FrannyKate's Creative State: December 2010

Friday, December 31, 2010

Out with the Old

Let the post-holiday let-down begin.... It always seems a bit depressing to take all the decorations down for another year and see the end of vacation in sight. Back to the reality of school, practices, schedules and such. Though there is a part of me that looks forward the routines and the hope for my resolutions to come true (a big one this year is to get back in control of housekeeping and overall home organization that seems to have gotten completely out of control the past year).

I have to admit, that this year's clean-up was quite simpler than most. I had only gotten out about half our decorations since we were out of town for the holidays and not hosting any gatherings. The only ornaments on tree were from the girls' personal boxes that they hung all on their own so they were in charge of taking them down. Madison was able to handle her half all on her own, while Nora needed assistance reading the labels but was still a big help when she wasn't making knots of the stringing beads!

I got all the new labels added to their boxes and found homes for the new additions. We will need to add third boxes for both the girls next year and I am realizing how out of control their ornament collection will be if we continue on with this pace. Do the math 4-6 ornaments a year times the number of years they live at home.... We do typically have a random one break occasionally to cut down the numbers a bit.

And then the tree we have had for 8 years finally died this year and stringing lights on a prelit tree defeats the purpose entirely. So the take-down of that will be much easier without the need to box it up. I am debating going back to a live tree next year but we will reassess that in 12 months.

Still need to tackle a few other things and discovered 2 of my Halloween spider decorations are still out on a shelf. OOPS, I really do need to get my act together!

Wishing you all a very Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Holiday Wrap-up

It has been a whirlwind week of holiday festivities. We drove 1800 miles round trip to be with family for Christmas. I have to say, that riding in the pick-up wasn't quite as comfortable for long roadtrips as the minivan, but I did appreciate having the 4 wheel drive on the way back over Lookout Pass that was quite snowy. Luckily, Nora loaned me one of her Christmas gifts for a quick catnap in the car

It is unbelievable how much stuff we brought for a week long trip. And then on the way home, we added a small Uhaul trailer behind us to bring back my family piano. Unfortunately, it didn't appreciate the bumpy ride and is now in need of a few minor repairs before Tom and I begin the discussion of furniture placement to make it fit in the house!

Just a few fun photos of the holidays to share

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

DIY Elf Hats

I love the sewing school blog.

♥the simplicity of it ♥the child-centered approach they take to the activities. ♥ that they keep their projects totally kid-done and always have fun tasks that allow creativity and independence. ♥ that they just came out with a book that I am looking forward to getting at some point for the girls. (Wow, just added the link and that is a great price. I may need to add it to my overflowing Amazon cart:-) There classroom looks like my ideal learning and teaching environment.

I had Madison's second grade class make these hats from the sewing school last year for their holiday party and I am taking advantage of only having 3 of the same students in her class this year to do a repeat. They were a huge hit last year and it was so fun to hear the pride the students had in doing their own sewing.

Nora and I decided to do a sample hat this afternoon to make sure everything was right. The worst thing ever is to go in and do a project with students and have it not turn out. I figure doing it one-on-one with a 5 year old should be about the same as a group of six 8/9 year olds.

Step One: Make a triangle template with a base of 25 inches and a height of 12.5 inches. Trace triangle onto fleece fabric. VERY IMPORTANT: the 25 inch base needs to go with the stretchy part of the fabric. This ensures a one-size-fits-all hat.

Step Two: Cut triangle out.

Step Three: Fold in half and stitch up the seam. Nora and I used a thick embroidery thread because I thought it would add a great contrast to the red fleece, which it did. But it was tougher to pull through the fabric so I will go with a thinner thread for the class project. I used 40 inches of thread and that seemed about perfect in length.

Step Four: Don't forget the jingle bell on top:-)

Follow-Up Note: Hop on over to Sewing School blog to enter a chance to win an adorale starter sewing kit. Perfect for a child wanting to start learning the craft of sewing.