WE {heart} HANDMADE - Christmas Gifts.

This dress is for my niece, Esther's, third birthday (which follows closely with Christmas). I used this PDF pattern found on Etsy.



A scarf constructed completely out of vintage materials. I used instructions from Soule Mama's book, Handmade Home. 



I made three of these beaded flower bouquets! I used instructions from Martha Stewart's book, Encyclopedia of Crafts. The vases are recycled vanilla jars.



I made silhouettes of Ethum and Avre for the great-grandparents. My sister-in-law came up with the idea for this one. She also made silhouettes of her children. I definitely want to make some for myself!

There were more handmade gifts that I never got around to photographing... oh well! Did you make any handmade gift-ables this year??

-Amanda

TUTORIAL: DIY Boys Pajama Pants - How to Add Pockets.

Hi! Today, I'm going to show you how to add pockets to a plain pajama pants pattern.

Supplies:

• sewing machine.
• pajama pant pattern.
• scissors.
• a pen.
• fabric for pants, according to pattern.
• fabric for pockets. (the size will vary depending on the size you're making, but shouldn't be more than a fat quarter.)
• paper for pattern-making. (this can be anything, even newspaper.)
• coordinating thread.
• a wooden skewer, crochet hook, or other tool of the shape.
• an iron.

Instructions:

1. Follow instructions for pants pattern up to the construction of the waist and hem.
2. Draw a pattern for pockets. Make sure to include enough fabric for 1/4 inch seam. Cut out the pattern you just made and lay it over fabric to be sure you like the size.
3. Pin the pattern to the pocket fabric and cut out 4 pockets.
4. To make pockets, take two of the pocket pieces and lay one on top of the other, right sides facing each other. Do this again with the two remaining pieces.
5. Stitch a 1/4 inch seam all the way around the pocket, leaving the top open.
6. Now you are going to turn the pocket right side out. You can use the wooden skewer or crochet hook to assist you.
7. Next, iron the pockets and pin to the front of the pants.
8. Stitch as close as you can to the edge of the fabric leaving the opening for the pocket, open. (as shown in photo below).
9. Continue on with the instructions listed on the pants pattern to construct waist and hem.
10. Yay! You did it!

Go here to see the first pair. If you have any questions at all, please comment or email me.

-Amanda

[by the way... you have no idea how long I had to chase Ethum around the house to get that last photo. ahh!]

CHRISTMAS DECOR: Part One.

The retro-fied Advent wreath- I made the wreath out of cutting from our tree and tied it together with wire. We searched two stores (with both kids) and could not find purple and pink candles, so we went with plain white 'catholic' candles, like the ones you would find at a dollar store. I used a mixture of new and vintage 'atomic' star ornaments for decoration. In the center I used vintage angel hair and a mason jar filled with icy-blue and silver vintage Shiny Brite ornaments.

The buffet (which is also our desk)- I love switching out little decorations on the typewriter. In this photo I have a little vintage red bird perched on it, as well as a photo of Dave and his brother,Nathan, on Christmas morning in the 80's. Also on the desk I have a trio of tree bark candles, a glass tree, and a vintage serving tray that my mother-in-law gave me. On the wall is this lovely print that my sister, Brandi, gifted me last Christmas and our handmade stockings.

The side table- I have adorned this side table with a stack of classic Christmas books, a pair of vintage slippers, and a sweet little vintage deer. Vintage! Vintage! Vintage! You're probably wondering what isn't vintage. ha. ha.


How do you decorate for Christmas? Do you keep it the same every year or do you switch it up?

-Amanda

WE {heart} HANDMADE : Boys Pajama Pants.

Earlier this week I made my boys 'Christmas' jammie pants. No, the material isn't very Christmas-y in a typical sense but they still look at least 'winter-y' to me. I picked an orange-red fabric with bits of brown, green, and white, and used a vintage blue and white stripe for the pockets and patches. I was really hoping I could purchase this Oliver+S pattern but they don't print it in the size I need, anymore. Bummer! I tried searching e-bay and I found one...in Australia, and it was going to be about $50. HA! Okay, it was time for me to get creative. I bought a plain pajama pants pattern at Hancock for $7 and made my own patterns for the pockets and knee patches additions. Look for the tutorial here on the blog next week!

-Amanda

DIY /// Laundry Detergent.

Inspired by my friend Jocelyn who recently made her own and this tutorial found on Amanda Soule's blog, I decided to make my own laundry detergent. Don't feel intimidated. For some reason, I did at first...'thinking' about making some for months and buying detergent from Target in between those thoughts. ha.ha. Finally, I decided to go for it!

Supplies:
1 1/2 cups of Borax (you can find this at Target or most grocery stores)
1 1/2 cups of  Arm and Hammer washing soda (I could not find this at Target, but did at the grocery)
1/2 cup of baking soda
1 bar of soap (anything will do but I used Canus goats milk lavender soap from Whole Foods)

Instructions:

1. Gather supplies.
2. Combine Borax, washing soda, and baking soda.
3. Finely grate the bar of soap.
4. Add grated soap to Borax mixture.
5. Pour into a jar or container.



voila!


For every large load, I use approximately 3 tablespoons. It takes about 5 minutes to make, costs about $3, lasts us for several weeks, and it's all-natural. I love having the ability to just make more when I run out instead of  late night emergency runs to the market to purchase the pre-made stuff. Plus, all of the ingredients are multi-purpose. You can do it too, I promise! If you have any questions at all, feel free to comment or e-mail me.

-Amanda

HUSBAND'S BIRTHDAY.

Happy birthday husband! Yous a honey bee-





We've been celebrating Dave's birthday for almost a week! We never know when he'll be called out to work so I took every opportunity I could to par-tay. On the first day, he opened gifts. I am so bad at keeping secrets from him (aka I can't help but give the gifts once I have them). I'm a terrible wife, right? On the second day, I made the 'tunnel of fudge' cake from Cook's Illustrated Best Ever issue. The third day, I made a steak dinner with asparagus, homemade hollandaise sauce, and Rebbecca Rather's sweet potato biscuits (we call this a man meal). Day four, ehh... wasn't that exciting but he got to pick out the movie we watched that night. Couch dates are about as good as it gets right now. We don't have a babysitter anymore, as Dave's parents moved back to OKC. And on day five (today), we went to Tacos A-Go-Go for lunch and then we dropped him off at home to catch a few Z's before heading to work for an overnight shift. womp wooomp. It stinks that he has to work tonight but I think we got a lot of celebrating in. 

                      
                            

Dave, you are such a great husband and papa bear. We do love you, so much.  I hope you know how much we appreciate everything you are and everything you do. Smooches! xo

-Amanda

[banner was handmade using pages from a catalog and an exacto knife.]

LAST WEEK...

1) Hot chocolate. 2) Avre just being a cutie pie. 3) Homemade Advent wreath.

4) Black Hole sammies. 5) Moi and bebe at the tree farm.

-Amanda

ETSY FAVORITES: For the Ladies.

yellow satchel.



pretty cute print.

extra lovely calendar.



handmade moccasins.



recipe cards.



pretty necklace.

{click the captions- it's a link}

HAVE A HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
-Amanda

THIS WEEK...

1) My diaper bag sitting pretty on a chair. 2) Handmade tags.

 3) Whole wheat maple chocolate chip cookies. 4) Birthday shoes. 5) A knitting project.

-Amanda