'Twas the Night Before Christmas Game

'Twas the night before Christmas and all through the apartment,

The kids were so anxious to open a present.

Luckily Mom had an early gift up her sleeve.

One I worked hard on to be done by Christmas Eve!

I created this game from my heart with my hands,

In hopes one day this will be passed on to my Great-Great Grandkids.

Introducing Mom's handmade 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Game!

I found this great box at Michaels to place all the pieces in.

Looks like fun, I can't wait to dig in!

Here is a look at all the finished pieces laid out on the game board.

Rules of the game, printed on Christmas paper and laminated for long term survival.

Handmade spinner, also laminated.

The table cloth.  This is basically the game board and you start with just this and the spinner.

The plates.

Spinner (again).

Letter for Santa.

Gingerbread girls and boys.

Glasses of milk.

Cookies.

Candy canes.

 First time playing the game on Christmas Eve!!!

Aubrey reading us the rules.

Bayne taking his spin.

Our very first winner of the 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Game!!

YAY AUBREY!!!!

You finished your plate for Santa first!!!  

Our finished first game of play.

Aubrey "drinking" Santa's milk.

I can't take all the credit for this idea.  

I was inspired by this adorable game that we have and Aubrey loves.

And also this book, which has the patterns for all the pieces I used to make the game.

I merged the two and added a splash of my own creativity and viola!

The 'Twas the Night Before Christmas Game was born.

Every year I try to come up with a fun, new tradition for our Christmas celebration, as well as, sentimental things I can pass on to my children when they have children of their own.  Here are some of the other fun things I have made in Christmas past.

I can't wait to share more of the fun handmade gifts I made this year.  

Stay tuned!

Skirt Refashions, Just a Few Hems

A neighbor recently moved out and left a bunch of clothes on my doorstep for me to go through.  This is why I make it a point to mention to anyone and everyone that I love to refashion clothing.  What might be trash to some, is treasure to me.  Most of the stuff I liked as is.  A few of the skirts were cute, but needed a little updating (i.e. hemming).

There was this little number.  I have been needing a new jean skirt.  This one is way too long and way too little house on the prairie for my liking.

I have been dying to make myself a corduroy skirt, like the one I owned and loved from college.  This one might just do, with a little hemming, of course.

I forgot to take a picture of the ugly buckles and straps that went across the back of this cute jean skirt for no apparent reason at all, but to make your butt look bigger.  Unfortunately, it left a few holes across the back when I seam ripped them off.

Both of the first two skirts had some pretty big vents to deal with.  I had to cut them all the way up to the top of the split and pray I had enough fabric left to both cover my booty and still create a hem.

I barely had enough left to make this skirt still decent, so I serged across the bottom and did a tiny 1/4" hem.  

The jean skirt was a little more tricky.  The vent was too high to still add a hem, so I decided to just cut it and let it fray across the bottom like cut off jean shorts.

It is going to need a few more washings and dryings before it really gets a good fray.

But it fits!

Here is the cord skirt with a small hem, finished.

It also fits!  Gonna totally get some wears out of this skirt.  I love corduroy. 

I probably could have come up with a better solution for the holes on the back of this skirt, but I figured no one will really see the patch since my shirt will cover it.  It might have been a better idea to sew it on the inside.  I can always switch it around if it bugs me too much.

Just as a random extra refashion, I turned my kids old bed sheets into a laundry bag.  I don't know how many of you have to use the laundry mat, but I have yet to find a hamper that has held up to the massive piles of clothes and constant trips back and forth from home to laundry mat.  I know this thing is not going to break or fall apart like every other stupid one (I swear I have tried it all!) and I can throw it in the washer and dryer to clean it along with their dirty clothes.  I have another set of sheets I think I may turn into pjs next.  I keep hoping I will have time to do that for Christmas, but I am still rushing to finish up several gifts.

These weren't huge refashions, but sometimes just a hem makes a huge difference.

Novelty Print Winter Holiday Dress

I have yet to make myself a Christmas dress. 

I know, I find that surprising, too.

I have made a couple Christmas skirts to match with Aubrey.  Like this cute, blue, snowflake matching outfit we have on here.  I still have this skirt (I had to take it in a little) and I made a larger dress for Aubrey, so we can still rock our winter wonderland look together for a few more years.

I also made these crazy candy cane skirts to match with Bayne for one of his hip hop recitals.

It's worth showing off the back of Bayne's shirt.  I did his angel wings with freezer paper and gold glitter fabric paint.  The song they danced to was "Halo", by Beyonce.  He was the only boy and they didn't have a costume for him, so this is what I came up with.  He was so little and so cute!

Ok, back to me and my first handmade Christmas dress.

I was given this cool, starry night, Christmas tree fabric.  I love the blue, the subtle red highlights in the bushes, and the crescent moon.  The trees, the snow, the stars … ok I love pretty much everything about this fabric.  Especially that it was free!  I should tell you that I am a sucker for novelty fabric.  I don't care that it may be a little young to wear cute prints.  I think they are fun and playful.  I guess that would be the definition of young.  I may not be "young" per say, but I am young at heart and I like to be a little young in fashion, too.  If you can't be playful with your clothes, then why even get dressed.  Am I right? :) 

I pictured this being a 3/4 sleeve, button up dress.  Unfortunately, I didn't have enough yardage to pull that off, especially with the one directional print.  I dug through my stash of patterns and this was the best I could find to work with.  I went for pattern D, since I haven't tried that cut yet.  I figure it can be worn with tights and a cardigan in the winter and still look pretty cute, even though it is more of a summery style dress.

Here is my first handmade Christmas/Winter dress for me all finished!

I threw a little red belt around it and some dark blue tights.

Add the cardigan sweater for some warmth.  I like how the bodice top still peaks out of the collar a little.  I like to wear it with my red Toms.  

I'm pretty happy with how it came out.  I think I will be wearing this one quite a bit this season!  

Just a side note, I noticed that this was my 100th post.  Kinda cool!  I guess that means I have made at least 100 things since I started this blog.  Although, I feel a little lame at times for having this blog, I am glad I started it.  Mostly, I like having all my creations in one place for easy reference.  That way if I ever want to use a pattern again I can check back on here for notes or tips on ways to avoid mistakes or make it better.  I wish I could be as cool as some of the fashion bloggers out there that take the time to go out and capture beautiful images of their creations on them out in the world.  I have a hard enough time getting a picture in my room.  I've never been one for being in front of the camera.  I figure if I can wear it outside into the world, then I can suck it up and take a quick picture to share with everyone.

Thanks for keeping up with me and my work!!  

Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

It's that time of year again!

Time for the holly and the jolly.

And the cute Holiday clothes.  

It's always so easy to find a cute Christmas outfit for a little girl, but it's much harder to find one for a boy and a tomboy.  Especially one that THEY will think is cool and want to wear.  

I created this clever little Santa Mustache shirt for my kids.  This is my fun holiday spin on the whole mustache fad that I've never understood.

I made one for my daughter this year.  The kids have more fun with these shirts.

Bayne likes to pull his up to his nose so it looks like he has a mustache.

Of course, Aubrey has to do it, too.

She's going straight for the candy cane up the nose … lol!

I do have a few of these awesome Santa Mustache shirts available for sale on my Etsy page.

I have several holiday items available for sale.  Dresses, hot pads, coasters, and Thanksgiving table settings.  I included links to the listings if you find yourself interested in any of my holiday creations.  

I love this Holiday SnowFlake Dress.  

I like the uniqueness of the dark fabric against the snowflakes.

I also have a Blue Holiday Snowflake Dress.  

My daughter wears one of these and I have a matching skirt.  It looks so pretty on with a pair of white tights or leggings and a long sleeve shirt.  She looks like a beautiful snow princess when she wears hers.

I have these gorgeous hand braided hot pads to dress up your table for the holidays.

And also this Set of three hot pads.

And tons and tons of holiday coasters sure to brighten up your home and keep your tables free from water stains.

I even have something for Thanksgiving.  Cute little pumpkin and scarecrow placemat and napkin set perfect for the kids table.

Thank you for taking the time to look at all of my creations.  I hope you find something special for someone you love.  Everything I make I do so with great care and love.  Every purchase goes towards a good family and supports a real dream.  

Good luck with all your holiday shopping!  

Happy Holidays!!!