Black Friday

As much as I love our October tradition, I really love our post-Thanksgiving tradition.

My 3 year old and I have been waiting anxiously for weeks for today to arrive.

We had the nicest time chatting with the man running the tree lot.  He was friendly and helpful and teased our boys about taking home a gigantic 12 foot tree.  He shared with us that he'd been on this same spot of land for the past 20 years, and his father for almost 40 years before that. 

His story, combined with seeing his modest residence of a trailer, reminded me of my respect and admiration for farmers.  People who are completely dependent on things they can't control, like weather and the buying habits of people in a not so great economy.  This man, like his father before him, spends six weeks of the year camped out here, alone, away from his family--the six weeks the rest of us most want to be with family.   And he's pleasant, to boot.

Needless to say, we'll be visiting him again next year. :)

And in this-stuff-only-happens-to-me news:  one of the tree stands I bought was missing parts, forcing me into Target on Black Friday for a replacement.  (I'll admit it wasn't all that bad!)

Although the tree in the kitchen sink just might catch on. ;)

Enjoy the rest of your holiday weekend!

 

Happy Thanksgiving!

I hope your Turkey Day was as enjoyable as ours.  We really do have so much to be thankful for.

xoxo

Party prep: cake bunting

I've never met a bunting I didn't like. 

One tiny enough for my boys' birthday cake is no exception. 

It was as simple as it looks to make.  All I used was 1 inch triangles of fabric, wooden skewers and twine.

I lined up my tiny flags and ran them through my sewing machine.

Then I glued them to the skewers before adding bows made of twine.  Easy peasy!

I even glued flags to toothpicks for the cupcakes. 

Less than two weeks until the party...I can't wait to see these in action!

Happy Sunday

My husband's a good sport

All the poor guy wanted to do was go outside and barbeque on his deck.

Sew, Mama, Sew's Handmade Holidays

I'm so happy to say that I'm included in Sew, Mama, Sew!'s Handmade Holidays Guide.  Go check it (and tons of other amazing projects!) out here.

Sneaking in

While my head is thinking stuffing and pilgrims, my heart is wandering to the little goodies that are starting to pop up all around me...

Happy Sunday

Here's to another happy autumn weekend!

The What Was I Thinking Crayon Roll Tutorial

My boys' birthdays are coming up in December.  For some reason I thought it would be a good idea to make crayon rolls as party favors.

15 party favors.

Handmade party favors.

Party favors I decided to start making in November.

Ahh.

So I've been cranking them out, assembly line style.  Here's how I make them:

You'll need:

1 strip of fabric, 16.5" x 5" for the exterior

1 strip of matching fabric, 16.5" x 6" for the pocket

1 strip of coordinating fabric, 16.5" x5" for the interior

1 strip of lightweight, fusible interfacing, 16.5" x 5"

30" of coordinating ribbon

16 crayons

Start by ironing the 16.5" x 6" strip in half lengthwise.

Iron the interfacing to the back of the interior fabric.

Using a disappearing ink pen, mark a line 3 inches from the bottom on the interfacing.  (I know I'm using the wrong side of the marker...when making so many at a time, the disappearing ink actually disappears before I get to sewing.)

Starting 1/4" from the edge, mark every inch along the line.

Extend each mark into a vertical line.

Line the pocket up with the bottom edge.  Pin each corner in place.

Flip the piece over and pin on the interfacing side.

Sew along each vertical line, being sure to backstitch at the top.

Fold your ribbon in half and line up with the top of the pocket. 

Pin and sew all the way around, being sure to leave a 3-4 inch gap for turning.

Turn the roll right side out and push out the corners gently with a knitting needle.

Be sure to fold in the fabric in the opening so all the seams lay flat.

Iron.

Topstitch all the way around, as closely to the edge as you can.

Then rainbow-tize your crayons and fill your rolls!

If you like these, but don't feel like making one, there are a few in the shop. :)