Jill Made It

So long. Farewell. Aufedersein. Good-bye.

2014-04-30T19:56:00.000-04:00

I realized the other day, I don't need to write this blog anymore. It's served it's purpose. It's served several, in fact. But it's not anymore. I just don't need it.

I started this blog when Boo was one year old because I needed something that STAYED DONE. Not just, my baby's diaper is clean for—excuse me—her diaper is clean again for the moment.

Then I kept writing the blog because, well, I like it. And also because I was worried that if I didn't have the routine of blog-doing, I also wouldn't make my projects, but instead would just ... burn brain cells (my husband's term for TV watching) on the couch every evening or something.

I'd really like to write a book. For a while, this blog served that purpose—I was publishing something that people actually read. But it's not a book. I'm going to write a real book, send it to a publisher, and hopefully get it out on the bookstore shelves.

I still enjoy writing my blog, but I've decided that it's time to be done. Coming to that decision was really freeing, actually. The blog has served it's purpose and is now getting in the way of life.

I know I won't just do nothing now that I'm not posting it for the world. But I will do some different things. Now I have time to work on projects that will take a long time and not be blog-worthy, like organizing and editing my family photos. (Which will be a HUGE project. I shoot in RAW, which means that every photo needs to be processed. By me. It will take a while.)

Now I don't have to choose between finishing a project in time for my self-imposed blog schedule or actually exercising.

I'll probably write another blog eventually, but not this one. (I'd like to write a blog as part of a group of bloggers. I like doing everything on my blog, but I don't like doing EV. ERY. THING on my blog. I think a group effort would be lots of fun, and easier, too.)

So this is my last post. I hope you've enjoyed it. I certainly have.

Good-bye.

Hope You Had a Happy Easter!

2014-04-22T08:00:00.000-04:00

Happy Easter! I hope you all had a wonderful Easter Sunday.

We had so much fun with family! Daddy's Girl had a great time at her first Easter egg hunt. (She wasn't old enough to participate last year.) She found lots of eggs, too!

My husband's cousin and her family came to visit, so Boo and Daddy's Girl got to meet their second-cousin for the first time. The girls really hit it off; when I told Boo they were cousins, she said, "She's my cousin and my friend." After having just met. Awww.

All the relatives who live nearby came over, so our girls got to play with this sweet little cousin, too. And he got to have his first Easter egg hunt. But he wasn't so much into finding eggs; he mostly just wanted to put the eggs in his mouth.

Boo got a Rainbow Dash doll in her Easter basket, and carried it around the whole time she searched for eggs. She had me hold her basket after a while, but she didn't put down that doll!

I am so grateful for my sweet little family. And I am grateful for Christ's atonement and resurrection, which we celebrated yesterday. May we always remember Him who gives purpose to everything else. I am grateful that, because of Him, we, too, can live again.

365 Patterns: Easter Edition

2014-04-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

I don't know why Easter snuck up on me this year. In my mind, Easter was always about a month or two away. Until a couple weeks ago, when I realized I had better get started on Easter preparations!

So last weekend, we bought Easter candy and goodies. Grandparents wanted to get the girls their Easter dresses, so that's done. And this past week, I made a couple more simple shirts for Boo! I'll show you those later—I thought about making Easter-specific shirts, but then they're weird to wear after the holiday. I made her nice summer play shirts instead. (Nope, Daddy's Girl isn't getting new play clothes; she has lots that fit. It's the tragedy of being the younger child. At least until she's old enough to know.)

And I made some Easter patterns. I wanted to make religious patterns, Easter being a religious holiday and all, but without going the obvious route. And there are some Easter eggs and Peeps thrown in for fun, too. Hope you like them!

The inspiration for this pattern was the beautiful stained glass windows I saw in so many cathedrals the one time I've been to Europe. (One of these days I'll make it back; that was a great trip.) On a technical note, look closely at the glass—I used a new technique I've learned called Inner Glow. Pretty nice, huh?

It's actually really hard to think of religious-themed Easter designs when you exclude the most common motifs. My husband suggested honeycomb, because Jesus ate fish and honeycomb after he was resurrected (Luke 24:36-43).

And for some non-religous fun, I love these Easter eggs. They're just so happy! And fast to make. That's always nice.

I do like this pattern, but I don't love it. It's pretty and useable (little girl's dress, perhaps?) but not terribly exciting or innovative. I was practicing gradients again. And made flowers. Woo-hoo.

Chevrons are cool.

Do you like Peeps? I don't. But the bunny shaped Peeps are pretty much adorable.

Finishing off this week's pattern set is my He is Risen! pattern. I love how the text looks like shouting, and I colored the pattern like an old newspaper to emphasize the feeling. He is Risen! Hallelujah! Let everyone know so we can all celebrate together!

Happy Easter to you and yours.

Simple Shirt for My Little Goofball

2014-04-08T16:32:00.001-04:00

Boo has a t-shirt that I just really really like the fit of. So I copied it. It's a simple two piece pattern—just a front and back, with no separate sleeve pieces. If you're new to using existing clothes as patterns, I suggest trying this kind of shirt. Or if you've been copying for a long time, I still recommend a shirt like this. Who doesn't like near-instant gratification?

Boo likes for me to take pictures of her for exactly as long as she wants, and that time is never very long.

Today, our picture-taking window was really short. She's a good sport, though, and I was able to cajole her into letting me take a few more pictures.

Because, as adorable as this face is, this picture doesn't really show off her new shirt very well.

And I'd like a smile please?

There we go. Good job, Boo.

By the way, did you notice we cut Boo's hair? First time ever, excepting trimming her bangs. Her hair hung all the day down her back, if you remember. (If you don't—her hair hung all the way down her back.) She finally got tired of having us brush out so many tangles, so after church one day—haircut time! We love her new look!

365 Patterns: Happy Rocks, Monsters, and Frogs, Oh, My

2014-04-04T08:00:00.000-04:00

This 365 Patterns series has two purposes: to keep me practicing Illustrator after my class ended, and to learn and use more skills. Hopefully, my patterns will just get better as the year goes on.

I love these balloons! This is my first (successful) use of gradients, and I think they greatly improve the simple balloons.

Just simple dots. But I like dots, so there you go.

I call this pattern Happy River Rocks. The purple/yellow/blue color scheme just makes me smile.

Do you recognize these frogs? They came from the Tribal Frog Onesie I made for a baby shower present a few weeks ago. I actually made the design on the computer before carving the stamp, so turning the image into a pattern was easy-peasy. I love how, if you step back from the pattern a bit, the frogs turn into a camouflage pattern. My husband suggested that this pattern would be great for little boys' shorts. Wouldn't that be cute?

Okay, not excited about this one. Snowflakes. Meh, whatever.

I do like this one. I wanted to try a technique I learned for "spot detailing" (what the instructor called it). I think this looks like scales—monster scales, since they're purposefully irregular. :)

Really simple, but I'd been wanting to do a hexagon pattern. It reminds me of a quilt design I've seen.

On a completely different topic, is it getting to be spring for you yet? I'm totally done with winter, so hopefully winter is totally done with me. We've been having a couple warm days, then a couple really cold days...

All Things Pretty Necklace Review

2014-04-01T08:00:00.000-04:00

Who likes jewelry? Pfft, who doesn't like jewelry? I just found about a new place for getting some beautiful eye candy.

Like this lovely necklace here. This is the Annalise Necklace from All Things Pretty. I love the dramatic length of it, and the gold and pink look so nice against my dark blue shirt.

And I just thought this post could use another picture. Hi, me! Now that that little bit of dorky-ness is out of the way, you might want to click over to their Pinterest board to see what other bits of sparkle All Things Pretty has to offer.

Their stuff is seriously pretty. They have everything from bold and dramatic to simple and sweet, modern to classic, super sparkly to understated.

Disclaimer: I was given this necklace for free in order to write a review. All my own opinions, etc, etc.

365 Patterns: Lots of Love

2014-03-28T08:36:00.002-04:00

I decided to go with a theme for this week's patterns, so get ready for lots of love!

I like the hand drawn feel of these hearts; sometimes Illustrator projects can feel too neat and clean. Wouldn't this pattern make for great wrapping paper?

I wanted to make the green hearts to seem random, even though it's the same block of hearts repeated. The trick is simply to start with a large enough block of pink and green hearts.

This, to me, looks like a classic Valentine's Day pattern, good for stationary, wrapping paper, or whatever. Lots of use...but not terribly exciting. And I just realized some of those hearts are doing funny spiky things...I'll have to look at the original file and figure out what's up...

Ah, interlocking hearts. That's a little more fun.

For this pattern, I experimented with different brushes in Illustrator, something I don't do nearly enough.

This is my favorite of this week's patterns, and it was probably the easiest, too. There are so many things I'd use this. My favorite idea, though, is for a duvet cover. Wouldn't you just feel happy every time you walked into you room?

(Sorry to be anti-climatic with this variation of the first pattern. The numbering got off; it was supposed to be the first pattern, not the last.) I like this heart pattern. Not much more to say.

Did you like having a theme? Is there any pattern/image you'd like to see me create? I'd love to hear what you have to say!

365 Patterns: Stormy Clouds and Sunny Flowers

2014-03-21T18:22:00.000-04:00

For this week's patterns, I revisited some themes from last week, and added some new ones.

First, I did another version of the Citrus Dots I did last week. I like it. Bright and happy.

This pattern was inspired by one I've seen recently. Okay, it's just like the lining of our diaper bag, only with reversed colors.

I was feeling like strawberries today, so this pattern turned into a lattice of strawberry blossoms.

And then the strawberries themselves.

Again, sitting in choir, singing "Singin' in the Rain," I was inspired to make more rainy day patterns.

I was working on a flower pattern that was just not working, so I gave up on it (for the moment—I hope to get it figured out eventually) and whipped up this pattern. I love it! It's so happy and bright. Who else is ready for spring?

And lastly, my Beachy Argyle. This pattern was harder than I expected, but again, it is an interlocking pattern, so I should have known. I just expect classic patterns to be easier for some reason. I did finally mostly get it. Some of the stripes don't meet up quite right, but you have to zoom in really close to tell.

My favorite patterns of the week are, by far, the Stormy Clouds and the Sunny Flowers. What are your favorites? Any suggestions for future patterns?

Every Baby Boy Needs a Tribal Frog Onesie

2014-03-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

So, you know I like to make, rather than buy, presents for babies. I've made quilts (like the Finding Nemo Quilt and Elephant Quilts for Twins), burp cloths, and nursing covers. Right now, I like decorating onesies.

Specifically, I like to carve custom stamps, and stamp the onesies. I've made flower, crab, crawfish, seahorse, starfish, and now frog stamps. It's so fun to make (and use) a hand-carved stamp. I have another baby shower coming up, this time for a baby girl, so I'm thinking about carving a new stamp. What design to do...?

What do you like to give for baby shower presents? What is the best baby gift you've received?

365 Patterns: Raindrops and Daisies (and more)

2014-03-14T18:22:00.001-04:00

Week 2 of my pattern challenge!

I really like this daisy pattern. It's white flowers on a blank background, so I can make it in any color I feel like at the moment!

The choir I'm in is preforming "Singin' in the Rain" this season. I was inspired. I'm planning to make another pattern sometime with a little man dancing in the rain. :)

Wouldn't this design be nice for curtains, or pillows, or a rug...

These four patterns are actually the same artwork as #10, but tiled differently. Cool, huh?

I had too much fun with this one; I made it into seven or so color schemes.

I thought I'd try a nice, classic pattern. That'd be easy, right? Wrong. This was actually really hard to get right. (Probably because it's an interlocking, rather than just repeating, pattern.) Finally got it, though.

One good houndstooth deserves another, right? If you thought it'd be simple to just recolor some of the ... hounds teeth?...you'd be wrong. But I do like how it turned out, and I'm glad I could figure it out.

Simple pattern today. Just some nice, happy citrus to brighten your day!

Do you have any suggestions for future patterns? I'd love to hear them!

365 Patterns Challenge

2014-03-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

Something I really like about Illustrator CS6 is the pattern making capabilities. Apparently, pre-CS6, making seamlessly repeating patterns was pretty obnoxious to do. Now, it's so easy!

Two of the teachers at Nichole's Classes (where I took my Illustrator class) undertook a really cool challenge last year—to make a new pattern every single day of the year. For the whole entire year.
(Click here and here their work. )

It's a lot.

I thought that was a pretty awesome way to learn/practice Illustrator, so I've decided to take on that challenge this year myself. So each week, I'll be showing you what I've done.

I started out really simple: Polka Dots! Love me some black and white polka dots.

As simple as the black and white polka dots were, I actually learned a lot from making them. For example, I realized that you don't have to include a background in the pattern. These polka dots are just repeating white circles that can be placed on any colored background. Talk about versatile.

This pattern (not chronologically #3, but I didn't keep track of the order, so here it is) came from the artistic version of a writer's block. Nothing was working; nothing was right. And Boo wanted me to paint with her. So I did. I painted an organic blue doodle, liked it, scanned it into the computer, used Live Trace on it to turn it into a vector object, and made it a pattern. I like it. I'll have to paint my patterns again.

This pattern came from #3. I wondered if I might like it better not all organic, but with circles and ovals instead. It reminds Kelli of jewelry.

Ah, this one was hard. I really wanted to try to make a pattern that actually interlocked, rather than just repeated. It took a while, but I got it.

And this is the same as the last one only in two colors instead of four. I kind of like the simplicity of having only two colors.

I love these calla lilies. The idea for this pattern just came to me one night—"What if you made stripes, only they were actually calla lilies?" The pattern ended up more calla lily and less stripe, but I still love it.

I wanted to try a more simple flower design. I think it would be better a little bigger, and the nice thing about Illustrator is that it's easy to change the scale.

I had a really nice streak going on, but then all four of us—the little ones, hubby, and I—all got a really bad cough/congestion/holding-the-baby-all-night-long-because-she-couldn't-sleep-laying-down sickness that lasted an entire week and totally derailed my pattern-making, to say nothing of life in general. (We're finally pretty much over it...) So I realized a pattern every day might not be reasonable, but I'll try my best. And, hey, I can always make up the sick days.

Last Week of Illustrator Class: Birds, Boats, and Business

2014-02-25T08:00:00.000-05:00

Well, did you make it through all my homework posts? This is the last one, I promise. I'm so glad I took the class; look what I can do now!

I found I photo I'd taken who knows when of a bird in snow, and used Illustrator's Image Trace feature to turn it into a vector image. I made a couple copies, played with the colors, and there you go.

And why not make it into a pattern? I think this would be really nice on fabric, maybe for a pillow...

I didn't realize I liked sailboats so much, but I love love LOVE the boat pictures I made this week and last.

For my final project, I made a set of designs for my Etsy shop that I will hopefully be opening soon.

Oh, and I re-did some stuff for my blog. :)

Sailboats and Elephants: Illustrator Class Again

2014-02-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

I hope you're not tired of seeing my Illustrator homework, because it's still coming!

For week 3, I drew this cute elephant. Poor little guy. I hope you can get a new balloon.

I've had the idea for this illustration for years, only it was going to be a quilt. I don't know that I'll ever make it as a quilt, but I love it as a piece of art! If I ever have a boy, he is most definitely getting a nautical-themed nursery.

I love this piece. :)

You've Got Valentine's Mail

2014-02-13T16:51:00.001-05:00

Need a last-minute Valentine's Day gift for your sweetheart? How about some mail?

I made these for my hubby for Christmas, but they make great Valentine's Day, birthday, anniversary, Father's Day, or just anytime presents!

All you need is twelve envelopes, some paper, a pen/marker, and imagination! For each envelope (and month of the year), you come up with a date idea. Write it down, and slip it in the envelope. Label each envelope with the appropriate month, and any preparations you may need to take care of before Date Night. That way, the date plans can be kept a surprise until the it's time!

For example, for our February Date, we'll be making fresh pasta and watching a romantic movie. That means we need a babysitter for dinnertime.

Other instructions could be, "Saturday Date" for an afternoon hiking trip, or "Buy Tickets and get babysitter" if you're going to a baseball game.

The best part about this Valentine's Mail, besides that you'll be spending lots of time with your sweetie, is that you can customize the dates to be exactly right for you and your significant other.

If you'd like some simple date ideas, click over to see my Year of {Cheap, Fun, Simple} Date Nights. These are mostly at-home (no babysitter needed!) date ideas.

What are some great date ideas you've tried? I'd love to hear them!

Starfish, Temple, and Chinese New Year: Illustrator Homework, Week 2

2014-01-28T13:00:00.000-05:00

Week 2 of my Illustrator class was a lot of fun. We learned about using the Shape tools...

the Line Tools...

and the Pen and Pencil Tools.

I'm really excited that I can already make actually nice things in Illustrator. Let me tell you, this program is hard to learn to use on your own. I used to think, "Hey, I can use Photoshop—I bet I could figure out Illustrator." Well, I tried, and nope. Not even a little. But now I can! Very exciting.

Baby Announcement Poster (Illustrator Class Homework)

2014-01-21T08:00:00.000-05:00

In the next few weeks, you'll be seeing a lot of my Illustrator projects. Comments are welcome; what do you think?

For the first homework assignment in my Illustrator class, we were to make a typography poster. I have a friend expecting baby #3, so I decided to make this for her.

The Finding Nemo Baby Quilt

2014-01-14T08:00:00.000-05:00

{I had this whole blog post written and completely ready to go, but then I somehow managed to delete it by accident. I don't know what happened. (Sadness!) So you get the abbreviated version.}

I made this baby quilt for one of my friends. She and her husband were planning a Disney theme nursery for their baby boy, so when I found this fabric, I knew it was meant to be.

I love giving handmade items as baby presents. It's partially because I just really like making things, but it's also that I feel that handmade gifts are an extra-special welcome to the world. :)

The quilt is just a big rectangle with a white border inside to add interest, so it was a pretty quick quilt. I think I even got it done the night before the baby shower.

New Year's Resolutions

2014-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's that time of year again. January: the month of cold weather, lingering coughs, and new (or renewed) goals. Yep, we've got all those things going on at our house.

But let's talk about the last item on the list. I love the whole idea of the new year. A fresh start, a time to think about what you really want in your life, a time to stop putting things off and instead get things done!

So here are my goals for this bright and fresh New Year.

Family:
Be actively present in my children's lives. And I don't mean just being physically present; I mean really being there. Case in point: do you ever "play" with your kids when what you're really doing is browsing Pinterest on your iPhone? I do, all the time. I mean, I did. I won't do it anymore. My kid's deserve a higher priority than my electronics. And I'm not saying that I need to be a helicopter mommy, or that I don't need any time to myself, but when it's Be a Mommy Time, it is Be a Mommy Time.

Make last year's family photo book. And 2012's. I got behind, dang it.

Blog:
Post once each week, but don't feel sad if I miss a week. Also don't apologize for missing: I do this blog for my own creative outlet (but I hope you all like it, too).

Post more about my faith. It's such a big part of my life, why shouldn't it be on my blog, too? It's just that this is a crafting blog, and my crafts aren't really religious...But I am thinking about writing more "about my life" kinds of posts, so that should work. And I was asked to do a new job at church (teaching the three-year-olds!) so maybe I'll post about that, too.

Health:
Be more healthy! Really specific, I know. My goal is just to build healthy habits. Namely:
—Exercise most days.
—Don't multi-task when it comes to eating. I'm a big read-and-eater. For pretty much ever, I've always had a book to read while I'm eating. On the one hand, this lets me fit in a lot more reading that I would otherwise be able to do. On the other hand, mindless eating is not a good health habit. And this also goes back to being actively present in my family's lives. Reading kinda thwarts dinner conversation.

Learning:
I love learning. In my perfect world, I would be taking college classes continuously. (One at a time, and on a whole list of topics.)

I'm taking an Illustrator class right now, and I want to really get good at that program. (The graphic at the top of the page? I made it in Illustrator. Hopefully I will be posting actually awesome projects in the coming weeks.)

I am also working on learning Spanish through this iPad app. My goal is to be able to converse in Spanish (even if it's on a basic level) by the end of the year. I think I need something more than just the app, though. Any suggestions? Learning a new language is so hard...

Prepare for homeschooling. I'm planning to homeschool Boo, and I (of course) want to do a really great job, so I better get figuring things out. I'll need a curriculum, and a homeschool group...

Other:
Set up my Etsy shop. I've been thinking about this for a few months now, but I'm kinda scared to do it! Now I am New Year's Resolution-ing to really do it! Maybe in February, once I finish my Illustrator class...

"Star of Bethlehem" Christmas Tree Ornament Mini Tutorial

2013-12-23T08:00:00.000-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve-Eve!

Today is the last of our Sew a Song of Christmas series. I hope you've enjoyed it! I've sure had fun teaming up with Kelli, Al, Stephanie, Megan, and Bethany to bring to you a bit of musical holiday craftiness. :)

For my last song, I chose "Shine for Me Again, Star of Bethlehem." This song is about keeping the faith in the things you once knew, even though the long days and years make that difficult sometimes.

There is a line of the song that sums this idea up very nicely: "Do not despair—your star is still there."

It's nice to have that reminder hanging on the Christmas tree.

These stars, inspired by this pin, are so easy to make! Boo made these with me last year, actually.

We used salt dough, but you could use any kind of clay you'd like--polymer clay, corn starch clay, whatever.

After rolling the dough out, we cut out the stars with cookie cutters and stamped the designs. Rubber stamps, found objects—whatever you'd like could be used to make fun patterns. I made these swirls with a sea shell! :) Don't forget to make a hole for running the ribbon.

After baking the clay, we made painted the stars and hung them with loops of ribbons. Easy and done.

They make nice little Christmas presents, too; my family all got ornaments last year.

Boo wanted to help me take the pictures. Love her.

Merry Christmas!

"Winter Wonderland" Vest Tutorial from Bethany of I Married Superman

2013-12-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

I'm really excited about today's Sew a Song of Christmas project! But first, allow me to introduce you to our final guest poster, Bethany, who blogs over at I Married Superman. While I don't know Bethany in real life, I think we could totally be friends. Her blog is so fun, I love the way she writes, and her projects are great. Here, go read her About Me page, and you'll want to be friends, too.

Bethany sews a lot for her three adorable little kids, two of whom are approximately my children's ages, which makes her posts extra applicable and fun to read. She posts lots of tutorials (like this cute baby cardigan! It's really too bad I hate making ruffles...), and there's the free patterns (Hello, adorable sun hat!), and even totally boy-friendly projects (Captain America shorts!) which can be hard to find. Maybe my nephew would like shorts like that.

And now, on to today's tutorial!

~~~

I'm so excited to be a part of Jill's series! Christmas songs are so fun and inspirational. I'm listening to some as we speak {er....as I type, I should say} and it's makin' me feel so festive.....I feel some hot cocoa coming on! ;)

Today my song inspiration-take is on the classic, light-hearted Christmas carol, "Walkin' in a Winter Wonderland." I have distinct memories of listening to Amy Grants version of the song as a kid. No matter how many versions I hear, I always go back to that one. Nostalgia. :)

Anyway, I happened to have all of this white/cream colored fur material that I received for free ninety-nine from my sisters neighbors grandma's attic. I know. I'm all for telling funny, detailed stories, but I'll leave that one alone for today.

Suffice it to say I had lots of fur material that I didn't know what to do with, so I thought "why not a cozy little vest for my little Lila Lou?"

We waited and waited to take pictures of Lila in this vest for a couple weeks. Because we thought it would be fun to actually have a winter wonderland to take pictures in. But no such luck. So I finally let Lila make her own "winter wonderland."

I must say, she really got into character with her tulle "snow." I mean, check out the frolicking. :)

A snugly abominable snowman-esqu vest is just the ticket for a winter wonderland walk, don'y ya think? :)

To make one, all you need is fur material {or a cozy type of material if you're not into fur} and some type of soft fleece material to line the vest.

First get a shirt that fits your child and turn it inside out. Then fold it in half like so:

Trace it out adding an inch onto each side {or two depending on how much you want the front pieces to overlap}. You can trace out a front and a back, but I just used the same tracing with different neckline markings.

Using the upper neckline, cut your material on the fold for a back. Then using the lower neckline, cut two separate pieces for the front.

So you'll have this:

Do the same for the lining, so you'll have this:

You should have six pieces total. Two front pieces and a back cut out of your fur material and two front pieces and a back cut out of your lining material.

Take the fur material and place right sides together and sew the shoulder seams.

Do the same with the lining.

Now sew down the side of the fur pieces.

And your lining piece.

So you'll have two identical pieces just made out of different material.

Turn your fur piece inside out and open it up.

Place your lining inside the fur vest {with right sides together}

Sew along one side of the front, around the neckline and back down the front.

If you flip it around, the vest should look like this:

To complete the armholes, fold the lining arm hole under towards the wrong side of the fabric and then fold the fur piece under in the same way. Make sure that they align and so you can't see any raw edges. Pin as you go.

And then sew around so it looks like this:

Now do the same for the bottom. Fold each piece toward their respective "wrong sides" of fabric. Pin

and sew.

Close it up and you should be good to go build a snowman, and call him Parson Brown.

Here's Lila building hers...putting on buttons

And sticking in a carrot nose.

Thank goodness for imagination. :) Consequently, our forecast says we're in for a real wonderland tonight. Wohoo!

Thanks again for having me, Jill!

~~~

Thank you, Bethany! And isn't Lila so cute?

And in case you missed any of the posts in our series...

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Tulle Wreath
"O, Christmas Tree" Glitter Ball Ornaments
"What Child is This?" Mini Quilt {with free pattern}
"Blue Christmas" Simple Holiday Skirts
"Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Ornaments

"Let It Snow" Mitten Ornaments

"Away in a Manger" Nativity Set

"Joy to the World" Jar {with free printable}

Merry almost-Christmas, everyone!

"Joy to the World" Jar {with Free Printable} by Megan from One Willis Family

2013-12-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

It's almost Christmas; are you so excited? We have family coming to visit in just a few more days, so we're really excited about that. And the Christmas lights, choir programs, cookie making—it's a great time of year.

And we're almost done with the "Sew a Song of Christmas" series. Today's project is by Megan, who blogs over at One Willis Family. She designs a lot of printables, some free, some for sale at her Etsy shop. She also has tons of free digital scrapbooking paper packs—I love this black and white pack! I'm very happy to have Megan sharing with us today.

~~~

My choice of song for “Sew a song of Christmas” was Joy to the world:

If you remember all the lines, they are as follows:

Joy to the world! The Lord is come
Let earth receive her King!
Let every heart prepare Him room
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven and nature sing
And heaven, and heaven and nature sing

Joy to the world! the Savior reigns
Let their songs employ
While fields and floods
Rocks, hills and plains
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat the sounding joy
Repeat, repeat the sounding joy

No more let sin and sorrow grow
Nor thorns infest the ground
He comes to make
His blessings flow
Far as the curse is found
Far as the curse is found
Far as, far as the curse is found

He rules the world with truth and grace
And makes the nations prove
The glories of His righteousness
And wonders of his love
And wonders of his love
And wonders and wonders of his love

How can one possibly capture the majesty of this song or really understand quite how joyful it is that our Lord has come. Each Christmas my family and I try to really celebrate the meaning of the season. We try to remember our savior’s birth, and life, and mission here on the earth. Although this can be difficult at times with the excitement over the presents there are little things we do each year to remind ourselves of Christ’s life. We read Christmas stories and I usually cry…of course, we read the nativity story in the scriptures; we give gifts, and the like.

This year we have really been brainstorming how to gain more insight into the meaning and importance of our savior.

Here is just one little thing we’ve done.

“Let Every Heart Prepare him Room” Jar

This is super easy to make. Just print out the jar wrap, cut around the edges, and tape it on.

Then you’ll want to make the paper curls. This is pretty easy too. You all know how to curl ribbon when wrapping a present so you’ll just that with the paper.

First take a strip of wrapping paper and fold hamburger style…then fold once more hotdog style. Then you’ll cut the edge off.

Second you’ll want to cut strips. After you have a few strips you can curl it with the scissors. (The paper is more likely to tear so I go pretty slowly)

After you have the papers curled there are two ways you can “prepare room in your heart”

Prepare Him Room Option 1

Think of things you can do this Christmas season that would help you be more open to the savoir and more likely to receive him. You will write different ways to do so and put them in the jar. Then each day you will draw one out and either do the activity or prepare everything and set the date in which you will do it. (For example for things such as caroling you might need to plan things in advance to actually do it.)

Some examples might include:

Service Ideas (When I serve others I feel closer to my Savoir):

Take treats to neighbors and friends

Write personalized Christmas cards with your testimony in them,

Visit the elderly or sick,

Seek out opportunities to serve as they come,

Saying a kind word to a spouse,

Call up someone you haven’t talked to in a while,

Organize or participate in a caroling group

Pondering (Pondering the savoir is a great way to help my spirit feel closer to him)

Read and study the birth of Christ: Luke 2:1-20, Look at Cross references

Read Christmas stories

What some of the movies about Christ’s birth: http://www.lds.org/bible-videos/videos/the-nativity?cid=HPFR121313253&im=true&lang=eng

Write down all the blessing you have received in the last month. Think of ways you can bless the lives of others.

Start a spiritual journal where you write down impressions and promptings or your goals to come closer to the savoir. Keep writing in it.

Any other ideas or things you think would be beneficial to you and your family.

“Prepare him Room” Jar Option 2

In this option you won’t write on the curls until after you do something that brings you closer to the savior. You can watch yourself or if you are doing this as a family and you notice someone else doing something good and kind. When you see someone o yourself do something that opens their heart you write it down and put it in the jar. Then at a determined time such as Christmas eve or Christmas afternoon you pull out the jar and read everything.

It’s fun to watch the jar fill up and it helps us keep our focus on Jesus Christ.

Hope you enjoy

Megan

Onewillisfamily.blogspot.com

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Thanks, Megan! That's a great idea; I think we'll be adding that to our family Christmas traditions.

Only two more posts in our Sew a Song of Christmas series! Here's what we've done so far:
"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Tulle Wreath
"O, Christmas Tree" Glitter Ball Ornaments
"What Child is This?" Mini Quilt
"Blue Christmas" Simple Holiday Skirts
"Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Ornaments

"Let It Snow" Mitten Ornaments

"Away in a Manger" Nativity Set

"Away in a Manger" Sweet and Simple Nativity

2013-12-16T08:00:00.000-05:00

Do you ever feel like Christ gets a little lost in the Christmas season? I do. So I wanted today's Sew a Song of Christmas project to remind us what Christmas is really about.

I did already make a wooden nativity set a couple years ago, but there's always room for another nativity set, right? We will have fun playing with these cute little guys and teaching Boo and Daddy's Girl about when Christ was born.

This project was inspired by these adorable Princess Peg Dolls. When I showed Boo this tutorial, she decided she wanted to paint a princess set. So she did. And they turned out really cute. I'll have to show them to you later.

Besides the regular painting supplies, all you need for this project are eight wooden peg dolls. I found mine at Hobby Lobby. They come in packs of eight, so that worked out great!

These are the "Man" sized peg people; they also make "Boy" sized dolls, so you could make baby Jesus smaller than the others. I didn't want Daddy's Girl to eat or lose the little baby Jesus, so I painted Him on Mary. (The "Man" size are still a choking hazard, so be watchful if you have babies/toddlers.)

First, I painted their heads. The nice thing about painting all the Nativity People at once is that by the time you've finished the last one, the first is dry already and you can go right to the next step.

Then I painted their clothes. I decided this was a "less is more" kind of project, and painted their clothes really simply.

I painted Mary in her traditional blue. Joseph is dark blue so he feels like he belongs with Mary. The shepherds are grey to show their humble state in life. (I would have done brown, but I couldn't mix a nice color.) The three kings are rich, jewel-toned colors. And of course, the angel is white.

I feel like the nativity set is already identifiable, but that's probably just me. Let's add a little something, while still keeping them simple.

Mary is holding baby Jesus and wearing the blue head covering. I didn't know what to do for Joseph; most nativity sets I've seen have him holding a shepherd's crook, which doesn't make any sense at all for the carpenter that he is.

The angel gets a halo and wings.

The shepherds get a shepherd's crook and a lamb.

And the kings get crowns. I thought about giving them gold, frankincense, and myrrh, but I went back to "less is more."

UPDATE: I realized these guys should have a coat of clear polyurethane to protect them, but I haven't done that yet.

I think this little nativity set turned out so cute. :)

Merry Christmas, everybody! Only nine more days!

Don't miss the other posts in our Sew a Song of Christmas series!
"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Tulle Wreath
"O, Christmas Tree" Glitter Ball Ornaments
"What Child is This?" Mini Quilt
"Blue Christmas" Simple Holiday Skirts
"Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Ornaments
"Let It Snow" Mitten Ornaments

"Let It Snow" Mitten Ornaments

2013-12-13T10:19:00.001-05:00

As you already know, I have two nieces, Boo and Daddy's Girl. You may not know that I also have a nephew, my brother's baby, "Bam". Boo knows better than to play with the Christmas tree ornaments, but the other two don't, so like just about every home with small children, Jill's Christmas tree is decorated with the breakable ornaments out of reach.

If you want some unbreakable ornaments (or just some cute ornaments that happen to be unbreakable), you can make yourself some of these. When the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful, and if there's no place to go, make these felt mittens and Let It Snow.

These felt mittens would make a great kid's craft, too. If the kids in your life aren't old enough to use scissors, you can cut things out, and they can still have fun glueing decorative felt bits on to their mittens. You can use the template below, or design your own mitten shape.

To attach the hanger, I sandwiched part of the wire between two pieces of felt, glued them together, and curled the end of the wire over the felt patch to make sure it wouldn't slide out. I imagine you could avoid making a felt sandwich by simply attaching the wire with a blob of hot glue. I don't own a hot glue gun, and so, used the felt sandwich. For extra baby-friendliness, you could swap the wire for a loop of ribbon.

Isn't felt wonderful? It's fabric that you don't have to hem. Too bad felt clothing isn't in style :)
What fun felt things have you made?

Have you seen the other posts in our Sew a Song of Christmas series?
"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Tulle Wreath
"O, Christmas Tree" Glitter Ball Ornaments
"What Child is This?" Mini Quilt
"Blue Christmas" Simple Holiday Skirts
"Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Ornaments

"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" Ornaments (that Give You a Kiss)

2013-12-11T08:00:00.000-05:00

Today's guest post is by my good friend Stephanie! She's the talented photographer behind Pink Pearl Photography. She also writes the blog Life as a Wife, where she posts about her crafting, cooking, and mommy adventures. She also has great party and date ideas! How cute is her Whoville Christmas Party? Or her Clue Date?

Thanks for joining us today, Stephanie!

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Growing up, I have memories of my mom make a bunch of ornaments for our themed tree. One of my favorites she made were these Reindeer ornaments

They were my favorite because she would hide chocolate Kisses inside

This year I made some for my tree and some to give away. I love these little deer they fill me with Christmas memories from my childhood, and memories of my dear mother who always filled every holiday with cheer!

I used my mom's pattern but tried to put my own spin on them by adding some color...

for instructions on how to make this ornament click here.

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Be sure to check out our previous Sew a Song of Christmas projects!

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Tulle Wreath

"O, Christmas Tree" Glitter Ball Ornaments
"What Child is This?" Mini Quilt
"Blue Christmas" Simple Holiday Skirts

"Blue Christmas" Simple Holiday Skirts

2013-12-09T08:00:00.000-05:00

Boo loves to match. Not like her shirt matching her pants; she comes up with some pretty...inventive outfits. No, she likes to match other people. So she will be so excited when she and Daddy's Girl unwrap matching Blue Christmas Skirts on Christmas morning.

These are really basic skirts, but the nice thing about "basic" is that you can easily add your own spin on it.

Both skirts are made from the same blue satin (surprisingly affordable, yet it adds a bit of "special" to the outfit). Daddy's Girl got pleats on her skirt, Boo got ruffles. I love variations on a theme.

Oh, ruffles, why must you be so cute, yet so annoying to make? I actually prefer making pleats than ruffles.

(By the way, I certainly didn't invent this way of making a skirt; it's been around forever.)

I don't have step-by-step pictures, since I sewed these up at night so the girls wouldn't see their Christmas presents. (Read: There was really bad lighting for pictures.) But the skirts are so easy.

Ready?

Cut the elastic to your child's waist measurement. Don't add seam allowance—you need the elastic to stretch a little so the skirt stays up.

Cut your skirt fabric as shown in the picture above. Or, if you want a fuller skirt, cut a longer rectangle. Less full, closer to square.

Sew up the two short sides, finishing the seams as you prefer. (I went over the raw edges with a zig-zag seam for the first, and made a french seam for the second. Just because I didn't think about the french seam at first.)

Make your hem by folding the bottom edge over a half inch, then fold again another half inch. And sew it down. A decorative stitch with a contrasting thread could be a nice way to add some detailing. You could also hand stitch for a less visible seam, or use the blind hem stitch on your sewing machine. But that's another tutorial.

Now you'll make a casing. Just iron the top edge down a quarter inch, then fold down again whatever size you need to fit your elastic. Sew this down, too, being sure to leave a little space for inserting the elastic.

And insert the elastic. Attach one safety pin to the leading edge so it's easier to thread it through, and another securing the other end to the fabric so it can't pull all the way through. (Hate it when that happens.) Once the elastic's through, overlap the two ends by a half inch and use a zig-zag stitch to secure them.

Topstitch the casing closed, and you're done!

(If any of this didn't make sense, send me an email or leave a question in the comments below. If needed, I'd be happy to make a photo tutorial later.)

Now that you know how to make a basic skirt, you can change it up to make so many different looks! Besides adding ruffles or pleats, you can make the skirt more or less full, longer or shorter, try color blocking, or a paper bag waistband...I think I'm going to try a scalloped hem next time.

Don't miss any posts as we Sew a Song of Christmas!

"I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas" Tulle Wreath

"O, Christmas Tree" Glitter Ornaments

"What Child is This?" Mini Quilt {with free pattern}