Our Handmade Holidays, Part 1

This Christmas was brimming over with handmade giving.  

My youngest daughter, Melissa, crocheted this huge, gorgeous afghan for me.  What a wonderful surprise!

Heavy and warm, I'm wrapped in its coziness right now as I write this.

My older daughter, Sarah, hand crafted several of these fabric covered books for her brothers and sister.

Each is filled with colorful art papers.

I think they would make great altered art journals. I have placed an order for myself!

Speaking of altered books, Melissa created these funky books using old games boards for covers.

The pages are include various sized art papers, old receipts, old book pages, and all kinds of unusual items.

I have to show these two throws again - I'm completely in love with them!

I gave this one to Melissa.

And this one to Sarah.

I'll try to get the other homemade goodies photographed tomorrow for part 2.

Bread and Jam

There are many days when I feel as though I just haven't accomplished much.  There's always animal care, of course, and a certain amount of people care that goes into each and every day.  Nonetheless, sometimes it seems as if all I've done is read a few chapters in a book, run some laundry through, or crochet a little.

But there's one thing that always makes me feel successful: bread.  If I end the day with a loaf or two of homemade, whole grain bread, then no matter how long the naps, how messy the house, or how many episodes of Medium or Desperate Housewives I've watched with my daughters, I feel successful.

Maybe this is what the saying "Bread is the staff of life" truly means.  

Not only does bread nourish the body, but the soul as well.

Snuggle

We all need a good cuddle sometimes.

Wreaths

I am the embodiment of the laws of physics.

Despite the fact that I actually dropped high school physics, a few of the rudimentary ideas still rattle around in my brain.  

For example, take inertia.

I seem to remember that an object at rest will stay at rest unless acted upon by another force.

I am inertia.

My daughters are definitely the outside force acting upon me.

My tendency is to want to sit, or sit and wait, or simply wait.  I don't take risks, try new things, or step out of my comfort zone without a strong and motivated nudge.

My girls have always been fearless when it comes to crafting; something I admire greatly.  Because of them and their gentle, yet insistent, nudging, I've gotten to make some pretty cool things.

Take, for example, these gorgeous wreaths.

Melissa saw the idea in a magazine and, with some persistence, we took off in search of supplies.  We had vintage lace and home spun yarn, but needed wool to wrap around the wreath forms.  We tried several resale/thrift shops, but couldn't really find what we were looking for.

A quick trip to the fabric store and we found exactly what we wanted.  

The wreaths were amazingly easy to make and provided a fun and creative afternoon.

Each time we finish a project, I vow to be less inertial the next time around, yet always seem to need that push to get going.

I'm so glad my girls are here to urge me along.

Squashed

Last weekend I made a trip to a local apple orchard to stock up on cider.  Ten gallons made their way happily into the freezer.

I also stocked up on apples, which were on sale for 20% off.  Half a bushel of Ida Red's later, I have applesauce in the freezer, too.  Oh, and a peck of eating apples reside (temporarily) in the fridge.

But perhaps best of all was the free squash I scored - butternut and Lacota.  It took very little time to roast and puree them for pies, breads, and other pumpkiny treats in the coming months.  We've already had pumpkin pancakes, bread, and scones this week alone.

With Michael's help, all this took took just over 2 hours.  Not bad a bad investment at all.

Mother's Little Helper

Or "How to Cook with a Tiger in the Kitchen."

Our new little addition is quite the aspiring cook.  Nary a day goes by that I don't have lots of help in the kitchen.

Henry isn't declawed and won't ever be.

I used to declaw my cats; in fact, the oldest three are front paw declawed.  But after reading about the procedure and watching Fannie suffer with infections we decided declawing was not for us.  

Trimming a cat's claws can be quite an adventure, however, requiring adult sons, fireplace gloves, and lots of resolve.  Henry's claw-trimming events have been less than successful; imagine trying to put lipstick on a greased pig and you will only have an inkling of the difficulty involved.

Over the past couple of years and many hopelessly-stained shirts I've taken to wearing aprons.  Full aprons like Grandma used to wear.  This is where Henry comes in.  He simply cannot resist the apron strings, whether dangling or fully tied, he spies those flaps of fabric and comes running.

Only, like any good wildcat, he charges silently, attacking his prey with shocking ferocity and skill.

These days my cooking is punctuated by frequent screams and cries for help.

 

It's not easy to free oneself from a rear attack.  And man, do those little claws hurt!

Ho, Ho, Ho

Lately everyone has been sequestered in their rooms busily crafting homemade Christmas gifts.

 Sarah whipped up this ho-ho-host of Santas in an hour or so.

Aren't they darling?

Floydicus Rex

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful

Holiday Hues

I love decorating for the holidays

 The winter whites, reds and greens

The handmade and homespun

With a little sparkle thrown in for good measure

Yum

One of the best things about winter is hot chocolate.

It's even better when served in gorgeous handcrafted mugs made by Rebecca Brandow of Willow Avenue Pottery.

Nothing goes better with hot chocolate than ginger creams.

Sit down and rest a spell.

Christmas Craftiness

My daughters constantly amaze me with their artistic abilities and fearless crafting.


Melissa made these gift tags, turning plain manilla tags into miniature works of art.



No two are the same.






Yet each and every one is beautiful.





I can't wait to use these amazing, handmade gift tags.


Thanks, honey.