Three days to Christmas...

Last night, after a round of Brandy Alexanders, Greg and I started laying out our Christmas menu. I don't really recommend attempting to plan anything out after one of those -- the potent combination of delicious cream laced with alchohol makes it a little difficult to think about food. Regardless, we managed to cobble together most of it -- I just need to figure out the dessert(s), and we should be set. All I need to do now is grocery shop...with all 4 children. Oh dear.

Yesterday I finished up my 11-year-old sister's gift, rounding out the Urchin that I knit for her with a few papercrafts.


Vintage French Paper Craft and Paper Doll books

I didn't have any twill book binding tape, but decided that these could do without it since they'll be cut up anyway once she starts using them. Tutorial and free downloads here at Chez Beeper Bebe.

I couldn't resist putting together this tiny Fairy Book of Fairly Good Manners:




I also printed out the fairy furniture by the same artist (also free) on some good heavy cardstock, and tied it up all together inside/under the knitted hat to make a nice little package.

When I first started handmaking gifts, I often struggled with how to wrap them. It's hard to neatly wrap knitted things, and often gifts I give are also oddly shaped. To further complicate things, we nearly always mail our gifts, so gift bags are not really a good option.

This year, I scoured the internet for free print-outs, as well as some bought ones on Etsy (currently enamored by pretty much everything in the GoMakeMe shop). I have been going for more of the "artfully packaged botique look", rather than trying to hide the contents, and have been very pleased with this method. It travels well, and I think it's far more elegant than the lumpy packages that result from Faith + wrapping paper + knitted items + clumsy scotch tape maneuvering.

I love all of the kitchy cute in this pile:

(Can you spy the baby toes approaching?)

AGGHH!! The little walker (GASP!!) has come to make his mark on the gifts!




My favorite is this card for my dad:



I wrote him a special letter to go along with a Lowe's gift certificate, and then tied it with some black yarn...



(I knit him a black hat a few years back, but I suppose my guesstimation of his head size was waaaayyy off, and instead was sized to fit a large pumpkin. Whoops.)

On today's agenda: stitch together (with some minor embroidery) three tiny softies from this book, and start two knit hats. It's three days before Christmas. Totally doable. Oh yeah, and the grocery shopping. And house cleaning. It's gonna happen. Excuse me while I go sort through the closet and find my SuperMom Cape.