Uncle Phil's Trailer Leaves W-Ville

I am not the person to tell you the deep history of Uncle Phil's trailer and how it first came to the hill in Weberville. That blood, sweat, and tears tale, full of triumph and tragedy, belongs to someone else, namely Uncle Phil. My story of its parting with the family complex spans only a few brief moments of its existence, from the top of the hill to a quarter mile down the lane.
These house movers worked for several days prepping the site, yanking bushes and jacking up the trailer.
Finally it was time to move.

Through the yard and onto the lane! Glad it made the first turn.
Continuing its slow progression...
The first bridge!
Only to be stopped by a tree branch.
No problem!
That is that!
Back to the serious work of home transportation.
I think I heard a few soft creaks.
We certainly don't see this every day!
Off to new lands! May you enjoy steadfast ground and stalwart owners!
15 minutes later. Yes, it really is gone!

Some Handmade Gifts

So many adorable nieces and nephews, so little time!

Here are some Christmas gifts, made and sent early to Costa Rica for Karis and Jeremy. Freezer paper stencil dump truck shirt and princess nightie. I have borrowed that nightgown pattern so many times, I finally bought my own from Ebay.Here is a birthday present for cutie-pie Allison.
And here is a shirt I dreamed up for a sweet little girl at church, after being contracted by her momma!
So much fun! So much more fun to come!

More Felt Christmas Ornaments

Mom helped me with these while she was here. Thanks, Mom!

Felt Christmas Ornaments

Every year, I buy each of the kids a new ornament for the tree. I try to find one that fits them for the year. For example, I found a rooster for Owen one year since he was fascinated by their crowing. They love this tradition and so do I. They hang their own ornaments, usually in one big clump to be spaced out later by Mommy, and proceed to admire them the rest of the Christmas season. This year I once again began the search for the right ornaments. And then I stopped in my tracks. Why was I wanting to spend (too much) money for a little trinket that had no previous meaning? Especially when I had all my inexpensive crafty resources laying around?

Here's what I came up with for this year, and I just might stick with making their ornaments from here on out!
I made my own pattern and cut two felt pieces for each crayon's color. I stitched the kids' names with embroidery floss onto black felt, cut them out in an oval shape, cut out some black squiggly lines for the crayon paper, and handstitched everything onto one crayon shape. I embellished it with a few more simple stab stitches, then put it all together with a wee bit of stuffing in the middle, adding an embroidery floss hanger. Easy, peasy! And a whole lotta fun too.

A Great Idea--Picture Display

I love to look at bulletin boards, the kind that people hang in their homes and thumbtack all their pictures of family and friends onto. This was mine.
Pretty pathetic, huh? I indicate the actual bulletin board, not the images on it! I had tried to make a French memo board when Jason and I were first married, using ribbon remnants from our wedding bulletins. Nine years later, it had lost the ribbons, but was still not looking great. To spite it, I refused to change my pictures from last year's Christmas greetings. So my poor friends and family were either suffering allergies from dust build-up or suffocating in a plastic baggie in my junk cupboard. (Pardon my blurry pictures! I work best at night, after the kids are in bed.)

Enter idea. Jason's cousin Lynette repurposed a crib rail from a junked crib. She hung it on her wall, strung ribbons on it and taped up pictures for a modern take on the ol' bulletin board. Knowing how I like crazy salvaging projects, she gave me the other three sides of the crib. Side note: I have also received a whole bag full of (new) mismatched socks from her. Hmmm....

Jason cut down the crib rail for me, since it was too long for my wall. I got out the trusty black spray paint! I always love an excuse to spray paint. Since I didn't have great ribbon on hand, I carefully measured, cut and ironed some stash fabric from IKEA.
The finished product! Just in time for Christmas this year.
Any good ideas for displaying Christmas cards?

Party III: More Birthday Mania

Now that Helen has reached the ripe old age of three years and one month, let me post some pictures of her long-past birthday party! Her cake was very simple. She wanted a purple H, a pink cake with purple frosting. How could I refuse? I baked two 8x8 cakes--thank you, you 88-cent box of strawberry cake mix! Then I disected and spliced them together with loads of purple frosting. I sprinkled it with decorating sugar and tied on a bow to pretty up the muppet look. By the way, that purple frosting left reddish marks on my floor. I have no--ahem--idea how any of it landed on the floor.Helen was very pleased, even though she had wanted a Dora on top too. (Dora?! Seriously? She doesn't watch Dora! She wanted Dora on top because that's what her friend "Kafflyn" had this past summer. Aren't we a bit young to be starting this?)We actually tacked Helen's party onto a celebration for my mother in law, who had turned 60 the previous week. Hers was the main event, but it would have been a shame to not take advantage of the opportunity! I think grandma would have almost been offended if we hadn't have. The birthday girls:
Some pre-cake euphoria:We served three different kinds of cupcakes for Ruth. It's hard to resist a cupcake!
This is not even all of the kids that were here for the party! The noise wasn't bad, really. WHAT? SPEAK UP!!

Apparently the furry icing was irresistable too. And I get the prize for leaving the butcher knife at the children's fingertips.

Happy Birthday, Helen! Have fun being "this many" (hold up three fingers.)