advent calendar?

Today is December 1st,  it used to be one of my kids' favorite days of the year, advent calendar time! But this year, for the first time in probably 13 years (Brick master is almost 15) we do not have an advent calendar at home... I did not make any, or bought any Lego or Playmobil calendar, even Brick master said he was too old for the Lego star wars one, I think it is more traumatic for me than for them! So I am going back through memory lane, checking the ones I made the last few years. The advent calendar from last year was a lot of fun and a lot of work, but Miss C. truly enjoyed her American Girl Doll calendar: and I did come up with some many good ideas: fire place, new outfits, day at the spa, nutcracker, Disney, cookies... Another one that turned out to be really nice was the mitten advent calendar, with 24 mittens filled with chocolates. It turned out to work great to display Christmas card. Oh those were the days.... Well I am off to buy a Lindt version, maybe I can be the one opening the little boxes everyday and eating the chocolates... I might have been doing wrong the all time.... Nah, I still will share the chocolates! Happy crafting!

mittens of many uses

Yesterday I showed our "heirloom" advent calendar,

 I would like to demonstrate the many use of mittens through the house!

Besides the advent calendar, my other favorite way is this one:

more details here.

Because the mittens can be made in any color that suits your fancy,

it can fit just about any decor.

Here are a few color ways I used for making mittens, besides the ever popular red!

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.

And finally it is perfect for just about anything!

Chocolate, hand warmer, guest toiletries!

Will you be making any mittens this Christmas?

Happy sewing!

it is advent calendar time!

While I have not been posting regularly

(as if it ever happened!)

I have been busy getting ready for Christmas.

Last year, I ran a cool series that I called 

"the 12 days of mittens".

I had fun finding ways to use mittens to decorate the house.

The best one was the advent calendar:

You would think that which such a calendar,

we would be using over and over,

(considering the time it took me to make all those mittens!)

Well here is a reality check, it is LEGO all the way,

with not one but two calendars,

I am sure you can find which one belong to whom!

If you are interested in making your own mittens,

I made 24 mittens using this technique

(here is the simplified version)

1, 2, 3.

Tomorrow, I will review the "many" uses of mittens!

Happy sewing!

Guest posting at Gluesticks

Today I am sharing my advent calendar

at Gluesticks

I am pretty excited, it is my first time,

I feel so special, I was invited!

You can add little giggles in the background,

yep I am a little silly!

Anyway, you can enter my handmade mitten

giveaway here!

Happy crafting!

the 12 days of mitten: the end and a giveaway

We are done with the 12 days of mittens,

I had a great time and a lot of fun.

But what a pressure!

Posting everyday 

(well almost, I had to take the day off for my anniversary!)

is hard work....I will be going back to a more leisurely approach,

a couple times a week.

 If anybody is making/will be making mittens,

 I would love to see pictures,

it would be fun to have a special mitten day,

I guess it will depends on how many mittens are made!

After overwhelming you with mittens,

it is only fair to give some away.

So here it is the mitten giveaway:

4 handmade mittens in the color of your choice:

red, blue, green, pink/purple(2 of each color), or one of each.

Just leave a comment telling me the color of your choice,

Miss C. will choose a number on December 1st,

we are still old school, but her math skills are improving and 

counting to infinity is her new goal (daughter of nerdy scientists!)

So go ahead one more time

and make some mittens!

How to: here and here.

For more inspirations on design check here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 12

For our last day of mitten madness,

here is my favorite use:

hand warmer.

For this project, you will need:

2 mittens,

2 squares of muslin 4.5 x 4.5

1/3 cup of rice or flax seed

thread.

Fold the square in half and stitch around 3 sides,
leaving an opening, I find it easier to leave an opening
on the larger side, just in the middle.

Turn it right side out, iron and filled it with rice.

Stitch the opening close
and you are done!

Now just put the inserts in the mittens,
place them in the microwave for 30 s,
grab the warm/hot mittens, put them in your coat pocket
and go enjoy the great but cool outdoor!

Go ahead,

make 2 mittens!

How to: here and here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 11

We have found many uses for the mittens:

decorating tables, embarrassing guests,

giving pseudo personal gift cards,

getting children high on sugar,

how about decorating the Christmas tree?

Well, not really tree!
We always get a live tree, so no luck for the photo shoot in mid-November!
But the mittens can also be used to decorate stair ways,
and a wreath! (like I did last year on this wreath.)

Over the years, we have put our mittens

on our tree, just to decorate it,

or to hide a little surprise just like you would in a stocking.

Because there is no limitation to color or personalization,

(after all it does not need to have a snow flake on it),

you can make them for every family member including pets.

We have some older ones with bones (cut piece of felt),

with a bear (charm), just let your imagination

and supply decide the direction.

These mittens made perfect decorations for Christmas tree

for family with young children and/or pets,

there are after all made of felt and unbreakable!

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 10

Maybe you found the mitten toiletries kit too silly

(well I would agree with that, but silliness is good for the soul!)

it can still be used as a little present for you guest:

fill them with some little chocolates

and left them on their bed, or night stand,

like in some posh hotel,

nothing says welcome to our home

like nice linen and chocolates!

Well a cup of hot tea on a nice mug rug is also a great addition!

I made this one like the one from last year,
I just skipped a few steps: these hexagons were just applique to the base
and not actually stitched to each other, I used wonder under
and zigzag stitch to keep them together,
I know, it is cheating, but still cute!

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 9

Do you have guests coming over for the holidays?

You know how sometimes when you travel, especially by plane,

it can be difficult to pack all the toiletries

you need on your trip...

well this year, here is what my guest will find:

a mitten with a toothbrush

and a mini toothpaste,

and no, it is not a commentary on their hygiene!

I just happen to often forget to pack one or the other!

Of course, it can be changed to other toiletries

like a razor!

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 8

Yesterday, we put red mittens in the plate,

well may be it is not your style, too traditional.

Because you are making your own mittens,

you can coordinate the color

to your holiday decor,

you are not limited to red and white,

how about a rich blue,

or an intense lime green?

I removed all the reindeer dishes,

and a lot of the traditional accents.

I kept the sleigh table runner,

but one could imagine the table without it

and still have a great wintry feel.

Go ahead,

make some mittens.

How to: here and here

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 7

We have used mittens in a few different ways,

but now let's explore using those mittens

to decorate the holiday table.

You have probably seen the Pottery Barn table setting

where stockings are used to hold the flatware,

well I am doing similar things with mittens!

Which by the way will be a lot cleaner,

come on, it is forbidden at my house to put socks on the table!

I am a huge fan of deer for Christmas,
and yes I did receive the deer dishes from Pottery barn!
I used one of my older quilt as a table runner,
the pattern is from Mount Redoubt Designs.

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to: here and here!

Happy sewing!

linked to Centsational Girl: tablescape link party

the 12 days of mitten: day 6

Do you feel done with gift card?

I think we are good for now.

Let look at the perfect little trinket to give

to your children and their classmates.

It is something I have done a lot

for my children when they were in preschool,

and to their group activities: scout, dance,..

It is a great way to give holiday treat

like chocolate/candy cane.

For this one, I would recommend

the fastest and easiest of the mittens.

Children do not really realize the different between

handmade and machine work,

but they do appreciate the mitten!

Go ahead,

have fun and make a mitten!

How to: here and here.

happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 5

Let have another take

on the gift card idea: the teacher gift.

It is always a little difficult,

you want to keep an eye on the budget,

and at the same time give something nice:

how about combining homemade

and gift card:

A mitten with a gift card to a coffee shop

and a coffee cozy!

It can be made with traditional Christmas color,

or more contemporary color,

or whatever tickle your fancy!

It is easy to coordinate your mitten to your cozy...

Go ahead,

make a mitten!

How to make mittens: here or here.

Happy sewing!

the 12 days of mitten: day 4

Now that I showed you all the way to make

those silly mittens,

it is time to find more use for them,

 besides advent calendar.

For today, it will be :

drum roll (at least in my head!)

gift card!

here is the gift card before and after:

now which one would you like to give/receive?

the sad one or the cheery one?

Go ahead,

make some mittens!

How to: here and here.

Happy sewing!