Ornament Box

We have been invited to two ornament showers this holiday season. I think it's a great idea to have a shower where guests bring ornaments to help the bride and groom build a supply for their first Christmas together. I purchased some ornaments and was trying to think how package them so they wouldn't break. Remember this box for the superhero cape gift?

Well, I made another. This time I spray painted the bottom of the box green and used this adorable Robert Kaufman ornament fabric to cover the top. Then I used a ribbon scrap to go around the edge. Ta-Da! Super quick and easy! I just wrapped the ornaments with tissue paper...

Tied a pretty red bow around it and it's ready to go!

You could also use it to wrap up a gift or for cookies!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful Holiday Season!

A Very Merry Christmas...

We had a great time at Disney and I got a few shots of the girls in their outfits!

and a family shot. It seems like we never take a picture of the 4 of us.

Carson was so excited about all of the rides and being with her cousins.

Clara missed out on this picture. She was snoozing. My sister had found these Minnie Earmuffs at Target. They needed them. It was cold!

Clara's favorite ride was It's a Small World. She would laugh, bounce up and down and point at all of the little people.

Buzz Light Year and the tea cups were also a hit!

I love watching their expressions when they get excited about something. Carson is watching the beginning of the parade here. I was kind of surprised that she enjoyed it so much seeing as she has always been petrified of the characters. She was excited to see each and every one of them.

We saw Mickey and Minnie...

Woody and Jesse...

Santa...

All of the princesses...

Goofy and many more!

We ended our night on Main Street where it was snowing! This is the probably closest to snow we will get here in Florida. It was a magical night!

Here is a close up of Cinderella's castle. The color of it would change from time to time. I love the way it looks in pink!

By the end everyone was exhausted from all of the excitement. I can't wait for next year!

Spreading "JOY"

Good Morning! Just wanted to share some reader "JOY" with you. Remember the berry "JOY" decor? I had two readers send me pictures this weekend. I just love how they both suspended their decorations...from a doorway... 

 and a picture window.

Thanks Erin and Ashley! They look great!

Birthday Superhero

What little girl...or boy doesn't like to pretend they are a superhero? How fun would it be to fly through the air at the speed of lightening and save people, using super powers? It seems like superheroes are even more popular today than when I was a little, especially superheroines. Wonder Woman was the only female superhero I remember. I used to have Wonder Woman underware, when I was 5, and loved to run around in them pretending to save people...and things. With all of the comic books, figurines, movies, games and apparel you just can't help but fall into the superhero craze. There is even an online quiz that you can take to help you determine which superhero you are most like. I couldn't resist...

Your results:
You are Superman

Superman 100% Supergirl 80% Robin 70% Wonder Woman 60% The Flash 50% Spider-Man 45% Green Lantern 45% Batman 40% Iron Man 40% Catwoman 35% Hulk 5%

You are mild-mannered, good, strong and you love to help others.

Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz

I was excited to learn I was most like Superman...one of my favs!

Besides having superpowers, superheroes have great costumes! But what superhero is complete without a cape? A few weeks ago a friend of mine asked if I could make a cape for her nieces for Christmas. She gave me a link to this cape she found on Chasing-Fireflies and asked if I could make something similar. I had never made a cape before, but thought it was super cute and was excited to try it out. And who better to try it out on, but our friend Mary...

This weekend we are attending Mary's birthday party. She is turning 6...I can't believe it! I remember visiting her when she was just a few weeks old. She has grown so much and is the most expressive, imaginative and creative (about to be) 6 year old I know. She gets it honestly. Her mother is the BEST story teller! Mary loves to pretend and play dress up. So I immediately thought of her when I was experimenting with the cape.

I used a polyester-satin fabric in sparkly green apple and hot pink. The outside of the cape is pink and the inside green. I embroidered a "M" and "mary" on the center-back of the cape.

I also made a matching mask for this little superheroine. I ended up cutting a little more out around the eyes. An I may even adjust the nose part as well. It was a trial and error project:)

It's hard to tell in the pictures, but the green fabric has sparkles in it. I love the way it shimmers.

Carson had a fun time modeling it! I think I will probably make her one too:) Just a little shorter and more narrow around the neckline.

I like to package gifts in reusable boxes or bags. I saw this unfinished box at JoAnn fabrics and thought it would be perfect for Mary's superhero cape and mask. Maybe she could use it to store secret items, her most prized possessions or to hide things from her sister. Anyway she chooses to use it, I thought it would be a good way to wrap her gifts. Decoupaging a box would be great for Christmas cookies or gifts too!

I wrote this silly, little poem and placed it into the box with her cape and mask. I am by no means a poet, but I have fun trying...

Her name is Mary,

She fights those who're scary.

She wears pink and green,

And could never be mean.

Whether a friend or a foe

To help she will go...

She will always be there,

To show she cares.

And to serve and protect,

Those she loves best!

Happy 6th Birthday!

XOXO

Chris, Sarah, Carson and Clara

Hope you ENJOY! We are so happy to be able to celebrate with you:)

M-I-C...K-E-Y

I am so excited about out trip to Disney World for Mickey's Very Merry Christmas party, yea!! We had planned to go a couple weeks ago, but as our luck would have it the girls came down with a horrible stomach bug the very night before. Then I got it the following night and my husband a week later....ugh it was the worst. Hopefully, we have paid our dues and will not be sick for a VERY VERY VERY long time.

Thankfully, the people at Disney were very understanding and allowed me to change our ticket dates. So tomorrow night is the night! And it worked out because my sisters are both going too. All of the cousins are going to have a blast together!

Of course I had to make the girls outfits to wear...

I chose a short sleeve shirts (Target) thinking that the weather was going to be about 75 degrees. Now it's freezing...well from what we are used to. I think the low is going to be 45 degrees....Brrr. But I can just stick a long sleeve T underneath. And I am sure they will have a coat, hat and mittens....so basically you probably won't even see their outfits, but it's the thought that counts...right? And I had fun making them:)

I used Word to create the image. All I did was stack circles upon circles. I played with the positioning and colors. Carson's image has big white polka dots around the perimeter and Clara's small white polka dots. I did this to tie the design in with their pants, which were made with fabric modeled after Minnie's famous red dress. The Santa hat image on Mickey's head was found here. I used super soft iron on transfers from Dharma Trading Company. And they are...super soft! After creating the image you have to reverse it, print it, cut it out and iron.

Ta-Da!!

I wanted to do a double ruffle on their pants and ran out of the fabric with large white polka-dots so I had to improvise. I used a small white dot fabric. I like that there is some variation.

My little angels were not in the picture taking mood earlier when I was trying their outfits on them. Hopefully, they will cooperate tomorrow and I can snap a few photos. Hope everyone is having a great night!! Thanks for stopping by!

JOY

I have taken about a three week sabbatical from blogging. I am having a hard time finding a good balance between sewing for my etsy shop and kids, blogging, and taken care of my family. Does anyone else ever feel that way? I have just come to the realization that I can't always do it all and sometimes I need a break:) So we took one and went to Atlanta for Thanksgiving! We had a great time visiting my in-laws. And since we have been back...decorating for Christmas is in full force! My mother-in-law had her house decorated to the nines when we got there. I was inspired to get a move on it when I got home.

I made this simple berry decoration for above our stove.

I feel like the kitchen often gets neglected when I decorate and needed a little Christmas "Joy."

Berry "Joy" was three things I love about a project...fast, easy and cheap! I bought five stems of "berries" at Michaels. They were on sale for 99 cents each. You really only need about four. You also need ribbon, command decorating clips and pruning sheers(regular scissors aren't strong enough to clip the wire. At least mine weren't).

All I did next was shape the stems into the letters, J-O-Y.

I twisted the top of the "J" into a loop so I could attach the ribbon.

For the "O" I used one berry stem and and tore off some little berry stems from another stem. Does that make sense? I didn't quite use two whole stems.

For the "Y" I had to cut a 3 inch piece of wire off and reattach it where I wanted to hang the ribbon. I just twisted it until I was happy with the way it hung.

I used Command decorating hooks to hand the ribbon from. These are easy to use and don't put any holes in your wall.

All finished!

I hope everyone has a "joy"ous holiday season!

These are some other ways I used my left over berries...

Happy decorating!

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