Ready for a Feast

I am getting ready for our Thanksgiving feast. Today I ran around town picking up things that I forgot to get at the store on Monday. I came home and made turkey cookies. I made these last year and they were quite the hit. How can you go wrong with chocolate frosting and candy corn?
Next came the buffet display. I got the bowl at Hobby Lobby for 80% off. For real....80% off! How in the world can they do that? I guess I don't care how, cuz I got it cheap. The Pilgrims and Indians were made on my Cricut machine. I just got the paper dolls cartridge when Michaels had a big sale. I am loving it. I used it for our Children's worship lesson last week and the kids loved it.

Then it was on to the main table. We made the place cards out of old magazine pages and cardstock. This was a project we did with friends last year, but this year we used them for a purpose. I got the chargers at Hobby Lobby. Not on sale but not very expensive either. I did the flowers and the rest of the stuff was gathered from around the house. I did almost start a mum on fire, but will not put the candles so close next time.Now all we need is the food and our guests.
We have so much to be thankful for this, and every year. Thank you Lord for all of your many blessings.

Three down...Two to go!

As I mentioned, I am making several gifts for my girls this Christmas. I have already completed the doll houses and I Spy pillows. Next to be checked off of the to do list are the book bags. I had intended on making the bags for the little girls, but this past weekend Coco saw the pattern that I had made and decided that she would like to have one too. So, I made three.
These will be the girls' new library bags. I will shorten the strap after they receive them. I did not do a cross body measurement and I don't want to make the straps to short.
I think that they turned out really cute. I hope that the girls like them.

Update on Projects

I finished the second house tonight. I also made I Spy pillows for each of the girls. We went to the dentist yesterday and there was one of these in their waiting room. The girls fought over it the whole time we were waiting (much to the dismay of the other patients). I am typing out a list of the objects for Claire's pillow and Lilly's list will be pictures. The list will be laminated and attached to the metal hook.
VERY, VERY easy. It took longer to find all of the stuff to put in than it did to make them.
Here is a list of what is inside:
button, star, marble, straw, snowflake, quarter, dime, nickel, penny, name, paperclip, key binder clip, rubber band, lady bug, yellow flower, gift, flip flop, dog, purse, roller skate, shoe, comb, dinosaur, snake, ice cube, scrabble tile, soccer ball, shell, rock, lollipop, dove, crayon, and a frog.
Obviously, most of the items are small buttons or miniatures that I found at the craft store. The beads are usually used to weight china dolls or stuffed animals.

I hope they like these as much as the one at the dentist.

One Down....One to Go!

Well, I started work on the houses for the girls last night. I cut all of the plastic sheeting, wrapped them with batting and cut the material.
Tonight I started building. It took a lot less time than I had thought. Here is one finished.I am very happy with the way it turned out. I think that the girls are going to love them.

I am done shopping for all of the kids for Christmas. I have a lot of projects to complete, but I do not have to step foot in the mall again before the holiday. That makes me really happy.

An evening out with friends...

We had big plans. Coco would stay at our house with the kids. They would have a pizza and movie night. The adults (Jim and I and Jodi and Nathan) would go out for a nice dinner at the Melting Pot.

I called for a reservation, but they were all full. The woman I spoke with mentioned that they did have open seating available for a short wait. We drove to the restraunt and we were told that there would be an hour and forty five minute wait. Needless to say, we didn't wait.

We drove up the Beltline to Blue Water Grill. A very nice place with great food. Once again, we were confronted with an hour and a half wait. Once again, we got into the car.

By this time we were pretty hungry and just wanted food. We turned the car around, pulled into a parking lot, walked into a restraunt and enjoyed a yummy meal....at IHOP.

We had a great time and great conversation. Thanks guys!

Cleaning the Studio

I decided that in order to efficiently fill all of my Christmas orders and get started on the gifts I need to do, I needed to clean and organize the studio.
It took several hours yesterday, but it is nearing the end. I will have more photos to share tomorrow, but here is one of the most exciting changes.
I purchased this Uppercase Living wall word from a party that my neighbor had a few weeks back. I just couldn't pass it up. I think that it looks great on the wall. The embroidery hoops are holding some of my favorite Amy Butler prints.

I will have some other pics to share later.

Thinking about Christmas?

We have started thinking about our Christmas budget. After Coco spent a number of hours cleaning the toy room (the basement) on Saturday, we determined that our kids need nothing. Don't get me wrong, they want plenty. But need, we have no needs.
We have decided to set a small budget for gifts this year and to do as much handmade as possible. I have spent some time checking out etsy and other online retailers that I have visited before and have come up with a few things.
I will be making these for the girls.They seem to be fairly easy. I am going to add some little people with it so they can have a portable playhouse to take to papa and mimi's or a friend's house.
These are similar to the people I am going to make.
Casey's wood shop has an online shop that stocks different size and shape people turnings. I am not sure that my painting skills are as high as the artist's above, but I will give it a try.

Another gift that has been floating around my head for awhile is this face bag.

Each year we get the girls a Nativity story book. I thought I would put the book in this cute bag that they can then use for the library or church.

I am not sure how much more I can do with all of the sewing that I have to finish for clients, but here are a few more wish list items.


Crayon Roll Up





Felted Soap

Last Weekend's Wedding

I finally have a minute to post about the wedding that I worked last weekend with In Any Event.
It was quite the event. It all began on Thursday with the rehearsal dinner. A beautiful event at Cygnus 27. Jodi did it again. Every detail of the evening was executed perfectly. Jen Kroll captured images that tell the story.













The food was unbelievable! I had never eaten Bison, but it has become a fast favorite. Jim and I missed out on being together for our anniversary (the day after the wedding), so maybe we could splurge and go for Bison.


The reception was absolutely the best event Jodi has ever orchestrated. All of the vendors were spectacular. Modern Day Floral did the flowers for the rehearsal, wedding and reception. The blooms were shipped from all over the world and were absolutely beautiful!
The reception was at the JW Marriott in downtown Grand Rapids. The staff at the hotel were very helpful and went out of their way to make us feel at home.
The food, drink, music and all of the many details made for a wonderful evening.














Guests recorded the evening in a photo booth. These photos were then used to create a photo guest book. Great idea!

The dance portion of the evening included a great band, DJ and martini luge.

Once again, it is a privilege to be part of Jodi's team and to be able to have a very small part in such an extraordinary event.

Surprise, Surprise!

This morning I opened my blog reader to find that Brassy Apple had highlighted my purse and suitcase projects. It is always nice to get some blog love. Thanks, Meg!

Today is the Day!

Lilly and I were at the polling station bright and early this morning. We each got an "I VOTED" sticker.
As if the privilege of voting is not enough, several local retailers are giving incentives today.
Starbucks is offering a free cup of coffee. Bigbe Coffee is doing the same. Krispie Kream is giving a star shaped doughnut and Ben and Jerry's a free scoop of ice cream.
Get out and vote people! If you don't, you have no right to complain for the next four years. :)