Emmeline's 1st Birthday

Emmeline turned 1 at the beginning of this month.  I had a lot of fun planning it.  I didn't want to do anything too big and elaborate, so we had a simple flower theme.  I saw these pom poms on a blog I read.  I loved them, so I made a couple for the party.  They were easy to make, but they do take a little time.

This next idea come from 2 sources.  My amazingly creative friend Maren made this name banner for Emmeline for her baby shower last year.  Then I saw this banner on the same blog where I found the pom poms.  I really liked the the idea of having a picture of every month in the first year.  I changed it a little so it would be easier and quicker.  I love how it turned out.

Last but not least... the cake!  I really wanted to make a cake out of cupcakes.  I have seen a lot of people do cupcakes for children's birthdays.  I think the portion size is perfect for children as well as adults.  You can't feel guilty... it's just a little cupcake!  I searched online for some ideas and found this cake.

I used a triple chocolate fudge box cake.  This was her first time eating sweets, so I thought i would go all out.  It turned out so good and fluffy!  I bought vanilla and chocolate frosting from the store and colored it. That was pretty much all that went into the cake.  I baked it, arranged it and frosted it.  It really loved it and so did Emme!

Quilts

Quilt #1:
I learned how to make a quilt this year with the MBASA (MBA Spouses Association).  It was such a fun experience.  We made a friendship quilt, so I have 9 different strips of fabric from 8 different people and one of my own.  It was a lot of hard work, but I'm glad I did it.  I made a BYU blue blanket.  The first picture is of the blanket all pinned together before I started sewing the layers together.  The second is the final product.

Quilt #2:
I had so much fun making the BYU quilt that I decided to make a small one for my cousin who just had a baby earlier this year.  My mom was visiting, so we made it together.  I think it turned out pretty well.

Christmas Crafts

I know this is a little late, but I still wanted to write a post about what I made for Christmas this year. Since it was Emmeline's first Christmas, I made her a stocking. It was a lot of fun to make! The front pattern is flannel and the back is solid red. I put quilt batting in between the fabric so it would be soft.

I made Emme two handmade gifts for Christmas. I made her a set of 3 cloth balls and a little doll. I really liked the balls because they were all different sizes. I added a bell in the middle of the stuffing so it makes a little jingle sound. I found the pattern for the balls here.

I originally bought the fabric that I used for the balls to make 5 dresses for the doll and the balls, but the one dress I made for the doll took longer than I thought. Emme can't dress her doll yet anyway. Maybe I will make more for her birthday. The doll was a lot of fun to make. I especially liked sewing on the face.

In the original design, the dress is supposed to be the white body, but I thought it would be fun to make different outfits for her. That's why the dress took so long to make, it was trial and error. The pigtails were not in the original design either. I found a post for this doll on a blog I love to read called homemade by jill. The link to the free doll design is here.

Also, if you ever plan to make this, add 1/2 inch to 1 inch around the perimeter of the arms and legs. I had to remake the arms and legs because they were too small to turn inside out.

I had a lot of fun making all of these projects for Emme, but I think I will start a lot earlier next year. I was up until 2 or 3 am the whole week before Christmas finishing crafts and wrapping presents. Oh well! It was worth it. Emme likes her toys :)

Blocks

The other day I was reading about how babies Emme's age like to knock over blocks and put things in and out of containers, etc. A combination of that information, feeling crafty, leftover material and fun craft blogs is what led me to make Emme some cloth blocks. They were fairly simple to make and Emme loves them! It's also fun to remember what I used the fabric for in the past. There is fabric from some curtains, a dress I made for myself, Emme's Halloween costume, Emme's blessing dress and a quilt I am making with the MBASA. I started out with 4" fabric squares and made 10 blocks total. They are not perfect, but I think they turned out alright. Here are some pictures.

Halloween Costume

I made Emme's costume this year. She went as Little Red Riding Hood. The pattern for her blessing dress came with a hooded cape pattern, so all I had to do was buy the fabric... it was great! Justin went as the woodsman who saved riding hood and I went as the grandma. I also made a little basket and put a "wolf" (which was really just a dog) in it.  Emme was so cute! Here are a couple pictures.

Blessing Dress

I made a blessing dress for our daughter Emmeline at the end of July.  She was blessed on August 2nd.  I decided to do it last minute.  I learned a lot, and I think it turned out pretty well considering I made it in a week and I don't have that much experience.

Crafts!

I love crafts! Especially when someone else plans it and all I have to do is follow directions. We had our Relief Society Christmas activity this last week, and we made little crafts. I was really excited! I made a Christmas advent book, a book to keep track of birthdays and a set of blocks with letters. The advent book has a story and a song for every day of December until Christmas. We used it for FHE last night... it's great! The birthday book has a page for notes and a line for each day of every month. For example, my birthday is April 28th.  So, I would go to the April page and write my name on the line that is labeled "28." Since birthdays never change you never need to change the book. The blocks were my favorites. It's a set of 16 blocks that each have 4 letters, numbers or a symbol on 4 sides. It comes with a book and tells you what combination of blocks spell what words. I think there are almost 20 pages of words you can spell with it. There is something for almost every holiday and occasion. Anyway, I had a lot of fun making them and now I'm having fun playing with them!