Elf on a Shelf

We have decided to try Elf on a Shelf in our home this year.  We are borrowing the book from a friend and will probably create our own magical story to go with our elf.  The original story seems a tad creepy, definitely needs a tad of altering.  Instead of buying the one from the store I decided to save costs and make my own.  I googled many an elf pattern and picked this one.  It's the Tiny Elf pattern by Susan
 B. Anderson 
for
 Spud
&
Chloë
.  I think it turned out great!  I am excited for the kids to wake up tomorrow and find it.  They haven't seen it yet.  Right now he's tucked in on a shelf hanging out next to a bowl of shells, perfect for an Island Elf.  Tomorrow we will pick a name for him. 

Advent Calendar

The beginnings our new advent calendar. All Xmas fabrics from our stash.

More bag photos

Messenger Bag

Here is Little Bit's new messenger bag. She whipped this up for herself today with a hint of help from me. It came out fabulous!

Rainbow Baby

A little dolly made for a little cutie we know.  It's for Christmas.  I made it using a pattern from Jean Greenhowe's webiste:     www.jeangreenhowe.com      It turned out so cute I am going to whip out another one.  

 

 

 

 

Owlet

Here is the finished owl set.  Included is little gift for the little girlie.  My kiddos love the stuffed owl and think it is perfect for her.

 

 

Owl Hat

Here is the hat in action.  Complete with little one eating snow and all.  How cute!

Doll Sweater

I've got the doll sweater back out now that the hats are done.  The sleeves are on waste yarn.  I'm maybe 1/3 of the way down the length of the sweater.  It's going pretty quick now.  

More Wine Jewelry

Made for another friend's birthday. Here is a picture she shared with me.

Xmas Hats

I've started whipping stuff out and stashing it for Xmas. Thanks to my friend sharing her owl hat pattern with me, I've got a new style for the kiddos. These are for Little Bit and the Little Man.

New Crafter

Well we have a new Crafter in the house. My oldest has been sucked in finally and now crafting up a storm.

For her birthday she got jewelry making tools and has started making earrings. Here is her first pair. The picture isn't the best it was taken on my phone. She made a bunch more later but since they are gifts for family, I won't post those yet.

Sewing Kit

Little Bit set up a sewing kit for herself. She now has a passion for hand sewing, which comes as no surprise to me. Every seamstress has a cute little tomato pin cushion. Well Little Bit has a blueberry pin cushion she made. She also added a needle case to her kit.

Hand Sewing

Although Little Bit is a near master of the sewing machine I've somehow never showed her how to hand sew an item. After a new library book hit the house, she decided to have a go at it. She copied the pattern, cut out the fabric, and hand sewed the little creature below for her brother.

Owl Drawings

The kids and I are reading Poppy by Avi for their Book Club.  They attend once a week and have activities that go along with their reading assignments.  This week the kids and I have gone owl wild in honor of our book.  My friends owl hat came at a perfect time.

For our art lesson today we did a pencil drawing then colored in with colored pencils.  We used an Usborne drawing book for our lesson.  I think the kiddos did a really great job!  

Here are Little Bit's, The Little Boy's, and mine.

Little Bit's Art

Little Boy's Art

I usually draw/paint along with the kids to make it more fun for them.  A family affair.
Thought I would include mine too!  

Doll Sweater

I am making a sweater for Little Bit's doll for Christmas.  It is based off a friend's pattern she posted on her blog.  I am using sock yarn in a fabulous pink, purple, green color.  I will probably work on matching hat to go with it.  I have finished the neck, and down to needing to break off the sleeves and work on the body. 

Wide Awake Owl

Here is the little owl hat I was hired out to make for a friend.  Little Bit was my color consultant.  We were told to go "earthy" in our color scheme.  This is a pattern purchased from Etsy called the Wide Awake Owl.  I think it turned out very cute and can't wait to see it on the little one's head when she gets it.

Image

Little Bit's been busy

This past week Little Bit had been sick. She wasn't feeling so hot and spent a day laying in bed with me. She pulled out her knitting, cast on, and voila whipped out almost a whole hat. Figures! This week we will finish shaping the top and it's finished. Great color choice Little Bit!

Wine Jewelry

Here is the finished product on the wine jewelry. I used ocean themed colors. Blue glass beads used for main area. Pearls and blue sea glass beads as accents. Then along the bottom row I used shells found here in Texas as more accent. My friend received the jewelry as a gift and here is her finished display of it. Beautiful!!!

New Hobby

I want to try my hand at this beaded wine jewelry.  Very much outside the box for me.  As time permits I'm going to give it a shot though.  Stay tuned....

Busy as a bee!

My little blog has been neglected lately.  I have been consumed with the new school year.  I am teaching classes to a homeschool group.  Below are some pics from my Biology class.  Dissection has been going great and is a lot of fun with the teens.  I love working with the teens now.  In my K-1 class we are using paper mache to make a volcano.  Each week we read a book on volcano's either a fiction or more informational type, then we keep working on our volcanos.  In two weeks we will be exploding our volcanos.  The kids are really excited about that.  I will post pics later.  I haven't had any time to knit or crochet.  (I miss it!).  I am excited to announce I will be crocheting an owl hat for a friend for her little girls birthday.  I received the pattern and will be headed to find yarn this week.  Should be a fun project.  I will get better about updating my blog now that I'm in somewhat of a routine.  Our school year just feels so much busier this year.  

From our Earthworm Dissection day.

Getting ready for frog dissection.

First Week we look in the mouth, remove the tongue, view external features.  Woo Hoo.
 More graphic photos to come next week.