christmas chef set

for my siblings kids and ours, we draw names for christmas. this year i got my brothers little girl.  when i asked what i could get 'e' for christmas, her mommy said that e was getting a kitchen.  and maybe i could make her an apron.  but i couldn't stop with just an apron.  i had to make pot holders and oven mitts too!  this was a fun gift to make and pretty quick.  

'e's appron,  i did a velcro neck so that it was somewhat adjustable as she grows.  and she can use it to help mommy & dad in the kitchen.  

the oven mitts.  these were the most work, but the funnest!  i had found a template online and when i was trying to hem the cuffs, 't' could barely get her little hand in there.  so i had to make more quilted fabric (these were supposed to be the same as the pot holders) and modify the template i had found.  i also changed how i did the binding since these are pretty little and hard to work on with a big sewing machine.  but i am really happy with how they turned out.  

and the pot holders.  i had fun making this set.  maybe 't' needs one...

christmas-ornaments!

as a kid i liked the big nelsen family christmas.  its not that we added that many more people, or saw family that lived far way at this one event, or got the best gifts.  but we did get an ornament.  each year my great aunt would make us each an ornament.  i think i could probably name most of them to this day.   even after not seeing some of them for years, with all the ornaments that my kids have.  but i love them.  and she continues to make ornaments each year, only i don't get them, my kids do.  

i too will carry on this tradition.  this year i had to make 25, plus a baby's 1st.  

this years ornament was a popsicle stick sled.  

and for my new niece, a stamped washer with snow flake charm.  

i can't wait to pick out the ornament for next year.  there are too many to choose from!

candy canes

unfortunately, i again didn't make the junk jaunt.  lucky for me my wonderful mom loves to go. one of the things i wanted her to look for was old canes. i saw these & knew they would be a perfect addition to the greenery that i put in my wash tub.  greenery is about all the outdoor decorating i can do with the lovely ne winds. 

the canes were pretty easy to turn into candy canes.  burlap ribbon, red ribbon, & lots of hot glue.  when i was done, i had glue gun strings and burlap fuzz all over me.  

an early christmas gift

its been just as crazy this fall.  football that went RIGHT into basketball, dance, girl scouts...

this year we decided to brave the almost 14 hour car drive with 4 kids under 10 and go visit my sister in law for thanksgiving... in montana!  while i don't recommend the drive in the fall (i saw 38 live deer, 10 dead deer, 2 horse and 2 shooting stars on the way out alone) it was a great trip.  i went on a  local hike once we got there, enjoyed tons of good company, fellowship and food.  i was sad when we had to leave.  and since i knew that i wouldn't see the family again at christmas, i tried to get all my christmas gifts done to bring out there so that i didn't have to mail them.  TRIED is the key word.  i forgot to account for being gone for the week before we left.  but i did get half of them done.  that saved me a good chunk of postage.  especially this guy right here.  

when i was making my x's and hearts for valentines last year, inspiration struck that r would love a barn wood 'w'.  because i wanted to see her expression, i made her open it while we were out in mt.  she cant wait to get their basement finished so she can hang it up.  

look at that beautiful weathered wood detail!

back to the basement for me.  this elf needs to keep her butt in gear or the rest of the gifts wont get finished.

christmas 3 of???

way back when (i think pry 2002) i decided to make a quilt for my nephew & niece.  i wanted them to each have something that they can say 'aunt kelly made that for me'   she got a cute ladybug & flower quilt, he got a farm themed quilt to remind him of grandma & grandpa's place.  as i got more nephews they each eventually got a quilt for christmas.  there has been a husker 'n' quilt, construction quilt, sports quilt, and a railroad quilt.  last year it was a fun circle quilt for my niece. 

this is c-dub's quilt.  number 8 of 11-so far. 

christmas 2 of ????

each year i make an ornament for my kids (all 6 of them now), my nephews & nieces (SO happy i get to say nieces now not just niece) and other family members/friends.  its something that i remember as a child my great aunt doing.  it was always so fun to see what we got each year.  i think that many were homemade, & many were a moose-her maiden name was moose! and each year mom would write down on sheet of paper in each of our ornament boxes who gave us each ornament for the year.  now that i have my own family, i have my list so that i can add to it.  i have also started a list for each of my kids & their own ornament box.  some day i hope that they do the same.  

christmas 1st of ???

wow.  it has been a while.  i promise i was busy.  but when you are making gifts for christmas and people who are receiving these gifts read this..... i dont like ruining surprises.

i dont know what i was thinking when picking out the hardware for our kitchen.  maybe that is the problem, i wasnt thinking.  too many decisions to be made!  but i didnt pick our drawer pull that you can wrap your hand around.  so for the past four years we have had to deal with all dish towels falling off of the dishwasher & oven handles.  stinks having to pick them up all the time.  big a really doesnt like it.  i am sure i had seen these before and dont know why it took so long for the light bulb to go off.  i got some towels and tried some for our house 1st.  it was awesome!!!  and was pretty sure that some people in my family had the same issue as we did with the drawer pulls.  the hardest part was finding nice kitchen towels. 

round 2 of quilts

i used to have 5 nephews and 1 niece.  then i got remarried and gained another niece and 2 more nephews.  then my siblings had (well my brothers wife technically) had a girl each so i got 2 more nieces.   the original 6 each got a quilt for christmas 1 year.  i thought that it would be nice to give them something i had made, that hopefully they would keep forever and always think of me.  my sister in law told me that my niece had to sleep with her quilt top down and facing her. so for s i know it will always be something that will make her think of me.  
and while i was SUPER excited to finally have more nieces (its fun to buy for a girl other than your own) that meant i needed to get my behind in gear!  so i figured i had better start with the oldest.  i have had some of the fabric for this for over a year, but ran out of time last christmas.  and i am glad that this was a quick pattern to put together, cause i got a late start this year.  while i cut the strips & squares, z helped me by tracing the circle on a smaller strip.  then he helped by putting a circle on a square for me to sew.
i love how bright & colorful it is.  now to find a pattern & fabric for the next nephew......

happy christmas & merry new year

 happy christmas from the schlarecki's. (that is what big a calls us) its been a crazy month trying to get ready for christmas at this house.  i am not all matchy & theme oriented when it comes to christmas decorating, but for some reason i have a thing will all our stocking having to look at least coordinated.  so while they are all a different quilt block pattern, they all have matching fabrics.   it was fun picking out all the different blocks.  maybe after christmas i will have time to get to t's.  we almost need a bigger banister to get them all hung.  but as little a put it-we have a big family and we love it!

each year when i get new nephews or nieces i make them a 1st christmas ornament along with the one that everyone else get.  this time i had to make 3 (lucky mom got 3 in 1 year) and yes i know i am missing 1, but i screwed up on stamping the tags and figured it was better to make sure that my new nieces got theirs at christmas.  

and these are the ornaments for the year.  it was fun thinking of christmas/winter words.  but i needed more vowels!

the calm after christmas

christmas is officially over in our house, and unfortunately i have come down with the flu.  but i wanted to share with everyone the ornaments that i made for the year.  stamped spoons.  they were fun & loud to make.  hope everyone had a great christmas & a happy new year.

ornaments & scotus show

 christmas is right around the corner.  in fact i brought a real tree home last night to put up on thursday since i am holiday function free til supper.  if you are a loyal reader or know me, you know that i make ornaments for my siblings, nephews, nieces, and kids each year.  sometimes i have extras. these are recent years that i have extras of.  i'll have them at my next two shows.  the glass ball has let it snow on velum (i also have on transparency paper, but that didnt photograph very well) with snow flakes on the outside for $3.  santa lets you know how many days are left with the extra numbers n his bag for $6.

 some kids need to be extra good this time of year to make up for all the fun things they have done over the course of the year, this post card (customizable on the reverse with santas address & childs) lets them explain, $3.

i also wanted to let everyone know about my next show coming up this sunday.  i have finally made it into the scotus craft show on december 1 at scotus high school 1554 18th ave, columbus, ne from 9 am til 4 pm.  
serendipity cloths will also be there with me.  she

has lots of cute christmas/holiday skirts for your little girl.

late christmas stuff

i know this is way late, but with everyone being sick (more then once with everything that is going around) and christmas & the wedding, i finally remembered & had time to post these.  the kids had fun gluing & then painting the 'houses'.  they didnt like the waiting for the glue to dry though. 

lefsa

back row-mom & miranda
middle-megan, bailey, me, marcia
front-piper

i again hosted our annual lefsa making party.  it was SO much fun.  this year we did 5 batches.  for those of you that dont know what lefsa is-cody best described it as a cross between a tortilla & churro.  very yummy! piper will be a good roller when she is older.  boy do the kids love it as much as i do.  we all so make some cookies including kringle.

christmas ornaments

this years christmas ornaments.  wine cork trees.  they were fun to make & i think they turned out pretty cute. 

christmas gifts

now that chrsitmas is over i can share more of the gifts i made people for christmas.  my sister & sis in laws got necklaces, with either their kids names or their initials.  (the love was an exchange gift) i think they turned out pretty good. 

 i have also been into making hair flowers lately.  so the baby sitter, her daughter & a baby she watches got some.  they are pretty fun & fast to make.  to bad my daughter doesnt like to wear hers. 

i hope that everyone had a wonderful christmas, and a merry new year. 

kelly

I'm still here

Yes I am still here. For those of you that dont know me, I tend to make a lot of gifts for Christmas and this year was no exception. Now that the holiday season is over (we only had Christmas at home being snowed in since Dec 24 with 18" of snow and 10-15' drifts) I have time to show you what I have been up to.

Every year I make an ornament for my neice, nephews, sisters, brother and now the sitters kids. This year it was snowmen.





Aren't they SO cute?



I also made a special ornament for my nephews 1st Christmas.
























Hopefully I have time yet today to get downstairs to work on something. I have been lazy the last few days and not crafting but I figured I deserved a break for a few days after Chrismas too.