Precious video

This video is so stinkin' cute! It's the story of Jesus' birth told by kids. Great costumes!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and yours!

We are in Branson for the weekend enjoying time with family. I look forward to sharing my DIY Christmas gifts after the holiday!

Black and gold

This video is kind of silly, but it really makes me miss Columbia! Sean and I both love Mizzou and we have a feeling we will end up back there someday!

Christmas gift tags

Need to add a little pzazz to your Christmas gift wrapping? There are tons of free downloads to help you out! Here are the two I'm using:Click here for tons more options.

See Martha's options here.

Happy Wrapping!

Quick and easy baby gift

Sean's preceptor this semester is going to have a baby in the next couple of months, so I whipped up this super easy and fast gift for her baby boy.

I freezer paper stenciled the 'j' on to the onesie {block letters are so quick!} then sewed a panel of flannel {rhyme intended} to a burp cloth. Isn't that robot fabric so cute?! Perfect for a little boy :) I found it in the clearance pile at JoAnns a month or so ago. I have a ton of extra, so I'll probably add something to my Etsy shop soon.

Seriously took maybe 15 minutes {thanks to the help of a blow dryer for the paint} and cost maybe $3 in materials.

Tug of War

This is my brother's dog, Abby and our puppy Wyatt playing tug of war at my parents this weekend. Abby has about 15 pounds on Wyatt, but he held his own.

Last minute gift idea

Freezer paper stenciled tea towels:

I used flour sack cloths, hemmed them down to typical kitchen towel size, then freezer paper stenciled phrases on them. Given as a set, these would make a great gift for anyone you know who enjoys spending some time in the kitchen. Adding a fun whisk or recipe cards would be a good addition, too!

Fayetteville at Christmas time

The Fayetteville square looks like this around Christmas. Pretty great, right?

In need of some holiday cheer a couple weeks ago, we suited up for the Fayetteville Christmas parade. {Side note, Jon Stewart has this hilarious, yet mildly inappropriate clip on the 'war on Christmas'...Stephen Colbert has another funny video here}

The best surprise of the parade is that the grand marshalls were members of the Duggar family. Yes, I was abnormally excited about this. Yes, I took a picture. www.duggarfamily.com

They live in the area. People said I would never see them around, but a couple days later I ran into Michelle (the mom) and Joy-Anna at Pier One. Weird, right? Only in Arkansas.

Think about it.

Christmas under $75

That's my goal -- to spend less than $75 this Christmas. I'm up to $34 and have finished gifts for almost everyone: brother, sister, BIL, SIL, FIL, FIL's wife, MIL, brother's GF, and mom. I'm a little stuck on my dad and Sean.

I have a couple of reasons for setting this goal:

1. We're on a SUPER tight budget

2. I've got a lot of supplies and the know-how to make gifts

3. I think homemade (at least partially) gifts are more meaningful

4. I planned ahead and have plenty of time to get them all finished

5. I'm really trying to work on showing love for those around me in new and creative ways

Although I don't want to blog about my crafts until they have been opened on Christmas, here's a couple of budget-friendly ideas that might help you out this holiday season:

1. Freezer paper stenciling. It's AMAZING! If you haven't tried it, you must. It's super fast, inexpensive and if done right looks great! I've used it for t-shirts, tote bags, kitchen towels and onesies in the past week alone. :) Here's a good tute on the process.

2. Look around your house for inspiration. Do you have a tote bag lying around that doesn't get much use? Use some fusible interfacing to spruce it up with a fun fabric for a friend.

3. Use the reusable totes you can buy at stores for fabric. TJ Maxx and BB&B both have super fun prints. Turn it into makeup bags, pencil pouches, lunch bags. That $1.99 can go a long way!

4. Find ways to use up the scraps you already have. Maybe some fabric note cards like I gave away a couple of weeks ago, a customized headband, cup cozie, or fabric blocks for a little one.

5. T-shirts make great base fabrics -- turn them into a dress with some elastic around the waist, make them into a tote bag or even a pillow cover.

Sorry for the lack of pictures in this post. I'll post each of my homemade gifts after Christmas. I hope this was a little helpful in generating some ideas. Blogland is full of them! I especially like the website www.oneprettything.com because they scour blogs so I don't have to!

Refashioned baby gift

Some family friends {who happen to be huge chiefs fans} just had a baby girl, so my parents asked me to sew up a little gift. Branson is deficient in fabric stores {re: there aren't any}, so we used a pair of mens knit pajama pants for this project.

I purchased the supplies for the bow at hobby lobby here in F-ville. I loosely followed this tutorial on making the bow. {suggestion: use dental floss to tie the center together} The letter button has a brooch pin on the back and I secured an alligator clip to the back of the bow so they can clip it wherever.
Out of one pant leg I made this cute little swing top {I just kind of eyeballed the size here, butif you have a little one just trace another shirt that fits similarly} and the bloomers. Question for my mommy friends: I wanted to add big buttons to the front where the straps meet, but my dad insisted that was a safety hazard on baby clothes. Babies don't even have the dexterity to grab and pull a button off, do they??
I used Dana from MADE's tutorial on the baby bloomers. These are so fun to make! I've got some other prints available in my Etsy shop if you're interested. {sorry the pic is sideways here, it's not on my comp}
I've got another pant leg to spare and plan on making another set like this for the shop. I hope little miss Taylor Jane and her parents enjoy showing some team spirit!
I'm linking this project to:
Between Naps on the Porch , Making the World Cuter, The DIY Show Off, Skip to My Lou, Keeping it Simple, A Soft Place to Land, Today's Creative Blog, Blue Cricket Design, Fireflies and Jellybeans, Beyond the Picket Fence, Tatertots and Jello