Handmade Gifts.

I know this is a little late but I wanted to share the handmade gifts I gave a Christmas this year.

Honestly, I forgot I even took pictures of them until I was looking through my Christmas pictures. 

I decided to still share because all of these can be given for any occasion, plus they were pretty inexpensive, which makes everyone happy.

I made this for my mom.

This is only the second fabric wreath that I have ever made and I was really happy with the way it turned out.

I also made one for my mother in law (which I forgot to take a photo of) and I liked it too.

I could make a zillion of them and hang them all over the house but I'm not too certain all the boys in the house would appreciate it.

I made these for my sisters.

I love all of them, the hoop art and my sisters, haha.

I don't know how to sew or stitch so it's not perfect, but I like them like that. 

I really tried to make each one reflect their individual style and taste and I'm pretty sure I achieved my goal.

Well at least they told me I did.

This last one is not really all handmade but it might just be my favorite gift I gave this year.

I love, love, love my succulents I planted a few months back and I wanted to share my love for them.

I picked up a few of these pots at Ikea for a great price, of course.

I took the boys to Home Depot and Ethan selected most of the succulents.

 I had planned on him helping my plant all of them, but since he was sick it didn't work out.

Anyway, I just stamped some craft paper, taped it on and tied some red yarn around. 

Everyone loved them!

This will definitely be my go to gift all year. 

I loved giving handmade gifts this year. It's so much more personal and thoughtful. 

I hope everyone loved receiving them as much a I loved giving them.

Getting Crafty {Advent Calendar}.

We haven't had an advent calendar in our house, ever.

I know, horrible mother.

Truth is I didn't want the extra candy around and Ethan was still too small to really "get it".

This year is a different story.

He's starting to "get it" so we needed an advent calendar.

I was browsing all the fabulous ones on Pinterest but most required sewing (I do not) and many seemed really time consuming (I have very little).

So I made a really simple easy one.

 All I did was cut strips of paper, fold them in half and hot glue the sides to make a pocket.

Then I cut out squares of green and red paper, stamped them with the numbers and hot glued them on.

 I then filled each with Christmas M&M's (a favorite in our house), hung some ribbon and used mini clothespins to hang them.

 I couldn't fit all of them on one strand but I like having two.

Best part, I only had to buy the ribbon and candy.

Everything else I already had.

I'm very happy with the end result and I know Ethan will be so excited to start counting down the days.

I know I am.

Getting Crafty {Hoop Art}.

I don't consider myself a very crafty person, but when I started seeing all the fabulous hoop art making it's way around the blog I knew I wanted to give it a try.

I don't know how to sew or stitch but I do know how to use a hot glue gun so I went for it.

I pulled inspiration from this post and made these for our bedroom.

I got the wooden game pieces at the local flea market a couple of weeks ago. It just so happens that the A and B also have an E and J, for the boys. I didn't even realize it until I got them home. And the A and B numbers equal 4, the members of our family. 

I love how these little blocks have so much meaning to our family. 

I'm really happy with how they turned out and they are a perfect addition to our bedroom wall. 

I also made this.

 

I may or may not be making some of these for Christmas.

I love how tiny this is and it makes for a perfect handmade personalized gift. 

Like I said, I don't stitch, so it's not perfect but that's what I love about it.

Next up, fabric and yarn wreaths, if I can ever find the time. 

Have you made anything new lately?

Here and There.

I'm a bit all over the place today, so lets jump around in my head shall we.

If you don't already own Adele's new album, might I suggest you buy it today.

Amazing. 

I think her voice is beautiful and she's gorgeous.

This is still the best purchase we have ever made.

I bought this fabric yesterday and they are turning into curtains very soon.

I plan on taking a stab at some hoop art with some of the leftover fabric and other fabric I have laying around the house. I don't sew. So it will be sew free hoop art.

I really love this.

{source}

When I saw this post over at Life Made Lovely, I knew I had to make a felt stove for Ethan.

We don't have enough room in our house for a play stove and I knew this would do the trick.

So far he loves it.

Alright, that's it for now. 

Enjoy your day!

A Few Things.

I'm tired today.

Jacob decided it would be a wonderful idea to start his day a little too early and then once he was down again Ethan decided to wake him up forty minutes later. 

When I asked Ethan why he woke him up he said, "But I love him and I want to play with him."

How can I be mad at that?

Anyway, here's a few random things for you.

I made pasta last night with this...

I don't usually buy stuff that's all organic since the price is just too high for us, but these were on sale so I gave them a try. They're already cooked so all you have to do is just chop them up throw them in with some pasta and sauce and there you have it.

I used whole wheat pasta, regular old tomato sauce, sprinkled some mozzarella cheese on top and baked it. 

Yum! It was a hit!

Ethan liked it but didn't eat the sausages, which is fine by me. 

So, I recommend it to you. 

My sister gave me a recipe for a great make it yourself chex mix.

I've been eating it by the bowlfuls.

I'm contemplating attending Blog Sugar.

It's a blogging event that will be held in September of this year.

It would be out of my comfort zone to go so I'm still thinking about it.

I'm always so nervous to meet new people and put myself out there, but I think it would be good for me. 

I don't know, I talk myself into it and then talk myself out again.

We shall see. 

Sometimes I pretend to be crafty. My sister showed me how to make these cute little flowers the other day.

I've had this little chalk board for some time and I knew I wanted it my fridge but I wasn't sure how to decorate it. These flowers are perfect.
And that's my word of the year up there, which I need a lot of it today.

This my very clean and organized bedroom.

It hasn't looked like this in a very long time.
Ever since Jacob has come into our life this room has been a mess. Everything was just getting thrown in there and I'm tired of it.
Jacob is no longer in our room at night or for naps so there is no reason why we can't make noise and put stuff away. And yes, the pack in play is still up, but it's leaving asap.
I challenged Brett and myself to keeping it tidy for one week.
My hope is that the tidiness will continue into the next week and the next.
Wishful thinking? I hope not.

I came across this photo and love it.

My future soccer player.

That's all for now.
Happy Fat Tuesday!