A Gelb Family Christmas

We spent Christmas in Hope at Sancho's parent's place. There was a little bit of snow here and there, and we managed to get a picture of the kids in it.

At Oma and Opa's church, 'O' got to be Joseph with his cousin being Mary. I think 'O' will be a good actor. He was told to look tired when walking up the aisle with Mary and donkey, and he was very convincing (not so much in this picture, but on the day, he acted the part).

'A' was an angel (notice the subtle halo in her hair), and was sporting her Christmas dress from Aunty Marina.

We went to public skate during the holidays. Sancho and Tey also took 'O' and the oldest 'N' cousin 4x4ing in the mountains, and managed to get stuck, of course. The kids loved this. Sancho and I had to go back to Abbotsford for the morning of Christmas Eve and the kids went swimming then, which I was sad to miss.

The Nativity Story on Christmas Eve.

Carol singing on Christmas Eve.

Christmas after the Move

We moved at the beginning of December back into our house in Langley. I was hoping to get everything unpacked that month, but honestly, in December? I ended up making Christmas decorating more of a priority than unpacking. 

Christmas at Home

We had a 'home family Christmas' with our 'adopted' family member, Marina. 

Santa Photo 2012

Christmas Tree Farm Visit

Colour Block Again

As you might have guessed, I have been a big fan of the colour blocking trend from the onset. I managed to get a very simple home decor project done in this fashion a few months ago, right before my sister came to visit (I love to use the arrival of guests as motivation to get projects around the house completed). I say this project was simple, but I repainted some on-hand flower pots that were glazed and, thus, painting them was a bit of a chore. I initially used a skin-tone color instead of the pink but it just wasn't right. I am happy with the final colour palette.

PR&P Sew Along Colour Blocked Dress

Grape, grapes, grapes!

This is our third year of of using the grapes in our yard for canning. And when I say 'our' I mean 'Sancho's.' He does most of the work. This year he majored in jelly and minored in grape juice. 

Over 70 jars of jelly. Wow! 

Felt food

A little gift for a sweet little someone....

O wanted to pose with it, but it isn't for him!

Project Run and Play Sew-Along

I'm itching to see if this dress even fits A (she is still sleeping). Once again, I had the last minute drive to make a project for this week's sew along. So, at 4pm on Thursday, I started cutting. After a break for cooking, eating, running errands, and putting kids to bed, I was back at the sewing. I didn't run into any troubles, but it still took me until almost midnight to finish this. I used a linen look fabric and the tutorial over at Calico. It was nice to just completely follow a tutorial for once. I have a lot to learn about making clothing, so I think I should stick mostly to patterns for awhile!

Project Run and Play: Fall Holiday Wear

I combined some patterns for this ensemble and added the skirt. The hood is from Anna Horner's Handmade Beginnings Baby-in-the-Hood jack. The top part of the dress is the Crossover Tee from Sew Liberated. The pants are made by tracing a pair of A's current leggings.

And I wanted to add a picture of my other cutie. I've got to sew some clothes for boys because 'O' is much better at posing for photos than 'A.'

Few.

There was little to like about the previous place that we lived (until June) from a decorating perspective, but I did enjoy this bathroom montage I quickly put together. The rest of the bathroom reminded me very much of the bathroom in my grandma's house while I was growing up  (in full 80's/early 90's design, pink floral tile, brown tub and toilet, and ornate brass hardware....oh yeah!).  

O's Rocket Party

Seriously, this is how excited he was when he saw the house that was all ready for his party. O spent the day with Oma and Opa, his aunty, and cousins. It was such a treat for me to be able to have the time to focus on getting the party ready. The least stressful party yet, I think.

Jet packs for each of the kids, idea from here. These worked out better than I could have imagined aside from the silver paint that I used (way too sparkly and not enough silver). Sancho put the bottles together with tie wraps, so they are never coming apart and the straps are screwed to the back (these bottles are made of thicker plastic than most). The flames, however, will have to be glued into the opening over and over again.

Favors. Idea from Martha Stewart.

Astronaut ID tags. The font that I used for NASA is Nasalization RG found here. 

Lunches on the left. This time I kept the food very simple. It was less work for me and less sweets for the kids likely made parents happy. The adults ate fajitas.

Please don't judge my planets. I know the order, sizes, and colors are all wrong. Planet idea taken from A Little Delightful.

This cake stand was a last minute project that was a long shot (inspired by Djeco, one of my favorite toy companies). And it worked! I was so stoked. I recently learned about the wonders of foamboard and a foamboard cutter. Less than 30 minutes, people! I'll share another project made with this sometime. Because I was short on time, I was not aiming  for anywhere near perfection; I was just glad the circle 'plates' fit in the rocket slots. This rocket will not likely make it to  another party, but it worked for the evening and I was pleased.

I was very excited to find the astronauts and rockets printable from Sarah Jane Studios. You can see them on the lunch boxes, cupcakes, and ID tags.

The kids who were first to arrive started off with a low key space puzzle that could be colored on.

This was another project that I couldn't get out of my head that came together on the last day. I saw this background on a  children's fashion shot on pinterest. Each of the kids had their picture taken in the astronaut suit with the background. No, I did not make the  astronaut suit; credit goes to Costco.

My littlest astronaut.

Early on in the party planning, Sancho said that he was going to make rockets with the kids. He built a fancy rocket launcher and somehow, with water and an air compressor, these bottle rockets launched to impressive heights!

The lunches. Burritos, cheese, carrots, and grapes. Oh, and a straw to launch the paper rocket glued on a stick (idea from here).

O has had a hard time understanding that he is actually not 4 for a few more days (we had to throw the party a few days early to work around Thanksgiving). I have given up trying to convince him that he is still three.