oh christmas bags, oh christmas bags

how lovely is your fabric.

Oh Christmas bags, oh Christmas bags
I can't seem to part with you.

You used some of favorite stash
I made you in a hurried dash,

But look at you,
my favorite bags,

I hope you'll miss me too.

I finished these 2 bags up on Christmas eve for my sister-in-law (brown/pink) and my mother-in-law. I really didn't want to part with either of these. They are my favorites! Really! I told my husband that and he just replied, "You say that about every bag you make." True. I guess that's why this is so much fun. I really did enjoy making these, partly because of who they were for and partly because I loved working with these prints. I kept coming up with more ideas for them while I was smoothing them out with the iron and admiring them. Wait until you see the bedding I have planned for my daughter!

My brother-in-law called me a few weeks ago and wanted to order a bag for his wife. I had picked out those Michael Miller prints for her over a year ago. It's Dandy Damask on the outside, Dumb dots for the lining, and the Eiffel Tower toile for the pockets. That Eiffel Tower print KILLS me - I love it so much. I really think I am going to frame some of it. I have a thing for the Eiffel Tower.

The other one is made from Amy Butler's Belle Acanthus. I've longed for this fabric for a long time and finally found it in stock. It's a good thing I bought a lot, because once I finished this bag, I knew I was going to have to make myself one too. I'm in love. I told my mother-in-law that if she didn't like it we could pick out something new for her and I would keep it. She loves it. How could she not? I actually made a cutting mistake on her's and the bag ended up a little smaller - and it's really very cute. I've been toying with the idea of developing a new pattern - a smaller version of the big bag. I definitely want to try it now.

Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!!

a christmas lullabye

The King's Singers Christmas album is one of my favorites. I used to own it on a CASSETTE (do you remember those?) - then I upgraded to a CD. Now I can embed one of my favorites here to share with you! My daughter loves this song, and fell asleep in the car the other day during the 3rd time through. Our choir sang it at church last week - I love the melody, the harmony is fun to sing and these guys do a great job.

Merry Christmas!

Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming, (here sung in the traditional German)

looking for a last-minute neighbor gift?

When I was living with my parents after college my mom and I used to bake up a storm at Christmas. We'd make 5 or so different kinds of cookies and treats and deliver them to the neighbors. It was always so much fun! I loved my mom's kitchenaid and her big kitchen with counter space galore for the whole process.

Fast forward 5 *cough cough* or so years later and I don't have the space, time, or the energy. But I still wanted to do something edible (read: non-cluttery) and tasty. So I had a brainstorm of an idea! And without patting myself TOO hard on the back, I must say - I think it's a pretty good one. So good that I wanted to share.

a little backstory:
We love having a nice hot breakfast on the weekends when we have the luxury of a lazy morning. And we've been scarfing down some delicious whole wheat pancakes from a recipe my sister-in-law Christine gave me. To give the recipe credit, it started out as an imitation of some IHOP pancakes, but I think it's been varied enough to have become it's own entity.

I don't normally like pancakes, especially those of the gummy, dense, blah variety. But these are nutty and fluffy and soak up copious amounts of syrup (I'm a convert to the real stuff with nary a drop of high fructose corn syrup in sight). I think the secret is the Cream of Wheat. If I'd thought ahead I would have taken some pictures. . .but they disappeared to quickly.

Anyway, I thought this time of year with its slow mornings and family togetherness would provide ample opportunity and necessity for multiple breakfast options. So I made up my own pancake mixes and boxed them up with the recipe! All the recipients have to do is add the liquid ingredients and toppings of their choice!

The hardest part was growing and harvesting the wheat. Then I just called the little red hen to see if he would help me . . . okay I'm kidding. I did grind my own wheat, but it literally took minutes to

fill each bag,

print up the recipe:

Whole Wheat Country Griddle Cakes
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/3 cup Instant Cream of Wheat
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups buttermilk (or regular milk with 1 added tbsp of vinager or lemon juice for each cup milk)
1 egg
1/4 cup oil (or applesauce or a mixture of both)

Preheat a skillet over medium heat, spray with non-stick spray.
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and stir until all ingredients are wet.
Pour the batter by 1/3 cup portions onto the hot pan and cook.

Makes 8-10 large pancakes. Delicious ones.


and put it all in a cute box (dollar-bins at Target!).

It's fast for the giver. And convenient for the recipient. It's a win-win.

And in case I don't make it to your house - consider this my gift to you. Bon Appetit!

i don't just love her because she shares my name

I like the line where they mention her cult following. Um, yeah. I would be a part of that.

I was happy to come across this (Thanks Jen!) because all I really know about Amy Butler is that I have little self control when it comes to her fabric. This is a nice piece about her business and being smart about slow growth and no debt.

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

christmas is the best

and the busiest! Things have been so crazy around here. Along with shopping for birthday and Christmas gifts, ear infection visits to the doctor and pharmacy and a myriad of other errands and parties . . .

We've been doing a little decorating,

making more placemat pillows (I think I'm addicted),

this one is a microsuede, way too nice for food to be spilled on it! But perfect for a pillow. Plus I have a thing for snowflakes.

eating a little birthday cake with peppermint ice cream,

and maybe I had cake for breakfast this morning

visiting with Santa,

playing with those foam sticker thingies,

and exchanging hand-made gifts with friends.

My friend Megan gave me this little gem. She is so creative and fun! She raided my scraps and used some of my favorites! I love it so much! It will hang in my sewing corner forever (it really is just a corner - until we get to a house where I can have my own room).

Here' s a closer look:

Then she handed me another package and told me this was a gag gift. I opened it and saw Amy Butler paper and thought, "Huh? How can THIS be a gag gift?"

Click on the image to read what's written on the package.

Remember the dream I had? That Megan, she sure makes me laugh! What a great friend.

oh and I was wondering if anyone else finds that their definition of the 4 food groups changes this time of year. Here's mine:
M&Ms - mint chocolate and peanut
Clementines
Cheese balls and crackers
Cookies, cookies and more cookies (this is a whole different category than just cookies)

3 years ago today

I was in a hospital bed trying to get my darling girl to come join us! She was born at 6:20 in the morning, and still keeps that schedule, silly early riser!

Little did I know that carrying that little peanut would bring me a lot of physical problems - mostly post-partum (can you say blood clot and postpartum eclampsia?), but it was totally worth it.

The last three years have been amazing. To watch this little person grow is an adventure. Those first light-bulb moments when you can tell they actually know what is going on to having a full on conversation.

To see their smiles and laughs turn into a sense of humor.

I feel so lucky to be her mother. She is fun, smart, entertaining, sweet, huggable, kissable and a great big sister! And I can't remember a time when she wasn't part of our family.

Happy Birthday my little peanut!

and the winners are. . .

Thanks to Sew, Mama, Sew and their awesome give-away day! I am still really shocked that so many people came by and entered. I am so sad that I can't give something to everyone. I was assuming I would have only 4 people enter and then everyone would win something. I'm still trying to visit everyone's blog who commented. I'm getting there.....

So without further ado...

By the magic of the random number thingy - as it's affectionately called - I have 4 winners!

#279 Burp Cloths
Katie said... (who is planning her wedding and running a winning streak!)

Second comment to show you where my blog is:
http://thecapedcow.blogspot.com/

Also, I love the burp cloths, I think they are simple and cute!

5:57 PM, December 06, 2008

#167 2 Pillows (of your choice)
Selina said... (who lives in the land down-under and has some cute ornaments on her blog)

Gosh, these are all gorgeous!

11:23 PM, December 03, 2008

#140 - The Petite Zipper Pouch and Magnets


Sharlynn Sanders said... (with whom I have a lot in common - I think!)

Awesome,I have never won anything from a blog give away before so..... good luck to me!

Way cute stuff!

8:59 PM, December 03, 2008

#95 - Bracelet and Earrings

Dani said... (who cooks up a storm and is now a fixture in Google Reader)

What a gorgeous selection of prizes.

4:26 PM, December 03, 2008

I'm so happy for you guys!! Please email me (click on the email link in my profile) with your address - if I haven't gotten in touch with you already! I'll get these off to you this week . I think it would be really fun if you each took a picture with your item and posted it for us all to see!

and I have a little surprise! A bonus winner!!
I was at Target the other day and saw some more placemats! And they were red! And holiday-ish! And so I thought to myself, "Self, let's make some more pillows to give away!" So here is another placemat pillow (there are actually 3 of them) to add to the selection! I bought one to make for myself too! (this isn't a very good picture - I'll try and take a better one in the morning light.)




#153
Julianne said...

I would love to win!! These are very cute!! The green pillows are my FAVORITE!!

gregjulianneatjunodotcom

9:45 PM, December 03, 2008

So, Julianne - after Selina picks her pillows - you can pick 2 as well! Yay!

Whew!! This has been so much fun! I look forward to doing another one soon! I think this post has the most exclamation points ever!

Oh, wait . . . what? you want ANOTHER picture of Sawyer?? Oh, just go HERE. You can thank me later.