Crafty Christmas

I always enjoy creating gifts for loved ones, and this Christmas I was not alone.  Dandelionslayer was reminiscing about a soap-carving project of his childhood, and suddenly all the boys wanted to try it.  Here are the results:  a bear, a whale, an ornament, a tree, and a Viking longboat, ready to be sent to unsuspecting cousins.  I scooped up the shavings to sculpt some snowmen for the grandparents.  It was fun!

I wanted to add some cute washcloths to go with the carvings, but I couldn't find anything suitable at a Popular Retailer.  So I bought some plain ones and added cute initials myself.

These pajamas have a similar story.  I wanted to make the Caterpillar some pajamas that were cute, but not cutesy.  He likes owls, which are popular now.  But I could not find any owl-print flannel in manly colors.  So I used red, and made my own owl to add.  Which suits our little night owl just fine.

I crocheted these hats using the Charleston Cloche pattern.  I'm sorry you can't see the texture.  It was a bit tricky at first, but fun once I'd figured it out.

My inspiration for these silhouette ornaments came from this tutorial, though I went about things a little differently.  I entrusted the silhouette drawing to a professional, Kaya, who did a wonderful job.  Don't they look just like the boys? 

With such lovely silhouette files at my disposal, I had to create something else.  I used them to design matching sweatshirts for the boys.  When Dandelionslayer brought the older three to the hospital to meet D2 for the first time, he helped them compose a welcoming song.  The end of that particular tear-jerker was "Four wonder-brothers we shall be."  They may call themselves, or each other, different names, but I still think they're a wonder.  The shirts are, mostly, too large, so they may never wear them together again, but this band of brothers will stick together.  What a great gift they are!