Sewing Machine Plans

I have been looking online for project ideas to use my new sewing machine... I have come up with WAY too many. I have two big projects and a medium sized project in mind.

One is a quiet book like this one found at Homemade by Jill's blog found HERE. I have sketched out all the pages I want to make, and I'll get started next week. I have looked at at least 20 different blogs, and I think I have some pretty great ideas from them for different pages I want to do.



My other super huge project is a table fort like THIS one found at Make it and Love it. Except I plan on having Nathan make a frame for it so it can be taller than our table. I am going to make the outside look like a real house with a pickable garden in back like I saw at an Etsy shop (I can't find that website right now). I also want to make it have an interior too! This project may or may not be finished this year.



Another project I think is super cute is found at Nothing Fancy Schmancy's blog HERE. A cute little mail set with changeable address labels and stamps. I have some fun ideas for this one too.




When I make the mail center I will also make a bag like this one found at Create Studio's blog HERE.




I have a list of blogs that is 30+ listings long. On each of these blogs I see at least one thing I might make someday. I should be kept pretty busy! I'll try to take pictures as I go so I can share my sewing adventures. I have a few weeks before school starts, so hopefully I can get a good jump on the quiet book. Wish me luck!

Here's a cute picture of Emma just for the fun of it, she has a thing with toothbrushes lately...

Merry Christmas

We were at Nathan's parent's house for Christmas day, Emma doesn't know enough to be excited yet...



But she loved her presents!



Santa had some pretty fun gifts set out for Emma.



And in her stocking too



She sort of opened her presents, she needed a little coaxing



I finally got a sewing machine! I've been wanting one for awhile, and I have all kinds of plans for it... I'll have a seperate post for that.



For Nathan's birthday this year I bought him this jersey, and tickets to see his favorite team (Manchester United) play in KC. His friend, Paul, got him in to see a practice session, and they got some autographs. So for Christmas I had the jersey, tickets, practice pass, and a picture framed.



Aunt Elise got some pretty good presents for her niece and nephew at Disney World.



Heather and Skyler are hilarious, love the faces



We gave them about 10 DVDs, and wrapped them individually... it was fun!



Grandpa made stick horses for Emma and Memphis, I love it! When Emma gets a bit more coordinated she will too!



Grandma bought a present to keep at her house for the kiddos, an inflatable bounce ring with balls inside. Needless to say, the kids loved it. They spent most of the rest of that day and the next inside it.



Emma had a blast throwing balls out of the ring.





Check out her hair, it was like this all day



I love this video, you can see how much Emma is learning! She learned to say "ball" while we were there. Her vocabulary has almost reached the double digits!



We had a great time, I hope you all had a Merry Christmas too!

Christmas Eve and Minute to Win It

For Christmas Eve we all got some PJs, Emma's were so cute!

She had fun opening her present, and then carrying it around the room.

By the time it was bedtime for her, she was covered in oreos and candy cane.

We put together some "Minute to Win It" games. We stacked oreos on our heads, somehow I didn't get a picture of this one. We also had a "snowball" fight where we threw paper balls at each other, it was fun! Emma didn't like it though. I have a video, but its long and I don't feel like editing it. Maybe I'll put that treat up some other time.

We used candy canes to pick ornaments up off a table and put them in a box.

This was my favorite game. We attach a box with a belt to a person, and then put 5 Christmas ornaments inside that need to be shook out.

Here are some fun videos.

It was a pretty fun Christmas Eve!

Gingerbread Houses

Every year we like to make a gingerbread house, this year we did it with Nathan's family. Emma stayed up long enough to pose with the box, and then she went to bed.

Nathan, his parents and I made one house.

Elise, Skyler and Heather made the other house.

I think we had some pretty good results.

This one is ours. Notice the marshmallow shingles and crushed candy cane pathway...

The other house had a pretty cool licorice walkway and they put crushed candy cane on Santa's Sleigh.

Unfortunately for Santa, he didn't make it even 24 hours before one of the dogs ate his bottom half and his sleigh...

Then Emma discovered she could rip off the marshmallows from the roof and eat them...

It was a lot of fun, it is one of our traditions that we always keep!

Staying at Grandma and Grandpa's house

We got to spend some time at Nathan's parents this year, it was nice that all of Nathan's siblings could be there. Emma enjoyed spending time with everyone, and got to play with her cousin Memphis.

She absolutely loves her Aunt Elise, all Elise has to do is look at her and she laughs. (of course playing with her under the table is fun too!)

When Grandma was around, Emma had to be held by her... she had a lot of fun cooking with her.

Grandpa let Emma help make her present, he told her that next year she will have to wait to see her presents until Christmas.

Uncle Skyler liked hanging out with the toddlers, I wonder why he gets along with them so well...

She spent a couple of days with Memphis, they had fun playing with Che and with Uncle Skyler and Aunt Heather.