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We’ve been busy elving, here, but then so has the entire internet. Some of the great ideas I’ve seen and have yet to attempt:

Twig Snowflakes. I’d love to have a full tree of these handmade by the family. More pictures and instructions can be found at Pretty Ditty.

On the gift front, we gave out beeswax candles to the neighbors last year that we rolled from sheets of beeswax. It was a great project for a 3 year-old, but I think now that the kids are a little older we may be ready to attempt making drip candles. Instructions for making both drip and poured candles.

If I were sure we could transport vanilla extract over state lines, I’d be making homemade vanilla for the family. The project is super easy – cover 6 vanilla beans in 16oz of vodka in a pretty, sterile, sealed bottle. Let the concoction steap for 6 weeks before using. (Thanks to Design Mom for the picture, instructions and inspiration. She has downloadable labels like the one on the pictured bottle at her site.)

And finally, I think people are giving terrariums this year. But, why not? They are easy to make, easy to care for, and they bring a little of the outside indoors. Here are a few I find inspiring:

(from All Dressed in Blue)

(from ohdeedoh)

And very Christmassy, there’s an ornament terrarium at Cottage Living.

Doug swears you’ll like this. Guaranteed to knock your socks off and give you night vision. Serve with popovers – the world’s greatest quick bread.

Habanero Curry Carrot Soup
1 tbs olive oil
3 large carrots per person, roughly chopped
1 tbs red curry powder
2 cups water
1 bouillon cube
2 cloves garlic sliced or crushed
salt to taste
1 inch fresh grated ginger (optional)
1 habanero

Heat the oil until it smokes. Add the carrots, curry powder, and ginger (if using). Saute until the carrots have begun to soften (~5 minutes). Add the water, bouillon cube and garlic. Cook until the carrots are soft (~20 minutes). Run soup through a Cuisinart or blender with the habanero. Salt to taste. Enjoy.

The elves have been slaving away on handmade Christmas gifts all weekend. Inspired by Sugar City the kids and I made our neighborhood kids soap snowballs with secret centers (in most cases, rubber balls and animal figurines). This is the perfect activity for little helpers as they’ll enjoy running their hands through the soap, and you’ll be impressed just how clean you can get the littles. Mine are coveting all the snowballs. “Mom, I want all the Light’ McQueen ones. Do we have to give them to my friends?” The cool thing is the recipe is so quick – just run a few bars of ivory soap through a grater, mix tablespoon by tablespoon of water until the soap just holds together, form balls and voila! If you want to add surprise centers, we had the best luck simply forming the balls around the goodies. Also, although it sounds smart, don’t attempt this activity on the marble tiled bathroom floor. It was indeed easy to clean up, but the floor got dangerously slippery early on in the process. Also, forgive me if my next few batches of pesto taste sudsy. I soaked all of the Cuisinart parts for hours and used a lot of elbow grease, but that was a lot of soap!

While Sylvie was sleeping, I tried to make life even by whipping up a pair of brown velveteen pants for Will, but I misjudged his size and he now has a great pair of cowboy pants awaiting his 5th or 6th birthday. Bummer. Couldn’t even take a picture it was so sad.

For the more mature neighbors, I made candied citrus peel from our meyer lemons and a few navel oranges using Martha Stewart’s recipe. If you try this, I’d suggest making all meyer lemon. Even the lemon hater in the family loved the meyer lemon peel. The navel orange peel is also addictive, but just not quite as complex and also not quite what I was expecting.

To cap off the weekend, I whipped up two pair of slippers – a pair per boy – out of a sweater Doug accidentally felted and an old yoga mat. Talk about warm and cozy! I used Doug’s flip-flops and Will’s feet as my models. I hand-sewed the tops to the footbeds, then using a hot glue gun, I attached the soles. I didn’t have high expectations for this experiment, but the sweater was particularly thick – with the added spring of the yoga mat bottom, these have the pleasant rebound of a new pair of sneakers. Oh, and as long as your feet are firmly on the ground, you can’t see that they are bottomed in the astro-turf colored green yoga mat. Here are Will’s (sorry for the typical crummy picture… Santa, I want a photographer, please.):

Now the family wants me to sew flames on all their stuff. Need to teach these guys to work a needle!

My husband must drink 8 cups of coffee a day, so imagine how thrilled I was to read this – we could rescue 340 million gallons of biodiesel by reclaiming the oils in spent coffee. Right now, only our plants and compost bin are benefitting from the coffee addiction.

One of the greatest joys of parenting is seeing the world through the eyes of your child. Last year at this time, we were learning about relationship status – how “son” was ranked below “girlfriend” in the hierarchy of non-family affectionate statuses. One might have many “sons,” but only one “girlfriend.” Most recently, we’ve been learning about age and time. The conversations have been equally amusing.

Will: Mom, is Maddie older than me?
Mom: Yes, Maddie is 8. She is twice as old as you.
Will: Oh, I could tell. She has long, long hair.

Will: Mom, will there be snow in Tahoe after Christmas?
Mom: Yep. I bet there is snow, there, now.
Will: Can we go to Tahoe after Christmas?
Mom: How come?
Will: I don’t want to miss Christmas.

Will: How old are you?
Mom: 32
Will: How old is Daddy?
Mom: 30
Will: 29, 30, 31, 32. Mom, you are older than Daddy, but Daddy is bigger than you. You were this big (arms outstretched) when Daddy was born.

Will: Grandpa Texas is really old. He is bigger than everyone. Right, Daddy?

Will: How many months is it until my birthday?
Dad: 7
Will: How many months is it until Sylvie’s birthday?
Dad: 10
Will: That’s why I’m older. My birthday comes first.

Inspired by his good friend’s new brother and new house, Will has been inquiring when we will get OUR new baby and new house. Apparently, when we start shopping for a new house, we should look for stairs that go “up and up and down and down” and houses that look like (Will clasps his hands together to make a peak).

I’ve heard holidays are universally difficult for people with addictions. Oh how difficult it is for me and my sewing addiction. The gifting and parties are just the impetus I need to encourage a quick whirl through the fabric stash for the right material and a flip through the pattern books for inspiration. Yesterday was our company Christmas party, and I fell off the wagon. How could I show up with my children in store-boughts? Over coffee, I decided on the pattern – inspired by this shirt dress from a japanese craft book:

Just as a sane person might stock the pantry with canned staples, I’d stocked my fabric stash with corduroys mid-summer – you never know if this is going to be the year it snows in July – so I had the perfect red corduroy. Before preschool, I drafted the pattern and cut the fabric. Over a conference call, I stitched it. I had to take a few shortcuts in order to get it ready in time. Don’t tell mom – I stitchwitched the cuffs after a failed attempt at sewing the inside seam. The two buttons are just for show – no time for button holes, and besides, buttons were clearly not invented by someone who has experience dressing a 2 year-old. Had this not been a rush job, I’d also have finished the inside a little better. All in all, I’m pleased with how it turned out.

The party dress, all partied out: (Note – Sylvie added the rice and cranberry juice stains, tutu was sewn this summer… happened to be the perfect underpinnings)

Now, just picture a blonde, plump two year-old with chocolate and cranberry juice smeared across her mouth, her hair held out of her eyes by a few grains of sticky rice and you’ll have the full effect.

I made a round of ornaments to hand out to do-gooders this season – our friends who watched Sylvie the other morning so that I could go to an early meeting, another who invited us to her Christmas party… These were quick to whip up and as I dole them out, I’m wishing they weren’t so quick to give. I’d like to keep a few for myself.

The how-to:
– A few sheets of wool felt – I bought a few colorways at Joann’s one year, but Purl sells quarters
– A similarly sized sheet of stitch witchery
– A sewing machine laced up with coordinating thread
– Ribbon/string + an upholstery or yarn needle for making the hanger

Make a sandwich of wool felt, stitch witchery, wool felt. Iron until the stitch witchery has melted, fusing the pieces together. Start sewing parallel lines using your machine’s fancy stitches. Press a cookie cutter or glass into the felt to leave a pattern or freehand the shape you desire. Poke your ribbon hanger through the top, and voila!

I struggled to get the stitch witchery to melt, as the felt I used was pretty thick. Ultimately, just setting the iron on the felt for eternity fused the pieces. If my felt were a little thicker, I think these might be nice with a piece of fabric on one side. The process also works well for bookmarks.

I was sitting here surfing the web, waiting for my daughter to fall asleep, and feeling terribly overwhelmed with the chaos that the recent Christmas cheer has brought upon my house – boxes of delicate ornaments waiting to be stowed back under the house, laundry mid-processed, the dining room table stuck between Thanksgiving and Christmas – when I came across this article. How I love when people legitimize the lies I tell myself – my house doesn’t look messy, it looks brilliantly creative! Ha, ha, ha, ho, ho. The Brilliance of Creative Chaos, BBC News

Probably topping the list of words you don’t want to hear together:
“Poopoo! Everywhere!”

Blurted at me by the potty training two year-old as she came running out of the bathroom this morning. I’d like to just fast forward a few months. May I? Please?

Making up for the quiet I expect on the site later this week, and the quiet over the past few weeks, yet another post tonight.

Christmas stocking swaps are in the mail. A sampling of what I made:
Pinwheels for the littles –

These were quite a pain to pack. My fingers are crossed that my final solution will get them to their stockings without smushing.

An octopus (on a t-shirt) for another little:

A jet plane (on t-shirt) for an older boy:

A bowling set for some older kiddos:

And finally, a pencil roll for one of the older kids: