Christmas 2010 Highlights

Our Holiday Season in photographs:

The annual Lobster-fest at Mimi and Jeff's

Dinner is almost ready.

Shelby's favorite gift and my least favorite?  Haley's LOUD vacuum cleaner.  

The girls had a blast decorating the tree at Grandma and Grandpa Pfaff's house 

Don't eat it, Haley!

Our budding photographer, Shelby

Time for a tummy ache from all that icing! (Decorating cookies for Santa)

Shelby got that lemon from Santa after all (thanks to one of his elves!)

Santa also brought Big Wheels.  He thought the girls' legs were long enough.  Maybe in 2 years!

Haley and Grandma playing in the leaves

All the Pfaffs posing with the new fort (Monica, Bryon, Shelby, Ashlee, Juanita (with Isidora due soon), Aaron, Janice, Norman, and Haley

Modern Version of a Quilting Bee

In 2011, I will be doing something I've never done before--quilting!  My cousin-in-law, Wendy, is fearlessly guiding me, and whoever else wants to join us,  through all the steps.  On her blog, she will be posting sew-a-long steps and will be holding my timid hand the whole way.  Join us in making a doll-sized quilt here.


Per Wendy's direction, I purchased two light and two dark fabrics.  The four I picked are from the Quite Contrary line from Riley Blake.

Love those berries!

I also picked up some supplies at Joann's.  If anyone in the DFW area has a favorite fabric/supplies store other than Joann's, PLEASE contact me.  My frustration with them is mounting!  

Who knew 100% cotton batting was so hard to find?

I can't wait to get started and will keep my eager blog-reading fans informed of my progress!                 

A New Fort for the Pfaffs

 Bryon's parents recently moved to a new home in Los Lunas, New Mexico.  So, what do you think was the first big purchase for their new place?  New appliances?  New furniture?  Nope!  Bryon's dad promptly bought the biggest playset Costco had to offer.    

The instructions clearly state that one should read through the entire manual before attempting to assemble oneself to ensure that "professional help is not needed."    It also estimates time to complete the project at 40 hours.  So, the challenge and race are on for the engineering Pfaff Men!

Step one complete!

How exactly are we going to get this level?

Just a small sample of the parts included. 

Still smiling!

The topping off party.

Who looks more excited~Grandpa or Shelby?

The guys are estimating that they are two-thirds done at this point.  I just know the grandkids are going to appreciate this addition to the new house for MANY years to come!

And the winner is....

#96, Tracy!  Congrats!  Thanks for all of the great ideas and tips.  I can't wait for the next sew, mama, sew giveaway day.

My First Giveaway--CLOSED

If you just stumbled across my little blog via Sew, Mama, Sew's giveaway day, then welcome!  I'll be honest.  My blog is more about my boring little family than about sewing tutorials.  Feel free to read older posts to peek into my crazy life.  There are a few sprinkled here and there about my sewing messes and successes.

Now, onto what you came here for.  I found the pattern for these cute little birdies in Joel Dewberry's Sewn Spaces and have gone crazy making a flock of my own. 












Each bird is stuffed with a little lavender from my mother-in-law's garden, so they all smell divine!

The winner will have her choice of one bird and will also receive a bag of dried lavender to use in her next project.

To enter, leave a comment with your best sewing tip for newbies like me.  Or, if you are a non-sewer, share your favorite cooking or crafting tip. Winner will be chosen at random on 12/17/10 at noon.

Oh, and just for fun, I doing a survey about that silly automatic needle threader on sewing machines.  Do you use it or not?

Quizzes by Quibblo.com

The Ugliest Gift Wrapping, EVER!

In my previous life (before kids), I loved spending a whole day carefully wrapping my Christmas gifts.  I would use coordinating wrapping paper, make my own fancy bows, drink hot chocolate, and listen to Christmas music.  It was lovely.

Present day doesn't allow such luxuries.  Kids love nothing more than to rip open gifts, especially when told not to touch them for awhile.  What's a girl to do?  Sew her presents, of course!  So far, not one gift has been broken into.

I started by having the girls make a huge mess with paint on craft paper.

 I then cut out the paper, sewed some silly designs, stuffed the gift inside, and "hemmed" it up.  I've managed to put a few under our Christmas palm tree.

 It's been fun using some of the decorative stitches on the sewing machine.

 Sewing a perfect circle is next to impossible, as seen on the left Christmas tree.

 My sister, Molly, gets the shaft every year, since her birthday is 3 days before Christmas.  Not only is she getting the dreaded "this is your birthday and Christmas gift all in one," so is the wrapping.  It's a birthday/Christmas creation!

The middle one is supposed to be a peppermint candy...um, yeah, not so much...but it was fun trying!

This fun project works well on the small gifts, but the big ones will be a little difficult.  Those may just get a single bow right before we do the gift opening.

The Best Universal Tadpole, EVER!

Ever heard of the Universal Tadpole?  Yep, me neither, until my super-smart sister had kids and earned her master's degree.  She can tell you all about how the first images kids draw of people look the same worldwide.  It's usually a circle with lines for arms and legs (no body or neck).  Fascinating that kids in Dubai are drawing the same thing as kids in the good ol' USA.

Today, a friend and I took our kids to lunch.  Shelby was coloring on anything, including the table.  I handed her the bag my yummy burger came in, and this is what my budding Picasso designed:

It was a Universal Tadpole! To the right is a bird, complete with wings and claw feet.  Is it too early to set up an etsy account for her now?