Sew Glamorous Christmas Stocking Tutorial and Some Christmas Confessions

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Glamorous Christmas Stocking Tutorial

Go check out my Glamorous Christmas Stocking Tutorial at Boutique Cafe.  It’s part of Boutique Cafe’s Christmas Festival Traditions and Tutorials.

Christmas Confessions

Christmas Confession #1:  I’ve never let my kids decorate MY tree.  They can put their handmade ornaments on their smaller trees in their room.  I know, I’m a bad mother.

 

Christmas Confession #2:  Even though your Santa may wear a RED suit, mine doesn’t.  I loathe RED.  There is not a speck of RED (or Christmas Green) in my house during the holidays or any other time.  My Santas have Gold, Cream, White, Silver, and Aqua robes…LOL!

Christmas Confession #3: I like getting Christmas cards with pictures of your adorable kids.  Except the ones that include those annual summaries of their overachievements.

Wishing everyone a Very Merry Christmas!

A Month of Christmas Holiday Gifts to SEW: Aprons, Bags, Ornaments and More

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EDITED TO ADD:

Handmade Holidays 2011

Handmade Holidays 2010

Handmade Holidays 2009

Handmade Holidays 2008

I want to take this opportunity to personally express my gratitude to the lovely divas, Beth, Kristin and Lauren, over at Sew Mama Sew for their month long sewing inspirations!  You girls ROCK!

If you’ve enjoyed their Handmade Holidays, hop over to the Sew Mama Sew Online Store and show your love!

Aprons

Sew Mama Sew – Day 1 – Aprons

Additional Apron Tutorials

Pincushions

Sew Mama Sew – Day 2 – Pincushions and Pins

Additional Pincushion Tutorials

For the Home

Sew Mama Sew – Day 3 – For the Home

Additional Sewing for the Home Tutorials

Lunch Bags

Sew Mama Sew – Day 4 – Lunch Bags

Additional Lunch Bag Tutorials

Tote Bags

Sew Mama Sew – Day 5 – Totes

Additional Tote Tutorials

Blankets for Baby

Sew Mama Sew – Day 6 – Blankets for Baby

Additional Baby Blanket Tutorials

For Your Purse or Pocket

Sew Mama Sew – Day 7 – For Your Purse or Pocket

Additional Purse Tutorials

Whimsy

Sew Mama Sew – Day 8 – Whimsy

Additional Whimsy Tutorials

Fabric Ornaments

Mama Sew – Day 9 – Fabric Ornaments

Additional Ornament Tutorials

Ties and Belts

Sew Mama Sew – Day 10 – Ties and Belts

Additional Ties and Belt Tutorials

Reading and Writing

Sew Mama Sew – Day 11 – Reading and Writing

Additional Reading and Writing Tutorials

For the Table

Sew Mama Sew – Day 12 – For the Table

Additional Tutorials for the Table

Placemats

Sew Mama Sew – Day 13 – Placemats

Additional Placemat Tutorials 

Kids’ Clothes

Sew Mama Sew – Day 14 – Dress the Kids

Additional Kids’ Clothes Tutorials

Booties, Slippers and Socks

Sew Mama Sew – Day 15 – Warm Those Toes

Additional Booties, Slippers and Socks Tutorials

Gifts for the Crafter

Sew Mama Sew – Day 16 – Gifts for the Crafter

Additional Gifts for the Crafter Tutorials

Purses

Sew Mama Sew – Day 17 – Purses

Additional Purse Tutorials

For Baby

Sew Mama Sew – Day 18 – For Baby

Additional Baby Gifts Tutorials

Tech Gifts

Sew Mama Sew – Day 19 – Tech Gifts

More Tech Gift Tutorials

Organization Gifts

Sew Mama Sew – Day 20 – Gifts for Organization

More Organization Gift Tutorials

Pillows

Sew Mama Sew – Day 21 – Pillows

Additional Pillow Tutorials

Fun for Hair

Sew Mama Sew – Day 22 – Fun for Hair

Additional Hair Goodies Tutorials

Soft Toys and Games

Sew Mama Sew – Day 23 – Soft Toys and Games

Additional Toy Tutorials

Sachets

Sew Mama Sew – Day 24 – Sachets and Therapy Pillows

Additional Sachet Tutorials

For the Kitchen

Sew Mama Sew – Day 25 – For the Kitchen

Additional Stitching in the Kitchen Tutorials

Embellishments

Sew Mama Sew – Day 26 – Embellishments

Additional Embellishing Ideas and Tutorials

Gifts for Warmth

Sew Mama Sew – Day 27 – Gifts for Warmth

Additional Gifts for Warmth Tutorials

Drawstring Bags

Sew Mama Sew – Day 28 – Drawstring Bags

Additional Drawstring Bag Tutorials

Fabric Boxes

Sew Mama Sew – Day 29 – Fabric Boxes

Additional Fabric Box Tutorials

Want to see what everyone else did for Handmade Holidays?

Handmade Holiday PHOTOS on Flickr

Lots of gift wrapping inspiration over at Flickr’s Nice Package,  Crafty Packages and Presents photo pools!

There’s even a Gift Tag Pool on Flickr, too!

Check out Handcrafters’ Holidays–a new blog meme from Sew Mama Sew!

There’s 10 Reasons to Look Forward to the Sew Mama Sew Blog in the month of December.

Happy Sewing!

Christmas Sugar Cookie FAIL Times Two

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Because I don’t have enough hobbies, I bought myself an early Christmas gift from Mr. Diva.  And yes, it is BRONZE to match my kitchen.  Determined to justify this purchase, I proceeded to make some sugar cookies.

The first Sugar Cookie recipe I used was from the Kitchenaid Mixer booklet that came with the mixer.  Conclusion:  Rock hard bland cookies.  Total FAIL!

Next up, I mixed up at batch from a recipe at Allrecipes.com which received great reviews.  These cookies were at least edible, but not yummy like I had hoped.  Another FAIL!

I’m going to try this recipe from Moms Who Think which uses half-n-half and this recipe from The Kitchn which adds lemon zest, almond extract and cream cheese.  I’ll let you know how they turn out.  Do you have a great Sugar Cookie recipe?

On a brighter note, I made homemade mashed potatoes for the first time in my life.  The mixer whipped them up effortlessly!  They were delicious!

What do you make in your mixer?  I need ideas so my mixer doesn’t become a heavy paperweight (like my crock pot) on my kitchen countertop.

With friendship,

Christmas Crafting…The Sad Type

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While everyone is busy doing cute Christmas crafts, I’ve had something else on my mind.  In mid-October, I lost my beloved Mother-in-Law, Mary.  She was the Mother-in-Law every girl dreamed of having.  I don’t think I had an argument with her in 20 years.  It’s hard to imagine life without her now.

I spent her last few days caring for her at her home.  It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever had to do.  If you’ve ever done in-home hospice care, you know what I mean.

My Father-in-Law had kidney stone surgery (he’s 90 years old) and the doctor wanted him to stay overnight at the hospital.  However, I begged the doctor to let me take care of him at home to be with his wife in her final hours.  Thankfully, I got him home just hours before my Mother-in-Law passed.  It was heartbreaking to watch him say goodbye after sharing 65 years of marriage with her.

 

In the meantime, my husband got kidney stones and gout–losing his mom was just too much for him.  And I ended up with pneumonia.  So as soon as my husband was well, I checked myself into the Critical Care Unit at our local hospital for a few days.  With the help of some IV steroids and antibiotics, I was back to normal in no time.

We had buried my Mother-in-Law at the cemetery up the street, so we can visit her gravesite often.  Whenever I have a few extra minutes, I go and see her.  It’s too soon to add her gravestone…but we can add flowers and such.

I went to purchase a grave blanket for her, but couldn’t bring myself to settle for standard plastic poinsettias and bright red florist bows—not to mention dropping $150 on them.  My Mother-in-Law was too special.  So I made my own 4 foot grave blanket using evergreens, berries, ornaments, pinecones and ribbons.  My Mother-in-Law would have loved it.  It’s classy like she was.