Pressie parade

I really wanted to post some of these pictures B.C. (before Christmas) but I thought it better to stick to the element of surprise. Now that it's safe...you can see some of the things that came from my atelier, which is a very fancy word I've decided to use for my living room/kitchen/office.

Got really into salted caramels a la the Contessa. I even infused some of them with chai tea. I won't lie to you, they were really good.

 

I invented a new animal for Christmas - it's a giraffagon. 

That's right - a giraffagon and he likes to read the Bible, ESV version, of course. 

He likes to do a whole host of other things, which may appear in a book for a future present for a little towheaded someone.

  I was so enthralled by some patterns I saw at the fabric store that I decided to make PJ's for a couple of friends. I went with cuffs for this pant (that's Project Runway speak for pants)...for my miniature friend Bev.

  And I added some cute string for the waistband....'bout time I used that string. 

It's my intent to use up as much stuff as I can this year...wooden pencils, ribbon, fabric, spices...hoarding is for the mentally disturbed.

Oh hi little guy! This was for my favorite-as-yet-to-meet toddler with buttons sown on doubly, triply tight to prevent the little guy from swallowing them. 

Auntie Flynn does not want that to be Toddler B's first memory of her.

Another pair of PJs. 

(I would have put them together if a certain blogging program made it easier to arrange photos.) They're cute right?

 I'm fairly decent at gift giving, but when it comes to wrapping and cards...I think about it approximately 5 minutes before said gift is supposed to be handed over. 

This year, I went all economical and did gifts with the 'brown paper packages tied up with string' approach. I may never go back to that flimsy, expensive crap they call wrapping paper. 

I hear you saying...wait what brown paper packages? A girl's got to leave something to the imagination...these are the cards I made with the thousands of tiny grommets I discovered in one of my boxes (also to be used up in 2013)...and the cards employ some leftover Ikea wrapping paper I really liked and had folded up and stuck in an ideas folder...from when I lived in China...ahem.

Happy New Year!