Thursday, December 31, 2015

Sewing Projects

I have to catch up on all (well almost all) of my blogging before the year ends. That is why I have written 10 posts in the last two days. I still have a few more to write about, but they can wait until the new year. 

My final post before 2015 comes to an end is about some of the gifts that were made for my children for Christmas. I don't know what it was about this past year, but it was really important to me that the kids didn't just get a whole bunch of stuff, but rather they got things that I really knew they would enjoy or would be meaningful to them. 

Since I was feeling that way for their birthdays and Christmas, I really wanted to do some homemade gifts for Christmas. 

I'm not the greatest sewer or crafter, but I do enjoy trying new things and pushing myself. 

This year I made them each a simple matching game with some leftover fabric scraps I had and old jeans. I'm really happy with how they turned out. I think it was a cute gift that they will enjoy, but it was also simple and cheap. 



Both of their games had a jean pocket that became their cases. 

These superhero masks (and Spiderman cuff) were made for Brighton. He doesn't yet know all of these superheroes, but Micah and I will be sure to expose him to them. Again, simple and cute. 

Oh and please ignore the markings all over the bench. They're from when Micah made and decorated capes with the kids. At least the mess is from a good memory. :) 


Finally, I decided this year was the year I was going to make a quilt for Lila. I have never made a quilt that wasn't a tie quilt so I was nervous. I did, however, have a TREMENDOUS amount of help from my big sis Rebecca. I seriously could not have pulled it off without her! Thank you SO MUCH Rebecca!

If I had known how much time and effort would go into this quilt I would have for sure started it much sooner than I did. I didn't know however, so I ended up spending many nights before Christmas Day working on her quilt until about 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. 

Even on Christmas Eve I ended up staying up until 4:00 a.m. Sadly, I didn't get it done because I ran out of thread! I couldn't believe it. I did get it far enough done to show Lila the next morning, so really it was okay. (I actually didn't finish it until about 3:00 or 4:00 last night!) 

Before the hearts were sewn on.

Let me just say that quilting is hard on a sewing machine… especially for someone who has never done it before. It was a pretty big project to take on for a newbie, but even though my stitches are really uneven, my hearts aren't sewn on perfectly smooth, and I have a few places where my material gathers, I really LOVE it. I'm so glad I took the time to make this blanket for my beautiful daughter. She was so happy when she saw it and couldn't wait to sleep with it. Her smile made it all worth it.


The hearts will eventually fray on the edges overtime.

Here's a picture of the back material. I wish the lighting were better so you could see just how cute this pink is. I also sewed the hearts on last, because I wanted the shape on the back. 


All done and ready for Lila to sleep with to start off a new year!
Have you noticed how my kids are often in their pajamas in pictures? They really love staying in their pjs. Even the ones that are clearly too small. :)

Now that I've made Micah his Texas flag quilt and Lila her heart quilt, I think that I will eventually make Brighton one, too. 

I really love creating things. It makes me happy. I especially love creating things for other people. I hope to continue to do so in the near future… just when I make Brighton's quilt, I will start much sooner. ;) 

Christmas Day 2015

Lila woke up very early Christmas morning and even though we had gotten very little sleep (I'll explain exactly how little in my next post), we wanted to go with Micah's tradition of the first person up waking everyone else. We ended up deciding to let Brighton sleep some more, but since she was so excited we did go over Lila's Santa gifts with her and then brought her into our bed for a little bit. 

Once Brighton got up we began opening our gifts and going through each one with them. They were so cute opening up each one. Every time Brighton was given a gift he would say, "a present for me?" It was adorable! Lila would get excited about her gifts and all the gifts for Brighton, Micah, and me as well. She just loves seeing people happy. 


Looking at their stockings.









This is actually half of Brighton's gift from his cousin. Micah didn't realize we were supposed to wait until we got to my mum's to open it. Oops. 


One of three costumes that Lila got for Christmas. She also got an Anna costume and a Hello Kitty costume. She really wanted to wear this to grandma's, but we said no. 



Lila got a hold of my camera for a little bit and took pictures of Bright. She really loves him. :)




After we were done opening gifts, we just hung out for a little while before getting ready to head to my mother's house for family gifts and dinner. It had snowed A LOT the night before so we were nervous that we weren't going to be able to get out of our parking lot (we'd seen others who had to be towed out). It worked out though. The roads were scary, but we drove cautiously and made it there safely.

It's always fun opening gifts at my mum's house with everyone around.


The other half of Brighton's gift from Hallie. 

Lila modeling one of the new robes that grandma gave to the grandkids. 

My mum will be going to England in 2016 so Sarah and Angelica got her this luggage just to make sure she was prepared. 

One gift that my sister Laura's family got was the new pie face game, or whatever it's called. The kids thought it was hilarious and had a great time playing! Even Brighton wanted to get in on the action. :)








My sister's Christmas village. 

My kids are really into musical instruments right now. Brighton is especially obsessed with the trumpet.





We then enjoyed a very delicious meal and just hung out for a little bit. 



Hi Micah!

The kids wearing their crowns from the Christmas crackers. 



Not the most flattering picture, but our only family one for the day. 

Isn't it a beautiful trifle! Look at all that custard. Yum! 

Shortly after dinner we knew it was time to go. We wanted to head back home during daylight because of the roads. I think it was a good idea. 

Dinner was great! Time with my family was so fun! The laziness and small family time was relaxing and enjoyable. We actually put the kids to bed early and then headed to bed pretty early ourselves. 

It was a wonderful blessing of a day!

I hope everyone had a beautiful Christmas!