Lots of Crafts & Christmas!

Alright, so the Holiday busy-crazies got the best of me. I meant to blog all this stuff a week ago, or more. So, here it is in a somewhat longer blog, but with loads of pictures to make it bearable.

I gave all my sisters and my mother a packet of these cards that they can send out for birthdays or whatever they want. They were all slightly different but this is the gist of it. Fun, cute cards. I loved making them!

I also gave everyone in their gift bag a copy of this CD. The title is You're Top of the Charts. It's a CD with the top of the charts song from the week that they were born! I did the week people were born since I had a couple of years that two people were born in. I was worried that I wouldn't find everyones song, especially the older ones (I had to find one from 1922).

April Showers - Al Jolson

Jingle Jangle Jingle - Kay Kyser

Atchison, Topeka & the Santa Fe - Johnny Mercer

I'm a Believer - The Monkees

Hello Goodbye - The Beatles

I Can't Stop Loving You - Ray Charles

Love Theme from Romeo & Juliet - Henry Mancini

The Tears of a Clown - Smokey Robinson & the Miracles

(You're) Having my Baby - Paul Anka & Odia Coates

Me & Mrs. Jones - Billy Paul

Brand New Key - Melanie

Make it With You - Bread

The Night Chicago Died - Paper Lace

Best of My Love - The Emotions

Boogie Oogie Oogie - A Taste of Honey

Grease - Franki Valli

Bette Davis Eyes - Kim Carnes

I don't know if anyone has listened to the CDs yet. I hope they enjoy them.

This play mat was easily the most involved of the Christmas gifts I made this year. I sewed a heavy duty fabric to a white cotton fabric and then drew a neighborhood with roads, a park, businesses and houses. For the houses, I put in our house, grandparents' and cousins' houses. It was a lot of fun to make, but I was relieved when I was finally finished!

Here are a bunch of hair clips that I made before and after Christmas. I attached silk flowers to gater clips using a piece of fabric and hot glue. They can be clipped directly to hair or to any kind of headband. They're hanging in my bathroom mirror, so they make a pretty room decoration too when not being used.

Christmas morning was a lot of fun. Audrey is starting to get the concept of Christmas, the birth of Jesus and Santa Claus. She was ecstatic when she came into the Living Room and saw the tree with all the gifts surrounding it.

Audrey's reaction to seeing the tree.

Audrey and Henry looking at their gifts from Santa. They each got a stuffed animal holding a new blanket.

Henry examining his first toy car.

Henry received a baby afghan from Mom.

He was more interested in the wrapping paper.

Henry is getting to be so big! He's crawling confidently now. It won't be long now before bruised foreheads and broken knick-knacks.

Audrey and Henry got a big box of toy cars that went with the next gift:

The play mat that Mom made. Audrey got the concept right away and has played with the new mat nearly every day since Christmas.

The holidays exploded that afternoon and we've been running ever since. Today marked the true start of the New Year since we finally got into our new routines.

Hope you all had a great Holiday and here's to a New Year and lots more fun!