One-of-a-kind Christmas Dresses

I wanted to hit up Joanns great sale after Thanksgiving.  I absolutely do not need any more fabric, but of course I convince myself I do.  To bribe the girls into going with me and being amicable about it I offered to make them Christmas dresses.  It worked because they behaved great.

The girls picked out cute, but itchy fabric.  I didn't buy anything to line it, so they just had to deal with it by wearing t-shirts underneath.  I used the Spitfire Playdress pattern, which is super simple and fast and has sleeves for a bit of warmth.  The edging is a rolled hem.  I tried using the serger on Allie's dress and it worked great 2/3 of the way around the dress and then my machine decided it was done with rolled hems.  So I used the sewing machine for the sleeves.  Selena's fabric didn't really have enough stretch to get a scalloped rolled hem, so I just did a normal hem for hers.  The girls like the dresses and looked super cute in them.

They wore them to a Santa Brunch the grandparents took us to.  They got to talk to Santa and receive numerous candy canes from him.  It was great because there was no line and they got to talk to him for as long as they wanted.

Oh Christmas Tree!

It was a cold blustery day when we went to pick out the perfect tree.  We headed down to Stocker farms where we got to chop it down, drag it across the field, pay a lot of money, tie it to our car, and hope it didn't fall off before we got home, which it didn't. :)  We like adventures.  

Sewing Harry Potter and Hedwig Costumes

Every year I say I am going to just buy costumes, but the girls have so much faith and love in the DIY mentality that I can never say no when they start getting ideas for Halloween.  This year the girls went as Harry Potter and Hedwig.  Allie said she had never been a pet before.  

Selena's Harry Potter costume was pretty easy.  I used the Heidi and Finn Chic Everyday Coat pattern.  Added 10 inches to the bottom, added a hood, and flared the arm holes an inch or two. I used microfleece for the outer and a jersey knit for the lining.  The lining was a lot more stretchy than the fleece and kinda messed things up, but not terribly so.

For Allie's Hedwig costume I used the Heidi and Finn Urban Unisex Hoodie.  This is pretty much my go to Halloween pattern because it is lined and thus it is warm.  I used microfleece for the outer and jersey knit for the inner.  I sewed a bunch of semi-circle feathers down the front per looking at lots of owl costumes on Pinterest.  I extended the outer layer of the hood and put some stuffing between the layers to make the head a bit fatter.  Then I cut out the owl face from felt and used Tacky glue to glue it on.  A more authentic snowy owl would have had a black beak, but Allie wanted orange.  I also sewed some feathers onto the arms for wings.  I used the Willow Wayfarer Hipsters for Slimsters pants pattern (such a great and easy patter for a kids casual pant).

The kids were way too cute and had a ton of fun trick-or-treating with their cousins.

Pumpkin Patch

We live right above the Snohomish River Valley and thus have the privilege of being within a few miles of at least 7 different pumpkin patches complete with corn mazes, hay rides, rooms full of corn kernels, cow trains among other tons of other fun activities.  We went to three different patches this year, but the only one I took photos of was our family outing at Bob's.  

They warned us the corn maze would be muddy, and we were all wearing boots and thought we were prepared, but it was your boots get stuck in the mud muddy.  We found remnants of other people's lost shoes in the mud.  It was a slow going adventure, and we only made it through half of the maze before we escaped and walked around it.  Both kids were tired of walking and there was no way we could carry them without slipping and falling.

The weather itself wasn't too bad, the freshly made donuts and roasted apples were delicious, and the kids were thrilled that they got to ride home in their underwear.  

Educational Christmas Apps

If you are looking for educational apps for the classroom and at home you should join the Facebook group iTeach.AppsfortheClassroom .  All throughout the day sales and freebies for educational i Phone and iPad Apps are posted.

The iteachappsfortheclassrom blog also contains lots of great recommendations including this list of must have educational Christmas apps, in which Kids Christmas Pattern Game is included!  Check them out.

Free Christmas iPad, iPhone and Android app

I'm tired!  I've released three apps in four months. As soon as I wrap up everything with this last one I am going to take a break!!  Please download it, rate it, share it with your friends, and maybe even buy one of my paid apps so I can get in the black and start paying myself for all this work I've been doing. ;)   

Help Santa retrieve his reindeer and elves who are on vacation by completing pattern puzzles.

WHO: For kids ages 4 and up. Some of the harder patterns may even stump some adults.

WHAT: 30 beginner ABAB patterns (ages 4 - 7), 30 intermediate level sequence and pattern puzzles including counting puzzles (ages 5 - 8), 30 advanced sequences and patterns (10+)

WHERE: Santa is traveling all over the world--England, France, Italy, Egypt, India, Antartica, Russia, Mexico, USA and the North Pole. This app provides some exposure to world geography with flags and famous landmarks.

For more info visit www.corvidapps.com


Now on the App Store, Google Play and Nook Apps (TM), coming soon on Amazon Apps.