. Her friends were going to see the Nutcracker performed in downtown, Portland and invited her to come along. Since she is now seven, we thought she was ready for it. C and Little L stayed home with Kevin but he kindly drove us there and back as I can not handle city driving. (Thank you!!) We had such a wonderful time. K was completely engrossed. It brought back many childhood memories of me going to see it with my Mom. Watching the performance made me want to forget Steiner's thoughts on the affects of ballet for young children, it's just such a beautiful art...

As if they were reading our minds - the latest (free!) story from Sparkle Stories coincided with our event. It's called 'The Living Room Nutcracker', and if you listen to the story then you'll understand where this post title came from! (That's C's new nickname, too.) K listened to numerous times in the weeks before we went. She wanted to be prepared since she had no ides what the Nutcracker or even ballet or an auditorium was. Just like with Martin and Sylvia - K promised C she would preform the whole Nutcracker for her and boy did she keep that promise. That night she went to bed in tights and a shirt which was a bit peculiar but I didn't think twice about it...that is until I was putting Little L to bed and heard all of these loud booms, thumps and giggles. I peaked in on the girls and there was K dancing around on the floor while C sat in bed watching. Oh, those two!! I adore just how strong their bond and love is for one another. I hope it always stays that way.

p.s -
Not really related to this post but the pictures above are of K's projects in the handwork display at school. The first one is her kitty she knit and the ones below are of her baby and bunting she made.

p.p.s -
I just realized that I haven't shared any of our Advent Nativity preparations this year so here is a photo from the beginning of the third week of Advent. All of the animals are now at the stable waiting. Our grass is growing, too. We buy a new piece every year to add to our Nativity and this year's figure will be making his appearance on Sunday. In case you were wondering, we get our exquisite, handmade Nativity figures from The Puppenstube.(They are Buntspechte)

Sugar Plum Bunny Bites

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}

The act of creating, in one form or another, preserves my sanity amongst the chaos of life. This explains why I always have more than one project going at a time as well as why my housework tends to fall behind. I enjoy seeing what others are working on and keeping calm with, too. What are you creating? What is keeping you going? Snap a picture and share it with the rest of us by leaving your link below.







Oh how I would love to be knitting right now! I have nothing but sewing, sewing and more sewing to do. I took a break to work on some beeswax projects with the girls along with some fun wool adventures to decorate our home. Little L helped us by throwing and hiding our wool felted balls faster than we could make them. Organized chaos, I tell ya! What are you working on?

If you would like to link up and share your current works in progress (or finished works) please leave your link below. It can now be either to your specific blog post or Flickr photo. There are no rules, only that your link is current and something about a craft project (of any kind) you are working on. Don't forget that there is now a KCCO Flickr group for you to share your crafting photos at anytime.

Please remember to link back here so that others who may want to join KCCO can find us.

It's as simple as that. Remember your post can be from any day of the week, it doesn't have to be today. We all love feedback so if you have a moment please leave a comment on some of the KCCO posts you may visit. I know from my own experience just how much your comments really motivate me! Now please share and inspire us all!

Keep Calm Craft On {crafting on}