Christmas Creations

So lately I have been pretty busy making some gifts for Christmas. This past Sunday we celebrated Christmas with my family, so I can now post what I have been working on.

This year I decided to make blankets for my little brother and sister. They are simple, but I love this kind of blanket to snuggle up in. Myles and his mom made me one of these blankets one year for Christmas and I have loved it ever since. I think everyone needs a huge blanket to be all wrapped up in! And these blankets are huge. They are over 7 feet long... Caleb and Lindsey's toes will never be cold!

All you need is...
2 peices of 2.5 yards (I like to make them real big) of your favorite fleece material.
2 packets of blanket ribbon...Im not sure what it is technically called, but it is the kind that is pre folded
Thread that matches your ribbion
Pins
Sewing machine

Directions:
Lay the 2 peices of fabric out, on top of one another, and pin them together
Sew the edges together
Pin the ribbion around the edges
Sew the ribbion to the blanket

It is not a difficult project at all, but working with this much material does take sometime! And patience when you are in a small apartment, haha.

Hear are the pictures of the finished products...

Caleb's Blanket:

Lindsey's Blanket:

 A few more pictures from Sunday....

Madalynn and her Lindsey

Madalynn opening the first present

Andrew and Caleb playing miniture pool

One of the headbands I made for Madalynn...I meant to take pictures of all of them, but I only got a pic of this one. I made it from some of the scraps left over from Lindsey's blanket.

Leah!

 We all had to wait to open gifts until she got off work. We were all happy to see her!

Myles and I 

:-)

We had a great Round 1 of Christmas! It is always so fun to be with my whole family!

Artsy Fartsy Friday- Art with words

One of my favorite ways to express myself through art is by writing poetry. I love to translate my hearts meditations, questions, and reflection into a well crafted picture made up of words.  Most of my poetry is not rhyme-y rhyme-y. I think poems can sometimes get kinda cheesy if they try to rhythm all the time....at least that is what happens when I try to rhythm a lot.

Here is a poem I wrote this semester. I thought it would be good to share as we are approaching Christmas, see the term "King of Kings" on Christmas cards and decorations, and sing "glory to the new born King."

The poem is about Christ as our King.
I wrote it around the time we saw Robin Hood, so I especially enjoyed watching the movie, imaging what life would be like under the rule of a king.  Kingship is something I don't think we as Americans can fully grasp. We have a president, different branches of government, and checks and balances in place. Being under the authority of one, would be a different world. What the king says goes. He has all power over you. The difference between a good and bad king would be highly more exaggerated than the difference we see in a good politician and a bad one. Evil and corrupt actions could be taken to a whole other level. I can imagine the people's hate and anger toward an evil king, and their love and affection toward a king who is good, wise, and just. How comforting is it to know that our King is good. When his kingdom comes to earth it will be perfect. Praise Jesus!

What does it mean to have you as my king?

How should it impress on my soul?

You are a righteous ruler 

Faithful and just

No child is left hungry 

All are feed

Your kingdom is magnificent

Your land is plentiful 

There is abundance

The evil do not prevail

Sin is defeated

Your people are full of health and joy

They run and do not grow weary

You are a good king

You welcome the child

You are a great king 

Revered by all

The saints bow at your feet

You have chosen the people of your kingdom 

Each is dear to your heart 

You know your people

Who is this king of glory?

Why did he choose to crown me as his child?

Its beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This weekend we got out the Christmas decorations. This year we decided not to put up the Christmas tree...gasp, I know...but our apartment is just feeling smaller and smaller these days and there is just not much room for it. I have been trying to remove all the clutter and make room in our home for when Eli comes. Putting up the tree just seemed counter productive this weekend. So, instead of the tree I put up some of our favorite, special ordainments on some garland. I really like how it turned out. I just wish it had christmas lights on it :)

Here are some pictures of the other decorations. I love putting them all up.

I especially love all the nativities.

I hope you all have fun decorating for christmas!

Artsy Fartsy Friday

Artsy Fartsy Fridays: Day I will post about my art...hopefully it will be each week...
Why: I am not the best at finishing art/projects. To motivate myself to finish things up and keep a record of art projects, I thought I would post about some art I have done in the past and some art I am doing now...as it is finished.


I love art. All kinds.

Drawing is one type of art that I absolutely love. I could talk on and on about it. I think it is amazing how lines, angles, shapes, and shading can come together and create something that looks real. I love how something can go from looking like poo, to something that looks amazing with enough time and the right shading in the right places.

I have never taken any art classes, so I just learn from what I see. I think just about anyone can draw what they see with enough practice and attention to detail. When I was younger my mother helped me develop a more critical eye and learn how to better translate what I see on to paper. When I would draw she would give me tips and a few pointers here and there... so I guess you could say I have had some training...but nothing formal. I still have a lot of learning to do.

The type of drawing I like to do is realistic drawings. I love to draw faces and hands especially. One of my favorite drawing projects I have done was for Myles. It was for his christmas present...during my first year of college...so that would be Christmas of 2005. Wow that is kinda a while ago...I am getting old, haha. Being in college with no job, I did not have too much money for a christmas gift. So I thought something special would be great.

I drew "I love you" in sign language. What was really funny about this is that one day while talking to him I told him, I would not be able to spend much on a gift, and he said.."Don't worry all I expect is a piece of paper with I love you written on it."... Little did he know that was exactly what he would be getting. Also...while buying the framing for the drawing at Hobby Lobby, guess who we saw while checking out. Myles was there! He saw that I was paying for something with my money, so later I had to tell him that my mom needed me to buy something for her because she didn't have any money with her.....ah silly times.

Anyways, Myles loved his christmas present and was totally surprised :)

Not the best pictures, but its what I have on my computer of it.....

This last christmas I also was commissioned...(that sounds fancy) by our friends Nathan and Rebekah to draw some other hands to give to Nathan's parents for christmas.

Here is a picture of that....
(It says Forbes)

I hope his parents enjoy it!


I have more drawings to come. One that I am especially excited about...I just need to finish it. Hopefully I will show it to you some day soon. But no worries while it is in the makings, I have plenty of art to keep your fridays artsy fartsy.