Ellie Has a Little Lamb

...that took Aunt Chelsea 9 hours to make.





It sure is cute though.

Lesson learned: Martha Stewart's patterns aren't for the first-time toy maker. They lack clear instructions and need more visuals.

{or maybe I'll do the chicken next time}

That being said, I might make another one. Bigger this time. It's too hard to sew halfway felted cashmere when the pieces are itty-bitty.

My Holiday Decor for Next Year

Will include one of these {or maybe a few of them}. Wouldn't these be cute using kid-sized hangers for a few smaller wreaths?



You can find the simple tutorial from Eddie Ross here. So simple!

What a Crock!

Can you believe this?!

I've Broken My Handmade Pledge

dammit. I know there are still 7 or so days until Christmas but there's NO way I can get everything finished/started/finished in time. At least not to the caliber of gifts I like to make.

So now I'll have to start on these gifts for next year. The ones I did get finished were for my nieces and nephew. To be honest, Ellie's isn't done. I just dried the cashmere sweater {gasp! I know!} I'll use to make this for her:

Not sure yet? Here's a closeup.



How cute, huh? and hers will be done in off-white felted cashmere...that's one lucky baby! I'll have to take a few pictures once it's finished.

Here's what I made for Jack from this idea. Obviously I used it as a jumping off point.





Ryan gave me the idea to spell his name. In the future, I'll sew on the felt letters before I sew the fish layers together. Instead of a dowel I think I'll use a tree branch {still need to procure} for a bit more authenticity ;)

For Callie I used this idea and decided I'd make her The Three Little Bears.

I think the little vest and the apron are a couple of the cutest things I've made.

Do you know how hard it is to find the story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears that contains the porridge, chairs, and bed AND has cute pictures? It's impossible. I wanted them to all fit snugly with the book in this case that I recovered {the inside wasn't cute nor very clean} so it looks like I need to type up the story and make a little book{let} for her myself.



Does Baby Bear need pants/shorts? I can't decide.

So what's new with the Alexanders....Ryan and I both have similar callings in our ward. He's a teacher in Elders Quorum and I'm a teacher in Relief Society. I know, try to contain your jealousy.

I don't really like being a teacher, but I guess I'm doing an alright job. Then again, I could have a much more involved calling. I only have to teach 12 times a year, IF that. Unfortunately, we can't plan our lessons together because we teach different Sundays of the month. Bummer. I learn a lot, though, and I'm sure I receive extra blessings. hehe.

We're going to see The Nutcracker performed by the Kansas City Ballet on Friday. I've never been to a ballet and I'm really excited. Just what we need to add to the holiday spirit, I think. When Ryan and I were engaged we went to a performance of The Forgotten Carols in Provo and I really wish we had the opportunity again. It's such a great message. I'll still be happy with The Nutcracker, but it's not the same thing, if you know what I mean. I think I'm starting to blabber on now. I'll stop.

Hurry, look at this picture of our Christmas tree to distract you from the word vomit.



Ooh. ahhh.

And a few more images from around the house.







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Oh! I almost forgot. So I started a monthly craft day. Every second Saturday of the month {with the exception of this next January and February - those will be on the 3rd Saturdays} whoever wants to come to my house and watch movies and have snacks and work on projects can. This month's was last Saturday and I got most of Callie's dolls done then. In November I worked on a bag for my sister in law's birthday gift. Craft Day is something I've been talking about doing for over a year and I finally did it. It's so much fun to just hang out with other girls my age and create. I'm thinking I need to start another blog with craft inspiration and ideas. We'll see.

Who Can Teach Me How to Knit?

Because I want to make this blanket:



And you can get the pattern here.

Fourth Picture of Fourth Folder

just happens to be a Christmas picture. go figure.

I have 4 of these hanging on our Christmas tree. I made them last year for an ornament swap and made a few extra to keep. They are so simple and primitive, but they don't match the rest of the ornament style of our tree {which is more glitter and glamorous - I like shiny things}.

Vacationing in Utah

I love hanging out with family for the holidays. My family is pretty hectic and stressed, but so much fun {I think}. Ryan's is a lot more laid back and less formal but still a ton of fun, just different.

Wednesday: woke up at 5am so I could hurry and shower, do my hair, get packed {I left that until morning of - waiting for laundry} and in the car at 6am. Our airport in KC is about 50 min away and our flight left at 8:30. Get to Utah at 10:15am and hang out with fam for the day.

Thursday: Thanksgiving Day was pretty casual as well. I think most of us slept in until 9 or 10am and then just had breakfast as people got hungry. Mom had the foresight to cook an extra turkey the night before, so we had 2 turkeys, 1 ham, and 26 mouths for dinner at 4pm. {Surprisingly we didn't even touch the 2nd turkey until today!}

Friday: Slept in until 9:30, got showered and started running errands. Started cooking and baking and setting up for baby shower at 3pm. Baby shower was at 6pm - I totally should have planned for an extra 2 hours. I should have started baking at 1pm. Oh well, now I know. Baby shower until 9ish. So much fun. {See separate post}

Saturday: Today we woke up at the crack of the crack of dawn to get ready for 8am family photos. My BIL Chris is reporting to boot camp (Navy) on December 15th and since he signed up for 6 yrs, it's going to be a LONG time before we're altogether again. Also, Napril {the collective} live in Hawaii and probably won't be seeing much of the fam unless we head out there or something brings them here. Anyways {tangent} we got some hilarious photo ops in but of course, since they're an arm and a leg at the studio for each print, decided to just stick to the nice traditional ones.

Some of the family is at the movies seeing The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, but I am really not into sad movies and would have rather had a few hours here at the house relaxing.

Tomorrow is church and more family time and then bright and early Monday morning we head back to Lawrence and to our puppy!

I hope everyone has had a fabulous holiday and been blessed with reasons to be thankful.