creative christmas.

well, i've finally given away all my christmas gifts, so i can blog about what i've been working on for the past... embarrassingly long amount of time.

homemade christmas gifts.

for me, a big part of the season.

not as big as the jesus part, though.

i have my priorities in order.

so, here it goes... 
(oh, and beware. terrible photography coming your way. i took pictures randomly as i was making these things, thinking i'd take better pictures later, which i obviously never did. that's what i get for setting my expectations too high.)

paint chip calendar

homemade scarves (i made them once before--check here for a tutorial!)

christmas decoration paintings.

be kind. they were freehanded.

also, that tree next to the painting? made my an elementary-aged husband of mine.

meaning him when he was in elementary school. jeez.

and could be my favorite decoration of all time. 

 burlap christmas placemats

 burlap monogram for my newly-engaged brother and soon-to-be sister-in-law

again, freehanded... it's the creativity that counts, right?

also, don't you love my feet in the photo?

handprint ornaments from micah. ish. because one year olds can't use ovens or paint beyond splatters.

chalkboard to hang in a room (made from a frame)

also, a few not pictured homemade gifts

• chalkboard coasters (basically, chalkboard paint on tiles and then mounted felt on the bottom)
• engaged ornament for brother
• wedding countdown frame for brother
• mini scavenger hunt for matt (with each clue written on a piece of micah "art." haa) to find his gift
• oh, and it's not homemade, but lots of carol roeda gifts. look it up here

oh, how i love crafts.

making our house a home.

well... the crafts continue!

normally i steal craft ideas from pinterest.

but i actually stole this one from my friend katie. who got it from pinterest.

we just went to menards, got a bunch of paint chips, cut them up, glued onto scrapbook paper and put in a frame! i added day of the week headers and use dry erase markers. it's great!

and i really wanted micah 6:8 in micah's room... 

since it's the reason we named him micah.

quick tutorial for chevron? okay.

measure out 2 inch squares and draw them all in lightly with pencil. then, you just use a straightedge to make diagonal lines and you've got the chevron pattern.

people say to tape it. that would take for.ever.

so just be careful. i didn't use tape and used a sponge brush and the lines are pretty good!

i did a thicker canvas in the middle.

and then i wrote the words in pencil and carefully, painstakingly painted them on.

where to begin.

a few highlights from the past few months:

 matt graduated medical school.

i'd appreciate it if you called me dr. wife. to be expected.

kidding of course.

 first mother's day.

 first father's day.

 summer! in a house that we bought!

translation: a lot of root beer floats, ping pong tournaments, and baby pool time.

other items to note:

i'm done being a first grade teacher. crazy. 

on to stay at home mom-land and part time teaching in the fall. 

oh, the excitement begins.

spending time with the love of my life.

baking.

hanging out with friends. (hopefully making lots of them here in ann arbor!)

and cleaning and cooking and trying to not miss my very busy resident husband.

mostly all great things!

let's do this.

christmas twenty twelve.

so many events.

marshall family christmas.

 ugly sweater christmas party.

and white elephant gift exchange.

i'm holding bacon toothpaste. truth.

crafts!

my main craft: felt letters and homemade bags for the kids of a few friends...

an attempt at homemade cinnamon rolls. fail. will be trying again!

check out micah's puma tracksuit.

and the blanket his uncle ben made him laying behind him.

 personalized.

also check out that lifted head. what a tummy timer.

micah being baby Jesus. with ben as joseph.

more to come.

merry christmas to all!

19 days. whaaaat?!

this season is flying by.

so fast.

here are some more christmas ideas that i was going to use but now i'm not... somehow taking care of micah takes up much more time than i initially thought. so someone should make use of these ideas!

chalkboards out of cookie sheets found here.

frame with chicken wire found here

oreo cookie pops found here

soon i'll get to share what i am making for friends, family, and my first graders! 

yeahh buddy. 

life with child.

life with a child is a lot different than life without, that's for sure.

some things i've realized...

1. i miss being pregnant in no way. being able to sleep on my back is a joy that i previously underrated. being huge and getting stares and comments everywhere is also something i can live without for a while.

2. while babies are predictable, needing very simple things, it's incredible how much time it takes to get those things done. i literally feel that i spend my days feeding him, changing him, and attempting to get him to sleep or keep him awake. 

3. showering + coffee = survival.

4. even though it's tiring and a weird life change, i sure do love him. to the point that thinking about it makes me tear up. oh, which makes me think of another thing i've realized...

5. HORMONES. out of control. yikes for matt... and my parents. whoops.

6. i've come to love ellen.

7. i wish starbucks delivered.

in other news,

i have super fun christmas crafting ideas. but i can't share them. but here are some i'm not using that are awesome!

painted wooden blocks from here

cinnamon stick christmas wreath from here

or a gift i made last year and was my favorite ever...

(look back here to find the tutorial on this sucker...)

and for meals, well, i haven't been cooking a ton, but i have been watching sports with matt. and a commercial had a great recipe!

BBQ chicken crescent rolls

basically, you just make barbeque chicken and roll it up in a crescent roll with a little cheese. cook for 10 minutes at 375, and holy delicious! it's a great cold night meal.

and i have to put up some pictures of the one who i spend all my time with...

 halloween!

 bathtime... hooded towel style. 

(right after we put him in this, he peed all over the place. for the 19538015938 time.)

next blog, i'm going to put up pictures of micah's room. finally.

as if you care. just pretend for me.

also, i'll hopefully make some fun things--baking, cooking, and hopefully crafting!

oh, and one more thing. i've been reading this book on my kindle. and i love it. and you should read it.

jim cymbala is awesome.

the weekend when many of my favorite things happened all at once.

so, new years eve.
you're supposed to get dressed up and go out, right?
not this year.
...this new years weekend, we did many other of my favorite things:

thing #1 i love: going out to dinner.
thing #2 i love: slows bbq
thing #3 i love: incredible friends. and a wonderful husband.

 thing #4 i love: fires in the fireplace.

 thing #5 i love: gift exchanges. (these are the scarves i made)

thing #6 i love: cheesy sweatshirts.
thing #7 i love: glorious gifts from people that know me well.

 thing #7 i love: fun wrapping and artsy pictures. (thanks, matt).

 thing #8 i love: anthropologie mugs.

thing #9 i love: bailey.
thing #10 i love: GAMES. like settlers. which we played tons of.

thing #11 i love: group pictures wearing everything we got. we have many years worth of pictures like this one.

thing #12 i love: amazing headwarmers. 
thing #13 i love: mustard yellow and gray together. (duh. thus the new blog design.) insert huge mustard yellow bow. joy.

thing #14 i love: when making something is successful. check out the headwarmer from all angles.

thing #15 i love: katie teaching sus and i how to make things and then solving all our issues along the way.

thing #16 i love: making clothes! amazing cardigan, right? yep. i made that. with more than a little help from katie.

 thing #17 i love: sewing days.

thing #18 i love: homemade mug cozy. never will my hand get too hot or too cold again.

thing #19 i love: homemade meals. cilantro lime tacos. (find them here) to start off our new years eve.

there it is. many of the things i love, all in one weekend.

ahhh.

happy 2012!