Snow Day Craftiness

So what do you do when it randomly snows two feet overnight? I decided to make Christmas stockings. Actually, I was already planning on making the stockings that day, but not being able to go anywhere definitely reinforced the plan. You see, a few weeks ago I decided that I would make a Christmas tree skirt, so I bought a whole bunch of fabric only to realize later that we actually bought a tree skirt last year. Oops. Good thing that I also had it on my list to make stockings as well.

Last year, Justin's mom gave us his stocking that he'd used growing up, so I decided to make one for me and Colton to match. (Warning: Those who are not so interested in craft projects, should probably just scroll to the bottom at this point and look at the finished product.) I started by cutting 2 1/2 inch strips of 5 different fabrics, sewing them together and then ironing them flat.

Then I realized, I should probably have some kind of pattern, so I traced Justin's stocking onto newspaper. This is good because I ended upcutting out two front quilted pieces, two back pieces, four pieces of muslin and four pieces of fusable fleece. I guess I should point out right now that this project took me all day.

Once the front piece was cut out, I had to sew on the toe and heel and embroider around them. (Justin's mom used lace, but it turns out that I don't actually have any lace on hand. Justin thought maybe I could cut up a lacy shirt, but it also turns out that I don't own any lacy shirts...)

Once the front was entirely done, then I just had to attach it to the fleece and muslin and quilt down the front. Then I attached it to the back. I included the picture to show that I actually used pins. Sometimes the quality of my sewing workmanship is seriously hampered by the fact that I am too lazy to put in pins. It just seems like so much effort to pin stuff just to unpin it again. I guess the efficiency of not pinning is undermined by the ineffeciency of having to unpick things and redo them. Anyway, all that was then left to do was sew on the top, and voila! Two of the cutest darn Christmas stockings you have ever seen!!

And what was Justin doing all this time? Well, he was taking care of Colton and finding us the perfect mortgage...because while I was sewing, the offer we put on a house was approved!

Watch out Bob Ross

I'm not exactly sure what possessed me, but I recently decided that it would be a good idea to paint a very large tree on the wall of our nursery. No, I have never actually painted anything, but I do have a deep and abiding love for Bob Ross and all the happy little trees he painted playing in the sunshine.

So how did someone so un-artistic as myself manage to paint an 8-foot tree on the wall? Well, I found this picture online:

Then I drew a grid on the picture and Justin helped me draw one on the wall. With the grid in place, I just had to go block by block and plot some points of the outline of the tree. Then I connected the dots and started painting:


Trying to blend the colors was the trickiest part. Here's the final product:


For an extra special touch, I "carved" our initials on he trunk. I did this because we are in love.


Here's the final comparison:










You may notice that my tree is a perfect reflection of the model tree. I decided that the big part should be on the left. Why? I don't know. It just seemed like that's how it should be. Anyway, the idea is that I will eventually gather pictures of our immediate families and hang them in the branches. Get it? It's a family tree. I'll post the final pictures of the nursery when I get it done. It's kind of still a storage room at this point, butI still have seven whole weeks...

Justin Has Taken Up Smoking

Even though I am the star of this blog, every once in a while I'm willing to step out of the spotlight so that I can feature the handiwork of my crazy (and by crazy I mean incredibly motivated, capable, and talented) husband. So this is an ode to Justin.

His most recent project: a smoker. No, he's not violating the Word of Wisdom (although it may encourage us to eat meat more than just "sparingly"). He found a foodie blog for engineers that showed how to build a ceramic smoker for less than a hundred bucks (compared to $800 for a big green egg) using terracotta flower pots and a hot plate. He seemed very excited about this construction project, so I only laughed quietly to myself when he brought home all the supplies. I laughed a little less quietly and not entirely to myself when I discovered that he could have purchased an electric smoker for the same price as the supplies for the one he was building himself. Apparently, there is some satisfaction to be had in making something yourself...

He started by getting out all the tools he possibly could. Okay, maybe just the power drill and set of masonry drill bits, but it seemed like a lot of tools.

Then he drilled holes in the bottom of a 14" flower pot (for the hot plate connectors to go through). It made the weirdest ringing noise. I'm sure that our neighbors hate us.

Next up, he had to take the hot plate apart and rewire it so the element was inside the pot and the controls outside the pot.

Like so.

Then you add a cast-iron wood chip holder box (where you put hickory wood or mesquite wood or apple wood, depending on how you would like to flavor your meat) and a grill thingy for the meat to sit on.

Put a lid on it, and the smoker is done. I'd like to point out, that Justin is standing in his official "summit" pose. I think he's pretty proud of his handy work.

And when he pulled this hickory smoked chicken out of that thing, I must admit that I was pretty proud of him too. (We'd also like to give a special thanks to Em and Dan for the Chuck Norris t-shirt.)

And what was I doing all this time? I was making a lovely Quiche Lorraine for dinner. It was exceedingly delicious.

Mmmm... Bacon...