trees and mountains

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The house smells sweetly of fir and the tree we found in the woods now has lights on it! The kids are desperate to decorate, but after 2 long days there has not yet been enough time to enjoy doing this before bedtime.  Instead, while they slept, I made some mountain pillows. A perfect gift in honour of a couple who got married on a mountain this fall.  Don’t you think the smallest one actually looks like a holly tree? I loved how these turned out and want to try more complicated designs after looking at this tutorial!  Here’s a peek at mine…

Tonight I think I might settle in at the dining table (where the sewing machine seems to have moved this week) and make some more mountains while I enjoy the flickering fire and the beautiful lit up tree. It really is “starting to feel a lot like Christmas” around here!

sneak peek

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The Christmas sewing is starting to stack up around here! I am so pleased with the pillow cases I will gift my kids and their cousins in honour of their first Christmas sleepover together – I just have to share a sneak peek with you!  Though of course you cannot see the fancy French seams these have (fancy smancy hidden seams, look at me go)…

Et Voila!

handmade holidays

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As Christmas Day approaches, there is much secret crafting going on around here.  I find myself sewing into the night and stitching on the ferry commute to work.  More lunch break needle felting at the office keeps me in the holiday mood.  Little hands are busy creating special gifts too and it is time to print some more of their lino-cut stamp Christmas cards! Soon I hope to have the crafting complete (at least the gifts, I am hoping there will be playful crafting time over the holidays).  Then these hands will turn to baking some of our favourite family holiday treats — my Mom’s Nanaimo bars, my great-grandfather POP’s shortbread (from back when us Wilson’s lived in Scotland), my Granny’s ginger cookies, peppermint bark (the kids love this one, smashing the candies or canes is their favourite part), and of course Dimitri’s perfect pumpkin pie!

Speaking of Dimitri’s baking skills, have you tried our SLOW RISE Christmas Stollen? Makes a great gift, just add handmade ornaments!

2014 calendars are READY!

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Where does the time go?  It keeps zooming along and here we are looking at the last month of 2013!  It has been an amazing year and I am hoping for more good things in the coming year.

To get us all started, I am happy to announce that I have completed my 2014 Year at a Glance Calendars in time for holiday gift giving!  Many of you requested I do so after I launched them a little late last year (in the New Year).  After much deliberating and polling of some of my artsy friends, I have decided on four designs for this year: “Rain Meets the Sea”, “Trust the Universe”, “Milk Please”, and the very popular “Tea Cup To Do List”.

Thanks to my hubby for creating a beautiful template and a local print shop for zipping up my order, I now have some for sale in my etsy shop and at Artzi Stuff in downtown Nanaimo.  And I mean SALE — since I want to spread my art around with a smile, I am offering these once again for a great price — just $7.50 for each 12 x 18 inch poster!

These poster calendars are is printed professionally (and locally) on 100% recycled paper. Good for the earth and great for the office, kitchen, or studio to help you count the days. I highly encourage reusing this calendar too — at the end of the year, crop off the months and save the art for your wall.

Have a look and make an order soon if you want some in time for Christmas gift giving.  I am placing my first print order on Wed Dec 11th, so can deliver or ship the first orders shortly after that.  Of course, I am happy to take orders from you any time and will get them to you as fast as possible (printing takes 2-5 business days).

I am going to settle in and enjoy this busy festive last month of the 2013 and when January comes I will be ready for another year of amazing-ness with a brand new calendar! Tea Cup will be at my work office, TRUST will go in my studio, Milk Please will go in the kitchen and my man has chosen Rain Meets the Sea for our home office.

I wonder, which 2014 design do you like the best?

good enough!

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Sometimes, when the holidays sneak up on you and a flu bug makes its rounds and slows down the crafting, you have to change the plan.  Sometimes, when you are busy working and home schooling and convalescing on the couch, you realize your plan to finally make that second advent calendar (gifted by a dear friend, waiting for over a year now for some attention) might not be completed in time for this holiday season.  And then you are glad that you have that one special advent calendar, made by another sewing angel friend, the one the kids love and the only one they are expecting anyway!

But wait, it seems there has been some rearranging in the garage and a very heavy antique fridge is blocking the Christmas totes (I am sure you have all had the same problem, right?).  So you distract your generous children with a wee Christmas gift bag (that you stuff with the gifts that your sewing angel sent to get you started, as she does each year).  After the first day of December you decide it is easier to just make the second calendar then move the fridge (hubby has a bad back right now so you can’t ask him….and you are so excited that you finally found the gorgeous, lost kit).

So you begin – there is still hope!  But by Day 3, you are not even close.  Still you persevere, you find a moment and you sew the pockets (look how clever this kit is!).  And then you realize you are ready for bed (already, didn’t the kids just go to sleep?).  You feel that over-achiever-not-good-enough-mama-guilt coming on….and then you chase it away with a “good enough!”.  In an instant, the problem is solved (for now, anyway) and the “extra” calendar is ready to go!

Ta da!

I will pin it up as is and finish it soon (I hope…though the softie inserts might wait for another year, why rush!!?).  Right now there are pockets and numbers and surprises – that is all we need.  And soon we will have to move that fridge and get out the decorations….and then there will be two advent calendars! Maybe I will keep filling this one and they can take on filling the second one?  I think they might just like that, don’t you? And instead of adding more to this busy mama’s to-do list (I was originally thinking they could each have their own, instead of sharing and alternating days as they have done happily for years), perhaps they can take on half the work (and a bunch of fun)…

…I wonder what they will fill their advent with?  Will it be as I do…a sprinkling of vintage ornaments, inspirational seasonal activity ideas and the odd treats? Or perhaps they will write down favourite memories or moments they observe over the holidays?  Jokes? Drawings? I can hardly wait to see what they choose….but while I wait, I will take comfort in knowing that this advent calendar is “good enough!”

Here’s hoping for many more “good enough” moments in the coming busy weeks!

P.S. Speaking of “good enough”, I just realized I took the photos for this post with tomorrow’s surprise in the wrong pocket!  Now this tired mama could re-shoot the photos, but that would be making life more difficult than it needs to be.  I am thinking these photos are “good enough” and I am just grateful I noticed my error before little fingers go searching in pocket number 4 tomorrow.  And now, to bed!  Sweet dreams my friends!