12 Days of Christmas

I did 12 little illustrations of the 12 Days of Christmas for my buddy Mandy of Gourmet Mom on the Go.

Guess what? She made these images are FREE to download. What a classy broad. See her post with instructions and free download here! She made them into cookies with an edible image printer. So cute! (if I do say so myself...) You could also make them into gift tags or ornaments or a little Christmas mobile. Have at it and let me know what you do with them!

Project Runway Reynolds Style

Tonight I constructed Ruby a Native American dress for her second-grade Thanksgiving feast tomorrow. It didn't exactly turn out like Austin Scarlett's beautiful, beautiful corn husk dress,

but it was pretty cute, only took me about 10 minutes, used only 2 brown bags and only a yard or two of twine. If I'm on my game, I'll take a picture of her in it tomorrow before she rain-dances off to school. And if I'm really on my game, I'll do a tutorial for all you mamas with little squaws out there.

I Am So Making This

A wool felt Christmas tree skirt like this one seen on Garnet Hill.

Goodbye cheesy red fabric bunched around the bottom

of our pathetic and very fake Christmas tree.

Someday it will look smashing underneath a real tree.

One that doesn't look like Charlie Brown's tree.

One that smells good.

One that is taller than I am.

One that I don't have to assemble

One that will not give me lead poisoning,

as it suggests that is a possibility from what is printed on it's tag.

One that doesn't have a tag.

But until then, we'll have a beautiful skirt

loving laid around our pathetic and very fake,

(did I mention poisonous?)

Christmas tree.

You Should Be Hearing Nothing From Me, Which Means You'll Be Hearing A Lot From Me

Over the next three weeks, I have an intense scrubbing/purging schedule. Every day I have assigned myself a different room in the house to scrub/purge. Hence the title of this post. At the end of the three weeks, if I stick to the sched, I should have myself an organized, de-cluttered, de-trinketed, washed clean and organized house. Either that or a really well updated blog.

2005 Called. They Want Their Shorts Back.

I still own an item of clothing I bought back before May was born that looks like this:

Long, brown, corduroy, gaucho-style shorts that go down like an inch or two below my knee caps. Some real lookers, especially with my unusually short legs. Really, there probably wasn't a more UN-flattering piece of clothing I could have worn. A flesh-colored mu-mu would have made me look better than these shorts did. And I think there were a couple of times when I even wore them with suede plum-colored lace up Camper boots. Arr, Matey. Shiver me timbers.

I have a looong list of projects I'd like to dive into but Etsy orders, though I'm grateful for them, have taken over my sewing machine time. But I'd like to try my hand at tailoring--I've never done anything like that before and I'd like to see if I can make these into something wearable rather than throw them away or risk getting snickered at if I donated them to the Salvation Army.

Tailoring these shorts so that they are fitted instead of (gulp) wide legged and taking them up to a normal Bermuda-short length is what I'd like to do with them, besides use them has a handkerchief while I look back at old photos of me actually wearing these beasts.

Next

I have a few projects to finish up (some Family Tree illustrations, some Etsy orders, the book the girls and I started from last summer, my art room which looks like it was burglarized) but after that, this:

A Euro pillow made from this top I embroidered like a year ago of the alphabet. Embroidering, how I love you. Dramatic sigh.


It will be backed and trimmed with piping made on the bias (is there any other way of making piping other than the bias? I do not know. But I felt it needed to be said. These stripes will be slanted, ya'll!) out of this ticking stripe.


I was too lazy to get out my camera, upload the photos blahblahblah just for this measly post so as you can probably tell, all of these pics were taken with Photobooth.

So we had ourselves a little session.

Next Up

I'd like to make myself this dress.
Or something like it.
Since I don't have a real one
(sniff!)
I'll first probably need to make a duct tape dress form.

I'm looking forward to it.

Because who doesn't like to get wrapped up
in 3 whole rolls of duct tape?
Honey child, please!

Happy Heart Day

Grandma Margaret

My Dad's mom, Grandma Margaret, aka "Grandma Love It."

2010 Project

Instead of resolutions this year,
I'm doing a big project I want finished by December 31, 2010:
a family tree consisting of illustrated portraits.

I've completed the first one--Go's Papa, Bob Callister.

I'm excited about this.

Advent-urous

A couple of years ago, I was working on THE COOLEST advent calendar. The base was a big wool felt Christmas tree, about 4 feet tall and for every day of the month (until the 25th), I had made an animal ornament to put on the tree which were also made from wool felt; animals like a duck-billed platypus, a giraffe, a fox, an elephant, a parrot, etc. They were super rad and I had spent hours on them. I took them on a trip and kept them in a big plastic bag. I only had 2 more animals to go until it was completely finished...and then I left the bag on an airplane and I never saw them again. Sad story. With the wind sucked from my sails, I started over and made a much less-elaborate one.
A 3 ft wool felt triangle Christmas tree shape with double-layered wool felt Christmas ball-type ornament pockets with the days/numbers embroidered onto the front layer of the pocket. I forget where I got the idea. Garnet Hill, maybe? Martha? I forget. Anyway, I like it, but I get a little wistful when I look at it and think "Man, that duck billed platypus was so cool." It also doesn't photograph well. I haven't found a great place to hang it yet, so for now, I hang it over this mirror in the entryway. Last year was our first year doing it: every morning there was a little scroll of paper in that day's pocket with a poem on it, which told of a fun activity or treat we would do/have for the day, always something pretty simple and low-cost but the girls love it.

Tomorrow's:
To keep your Mom from going insane,
You will make a paper chain
So you can count the links to know
When Christmas is coming. Ho-ho-ho!
And you may have a cream puff to eat
As your coming-home-from-school treat!

October is Ending

Did you like my very obvious post title? I really do think you're smart, just so you know.

I have 8,000 things to do before November starts yet everything I need to do sits staring at me and gathering dust while I sit on the couch and laugh hysterically as my fat happy growling baby claws at my face instead. I used to fill up my extra time with projects. Now my extra time is filled with a little chubby person.

I'm going to have to make extra time. Starting November 1st, I'm jumping into a very, very cold body of water: I've decided to participate in NaNoWriMo: National Novel Writing Month. Check out the website. And wish me luck. It's going to be an interesting month.

What We Be Doing

I'm working on Halloween costumes these days.

Ruby is going to be a:











May is going to be a:











Olive is going to be a:

Jolly Green

If any of you were hurt that I picked green even though you said "Definitely red!", you are among friends here at the Reynolds household. Well, at least with Ruby. A couple of days ago, I caught her looking warily at my new green chair.
"You like it, Rubes?"
"Mmmm...no. Not really."
"Really? Why?"
"I just don't like that color."
"You don't like the green?"
"Yah. It looks like the color of what I think I'd find in between a giant's toes."

Green. It Was Always Green.

Cast your vote

the chair: red or green?



(those swatches of fabric on the side are the main fabrics of a table runner,
the creamy yellow is the wall,
the wood is the floor,
the rest of the stuff are the main components in the room)

and even though i'm asking you to weigh in, i think i've already decided which route to go...
but i still love you.

This Might Help

I found this little cutie-pie-in-need-of-a-good-home-and-a-little-love
at a thrift shop this morning.

$5.

Well, hello mojo.

Terrariums

These are what we made last week.

They're still kickin', so I guess we did them right.
Each terrarium has a worm who lives inside the soil and was named by each of us.

May's: Hershey

Ruby's: Rosabella

Go's: Herbert

Mine: Ryan

Lunchtime Authors Part 4

Lunchtime Authors, Part 3