2013 Christmas Cards

Found this Rudolph image and immediately knew it was perfect for my Christmas cards this year! It's pretty easy and self-explanatory:



I added glitter to the red noses:


Inside -
On the right is a message from us, on the left is a photo of us:


Dear Readers,

I wish you a merry, merry Christmas and a wonderful New Year! Thank you for stopping by and reading my blog!

<3
SheMadeWhat

Elf on the Shelf, Days 21-25

Day 21: Christopher gives us a hint to what we'll be going today...flying!



Day 22: Christopher made it with us to Texas! He misses the snow, so he made some paper snowflakes. He even left one for us to unfold:


Day 23: Meet Christopher snowman:


Day 24: Small World Doll Ms. France asks Christopher, "Can you do the Can-Can? If you can then I can!"


Night 24: We flew back home and Christopher pops up in our stocking!  He left us some reindeer food, a reminder to set out cookies for Santa, and some new Christmas pajamas!

Elf on the Shelf, Days 8 - 20

Day 8: Laundering little socks:

Day 9: What happened to the Christmas Tree? Christopher and his decorations....

Day 10: Worst cookies ever!

Day 11: Christopher got us a magnetic Nativity Scene:

Day 12: We have special hot chocolate with rainbow marshmallows!

Day 13: Getting tangled up in lights:

Day 14: Taking some Elfie selfies!

Day 15: Reindeer poop:

Day 16: It's a sunny 70 degree day, so Christopher hits the beach:

Day 17: In an intense game of Tic Tac Toe:

Day 18: Hopped into a bowl of ornaments:

Day 19: Ziplining from the bookrack to the bed:

Day 20: We have a special message:

Elf On the Shelf Days 1-7

Christopher Elf is back!

Day 1: We got a welcome letter


Day 2: Christopher got hungry, so he sent for some elf-sized donut from the North Pole


I Googled "origami box" and made the donuts from Cheerios. I dipped some in powdered sugar, and used peanut butter as glue for the sprinkles:


Day 3: Christopher sets a trap!





Day 4: It's a sack race


Day 5: Christopher has the sniffles, so he's taking a sick day


Day 6: Life is a circus around here! Trapezing around.


Day 7: Christopher seems to know his pop culture. "I came in like a (mistletoe) wrecking balllllll" Oh no, he didn't go there, did he?!

PBK Christmas Tree Advent Calendar Knock Off

I have been eyeing the Pottery Barn Kids Christmas Tree Advent Calendar for a while. I never did purchase one. Recently, when a friend mentioned that she's going to make one, I happily joined her for the ride! This is the stock photo:

  

I can't believe we did it! We are so happy with the results. =)

Materials:

2 yards of premium green felt
1 brown felt sheet for the trunk
2 yellow felt sheets for the star
An assortment of colored felt for the pockets and designs
Embroidery threads
An assortment of embellishments (ribbons, little bells, mini pom poms, etc.)
Needles
1 keyring
Iron on backing

First, we calculated and drew the tree on a big roll of paper. The tree is 35" x 61" including the star and the trunk. Each pocket is 3" x 3.5".  Then we sketched the pocket designs. We came up with a few different versions for some of them. It was hard to decide what we liked best!




Some designs and colors were changed from the original sketches. We made copies of them, then cut the shapes out to use as templates:


All 25 pockets finished!


Iron on the backing and cut them out. This will protect the backs and give them more sturdiness:


We cut the tree out (2x - one front, one back). Set one tree aside. My friend embroidered all the numbers and snowflakes on the remaining tree. Then it was time to pin the pockets on!



We used a blanket stitch with a thicker thread to sew the 3 sides of each pocket:



We cut out the trunk and pinned in between the two tree layers. Then top stitched the entire tree. We cut out the star (2x - one front, one back). Top stitch the two star layers together. We cut out a little strip of green felt and looped the keyring in, for hanging. Pin the green strip behind the tree top, and pin the star on top of the tree in front (so the green strip is hidden):
  


Close ups:










Voila! We love it.