Be Jolly! (Freebie embroidery pattern!)

 

Woo Hoo! For those who write HTML, you can stop reading now. This was a big deal for me. Probably a MUCH bigger deal than it needed to be, but hey, we (my hubby and I) did it!

 

Coming up with a sweet little pattern was easy. Posting it as a permanent link, well, let's just reiterate how not computer savvy I am.

 

Couple things, before I instruct you to go right over to the right side of your screen and click on the "Be Jolly" image. 1) My hubby takes full credit for uploading the information, upside down. Not a big deal, especially when you are going to print it out anyway. (Some of you are thinking, "But Stefanie isn't your semi-OCD kicking in? The answer is of course, YES. I will change it, just not today. ;0) 2) The pattern is for the embroidered image, what you do after that is your choice. What I wanted to do was use a cute little wooden hoop, with some beautiful ribbon. Sans that, I decided on gluing my piece to heavy crardstock, and adding loads of colorful buttons. (Aleen's craft glue was my friend in this endeavor) You can make little stuffed sachet ornaments or pins, the point is to make it your own and have fun with it. You will notice that there is a string of holly and "Be Merry Be Bright". Feel free to use those too, just remember that in transferring images, the letters need to be in reverse. (Meaning trace the back of the page, not the front. A light box or window is helpful there. :0)

 

It is snowy and beautiful here, and I have my hot pumpkin spice tea and Christmas music playing. I definitely encourage the same!

 

Enjoy your day!

Here We Go With Another HUGE Catch-Up Post!

Whew! It's been a crazy, wonderful, (mostly) spectacular couple months. I should apologize for not blogging more, but with three birthdays just in our family and two more (niece and nephew) parties, plus Christmas and all that jazz... You get the picture, BUSY! And I love it. (mostly) The above picture is my beautiful daughter and I at a craft show in the fall. Where I purchased that gorgeous hat. I love felted wool, wish I would have bought another! Hailey supports me in everything I do, and I'm pretty sure this is the child we count on to not put us in a home when we are old. ;0) I'm going to do lots of pictures and updates in this post as it's been a while, and I promise, I. Have. Been. Busy.

A huge shout out of thanks to Grandma Wanni and Papa, and Nana Lana who watch P. so I can still be busy! Love them!

We had Madison's birthday the 7th of December, and Phoenix's the 8th. Combined into one big party for the family. We did a Candyland theme, as they both love their sweets! The cake was three tiers of candy bliss, and there were jars and dishes of asst. candies all over. I wish the cake had turned out better, but when you add that much candy and color to something, it's, whoah. A lot going on. I should know this by now, right? But the kids had fun, and that's what it's about anyway! So I'll post a picture anyway, even though it's not a favorite.

And a couple pics of the kiddos...

Madison giggling because when I said "One, two, three... Happy (insert the song here)" She thought it was time to make a wish. So she did. And blew out all twelve candles!

P saying a big "Thank You!"

Madison beyond excited for the book she's wanted "forever". Our little bibliophile pretty much only asked for books this year. :0)

For Christmas I so wanted to take the time to make everyone in our little family a special present. For the record I put some of Madison's own art on a pair of Converse shoes. They turned out awesome, but she is wearing them right now, so you'll have to trust me that they are cool, because there is no picture!

I made my husband a sign out of an old wooden ski, that says "Happiness is a large, loving, close-knit family... In another city. (It's a quote from George Burns, and an inside joke for us, in case that came off as rude...)

Hailey loves Alice in Wonderland, and her room has that theme. So I made her an art doll of the Mad Hatter, which she LOVED!

I made a fuzzy hugable blankie/softie for Phoenix. He immediately took to him and we call him "Pete".

*Love*

My Hubby and took a trip to Portland, just for a couple days, as he now does service and repair of Janome sewing machines. He had training there, so P. and I tagged along and went to The Children's Museum, and the Portland Zoo. It was a cold, rainy, blustery day, but when we got to the zoo, it cleared up. All of the animals were out and about, and the zoo was all but deserted. It was great!

He had such a good time! We had a nice lunch, with I swear the BEST latte I've ever had. He had cocoa, just to be clear. :0)

Hailey had her 14th birthday a couple weeks ago, and in keeping with the "Alice in Wonderland" theme, this was her cake.

I wish she didn't look far older than 14. But that's a Mom thing I'm sure!

On to my sewing! I promised I was busy, so here are some pics to prove it!

Happy Birthday Owlette...

Fritzi Teddy Bear...

Elphie Circus Mouse, not a great picture, and she'll be holding a felt bouquet I bouquet I believe...

Some fabulous pins I'll be offering for sale on my soon to be website...

My personal favorite. :0)

And just because it makes me smile. :0)

Now my time is up, as I heard a crash from my sewing room. My sweet curious boy is into things again. *sigh* Until next time! Enjoy your day, it's snowy, sunshiney and sparkly here now. *Love*