Even More Christmas Crafting

In a post-move, pre-Christmas bout of apparent insanity I decided that I really needed to sew two five foot long piped cushion covers for the benches in our playroom.  After all, it looked so easy on that tutorial I found on Pinterest--how long could they possibly take to make with all of those child-free moments I have throughout each day?

Well, a week, several bandaged fingers and one semi-tearful meltdown in which I would have quit had I not already bought the cushion foam (so unexpectedly expensive!) later and they are finished.  Not photographed mind you, but finished.  I do think they were worth the effort, although if I had waited until after Christmas to do them it would have been a much more enjoyable project.  And also, you can all expect my Christmas cards to arrive late since writing heartfelt notes to all our friends and family took a backseat to my crazy this year. 

As per usual, David wanted to do what I was doing and, as I was not about to turn over my sewing machine when I was so determined to finish my own project, I set him up with a little sewing project himself.  I cut a quick felt tree out and tacked it down to some fabric scrap I had (painter's tarp?) and set him up with our handy jar-o-beads and he was off.

He literally spent hours picking out just the right beads and buttons and sewing them all on in just the right spot.

I think it turned out pretty cute, even if he did disregard all my suggestions for more colorful bead choices in favor of more black buttons.....it was his artistic vision after all :)

(The blue stripes are a peek at the cushion fabric--I used an old twin duvet cover for this project which just goes to show you that, contrary to my dear husband's belief, I'm not crazy for hoarding saving all the random bits and pieces of 'perfectly good' fabric that flow through our home.)

Now that I've got my major (and fairly unnecessary) projects completed I can get my focus back on preparing for Christmas.  I've got some major baking, house cleaning and yes--Christmas card writing to finish....okay begin....but then finish.

And in case you were wondering, it seems that the dinosaurs have not impeded Mary and Joseph's journey to the manger after all.  In fact, they appear to be helping :)