Preparing for Christmas

I am still having trouble with the pictures! I keep starting to load them onto the computer from the camera and then it freezes before I can successfully download them. So, when I can, I will take that step. I have been working on some felt ornaments for the kids that were inspired by: http://sunshinescreations.vintagethreads.com/2006/11/how-to-make-embroidered-felt-ornament.htm
I had already traced their hands and was considering paper ornaments when I stumbled on her embroidered felt ornaments. They remind me of the felt ornaments and fabric sunbonnet babies that my mother made back in the '70's.

My husband and I thought it would be nice to begin a tradition of giving each child a special ornament each year in their stockings. Then, when they had their first tree, we could pass along their decorations (twenty something ornaments by then - not a bad start). This was very sweet when we had one child. Now that we have three kids and grandma is trying to downsize so she is sending special ornaments our way left and right, and considering my odd addiction to Hallmark ornaments back when I was single, we are wondering where exactly we will fit all of the decorations in 18 years!! And I don't even want to think about the possibility that my kids won't be sentimental enough to care about their collection when the time comes to pass it along (I have considered the look on a future daughter-in-laws' faces when I hand them the boxes of my sons' ornaments for their trees someday).

I also made a doll bed mattress for the doll bed that we got our daughter for Christmas from craigslist. This I will not be posting a picture of as it seems I was incapable of sewing a straight line! It will do for now until I can make something nicer.

Lastly, I think I was feeling the need to head back to childhood and made placemats with the kids. We took all of our old Christmas cards and I cut them into circles. I let Princess Buttercup (my 4 year old) and Little Man (my 3 year old) pick out their favorites and we arranged them, glued, sandwiched them in contact paper, and PRESTO!! They love Christmas crafts and glue, so we also made some paper garlands with cut out gingerbread men and did the reindeer you make by tracing their hands and feet.

I worked my day this week (actually, I subbed a half day, but I won't be going in again until after break - subbing for middle schoolers the last days before Christmas isn't the most fun ever, though they were good yesterday), so now it's time for cookie baking, present wrapping, and house cleaning. Woo hoo!!

Oh, and a few more minutes attempting to download those pictures.