My Dears,
This year we tried to do a few gifts for Ben that we crafted ourselves.
My first project was a little owl ornament made out of felt. 
This guy was pretty easy and I made him from scraps of fabric that I had laying about the sewing room. I deviated a bit from the tutorial and added some wire legs/feet that I wrapped in thread.
I also tried to personalize it with 'Ben 2011" but my stitching is a bit on the crooked side. Eh, it's the thought that counts, right?!
The next one is the ornament that Chris made for Benjamin and I love it. It's the base of our Christmas tree, sanded and stained. Simple but beautiful, yes? We need to figure out a way to add a "Ben 2011" to this one as well.
We actually have the base of the Christmas tree that we got in our first place together... back in 2003. It's our first 'joint' ornament. But it's hacked off and rough. I think Chris should give it the same treatment that he gave to Ben's.
Following my owl ornament creation, I decided to do a stuffed animal using the same template. Just in a jumbo size. I also modified the wings, beak, and legs so he can stand on his own.
He's about a foot tall and has wings that can 'flap'.
So far Ben has showed zero interest in him. Which I suppose is ok. I spent so much time on it that I'm loathe for him to get grubby.
I think I mentioned earlier that I tried my hand at a few hats this year. This is a simple flannel elf hat that I made up as I went along. It's a bit big for the pin-headed wee one:
This is one that I crocheted and then lined with the same flannel as above. It's been a while since I've crocheted a hat (since 2002) and frankly, it's not my best effort. Chris calls it the condom hat and well...that's not exactly an inaccurate description. I guess it won't fit him long anyway.
And last but not least [and though this doesn't qualify as handmade], we put together a 2011 photo album, arranged by month. You know me: I love making these. It was so much fun to go through all our pictures from the year and assemble in a little book.
I've kept the size the same as the others [8x8] which is a good size: easy to fit on a bookshelf and small enough for little kids to handle. Here is the spine:
Probably my favorite page - The Month of June
October was pretty good too.
I don't add much in the way of text, just little tidbits to remind us of the events.
I'd like to do one every year. We'll see if that happens.
I'm not so good about putting hard copies of pictures into albums anymore but I find that I'm happy to spend hours assembling these books online. Getting the printed version in the mail is just the icing on the cake.
The great thing is that it's possible to create several versions that are uniquely tailored to the recipient. I sent similar but slightly different editions to our parents.
And that, my dears, is what we did for Christmas. I am looking forward to the New Year and all the crafty projects that are on the horizon. But first I have to do a major cleanup of the craft room - it looks like a tornado went through in there.
xxoo,
Sonja
