Snapshots

December has been a whirlwind of a month.  I've been working, working at getting all my ornament orders sewn up and getting everything shipped out (and they are and it's a huge relief), we traveled last weekend for Hope's first gymnastics competition of the season, our band has still been playing most weekends, and I've been squeezing in Christmas shopping when I can.   All good things, right?  I can't believe Christmas will be here next week.  How is that possible?  I'm going to take a little time to myself over Christmas break and read a book (WHAT?) and make something for fun.  It's good to reenergize when you can.

**Hope loves to read in her tree and Poesy wanted to be just like sis.
**Sometimes in life you steal your kid's Kin Ship Goods (we love them!) sweatshirt and wear it because it's cute and you can.
**Driving past KC, MO
**Hope on the balance beam
**Hope on the floor (I'm not super at action shots, but I love to have these to look back on)
**Cutest little spectator
**Narwhals
**A little batch of guys going to their new homes.  I wish I had an entire group shot.  Maybe next year.
**Hope at her piano recital.  She's got nerves of steal, I tell ya.  With all of this competing and performing, I just grow prouder and prouder.  That stuff isn't easy!

I hope your week is off to a great start!  I'll be in the studio sewing all day-- I'll be sharing more about that soon!  xo.

Homemade Ornaments

Every year we make a little homemade ornament with the date stamped on the back.  It's a little tradition Hope looks forward to, and Poesy is starting to catch on.  Last year we painted store-bought ornaments, and the year before that we made little little vintage-inspired ice skates.  This year we busted out the Sculpey and baked our own!

Our theme was "favorite treats".  Hope went with ice cream, I made a little donut, and I helped Poesy make a sucker.  Once I finished helping Poe with hers, I just let her have a chunk of clay to do whatever with.  We baked the 3 ornaments, but I also threw in her "snake" that she kept making and breaking.  :)

I used wire for hooks and inserted them before we baked.  They stayed put nicely.  We let the ornaments cool for the rest of the day and painted them in the evening.

This is one of my very favorite traditions we have.  If you don't have Sculpey on hand, you can use this recipe:
4 cups flour // 1 cup of salt // 1 1/2 cups warm water mixture
Bake at 325

Do you have any favorite holiday traditions?  We probably have too many.  (Just kidding.  You can never have too many!)

For more ornament DIYs, click right here.

Ornaments Are In The Shop

All of the ornaments are now in the shop!  The narwhals are sold out, but if I get all of these orders packed up with time to spare, I might make another batch.  Thank you so much to everyone who has bought one already-- you guys are amazing!

Flamingos!

I haven't shown a "real" picture of the finished flamingos yet, because I wanted to give the first one to Elsie for her birthday.  I make her an ornament every year (I guess it's sorta become a tradition) and I didn't want to spoil any surprises.  The flamingos are one of my favorites this year-- the velvety bodies and soft feathers are what my vintage ornament dreams are made of.  Plus, that picture of their feathery bottoms kills me.  (They will all have crowns, FYI.  These just hadn't gotten them yet!)

As I was putting ornaments on my own Christmas tree the other day, I realized I have a real thing for birds on my Christmas tree.  I have so many different kinds and I'm sure that's why I'm extra excited about the flamingos (AND SWANS!) this year.  If you follow me on IG, you've probably already seen a peek at the swan, but they will be available for purchase on Tuesday.  I'm thinking 11am CST, so you can check the shop around that time if you are looking to snag something.  :)

I hope you are having a great weekend!  Johnny and I just realized that our anniversary is coming up here in about a week, so we've started planning a special little getaway.  I'm so ready!

Practice Makes Perfect or Something Like That

As I make and remake these little animals, I'm constantly reminded that being "good" at something is maybe a little bit of talent, but it's a lot of practice.  I spent a couple of hours last night tweaking a bunny pattern and in the end it was just kind of a flop (har har).  But it's okay!  Not everything I dream up in my head translates the way I expect it to, and the more I do this thing I'm doing, the more I learn and the better I become.  I wrote this post a long time ago about how I used to just think certain people got to be "good" at things and for some reason, I didn't feel like I was good at anything... until I figured out that the world isn't chock-full of lucky ducks.  It's lots of people who work hard at what they love.  And I like that.

So, here's a "real" glimpse of what my studio looks like right now.  A friend came over last week and said, "So your studio just kinda stays like this until after the rush, huh?"  That is exactly right.  If you were to come over from October-mid December, this is pretty much what it would look like.  :)

I'm tentatively planning my shop update for Tuesday (11/26) and more will be added Wednesday (11/27).  I decided this year it would be nice to give as many people a chance of snagging an ornament as possible, so breaking it up into 2 days will hopefully help that!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far!

New Ornaments

These are a few of the ornament shapes I've been working on recently.  I'm not sure what the entire collection will look like when it's released, but it's been fun developing new animals.  I'm happy to report that I have a flamingo body that I am satisfied with-- that one took me a few tries!  The deer, horses, and narwhals will definitely be returning, as well as one or two more new things.  I'm thinking a velvet penguin might be next on the list, or maybe even a swan...

Any time I finish an animal Poesy will come over and say, "Did you make this for meeee??  Awww, I love him so much!  He's sooooo cuuuute!  Can you make me sumthing, mama??"  *melt*  She gets to keep that bear... obviously.  ;)

DIY Pinecone Ornament

Every December Hope and I make a special Christmas ornament for our tree.  It's a really fun tradition that has gotten more fun the older she gets.  I originally planned for this to be our yearly ornament, but quickly found that this is more well-suited for adults.  That just means I need to come up with another ornament idea... which also means more DIY ornaments for the blog!  ;)

1. Supplies: Styrofoam eggs, sewing pins, large sequins, yarn
2-3. Starting at the bottom of the egg, begin pinning sequins into the egg.  I created new holes rather than using the existing holes.  It is best to stagger the sequins, as it makes for a more tiered/pinecone look rather than a fish scale look.
4. Once you have reached the top, tie your yarn in a knot with a bow.  Push a pin through the top of the bow.
5. Push the bow and pin through the center of a sequin to finish off the top.  You're all done!

Ornaments Are in the Shop!

Ornaments are now in the shop!  THANK YOU to everyone who has already purchased one!

Ornament Update Announced

With the addition of some hats and scarves, these ornaments (and more) will be coming to my shop this Friday, November 30th!  They will be posted at 11am CST. 

Have I mentioned this is my favorite time of year?  It really is.  :)