A little Silhouette love

A while ago I got a Silhouette machine - I had wanted a Cricut, but it seemed like after purchasing all of the separate cartridges, it would be a very costly investment. The silhouette can use all of the fonts that you have on your computer already as well as images, etc....

I have been enjoying a few projects with mine so far and have plenty more in the works!

Alphabet bean bags for H.
I had a ton of ovals of coordinating fabrics left over from shopping cart covers that I sold in my etsy shop. I had been holding on to them thinking it was a shame to just get rid of them...
I used the heat transfer material for this project (and used the 'negative' of the letters so I still have the actual letters left for another project). Each bean bag has the capital letter on one side and the lower case letter on the other.

Our cloth diaper pails - they were unlabeled before and we would occasionally find non-diaper things in them after company came. This way, there is no mistake (and I think it's sort of cute!)

Baking supplies. Nathan (and visitors) would find themselves searching through each container for the sugar, so - another problem solved!

The glass block nativity. They sell this shape in the silhouette download shop, too easy, sweet and holiday appropriate.

Our advent calendar.
I used the machine to cut out stencils for each number and then painted them on the pockets. I didn't feel like taking the time to hand stitch each number, and I like that these look neat.

All of the ornaments on our completed tree

We've been cooking!

I've been busy 'cooking up' some felt food for H this week. It was fun to make, but by the time I was finished, I was finished! He doesn't know quite what to do with pretend food, but likes to take it out of the bags and look at it. His favorite is the strawberries. There are some amazing tutorials here and here online (there were many more wonderful tutorials online, but these are the ones I used).

Fruits: Cantaloupe, orange, apples, strawberries, banana and kiwi

Veggies: Corn, cabbage/lettuce, cucumber, potatoes, carrots and a salad

Bread: pancakes, bread slices, and pizza

Misc.: Bacon, eggs, cherry pie, cookies, chocolate cookies/burger patties, cheese slices, pats of butter, jelly/pasta sauce/sliced turkey or ham

Shhh... It's time to be quiet!

I actually made this about 6 months ago, but now H is actually old enough to enjoy it a little! There were so many cute quiet books out there, and I love ones with a little personalization. I enjoyed making this one, using muslin and felt for the pages, wool felt cutouts, various fabrics, printer fabric, beads and shrinky-dinks!

Family members can be put in the correct snaps on the family tree.

Tic-tac-toe, and plant seeds in the garden. (The flower actually grows!)

Mail time! The 'postcards' are made out of shrinky dinks that I printed and then shrank. The flag on the mail box can go up and down.

H likes to look at the pictures, there is one postcard from each grandparent and great grandparent.

The doors to the house open and close

The fish hook on the fishing pole.

This is H's favorite page! He loves to take the fish out, put them back in and chew on them a little...

The car and plane can go back and forth to visit the aunts and uncles. Lift the flap to see who is home.

Mix and Match clothes. I might add a bag with more clothes to play with.

Match the birds!


I made it so that I can add pages or change pages as necessary. I need to make a page with a zipper, something that ties, and something that threads. Any ideas?

A day in the life

Good Morning, Sunshine!

Every morning, or after each nap I usually walk in to find H jumping in the corner of the crib, socks and extra pacifiers thrown on the floor, and with a big smile on his face!

Who wouldn't want to be greeted like that?

A little bit of cloth diapered cuteness!  He loves to gnaw on the drawer pulls on our armoir.  

Wearing his 'love beads' as PopHart (my Daddy) calls them.

Having a little visit over at Nanny's.  We rarely get a good picture as a family.  H was either laughing or just about to cry.... we'll go with laughing.

Our new diaper bag!  The fabric store had some new prints come in, and I just couldn't resist!!!!

Backpack style is a must for me, so I can have my hands free!   My last one that I made was larger and bulkier (it was my first diaper bag!) so I made this one a little smaller, and with many more pockets!!! Three on the outside and seven on the inside - pockets make me happy!   Now, everything won't be floating around in there, it all has it's own place.  I love fabric!!!!

I hope we have a little girl someday!!! (This is NOT an announcement!)

I made this cute little dress for N's neice's daughter.  Precious!!  You just can't do pink ruffles for a little boy!  The dress was surprisingly fast and easy - I mostly followed Amy Butler's pattern in her 'Little Stitches for Little Ones.'  

Goodnight!

(I feel like we post a lot of sleeping pictures, but they are too cute!  N and I usually peek at H before we go to bed, and he somehow always seems to be either surrounded by or on top of ALL the blankets and toys in his crib.  I wonder if it is comfortable....)

Christmas at our house:

While most of the day was a blur of cooking, nap-times, diaper changes, hugs, family, and toys, we truly enjoyed the day.  It was made more special by having family here, and my favorite part of it was having N by my side throughout it all: cooking, unwrapping, preparing, cleaning, visiting, and making this special for H's first Christmas (which he won't remember...).
Santa was good to all of us this year.  Some of my favorite gifts:  gift cards for clothes, shoes, two books - One Yard Wonders and The Big A** Book of Crafts. 

But I know that you really want to see pictures of H, not hear me go on about my thoughts....

He really liked the feel of a lemon from my parents back-yard!

Sweet.

The real present under the tree.

My favorite of H's gifts - a train set from this etsy shop.  So cute, and very well made!

He is loving rolling them back and forth.  

Reading the note from AK -

she made him a great re-purposed cigar box for treasures.

 

Daddy playing with H and his new tool set from this etsy shop.

I am loving the natural toys!

GrandMissy playing with H.  Uncle Duane and Aunt Rebekah on the couch.

H is his Daddy's son!  I always am watching and expecting him to get overwhelmed and overstimulated when there are a lot of people around and a lot going on.  But, like N, that is when he turns on and shines!  He just loves to make people smile, and happily goes from person to person and toy to toy!

Leonard got a gift too!

Some cat-nip filled fish made by SweetHart, and a necktie from GrandMissy.

Another fun thing we did today was open H's gift from SweetHart and PopHart while talking to them on the webcam.  Technology is wonderful!  It was great for them to be able to see them open his Little People Farm set while being many miles away!

We finished the day by heading to Nanny's house.

He loved seeing even more family, and my cousin Challie who H is smitten with!  Every time he sees her, he gets very coy and flirty!

Playing with the cutest gator named "Cordy Roy."  

I really want it for myself, but N says I can't keep it....

It is soooo cute though!

The gator also goes perfectly with the book Uncle Bryan and Aunt Sheri gave H:  The Cajun Night Before Christmas.  I highly recommend it if you live in the south or are interested in Cajun culture, or if you just want a fun spin on a well known story!

All in all, we had a wonderful Christmas, and a wonderful first Christmas for H!  All of us were pooped by the end of the day, but it was worth it!

"'Twas the night before Christmas

An' all t'ru de house

Dey don't a t'ing pass

Not even a mouse.

De chirren been nezzle

good snug on de flo'

an' Mama pass de pepper

t'ru de crack on de do'."

....

Merry Christmas to all

'Til I saw you some mo'!"

How we've been preparing for Christmas

We have been hiding from Santa...

 ....just in case he thinks we've been naughty....

Is learning to make faces naughty?

 If it makes your mama laugh?

 

Is reading books naughty?

 

While sitting in the book basket?

Is playing the piano naughty?

 

If you make pretty music?

There is no way this little one could be naughty!!!

 

 Merry Christmas!

Here is the nativity that I made this year.  I haven't been able to find a nativity that I liked - either too gaudy, or too expensive.  I saw one like this in an Etsy shop, and decided to give it a try.  It is made out of wool using the needle felting process.  It was a pleasure to make, and I am very pleased with the way it turned out!  Now they sit on our mantel on a needle felted leaf, and I think that they will stay well past the holiday season!

The whole group:

 

Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus

The wise men 

 

Two shepherds and an angel

 

May you be reminded of the precious moments that this scene depicts this Christmas...

What we have been up to:

H is officially crawling now, and getting a little faster every day!  Therefore he has been getting into a lot more!  Pulling books off of shelves, going for Leonard's litter box (he's never made it there, and the room will soon be blocked off), he shows a particular interest in my sewing box, likes to pull up on the dishwasher, tries to play with the VCR, likes the trash can in the bathroom, pulls up and chews on the rosking chair handle, and the list goes on.  So, my question is this:  How does a mama of a crawler (or a walker) get anything done without losing her sanity and without keeping the baby in their crib all day?

Exhibit A:

H in 'jail' while I do the dishes

Exhibit B:

SNOW!!!!

If you live somewhere that it snows often, don't laugh too hard!  Of course it melted before it touched the ground, but they were real snow flakes!!!  We had snow about like this two years ago, so it was very exciting!

Exhibit C:

 Monroe's Downtown Christmas Market:

What has been taking up a lot of my time for the past few weeks.... I had a booth set up with all of the wares from my Etsy shop:  pacifier clips, portable high chairs, shopping cart covers, stacking rings, pillows, cloth balls, nursing covers, scarves, bibs, burp cloths, onesies, slings, loveys, blankets, and more!  It was fun, and I met some wonderful women who are also mothers and crafters, but I was sooo cold by the end of the day.

N was super daddy again - getting me set up, taking care of H, bringing me lunch and baby, getting H to babysitters, and helping me sort it all out at the end of the day.  I am thankful for him!!!

Exhibit D:

I think that 'butt in the air' sleeping is simply the cutest sleeping of all!  Especially while using a stuffed animal as a pillow and with the blankie scrunched up under!  He looks so serious too!

This is how we all felt after yesterday!  This is how I feel everyday after chasing him around!