Madeleine - Week 26

You know what this means, right? We're halfway to week 52...halfway to one year...halfway to toddlerhood. A large part of me wants to freeze time right where it is as Madeleine is so incredibly sweet and fun right now; the other part of me is excited to see her development continue. She is rolling in every direction and pivoting on her belly to allow her to cover significant ground without actually crawling. She freely gives of smiles and giggles, which have helped her amass quite the fan club of familiar faces and strangers alike.

For the last several weeks, our photoshoots have ended when Madeleine decided to roll to the edge or off of the fabric and then either wrap the fabric around or on top of her. 

Sweet girl.

Merry Christmas!

Madeleine and her parents would like to wish you and yours a very merry Christmas!

A Pinterest Christmas: Christmas Cards and Wrapping

Welcome to Week Four of A Pinterest Christmas

For the month of December, I'm thrilled to be participating in A Pinterest Christmas with a group of crafty ladies who have been inspired by projects on Pinterest and turned that (p)inspiration into reality.

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Happy Christmas Eve! Are you one of those procrastinators who spends today wrapping all of your loot? If not for having to mail the vast majority of my gifts, I would also be a member of the Christmas Eve wrapping brigade.

This year, I was really inspired by all of the fun wrapping I saw on Pinterest, among them these two:

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These little clay tags have so much potential! (Remember when I used them for shower favors?) I decided that I'd pair them with brown craft paper and red/white striped twine for my holiday wrapping this year.

I also found a little (p)inspiration in the Christmas card department. Although we're sending our official cards in the new year, I still wanted to try my hand at these cards to go with the gifts we sent.

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I really liked making the stick card, although I can only send it with packages (it won't make it through the postage machine alone) and domestically. The string one was a bit of a disappointment, though, because I couldn't quite get the string to stay taut. Ah, well.

How are you wrapping your packages this Christmas? Did you handmake cards? If you're inspired by my projects, feel free to leave questions in the comments and comment with a link to your projects.

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Remember to check out the rest of the A Pinterest Christmas ladies this week and throughout the month of December:

Tuesdays - 

Sally @ chacha and mogo

Kendra @ The Gilbertson Family (Mistle Toes)

Wednesdays - 

Misha @ emerald city diaries (Magazine Bows and Chalkboard Art)

Michelle @ this grey house (Sock Vase)

Thursdays - 

Maggi @ Greg, Maggi, and Rodney (Yarn Trees)

Abbi @ The Pena Family

Madeleine - Week 25

Our sweet Madeleine was a little somber during today's photoshoot...though she should have been celebrating because her grandma's vision has now fully returned!! What great news!

A Pinterest Christmas: Christmas Tree Forest

Welcome to Week Three of A Pinterest Christmas

For the month of December, I'm thrilled to be participating in A Pinterest Christmas with a group of crafty ladies who have been inspired by projects on Pinterest and turned that (p)inspiration into reality.


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A wreath is on the door. The tree (or alternative) is decked with ornaments. It's time to show some love to the mantel.

This week's (p)inspiration comes from this series (parts 1, 2, and 3) of Christmas trees made from simple cardboard cones.

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I must admit that I used a combination of DIY cones made from used cardboard and $2 cones purchased from the local craft store. It was easy enough to make cones, but the "perfect" purchased ones were a little better for materials where the shape really mattered. Also, I had a really hard time keeping myself from turning any and every material I could think of into a tree. This project really has a million possibilities when you look in your craft cupboard, around the craft store, and through the thrift store.

Without further ado, here are my trees:

One-by-one now...

Felt Loop Tree

I made this little felt guy by cutting 3-inch strips of felt...

...folding the strips in half and hot gluing the long sides together...

...cutting slits along the felt...

...hot gluing the rows in layers on top of each other...

...and finishing the top with a little square of felt.

When you do this, don't cut your slits too high so that the cardboard shows through. Oops.

Kidney Bean Tree

I made this guy by simply hot gluing dry kidney beans to a cone, wiping off the hot glue strings, and spray painting the whole thing cherry red (to give more shine to the beans and color any cardboard showing through).  This is my favorite tree despite it being very time and hot glue consuming.

Bathmat Tree

This one is made by wrapping an old (washed) bathmat around a tree and securing it with hot glue. Just be sure to wrap and glue before cutting. Doh!

Small Garland Tree

Ruffle Tree

This guy was made from repurposing the ties from tie top curtains, which I long ago washed and ruined (doh!). I used almost the same method as the (p)inspiration poster did for her ruffle tree.

Yarn Tree

Sequin Tree

Large Garland Tree

As I said, the bean one was my favorite, if a bit demanding. I think the felt one has a lot of potential...if I just could have practiced a bit more. I loved how simple it was to make the yarn one. The small garland one was the best looking for little effort.

So, what will you turn into a little Christmas tree? Make sure you have lots of hot glue on hand, and feel free to leave questions in the comments. I'd love for you to comment with a link to any projects you make inspired by mine.

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Remember to check out the rest of the A Pinterest Christmas ladies this week and throughout the month of December:

Tuesdays - 

Sally @ chacha and mogo (A Stocking for Mogo)

Kendra @ The Gilbertson Family (DIY Yarn Trees)

Wednesdays - 

Misha @ emerald city diaries (Paper Tree Forest)

Michelle @ this grey house (Yarn Trees)

Thursdays - 

Maggi @ Greg, Maggi, and Rodney (Odds and Ends)

Abbi @ The Pena Family (Christmas Treats)