Handmade Christmas

So for all of my yummy readers out there:
What are you doing to make your holiday a Handmade One!

I would love to see your blog posts about it, or if you don't have a blog then link to what you are making (even though what we see is not exactly yours)

Enter you info in the Mclinky below

Humanitarian Scrappy Quilt

Our ward asked every family to bring a blanket for our Christmas party. Each blanket would be donated to the LDS church to send to people that need them.
They asked for colorful...thats what I gave them....
My intention was to make this full size, but I only had enough scraps for a twin size...
I ended up tying this quilt (I really, really, really wanted to quilt this blanket but just did not have time on my side)

I used a twin size sheet for the backing so that I would not have to sew one together
To bind it I folded the sheet over about a 3 inches and just sewed along the edge. I did not bother with turning the edge of the sheet over because they are already finished nicely on a sheet. The above picture is the corners that I did. I would sew down along the edge of the sheet all the way to the end of the blanket. Then I would move the blanket so that I could sew down the next edge...I folded the sheet that would be the binding, so that it was a triangle in the corner and then folded it over the blanket so that it looked like it was a miter corner. Even though I don't think technically it is (who knows). Then I pinned the corner down and just did the edge (I did not sew the corners down yet.

I did that all the way around the quilt and then went back and just sewed down the corners at the end
(here I am sewing down the edge of the blanket)

It is a good thing that I ended up not having enough scraps to do a full size; this blanket took up the entire living room as it was when I was tying it. I don't think I would have had enough room to tie a full size blanket. Thanks to my MIL she helped me finish tying this blanket..

Oh and all the yarn for tying was different colors. I used green, pink, and a multicolored (purple, yellow, and blue I think) yarns for this blanket.

These scraps all came from the rag quilts that I have been making over the last 6 months. This blanket is full of memories and I hope that the person who gets it loves it and keeps them warm...

John Deere Rag Quilt with Minky on the Back

I finally finished it! The customer came and picked it up and I was actually sad to see it go. I just wanted to curl up in it and snuggle....It was that cute!

This blanket is twin size and had 3 layers. The top is cotton, the middle is flannel, and the backing was minky (or Minkee)

There are 3 John Deere "deers" on the blanket in addition to 12 tractors.

This blanket is a gift for a young man on his way to college....he will definitely stay warm with this one.

New Glass Pendant Idea

Remember to enter you handmade items for christmas in my Mclinky here


Well at least it is new to me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BYLKw6tzn6k

This version for the glass tile pendants use a melting pot, Ultra Thick Embossing Enamel, scrapbook paper, and small silicone molds

I am definitely going to give this a try

Gingerbread houses (well ok they are Graham Crackers)

My house3yr old house (or monster :)
Making the Icing (oh and my hubby bought me that orchid for my birthday, does anyone know how to make it rebloom?)
3yr old taking pictures of all three of our houses..hubbys is the one with the cinnamon santas lining the roof...


This is a tradition that my family always did...gingerbread houses with graham crackers. This year I decided to put a little more effort into them. I melted a little bit of chocolate chips in the microwave and then premade the houses...Just the squares and the roofs. That way they would stay better while we loaded the candy onto them. It worked well except Ashes caved after a day.

Funny story to go along with the houses....3yr old (as you saw) lined all the houses up on the floor to take pictures. Then she took mine and hubbys houses to our room so that we could see them all the time. Baby was in her room sleeping so ash left her house on the floor until she was awake...

Later we left to run to town and when we came back...her house was gone...all that was left was the cardboard covered in tin foil left....

Our Boxer (dog) had a feast...and 3 yr old was a little upset. Later she came up to me and said "if I would not have left my house on the floor I would still have it, huh?"

Yep Girly you got it :).... we died laughing, and Boxer I am sure had a little bit of a tummy ache

RockStar Car Seat Tent

Remember to enter your Mclinky for your handmade holidays! It here






This is the latest creation! Available in my Etsy Shop

It can also be custom ordered to your specific size.

Tractor Twin Size Blanket

Here is a huge custom order that I have been working on. It is now sewn, washed and dried, and ready to be checked for holes (cause I always seem to have one on each blanket, this time I plan on several because of the size.

This blanket is twin sized. It has 3 layers of fabric. The top is all cotton, the middle layer (batting) is flannel, and the backing is minky.

This thing is heavy. My husband had to help me maneuver it around my machine after awhile.

I hope that my customer just loves it...It is so soft and cuddly

PS sorry for the bad photo. Remember I live in a basement and getting good "in progress" pictures is next to impossible.

Catholic Icing

I just came across this cute Blog! It is called Catholic Icing. I am not catholic but I do think that it is important that we teach our children about Heavenly Father and Jesus.

This is what Lacy had to say about herself (taken from her bio)
I'm a Catholic, frugal, stay at home mommy of 3! I love all things fun and crafty, and was an art major in college. Now, I'm homeschooling our 3 year old daughter for preschool. I want to find ways for her to be happy and excited about our fabulous faith, and we're going to do it the affordable way! Please share any fun Catholic traditions your family may have so we can share it with everyone!



We are so on the same page! Amazing.

I am a mom of a 3 yr old (you all knew that already). I have been trying to teach my daughter instead of taking her to preschool, because I know that I can do a better job of it. Wow.

Here are a few of my favorite things that she has posted

Here is a Christmas Advent Countdown. Even if you did not already start one, here is a simple one that tells you something to read each day.


I have these all in my print section ready for todays project. I know my girly will totally love, love, love these. It is a great Nativity Scene made from Toilet Paper rolls. She has a bunch of these stashed away for a rainy day. It might not be raining today but this is definitely on the agenda.

We interrupt the usual broadcasting for this important message

So I participate in several Yahoo Groups online. Most of them are hairbows or fabric groups. The questions was asked about how to increase milk production for breastfeeding moms. If you don't like the way this discussion is going then just wait for the next post :) I totally understand

I have struggled with milk production with both babies that I have had. Last baby (the 3 yr old) stopped feeding around 4 months because I had nothing left to give. This time around I was hoping that it would be different, but knew otherwise.

One day while browsing the health food section in our local Fred Meyer store I found this stuff

http://www.evitamins.com/product.asp?pid=11503

It is called Lactation Blend by Vitanica.

It was $17.00 and I really struggled with buying it because that is a lot of money for something that I know nothing about. Well my hubby talked me into it...I have not been sorry

Here is my review of Lactation Blend by Vitanica:
I love this stuff. There have been several times in the last 7 months of breastfeeding baby that my milk has suddenly stopped coming. My husband has told many that if I were a dairy cow they would have slaughtered me a long time ago. For the first 5 months of breastfeeding I faithfully took these pills (well I am forgetful, so as faithful as possible with my scatter brain). I have not a had a problem with milk making. I could always tell when I was not taking them because the milk would not be there.

I had stopped taking them for a couple of months and baby was fine because she has had food to fill that little extra. Then a few days ago my milk suddenly disappeared again. I took 2 pills before bed and Voila! The next morning my cup runneth over (if you know what I mean). Ever since then I have taken one here and there and I have not had a problem.

Bottom line: if it was not for these pills I don't think I would have made it past month 3. If you have a slight (or large problem) with breastfeeding I would HIGHLY recommend these.

If you have any questions please leave me a comment and I will get right back to you

Sorry about the Mess

I am sorry, well ok not really, about the mess. I am trying to edit my blog so that it is easier for you all to read it....

If you have any questions or comments to help me make this blog better, or just questions or comments in general please leave me a comment or send me an email....

boblyns at yahoo dot com (remove the at and the dot and replace with the real thing)

PS if you want to do the same thing this is the tutorial that I have been using

Along with this website

Giveaway on Somewhat Simple

Go check out Somewhat Simple! They are doing a 12 days of Christmas Giveaway and I am giving away 3 $8.00 gift certificates to my etsy shop! Go check it out you will not be sorry :)

And welcome to those of you who are new followers, I am glad you decided to join us :)

New Section in my Etsy Shop

Just wanted to let you all know that I made a new section in my shop just for items that are ready to be shipped as soon as payment is received. Click here to go to that section in my shop. Also there are some clearance items there, so go check them out

And for those of you new around here I love to do trades so if you see something let me know what you have to offer!

Christmas Handmade Item To DO List

Quiet Book for baby from modest maven. Link Here

Several Kufis using this pattern (beanies with brims)

A couple of sets of ABC bean bags

Cabbage Patch Doll Clothing

and whatever else catches my attention while finishing up a couple of custom orders (one of which I am super excited about. Let me just say John Deere, Twin Size, and Minky. Need I say more

Planning on Making some Christmas Treats

Happy Holiday Cooking :)

Tonight Pillow

My hubbys aunt asked me to design her a pillow for Bridal Showers. This is what I came up with. She got the words put onto the fabric and I sewed it for her. I thought that it turned out great. I am going to be putting a pattern together for this pillow and would love for a couple of people to try it out. It will be compatible with my other appliques from my etsy shop. Any takers?!?

The pillow includes a ruffle, and pleated panels on the sides.

Does your sewing machine slip and slide while you are sewing?!?

My sewing machine is constantly moving while I am sewing. It drives me nuts!

Yesterday, I had the idea to put shelf liner underneath it to keep it from moving around. Perfection! It works great for the serger and the sewing machine!

The last couple of Christmas

Since this year we are living with the inlaws and they put up their tree I decided to show you what my tree has looked like over the last couple of years.

It is very victorian. Very pink and silver. Very fancy. I love it and definitely miss it. But even though we are not in our own home, our own stuff, Christmas is still the same because the people that are most important in my life are still with me. That makes my Christmas
This is in our house that we still own in southern Utah. This year we used the bigger tree because we had the room for in. The top pic was in our apartment, so we used a smaller tree that was given to us. That tree eventually will become the kids tree, eventually when we have our own home :)

I hope you enjoyed the little history lesson! I love Christmas!

Christmas From my Child's Eyes

My 3 yr old loves to take pictures with my camera. 90% of the time I end up just deleting them, but there are those 10% that I do keep because it lets me see what she sees. I get a greater understanding of who she is and what is important to her.
Hope you have a great day

Eating Christmas Food

I have a dilemma for all you smart people. My daughter and I are doing the 25 days of Christmas. So far we have done a secret santa, watched the nativity, an played a game. Today we are to eat christmas food. I have no idea what to do. Help me out with your ideas. Thanks