a bit of christmas gifting...

i promised grandma that we would post lots pf photos of the children opening their gifts, as she & grandpa terry couldn't be here to celebrate with us...

i also want to share photos of the christmas sweaters that i knit for the children this year...

so, without further ado...;)

the older two each got a digital camera & have been on a dueling photo battle ever since! 

aydin, our resident inventor, got a snap rover.  a super cool snap, together way to create all sorts of cool gadgets!

a new raincoat for ev...

this color looks amazing on her (i think ;)

oh & here is my sister samantha (aka sk), who was recently reunited with a lost soul from her past...

black kitty! 

there is a long story behind this one, but basically this was her favorite stuffed animal when she was little, you know the one that we each had & would take everywhere with us??

one day she disappeared, never to be heard from again, until christmas eve. :)

knit lovelies from aunt sk & mama...

sk made each of the littles a lyon hat, which they love!  perhaps even moreso because they *match* (these two are very much into being twins right now, donning the same accessories, etc...very cute!)

ehren's "thing one" sweater... it fits him perfectly!!

ev's "evalinda" (aka nova), also a perfect fit! ;)

close up of ehren's "rainbow high five hat"...

& one of ev's "aphrodite's helm"...

a super cute christmas dress for ev...

a solar powered race car for bean bean...

'fruit fly' (aka butterfly) wings for ev...

i got papa a pair of bogs as i had caught him swiping mine, pink/purple paisleys & all... ;)

& lastly orin, hamming...ahem, i mean 'modeling' his military cardigan...

i still am unsure about the colors, but man is he absolutely LOVING this sweater!! 

he has worn it pretty much non-stop since opening is on christmas eve.

also, overheard him telling a friend about it..."my mom made this sweater, she made it..."  i am LOVIN' it!!

i will add a few more photos @ some point this week.  still have a few more lovelies to share, one of which is aydin's "black dragon' sweater. ;)

until then...happy holiday!!

snowflakes, stockings, a chicken & gingerbread...

honestly, paper snowflakes are addictive, agreed??

we began by making some to hang on our windows, but have now moved on to using them on our holiday cards & even our cookie canisters...

(photos of those to come later ;)

the boys pointed out that evyn didn't have a stocking of her own.  she has, until now, shared with mama & papa.  as she is 2 this year, we decided that she has graduated to having her own...

this was super easy/quick & turned out beautifully, if i do say so myself...

she chose the base fabric (a felted sweater from my stash) & then i used one of our other stocking for a template.  even with the stripes. it seemed a bit plain.  i was wanting something just a wee bit more,   so i added a few concentric circles, sewn on with buttons...perfect! 

& the verdict??...she loves it!

an early christmas present from aydin...

a lego chicken...i LOVE it!

is there anything this boy can't build?? he constantly amazes me!!

our  friends came over the tuesday before christmas & we made gingerbread houses from scratch!!  these were our first ever, aside from a few that we have made in the past from kits.

 they were amazingly east to make, & muy delicioso to boot... :)

even with all the candy 'glued on', they seemed a bit plain.  so...we cut out cardboard 'selves' & placed them around the house.  perfect!!  above, you can see a wee little ehren on the toboggan that orin & aydin crafted, & a plump santa on the left...

 here is aydin, making snow angels on the gingerbread roof...

 a close up of ehren on the toboggan...

 mama & papa (in teddy bear pajamas, aydin's idea) on the rooftop...

 orin, in his ninja gear...

& a wee little evelet on the peeping around the corner...

happy holidays to each & everyone one of you!!  xo

even more handmade holidays/christmas goodies! :)

as always, we have been busy bees here @ the house...lots & lots of projects! i love it!! :)


first up is a lovely pair of legwarmers that aydin made for evyn (our 2o month old)

from a recycled sweater (of course)...his first sewing machine project. i think he did quite well...

a long overdue pompom that i made for papa...his hat lost his (well, actually his hat was attacked by our one of our two youngest & when the smoke cleared it was missing pompom ;)

this was last winter...and i have (finally) made him a new one. i think he will be quite pleased...

(side note: pompoms take quite a bit longer to make than i had originally thought...i now have a new respect for them)

hmmm...i think i told you that this pattern was addictive. do you believe me now??

in a variety of colors for various lovely ladies...;)

i also made a baby-sized one for ev...isn't is cute??

a bit of perspective for the niblet version...

(a bit of trivia...the niblet took about 3x longer to knit, who knew??)

another countless...this one for my sister-in-law...
handmade branch buttons to top them all off. made from a bit of birch that we trimmed off earlier this year & sealed with a bit of mama kopps beeswax finish.

a custom order keyhole scarf in rainbow for the shop...

not only gorgeous, but soft & squishy to boot!

i traded with another mama for a carrier (mei tei style), and made her these sweet pilot caps.

a gorgeous silk/merino wool blend...

this one is 100% silk, two shades of orange knit together...

and lastly, another custom order of felted soaps for the shop. this one in trade for some yarn.

i recently discovered that my brother's favorite colors are all things neon & gold. interesting, i think. i plan to knit him up a scarf for christmas. he lives in chicago & i know it would get put to good use. :)

this one was for another mama who had already ordered a couple of the soaps, but wanted more...gotta love that!

happy holiday crafting!! xoxo