Sew Busy...and resorting to puns.

Call me an over-achiever - my husband certainly does. My kids get 3 gifts for Christmas from Aaron and I, and I really try to make one of those. In the past, there have been: a family ABC scrapbook, flannel board, hooded appliqued towel (lame gift, I know, but Ben was 18 months old!), and a huge stuffed floor pillow. This year I made Ben this very cute crayon roll. I stole the idea from my friend Crystal at Two Peas. She sent me a blog with directions to make my own, so I'm sure you can find it too. I'm not going to link, though! If you want one, you can buy one from Crystal: just go here.

I bought the fabric last spring on a fabric shopping trip with Crystal. It, and several other pieces, lay dormant in my fabric box until I started to get desperate in the last couple of weeks before Christmas. I had no clue what to make a 2 1/2 year old boy. The huge stuffed animal will be coming next year. No time to scrapbook. What's a mom to do? Call Crystal, that's what.


I love the cord adaptation, and also the last-ditch choice of using contrasting thread. It makes the crayon pockets easier to see.

Now the only problem is that Leah REALLY wants her own. I have fabric for her, too, of course, but that will take at least a few more weeks of procrastination.


And speaking of procrastination. I've had all the materials for these aprons for a couple of years. I kept being afraid that Leah would be totally disappointed with them as a gift. This year I prepared. We discussed the fact that she would only be getting three gifts, and then later I told her that I was making one of them. This helped with the fact that I had to work on them while she was around, and needed to chase her out of my craft room several times.

Anyway, both of them were completed within two days. "Easier than I thought" is SUCH a nice present for moms under a time crunch. They turned out super cute (see below) and I think Leah likes them. And of course, I've promised Ben a smock of his own.

That purple apron is super big, but I didn't want her to grow out of it! This last photo is Ben insisting on posing and showing off his new Thomas train. Isn't he a big boy? This is becoming very evident to me.