Mom's Christmas Decorations {Christmas in July}

I thought it was time for a little Christmas in July action... here are a few pictures from last Christmas.

Some vintage goodies... I always had fun rearranging these little guys.

The very toy train my dad played with when he was young... and what I like to think of as the original "Elf on the Shelf" (err... ladder). Mom has decorated with that guy for as long as I can remember.

A Vintage Ornament. 

A Cute Bell. (Fun to ring... I wonder if my family ever got tired of me ringing this thing when I was younger...) 

Homemade Crocheted Stockings (the original family stockings were made by my grandma, but Mom has since made a few more as the family has expanded!).

My parents' Christmas China (Lenox Holiday). Mom usually receives one new piece each year. She is proud of all the pieces, but that punch bowl may just be her favorite. I mean, it even gets to come out for Easter and Thanksgiving and any other family gathering she deems punch necessary for. And it's always fun to explain why there's a Christmas punch bowl next to the basket of colored eggs and Easter Bunnies ;)

Christmas 2014 will be here before you know it! Happy Christmas in July!

More Matching Cousins

Once upon a time, I was in 4-H and sewing 2-3 outfits a summer to enter in Fashion Revue. 

For the non-4-H-ers out there, Fashion Revue is a "Youth-in-Action" project. Participants sew an outfit, model it for a judge and answer questions about the construction and care of their outfits. A few weeks later, during the county fair (or in my county's case, 4-H Achievement Days), there is a public event where participants put on a fashion show and model their outfits while the emcee reads a script about the outfit, accessories and a few tidbits about the participant. 

Here I am during the public Fashion Revue modeling an outfit... I believe this was the summer after finishing 6th or 7th grade. One of these days I'll dig out my old 4-H book which has all of my outfits (and records about all my other 4-H activities, too) and I'll post more outfits as part of a Throwback Thursday series... someday :)

This past winter, Mom and I cleaned out her fabric collection, and I found plenty of this JoAnn's Tie-Dye knit fabric leftover from the top I made a decade ago. I had just enough to make matching Skipper Tops (pattern by Sew Much Ado) for Evelyn and her cousin! 

Since the knit fabric was a little older, it didn't stretch as well. I should have went up a size for Evelyn's top... she was only able to wear it a few times before I gave up fighting her to get it over her head. Thankfully, I guessed big for Anna's size and her's fits perfectly! Evelyn's top will just have to go in the box with her other outgrown clothes and wait there for the next baby girl in the extended family :) Besides, someday Evelyn will fit into Anna's! Haha, on that note, she will probably fit into my top someday, too... I'm pretty sure I still have every outfit I ever made!

Evelyn at Christmastime

 This post is only a month or so late... but better late than never!

There was the perfect little sleigh at my parents' house to take Evelyn's Christmas picture with. Mom actually puts all the Christmas letters in it, but I just dumped those out ;)

Later that day, Auntie Sarah gave Evelyn a new book (and Roxy gave lots of licks... Evelyn just laughed and laughed). This book has flaps and textures and has since become one of Ev's favorites. 

And who could resist sharing some of her crazy faces?

Then, with Dan's side there is a tradition of having Great-Grandpa pull the little ones along in the toy wagon. Evelyn wasn't quite sure what was happening, but she still gave out a few smiles. Don't you just love that bedhead? The following day, Ev enjoyed showing her second cousin her new toy... He is just 8 months older.

Finally, what is Christmas without a few carols sang around the piano? That top picture may just become a postcard for next year. She doesn't beeline for the piano as often anymore, but for awhile there, she couldn't get enough.

Merry Belated Christmas ;)

It's My Day to Twist, Twist, Twist!

I've been getting some good vibrations from this blog hop so far, haven't you? Really, I'm having such a ball with all these throwback projects. I haven't done too much with batiks in the past, but now I'm a believer in the fun of batiks (especially after buying some microtex needles, ha!)! I'm so excited that I finally get to twist and shout with my 1960's inspired batik projects :)

I had no idea what I wanted to make when I signed up for this fab hop. I scoured Pinterest and Google searching for inspiration. Then, I thought, "You know, I think need a purse." So, that's what I planned on. Well, then I made this, and I didn't need a purse anymore - but I made another one anyways!

Here it is... the "Twisted Flower Purse."

After completing it, I realized that it could be a fun Christmas gift to my niece (she's in Kindergarten!). I just hope that her friends don't think she has the cooties with a homemade purse. Instead, I hope she feels decked out while wearing it. Once I determined it would be going to a young girl, I needed to shorten the straps.... thus, the need to create the bows :)

I think they are perfect for a little girl's purse! They even have her name stitched on them. I'll be sure to fill it will lots of fun pink and sparkly things for my favorite (and only) niece!

I used this free pattern for the purse, although I printed it at 75% instead of 100% to make it a bit smaller. I added the fold-over magnetic-button closure instead of using the button closure in the pattern.

Here's a close up of the "twisted flower" - finding this tutorial was one of the first inspirations I had once I decided on a purse... I mean, we are supposed to be "twisting" to the 60s, right?!

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"Fab Flowered Mug Rug"

Well, after completing the purse, I decided that I wanted to make a few more projects with my batik scraps, so I had to brainstorm. Finally, I thought I'd help my mother do some California dreamin in her classroom on such a winters day (you see, my brother's family lives in California, so I'm hoping this flower-powered mug rug can put a smile on my mom's face as she thinks of her two sweet grandsons on the beach in California...) I used fusible fleece and did a quick, sketchy reverse-applique flower. I also added some rough strips using a decorative stitch on my machine along with my mom's name to liven it up. Having the fun stitches on my machine helps me out when I don't have time to actually embroider!

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Flower Power Kerchief

My last project was inspired from all the pictures from the 1960s boards on Pinterest. I love the bandana/kerchief look, and now that I have short hair again, I needed something that can keep my hair out of my face while cooking, cleaning and giving "my girl" a bath... This was an experiment, since I couldn't find the right kind of tutorial; next time, I'll make it smaller, but it works for now :)

Now, after you send me a postcard... err, comment... (only if you want to, of course), make sure you head on out and pick your leader of the pack from amongst these other swell ladies! Just remember to stop in the name of love and cheer those ladies on with some lovely comments, too!

Seams To Be Sew

Words & Stitches

Banks of Frog Creek (You are here!)

Quilted Delights

Also, make sure you let Mdm Samm know that you are having a blast hopping along this blog hop - I know I appreciate all she does to organize and cheer us on! And specifically with this 60s hop, we need to go to Mary's blog and give her some skin of appreciation for being our cheerleader!

 After that, why don't you go dance to the music? I know you have at least one song from the 60s playing in your mind after reading this :) I think I'll go sit on the dock (bridge) of the... creek with my little ankle biter and sing her some good ol' oldies as we enjoy such a wonderful world.

PS: I don't have pictures from the actual 1960s, so this is the closest thing I can show you! These are from Homecoming Week dress-up days my freshman and sophomore years of high school (early 2000s). I made my bell-bottoms from an old pair of jeans, red corduroy and green fringe. The dress that I'm wearing in the top right picture was actually made by my mom in college (Home-Ec major). You can't see it in the picture, but the fabric actually has woman's heads on it surrounded by flowers - it made my friends laugh!

Thanks for stopping by.... now, peace out.