Cookies for Santa and Holiday Wishes for You

We've wrapped and hung and baked and sung. The tree sparkles, the presents shimmer, and the cookies smell delightful. And now we wait...for Christmas, for Santa, and for the birth of our Lord.

Tonight, I send to you my warmest wishes for a very happy Christmas! I hope you find yourself surrounded by loved ones, filled with the spirit, and blessed by the Savior. And an abundance of cookies never hurt anyone:)

And in case you need a last minute gift, these little cookies are sure to delight a child in your life. My present to you...a quick almost-tutorial. Directions only, but pretty simple to follow. And you have just enough time to whip up two or three as you sit by the fire and enjoy the glow of you tree (and the cleanliness of your family room - cuz that won't last long tomorrow!).

You will need:

some felt scraps (red, white, green, brown, tan, cream, yellow, etc.)

a tiny bit of stuffing

embroidery thread

cookie cutters

1. Select a cookie cutter for the outline of your cookie.

2. Trace the cookie cutter onto the felt color of your choice TWO times for each cookie. Example - to make 1 chocolate chip cookie you would trace two circles onto tan felt. Cut out your cookies.

3. Draw and cut out embellishments for the top of your cookie. Example - to make one chocolate chip cookie cut out approximately 9 small circles of dark brown felt.

4. Use embroidery thread to stitch decorations to the top of your cookie. You can also embroider details like sprinkles at this time too.

5. Place the two pieces of your cookie right sides together and sew using 1/4" seam allowance. I did this on my sewing machine for speed and durability, but you could do this by hand if you would like. Leave a 1.5" opening for turning and stuffing.

6. Clip any corners and curves, then turn right side out.

7. Add a small amount of stuffing...don't overstuff these or they cease to look like a cookie and become more of a hockey puck.

8. Fold open edges in and whipstitch the opening closed using matching thread.

Merry Christmas!

Teaser...

Quilt in progress...cross your fingers that it's ready for Christmas morning!

Are you hungry?

Looking for a holiday gift for little hands? This quick and easy tutorial that I found on One Inch World has Bee's stamp of approval.

I whipped up a batch of felt farfalle using just one sheet of cream colored felt during our drive to and from our fall family reunion. FIFTY-SIX little pastas later, we pulled into our driveway. When I poured the pile of butterflies into a wooden cooking pot, Bee was hooked. She played with these the entire evening.

Fill, pour, stir, spoon, and nibble (pretend nibbles, of course). While a bit tedious on the stitching end, it was well worth it to see how much pleasure it brought to my sweet Itty Bit. I'd highly recommend these for the toddlers and preschoolers on your holiday "shopping" list!

A Head Start:)

I'm notorious for waiting until the last minute to make holiday outfits and gifts. Remember the fish outfit I whipped up for Bee the night before her birthday??? Crazy, I know!

Well, thanks to Becky over at Owly Baby, I'm getting a head start on Christmas!


Becky asked for volunteers to test a couple of her new patterns, and I jumped on board in a hurry! The City Jumper pattern is super cute and it was a great excuse to get started on holiday dresses for the girls. I'm not sure when it will be available to the public, but I'll try to keep you posted so you can snap it up:)

For my version, I started with a black and white palette. The little punch of red piping adds just the right amount of flare without the dress screaming CHRISTMAS! That way, hopefully, we will get a bit more wear out of it. I just can't stand to make (or buy) dresses that we wear one time!



With the piping, and the pockets, and the adorable red zipper on the back (that I, of course, forgot to take a pic of...) it is just the sweetest little dress. Don't you think Bee will be the cutest little bit around?

Now to decide on a pattern for Belle...anyone else looking for a dress pattern reviewer in the next couple of weeks??? Apparently, I need a little push:)

Handmade Holiday Update

After much debate and more than a little searching for inspiration, I finally decided to make Bee a baby play set for Christmas. She's really gotten into loving on her dolls and stuffed animals and this gave me a chance to make something really special for her that I hope will grow with her in the next few years.

I used the string-pieced swaddling blanket pattern from Anna Maria Horner's Handmade Beginnings. She is my sewing crush afterall! She also has an adorable baby pattern in the book, but I wanted a doll that would look a wee bit older.

So I turned to my other sewing crush, Hillary Lang. This is the Tag-A-Long doll from Wee Wonderfuls. I omitted the pigtails and hair in exchange for just a few embroidered curls, but I'm seriously considering going back and adding some wool felt hair (no pigtails though...I want it to look about the same age as Bee).

I also made the dress as a separate entity, so that it could be removed for diapering...Did I mention the SUPER easy diaper pattern in AMH's book??? I'll have to show you pics of those later. It turns out that I am out of Velcro. I could have sworn that I bought a package last week, but apparently not:(

There are still a few more pieces to add to the set...a bib, some diapers, maybe some cloth wipes,

and a sweet, little teddy bear for the doll made of some faux fur I grabbed from the remnant bin this morning. You didn't think that obnoxiously large pocket on Baby's dress was just for decoration did you??? It had to be large enough to hold her tiny teddy:)

Every baby needs a bottle, right? I seriously considered making one of felt, but then remembered that we had three bottles that we bought before Bee was born that had maybe been used once each. It took some searching, but I managed to find one and whipped up a quick cloth cover just for cuteness.

Belle gave the whole set a test drive this afternoon. She promises me that Bee will love it. She also promises to teach Bee how to wrap her baby. I think this translates to stealing the whole kit-n-kaboodle, but we'll see.

To keep the whole set together I made this little bassinet. Belle thinks it is hilarious that we are going to carry the baby in a "bag." I've given up trying to explain the difference.

I really hope Bee loves it! If not, I may take it myself...it's just so cute:)

Last Chance and Another Teaser

It's your last chance to get in on my GIVEAWAY! Comments will close tomorrow (12/17) at NOON EST. You don't want to miss out, so scamper on down the page and be sure to leave a comment about your favorite winter crafting activities! I'll contact the winner by email sometime tomorrow afternoon.

In the last couple of weeks I've been churning out holiday orders like mad around here, and I'm almost there. Two tees, one hat, and one grocery bag are all that remain. And then I get to really start on all the gifts that I have planned. A little late...I'm fully aware. But, I have a rock solid plan to get it all completed:)

So here's the Handmade Holiday update...

You've seen the start of Belle's BIG gift (and there's still lots more to come on that one). So here's sneak peak at what Bee will be finding under the tree next Saturday. Any guesses on this one???

What might have ducks...


and dots...



flowers...

lattice...

and more dots...

and even some leaves???

I need to make a run to the fabric store before I can finish it, so I guess you will just have to wait and see:) But if you love those fabrics...most of them came from Melanie, so pay her a visit and get $5 shipping no matter how much you buy!

And seriously, don't forget the GIVEAWAY!

Handmade Holiday Update

Before we go any further...have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet??? Yes? Good! Now on to the post...

Princess pillows??? That's what she wants! I have no idea where this idea came from. I've probed and prodded and tried to get more details, but to no avail. Belle is insistent that Santa bring her princess pillows. When questioned, she explains that she wants to put them around her knee when it hurts. Hmmm.... She plans to use them in the family room. Hmmm.... They must include her favorite princesses. Hmmm... Santa was perplexed, so he passed the task to Mommy and went with something much less nebulous.




I just hope that Mommy can rise to the challenge!

Ariel didn't photograph very well, but she was the most time-consuming, so I started there. Still to come...Cinderella, Rapunzel, and a castle pillow.

The sad news...Belle will be moving to a grown-up bed shortly after the holidays. The real deal. I'm not handling this "growing up" thing exceptionally well, and if I let her move to a grown-up bed, then I might as well start shopping for a wedding dress. I seriously need a pause button for life.

The good news...these pillows will be the perfect start to her new grown-up bedding set. AND, you all will get to see all the parts as they are created. Quilt, wall art, accessories, the whole shebang! That is assuming that her knee is willing to share the pillows with her bed:)

Handmade Holiday Update

Belle has put in a most unusual request for Christmas....



This is what I'm working with. A rainbow of lovely lusciousness!



Bee and I had a blast picking all these out while Belle was in school...can't wait to share more:)

Any guesses???

Handmade Holiday Update

I'm slowly making progress on my gifts for the girls. I think I've spent more time brainstorming gifts for Bee than actually making anything. Belle was the ONLY grandchild on either side of our family before Bee was born. Calling her spoiled is possibly a bit of an understatement. Now that little Bee is here, there just doesn't seem to be anything that we don't already have. But, I finally had an epiphany...

Bee is fascinated with filling and spilling right now. Blocks, crackers, small stuffed birds...anything! So for Christmas this year everything will have a container, be in a container, and be spillable from that container. First...a Three Bears Play Set! Three soft, fuzzy bear balls in a box bearing the images of porridge, chairs, beds, and Goldilocks. Fill, spill, toss, cuddle....


Baby Bear is the first of the set. He's made with lovely, camel-colored alpaca fleece from Alpacas of Niagara. Belle and I were fortunate enough to visit with Diane at the Niagara Alpaca Shop while we were vacationing last week. Belle had a blast watching the animals in the field, and I had just as much fun (and maybe more) chatting about felting and fingering all the lovely gloves, hats, yarns, and toys available in the shop. But more on that visit later...

And I'm still working on the river fairy play set for Belle.

Handmade Holiday Update

I have BIG plans for Belle's main Christmas gift this year...a complete River Fairy Play Set!


Our new land is on a beautiful mountain river and Belle loves to spend time there. She searches for the perfect stone, splashes in the water, and tells tales of the river fairies that must live there.



This is just a start, but so far I'm pleased with the process.

A basic, reversible play mat with a river running through the middle. Some large river stones. All wet felted.

And visions of fairies, houses, stools, and much, much more...

We now interrupt your regularly scheduled programming...

for this very important announcement: Belle + Bee will be participating in Handmade Holiday 2010, the goal of which is to promote the giving of oneself through handmade gifts. And when necessary and/or appropriate supporting small businesses by purchasing their handmade products.


I'm going to have to be careful because most of my gift recipients read this blog on a regular basis. I'll try not to ruin any surprises and may even have to save a few projects for after gifts have been given. But, I'll do my best to share as much as possible as early as possible:)


As a teaser of what's to come, here are some supplies that I've purchased recently (and links to where you can buy them, of course!).

Natural Wool

Handmade Felt

Hand Painted Merino Wool