The Christmas preparations start today! At a minimum, it's time to get some ideas flowing.

Definitely on my list this year is the Fabric Dollhouse, by Lil'D a UK Lass in US.  Her blog is fantastic, and it's a great place to learn all sorts of crafty things, as well as English (UK) expressions that are fun to work into every day conversation.  Cream crackered is right now my favorite.  

This gratitude wrap from Amanda (tutorial here) is also on my gift list. I'm thinking this would be a great gift for anyone who enjoys letter writing, including a younger child who is just learning the art of thank you notes.  It is a neat little wrap that holds letter-writing supplies, including stamps, in one little place. The idea is that you can keep it with you and write notes to loved ones as they come to mind. At least, that's what I'm thinking I would use it for. 

And these...I'm thinking a great gift for the grandparents! Who wouldn't want little hands memorialized on their walls? You could do a whole family of hands. This idea is from Just a Girl, a great blog that I discovered via Today's Creative Blog.

This would be the start of the Stripe-y Patchwork Cat.  He has a tail!  The tutorial didn't say to stuff the tail, so I didn't. I played around with it a little bit and decided the stuffing in the tail looked a little weird. Maybe that's why the tutorial didn't tell me to stuff it.

The cat doesn't yet have a face, but it will soon. This tutorial was super easy! And you know I've become a bit obsessed with the patchwork projects lately. This was fun! I bought this fabric (the three flowered fabrics, anyway) from Joann's last winter. I used them to make a fabric bunting for my sister's baby shower.  You'll notice that I tend to buy yards and yards of a fabric that I like.  You wouldn't believe how much of this fabric I had left over from the bunting.  I probably bought two yards each...a little bit of overkill.  I thought I'd make more accessories and things for the baby, but I haven't exactly gotten around to it yet.  Maybe for Christmas?!!

Here's the full shot of the unfinished cat sitting in Mr. Plaid's chair (Mr. Plaid is allergic to cats, and also gets annoyed when I leave my sewing projects strewn about his work area).   The cat's not yet stuffed...that's the interfacing keeping him standing.  I think he'll be quite charming when finished. And probably not a "he" at all, given his feminine colors.

I loved this tutorial because it came together so quickly (well, so far, anyway. I'm not looking forward to hand stitching the bottom).  I'm thinking of adding these to my Christmas list. I'm sure I know at least a couple of children who would love a Stipe-y Patchwork Cat. Don't you?!

This guy could be yours! Or yours to give as a holiday gift to your favorite child/cat lover.  All you need to do is leave a comment on this post before next Wednesday and you'll be entered into a random drawing to win this cat. I'll even finish him first.

Yes, September is nearly upon us, and the stores have begun the transformation...time to start thinking about Christmas.  Before I was a crafty person, I rejected the notion that we had to think about Christmas before fall even arrived.  I groaned as the stores moved in Christmas decorations earlier and earlier each year. I was appalled at the idea of Christmas music in November (yes, even November was too early for me).

But now, I get it.  This is a crazy holiday, friends.  Last year, I waited until December to start working on my handmade holiday gifts. Frankly, I just wasn't in the Christmas mood during November. I hosted Thanksgiving, and I was busy!  By the time I was in the Christmas mood, I didn't want to engaged in a frantic sewing marathon.  I wanted to enjoy the softer, traditional Christmas activities.

I wanted to see the Way of Lights, ride the camels, drink hot cocoa and eat kettle corn. 

I wanted to hunt for the perfect Christmas tree,  

Haul out the decorations (you thought I was going to say holly), light up the house.

I wanted to stroll around the mall and window shop. I wanted to watch Christmas movies. I wanted to bake cookies and decorate gingerbread houses.

I wanted to sew, too, but in a leisurely way. I didn't enjoy the stress to "just get it done."  I wanted to mosey, while watching Christmas memories unfold outside my window.

In order to make time for such things, I am beginning the Christmas crafting early this year. Do it with me!

I won't pretend I've thought of this on my own.  A few days ago, I stumbled upon Organized Christmas.  It's an amazing site, with all sorts of tips to walk you through getting ready for the holidays.  You can find some great tools--I've only just started exploring the site, but have already downloaded the "Gifts to Make" planning sheet and the "What's in the Gift Closet" list. 

Over the next few weeks, I'll share my Christmas ideas and reveal the things on my list.  I'm hoping there will even be some sneak peeks as things get finished (fingers crossed that things get finished).  I might have to be a bit secretive, because some of the recipients might occassionally read my blog (*cough* mom, dad *cough*).  

Of course, I won't be handcrafting it all myself.  The wonderful world of Etsy will most certainly supply a gift or two.  

Yes, I said patchwork cat.  As in, the Stipe-y Patchwork Cat tutorial from Green Kitchen.

Perhaps you saw this cute little cat on last year's Handmade Holidays over at Sew, Mama, Sew.  I did, and I wanted to make it last year. But, as usually happens around Christmas, I ran out of time (and energy).

Which, of course, is the purpose of Throwback Thursday! Now we can work on this cute little cat before all of the new holiday tutorials start hitting Blogland (and we all know it's going to happen...soon!)  Seriously, it's not too early to start thinking about Christmas presents, especially if you're planning to give handmade ones.  These things take time.

Find the tutorial here.  

If you're not interested in making your own, I'm a little partial to this cute little pet family from Tiddlywinks. 

Or this sweet Opal the Kitten from Bit of Whimsy.

Otherwise, you can keep your fingers crossed and enter to win the Patchwork Cat next week on Win-It Wednesday. 

As I mentioned, the Kindergartener started a new school this year.  It's a good school, where she has many friends and wonderful teachers.  However, we hesitated for a very, very long time before deciding to enroll her, and the number one reason for our hesitation was the "uniform dress" policy.

For the past three years (since she was about two), we've allowed our daughter to express her own creativity through her clothing.  She takes great pride in choosing her clothes (right down to the socks) and dressing herself.  She's worn Halloween socks at Easter, Christmas socks in the middle of summer, and dress shoes with shorts.

I know there are moms who would rather gnaw off their own fingers than have their children seen like this in public. I am clearly not one of those moms. 

Nonetheless, we're now attending the uniform dress school.  Granted, it's a little more flexible than a true uniform, because the kids can choose any solid-colored collared shirt, and they can choose from three colors of pants/shorts/skirts/dresses.  But I've spent the last couple of weeks explaining what a "solid color" is.   ("Yes, honey, pink is a solid color.")  To a girl who regularly mixes stripes and plaids with polka dots, it's a tricky concept. 

But the point of this whole post is this: I can no longer get excited about sewing. I'm having a horrible time looking at fabric and appreciating it. I can't even invision the wonderful things that could be made from it. Because right now, I can only think about solid colors. It's killing me. The navy, khaki and black are literally sucking me dry.

Even when I think about sewing, all I can think about it how to make a fun dress that won't get my daughter kicked out of Kindergarten.

The youngest turns two in just under a month, so my online idea shopping is in full swing!  Unlike the Kindergartner, the two-year old loves baby dolls.  I'm over the moon with excitement, because I love buying baby dolls.

The current plan is to have Mr. Plaid make a doll cradle, and I'll make some bedding for it. I really like this cradle from Posie's Boutique, but it's vintage and that freaks me out just a little. For playthings, anyway. 

I'm hoping to make a little doll quilt. I've seen them all over the place, and I absolutely love them! 

I love this quilt from Becka Rahn.  I'm thinking, though, that I would appreciate the quilt more than the birthday girl would...

You wouldn't believe the number of Cookie Monster diapers that get wasted around here because they wind up on baby dolls. I love these little doll diapers with the velcro closures, available from Beaded Socks. Easy for the Two Year Old to do it herself, instead of yelling "I do it!!" at me a million times.

In a perfect world, I'd buy one of Hillary's patterns and make Olive and Archie.   As evidenced by the last few weeks, I'm clearly not living in a perfect world!

These dolls from Lil Sprinkles are the next best thing.

Everytime I try to do a little doll shopping on Etsy, I'm freaked out. I seriously just cannot get behind the Reborn Dolls.  Maybe it's because I'm not a doll collector or an artist. I can appreciate the art behind them, and it sounds like a fun project. But the dolls are eerily real, yet with old man creepy hair. 

I'm officially late on at least three gifts (sorry loved ones!), there are at least four phone calls I was supposed to return a week ago, I'm behind schedule planning our MOPS Kick-Off Carnival, and several other areas of my Mom world have fallen into disrepair.  And you, too, have been neglected.  Big apologies! Thanks for hanging in there, though, and I think we're officially back to normal. Or as close to normal as it gets around here. 

School is officially underway.  No tears were shed by the Kindergartener, and I wish I could say the same of myself.  I've found that the few morning hours provided by kindergarten actually leave little time for anything productive to happen around the house.  We'll be working on that over the next week or so.  I'm thinking some quiet reading time will be instituted, just to give everyone a chance to think.

I did have a chance to make more bread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. They're not kidding about this bread. It really is nearly artisan, and it really does take only five minutes (of hands-on time) each day. I read the amazon reviews, and I think some of the comments are funny.  People seemed to quarrel with the "five minute" aspect of the title.  Really?! Obviously that figure doesn't include rising time, but it was pretty true that I mixed up a batch super quickly, kept it in the fridge, and on baking day was able to shape it and have it ready for the oven--usually in less than five minutes.

I heart warm bread. 

I'm so hooked on the book, that my sister-in-law (one of the overdue gifts that is no longer overdue) received a copy of the book for her birthday this week.

I still owe Grandma a birthday gift (can you imagine the guilt?!) and a return phone call. 

Turns out that Grandma is not easy to shop for, not even on Etsy.  What do you buy a practical 85 year old?  Melamine divided plates? 

Who doesn't need a good robe? I like the colors on this one from Disrobe. And the big flower is fun.

When Mr. Plaid and I first met, he liked to mock my habit of giving candles for most occassions.  What can I say, it's an easy, practical gift.

Seriously...what do you give the grandma who has everything?! 

 A set of vintage garden water faucet knobs?