zoo trip

one of our christmas gifts from grandma elaine and grandpa john was a year family pass to the zoo, so yesterday afternoon when mike got home early from work (and sam was all napped and perky) i thought it would be fun to head over there for an hour or so. afterall, beyond the gas it takes to get there, it was free entertainment. so off we went.

sam was quick to locate his favorite animal—the north american cherry-picker. i was glad it was caged, because i'm almost certain sam would have tried to pet it.

after that, we hopped onto the tram and rode up to the fish/primate/cat building, where sam was most excited to see all the fish.

then we had a little fishy-snack (goldfish crackers) while we rode back down.

it was a short visit, but it was a good outing for an afternoon, and we're certainly hoping to go back again soon.

stuffed animals

i also decided to give stuffed animals a try. they turned out a little odd, and not quite what i wanted, but it was fun to try. i definitely think my technique needs a bit of help (perhaps some construction instruction is in order), but i sort of like the fact that they're a little quirky.

i made a white rabbit for alice (or baby jones who we are all assuming will be an alice), since i thought she would need someone to explore wonderland with. for sam, i made a little monster (see other monsters for sam here and here). you'll recognize the fabric, of course.

other things i did during my "holiday break"

i finally got around to making this pillowcase for sam's little pillow. it was a fun project one afternoon while sam and i were hanging out at home. it took me a while because i didn't bother to pull out the sewing machine (it's hard to use a sewing machine when you're humoring a two-year-old who wants you to sit in his "mouse house" fort for four hours), but i was able to cut and sew it all before mike came home from work that day, so not too bad. i used leftovers from sam's halloween cape and a piece of the striped fabric from various other projects (this, this, and this are a few of them). the only problem with this project was that when i finally got it done, sam wanted the old spongebob pillowcase he was used to. so much for cute color-coordination.

happy holidays - cards from the nordstroms

here is the seventh swan a-swimming. in truth, i still have a few that still need to be mailed out (because i forgot to bring them when i had the chance to hand deliver them. on multiple occasions. ooops.) but they were done in time for christmas, so i'm considering them a success. i'll also admit that the design is practically the same as last year, which made them easier to do, and the use of mom and dad's "robobot" (as sam calls it) to do the cutting made them quick and (almost) painless.

i'm already thinking about next year's design, and have some ideas. i do believe, however, that i may have to enlist my father to help me with the mechanics.

you can see a couple of the previous years here and here.

this year's christmas cards (from the pilgrim press)

i worked up these quickie cards for pilgrim press to send out for the holidays.

since our logo is a red ship (the mayflower, to be exact), i thought i'd do a take-off on i saw three ships come sailing in. apparently i'm the only one at work that was familiar with this song, but they were agreeable and let me do my thing (that's what you get when people are pressed for time and ideas—free reign!).

it took me about a day to design, and about half a day to print, cut, fold, and stuff 150 of these. we did a special order for the blue envelopes, and after they arrived (from thepapermillstore.com), i adjusted the color on the card to match.

i thought they turned out well.

another reason i'm excited about bedtime

i hate to admit it, but i've been a little obsessed with finding a headboard for years. i've scoped catalogs, read tons of how-to's about making your own upholstered ones, and spent countless hours clicking around on the internet trying to find something that would suit my picky-but-cheap personality.

earlier this week i was combing through the craigslist postings (again), and i found this headboard. it's solid wood (possibly cherry, but the owners weren't quite sure), in really good condition (it has a few small scratches that very sleepy people probably wouldn't notice—and we're usually very sleepy people), and cost us all of 50 dollars. it reminds me a lot of the style of the twin beds that we've inherited from grandpa, and i was super excited to snatch it up before someone else could.

i believe this is the eighth piece of furniture we've found on craigslist, and i couldn't be happier with it. shopping craigslist is one of my favorite places to find furniture (unless you count hand-me-downs, of course—i love a good hand-me-down) because not only do you get a good price, but someone else gets to have the satisfaction that their old things are going to a good home, and (if you're into that whole "greening" thing) you can feel good that you're recycling someone else's stuff, giving it a new life instead of a spot in some junkyard somewhere. the previous owners said that this headboard had "been in the family for years" and i'm looking forward to having it in ours for years too.

crafty sam

this is the "placemat" that sam made at his last day of daycare for the year (last wednesday). it's made of funfoam with little funfoam stickers. the best part is that he can peel off and restick the decorations (for the time being, anyway), so it's been a great source of entertainment for him at dinnertime. my favorite part is that while he's busy sticking and talking about all the colors and shapes and whatnot, i can shovel just about whatever food i like into his little mouth. fabulous.

thanks daycare! this was a great early christmas gift!