hopeful

...and all through this house, I've been scrambling to put the finishing touches on our brand new advent calendar. I've been meaning to make one for a few years now, and I've had heaps of fun scouring the Internet for ideas. I wanted something that we could use year after year but that we could change up a bit, and I also wanted something that would allow me to include advent activities along with treats. I loved this project on makoodle, and I've spent the last few weeks gathering the materials I would need to make it work. It did.


The step by step directions provided on the blog are quite good; I'll add a few tips for those of you who might be interested in taking this on:

• I used the free printable advent calendar numbers provided on makoodle. 
• The biggest expense was the party favor tins. They cost $20 for a set of 30 at Michaels. I used a coupon to save a bit on that.
• The 2" squeeze punch may just be my new favorite thing. I used it to cut the numbers (which were modpodged in) and the activities (which were taped in so we can change them each year).

• The biggest challenge for me was tracking down a magnetic square to hold the tins. I finally found what I needed on my third visit to Michael's. It's a 11.5 x 11.5 inch magnetic dry erase board. I loved the bright lime color so I skipped the directions about covering the magnetic surface with a decorative piece of scrapbooking paper. I also skipped the frame.
• The directions do not mention the need to put magnets on the back of the tins. You will need a roll of adhesive magnetic tape. Stick a 1" strip on the back of each tin.

• Sean and I had a lot of fun coming up with twenty-five advent activities to include in the tins. I wasn't able to use the free download for this part of the project because it is a PDF document and not editable (and I just don't think we'll be seeing the Christmas lights at Salt Lake Temple this year). So I made my own using Microsoft Word. You are welcome to download and customize them for your own use.
• Each tin houses two Kisses. If your children are anything like mine, make sure they are the same color each day...

I'm super happy with how this turned out and, thanks to my procrastination efforts, I don't have to wait long to see my kids' excitement either. Tomorrow begins Christmas at our house (Activity #1 - cut down the Christmas tree). Here's wishing a happy start for all of you!

Remember my earlier reference about buying all the material for a quilt and then never getting around to making it? Case in point: Five years ago, I planned a baby quilt for my brand new niece Claire. I was eight months pregnant myself at the time and foolishly thought I'd get it done before Finn entered my life. It didn't happen, and the years passed. I ended up making Claire a quilt for her third birthday, so I'm clear of my Auntie Hopie commitment, but I used different fabric. The originally purchased material has been sitting in a box in my basement waiting for just the right moment.

I remembered that stockpile of fabric a few weeks ago when I was thinking about Claire's upcoming fifth birthday. I thought perhaps I could make her an apron, and the World Wide Web, in a moment of grace, gave me exactly what I was looking for. I am so ridiculously excited about this project and about this super easy, super user-friendly tutorial at Stardust Shoes. 

Classic Reversible Apron

The step-by-step directions on the tutorial are excellent; this would be a great project for even a beginning sewer. I'll add a few comments/tweaks/suggestions that may be helpful.

• The pattern calls for two pieces of coordinating fabric, each measuring at least 23” (length) x 20”(width). Because I was working with what I had, I used five different fabrics, each measuring 12" x 44" (1/3 yard from five different 44" bolts), and split the front and back into two different panels.
• The pattern only includes one pocket. To make it 100% reversible, I included two. I did not, however, make the pattern out of two different fabrics (as shown above).  I did decide to split the one big pocket into two pockets; since I already had a seam running down the middle and because the entire apron is topstitched, it worked visually, and I think the two pockets are a little less floppy than one big pocket would be.

• I used two fabrics (purple and yellow) for the front panel, two fabrics (green and pink) for the back panel, and blue for all four straps and the two pockets.

• So as to work with what I have, my straps were only cut to 3" instead of 4". This makes the final straps a bit narrower than shown above. Buy a half yard of the strap/pocket fabric if you want wider straps.
• Calling all Grandmas: this would be a REALLY fun project to make for a kid with a kid - take them to the fabric store, let them pick out their five fabrics, and throw it together. I plan on doing that with Finn sometime soon.
• Note that the pattern also includes adult dimensions. I shall be treating myself to an apron sometime soon, too.
• I put this together, start to finish, during one naptime. Love. The only notion I had to buy were the two D clips. I bought the 3/4 " size (since my straps were narrower) which cost about $2.50. The fabric (according to the 2007 receipt I found in the bag) cost around $12. 
• Here is Finn dutifully modeling Claire's apron. They look like twins, so just imagine long curly red hair and you'll get the idea.

 Now go print the tutorial! And have fun!

I love gardening in May. Everything is promising, everything has potential. I can stick a handful of seeds in the ground and anticipate eating from their bounty in August. I can pat the rich, dark soil around a pepper plant and admire the soft strength of the leaves. In May, nothing has failed. There are no infestations on my pumpkins, and my tomatoes aren't leaning dangerously to this side or the other. In May, I am hopeful that everything I put into my garden will provide for my family in the later summer months. In May, my thumbs are green, and it is nothing but joy.

This is our sixth summer at our house, and the raised beds that we put in that first summer finally collapsed into a heap of rotting lumber. So last week I put my crafty carpenter hat on and constructed a brand spanking new raised bed.

If anyone is interested in a general description of how I did that, you can read my plan here. For the purposes of the casual reader, I'll just include a few pictures:

The site of the former and future garden.

Fun with power tools!

I drilled into a 2x2 length in the corners for stability.

Note: Empty garden beds make excellent dance floors.

The bed in place and filled with half a truck load of compost.

Adding the compost.

Finn pretending to be a strawberry.

Once the bed was finished, it was time to plan and plant the garden. We usually plant around Mother's Day, and this year I was gifted with a solo trip to the gardening center to buy everything we needed. It's not that I don't love bringing my two and four year old to a crowded greenhouse and pushing them around in a gargantuan cart while running back and forth from section to section...I just enjoyed it a teensy bit more by myself. To make the trip even more extravagant I bought a jamocha shake on my way there. Mother's Day Out.

Here's the finished garden. Nothing too unusual, though the bare root strawberry is a new attempt for us. Putting in the garden was a lot of fun with Finn at my side, and I think he'll really enjoy watching the process this year. We planted about half plants and half seed, so there should be plenty to see.

Laying out the plants and seeds.

Measuring.

The finished garden.

The happy gardener.