One of my Favorite Gifts

This Christmas has been super full of events. Lots of family things going on and we aren't even done yet! My daughter will end up having 6 Christmas' by the time it is all said and done. The girls are doing good though and I'm so proud of how they are hanging in there and bringing so much joy to our families. Our first Christmas time was just us (me, hubby, and kids). My daughter made this wonderful painting at preschool and gave it to us. I just adore it. I really like how it's a fox (although for a while she was being silly and insisting it was a buffalo ;). It's one of my favorite gifts this year. If you participate in the exchanging of gifts, did you receive one that is your favorite?

From Our Family to Yours

Christmas Tunes in the Craft Room

I cannot believe how close to Christmas it is. Time is just flying here for us. Lot of activities going on so I haven't been in the craft room much, but here are some Christmas tunes I'm playing when I am in there :)

Create a playlist at MixPod.com

Stegosaurus Socks DIY

Know a kid (or adult) who loves dinosaurs? Why not make them a pair of stegosaurus socks? They are quick to make and would be a great stocking stuffer for Christmas (which is just around the corner).

I was inspired to make these because my daughter is kind of liking dinosaurs right now. They aren't her super favorite, but she really likes them. She even keeps saying she wants a dinosaur birthday party for her fifth birthday. We'll see how long that idea lasts since her birthday is quite a ways away. I wanted to see how these looked on a boy too, so my friend let her son help me out.

I took the pics on Sunday at church and they got so many compliments on their socks! I love how each of them ended up having a stuffed animal with them. It was one of those, let's hurry and grab some quick shots while I can picture taking times.

I was so focused on trying to capture the socks I didn't get a good one of the shirts! I used the smooth heat transfer material and my Silhouette Cameo to create the stegosaurus silhouette on their shirts. Then on my daughter's I embroidered a heart to match the hearts on her socks.

To make some stegosaurus socks you will need:
-One pair of knee high socks
-At least one piece of felt, more if using different colors

First start by making some stegosaurus spikes. I made mine to look more realistic. I tried triangles, but I liked this shape better. I just free handed one and used it as a pattern to do them all. You can search pictures of the dinosaur to get a good idea of how they look. You could even print out a pic off the internet and use one of the spikes as your pattern piece.

I ended up using 5 on each sock for my daughters and 6 on each sock for the boys.

Take the socks, turn them inside out, and cut right below the top down to right below the heel. I used manicure scissors because it stuck right through the sock and made cutting easy. There was a line from them being folded already there, so I just cut on that.

Then place the spikes to see how you would like them. Remember not to go too close to the heel because you want to leave room for the heel of the shoe.

Then place the spikes on the inside of where you cut, making the "spiky" end pointing in.

Pin each one in place.

Then sew down the opening and trim off any extra fabric or felt. Make sure to use a needle for knit fabrics and a long stitch to work well with the stretch of the sock.

Go back over the edge with a zig zag stitch for stability and to help keep the sock from unraveling. Repeat these steps for each sock. Then turn right side out.

Maybe even have a little sock puppet show with them? :)

A little more about the shirt....

I started by finding a stegosaurus silhouette (I chose the second one here). Then I opened it in the Silhouette program and used the trace and cut option to create the red line around it (that's where the machine will cut). Then I erased the image I originally opened and was left with outline for cutting. I then sent it to the machine and it cut it out of the smooth heat transfer material from here. If you don't have a silhouette, you could still cut it out by hand if you wanted. You could also just create a fabric silhouette and use some kind of fusible interfacing on the back to iron it on or even cut out a freezer paper stencil and paint it on with fabric paint. 

Then for my daughter's shirt, I embroidered a heart behind it. I had also thought about adding a bow to make it even more girly as well :)

December Giveaway Day!!!!!

Have I got some fabulous giveaways for all of you Happy Together readers this month! Make sure to head over to the Giveaway Day blog to enter all of them individually. How fun would it be to get an extra Christmas present this month by winning?


1. The Nothin' Like a Dame Dress from Shabby Apple

See here for details 

*Please note that this giveaway is only open for a week 

2. $50 Gift Certificate to La Posh Style

See here for details

3. Pair of Dangle Earrings from Ali Grace

See here for details

New to Me Vintage Jewelry

I have recently become the new owner to a lot of vintage and some new costume jewelry. It's a long story about how this happened, but I can say that I am so very excited about it.

There are so many lovely vintage pieces! I cannot wait to clean them up a bit and add them to my personal collection. I just adore vintage pins. You can use them in so many creative ways.

There were many pairs of earrings also. Some were missing the second earring and some are missing some jewels, but there are many I plan on wearing. The single ones will be perfect for crafts and I plan on repurposing many of these.

There are so many sparkly earrings! I love it :)

These are just some from a whole box full. I'm going to go through the necklaces and bracelets next. Be still my heart. Any other vintage jewelry lovers out there?

Sequin Sweatshirt DIY

Christmas is a go here at the Fediw household. We have decorated and are enjoying all that this time of the years brings. One thing that I am really loving right now is the over abundance of all things sparkly in the fashion departments. I know some might not like it, but I do love sparkles! 

Being a mom to two little ones though makes it kind of impractical to wear anything completely covered in sequins or other sparkly wear like that. Not only would it irritate my girls, who would feel uncomfortable when I held them, but I would feel a little restricted as well because I would want to take extra caution so no threads would come undone causing the outfit to "fall apart". So I made myself a comfy sort of sequined top to relish in the glitz yet still fit my life style.

Better yet? It took only $8 for me to create this top. And, no sewing required!

You will need:
-A sweatshirt or any shirt really (I found these plain ones at Target for $6)
-Coordinating Single Sequin trim (I bought two because they were half off and I didn't know how much I would need, but I only used some from one roll; these came from Hobby Lobby)
-Fabric Glue
-Scissors

I wanted the sweatshirt to not look quite so sweat shirty, so I first cut off the trim around the neckline. If you find the sweat shirt too baggy, try taking it in on the sides. Maybe even cut off the cuffs on the sleeves for a more relaxed look as well.

Then I grabbed the sequin trim and started playing around with a design until I found a way I liked it.

Then I put some fabric glue where I wanted the sequin trim to go. I would slowly do this, making sure not to have extra glue on the shirt. I suggest using a thin line to hold it down for less stiffness to occur from the dried glue. Also, if you are using a shirt that is a thin material, I suggest putting a plastic bag or something in the middle of the shirt so the glue doesn't seep through to the back of the shirt.

 I also suggest having some extra thread on the end at the start and finish of the trim.

To achieve this, just go to the end.....

and pull off one to two sequins so the thread is showing. 

Then once you are done gluing on your design, let it dry, and then trim off the extra threads on the end of the trim.

Deers for my Dear

There have been three sweet little deers that have been patiently waiting on a shelf in my office since February to be finished up. Yes, since February. Almost a year. After ignoring their calls to be finished, I finally did it. They are now complete.

These little misses were suppose to be for oldest daughter's Valentines last year, but morning sickness had the best of me. Now they get to be stocking stuffers. The cute and free pattern is found here.

I love the tininess that they are.

I know they are just elated to become a four year old's present. We shall see how long they last ;)

They are a great little project to whip up fast. You could even sew the entire thing by hand if you don't own a sewing machine. But even with sewing some of it, there is quite a bit of hand sewing involved.

It's a great way to use up fabric scraps as not much fabric is really needed for them.

Now they await again in the office on a shelf for Christmas. But this time they are complete.

"As the deer pants for streams of water,
   so my soul pants for you, my God." Psalm 42:1