Monday, December 29, 2008

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.

8 comments:

AJ said...

So nice to catch up on my life when I am at work. =)

Our8angels said...

Love the Crayon roll idea!!! Glad you had a great Christmas. I had a blast with the Kraenzel Family and meeting Doug's daughter. Have a wonderful New Year and hope you are feeling well. Pregnancy is so much harder when chasing two little ones!!!

. said...

leah looks VERY happy in those aprons. I'll have to start sending her some cake pans with two boxes of mix included.

Anonymous said...

Your aprons are adorable. The crayon roll is an excellent idea. I was going to make one for my kids - and my nephew too - but I procrastinated so long that it'll have to be for next Christmas. :)

Lyz said...

AJ - I'd rather have you at home.:)

8Angels- 8? Where did the extra 4 come from?

Ruth - Craft stuff for her to put in the smock's pockets would be just as welcome!

Blue Castle - Boys can wear aprons, too. Like blacksmiths! Or butchers! Just make them out of cowboy fabric.:)

nydampress said...

Nicely done Liz! These projects look great.
p.s. Ruth & Liz, my cake pan still has it's two boxes of mix in it. Keep that one on the DL.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, I guess they could pretend to be butchers, but Ryan would probably raise his eyebrows so high that they'd be stuck there. Maybe someday I'll have a girl to dress in cute dresses and aprons. :)

1 Craaazy Mamma! said...

I'm going to have to grill Crystal for the instructions on those crayon wraps.. you know me... can't ever buy something that crafty. Sorry Crystal, you know me too! But, it just goes to show you both how great of a product they are. ;)

The apron and smock are adorable. I might have to borrow the patterns. Do you think I could convince Alex to wear an apron? Maybe with truck fabric. I saw some monster truck fabric the other day. Ugg!