Embroidered Family Tree

I made this lovely family tree as a Christmas gift this year.  I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. 

I sketched out the names on a piece of paper (over and over again, to make it look just right), then traced the tree onto some muslin with a washable fabric pen.

Then, it was just a bunch of chain-stitches (and a handful of french knots to dot the i's).  I stitched the names of children in dark green and grandchildren in light green. 

After washing the fabric pen ink out, and ironing it, I framed it in an 8x10 frame.  I really love the end result.  And, the recipient of the gift loved it too, which makes me so happy!

Hot Cross Bun Printable Tag

My English great-grandmother made hot cross buns every Good Friday, as many do.  Because of this heritage of mine, I too began making hot cross buns each Good Friday.  It not only marks the occasion of Good Friday, it forges a bond between myself and my great-grandmother and our English heritage.  And, being a family history nerd, I like that connection.  :)

This year I discovered a lovely historical tradition regarding hot cross buns.  Apparently, those who share a hot cross bun are supposed to enjoy a strong friendship and bond for the next year. A line from an old rhyme captures this lore, "Half for you and half for me, between us two, good luck shall be." 

What a great tradition!  So, I thought I'd take a plate of hot cross buns over to a couple friends today.  And, of course, I needed a tag to go with it.  :)  So I whipped one up in photoshop.  I rather love it.  :)  

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/five-great-myths-about-hot-cross-buns-traditional-pre-easter-pastry-180951130/#li5ohzqpjlPrppBG.99
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Since I liked it so much, I thought I'd share it with you, dear blog reader.  Take your friends a plate of hot cross buns and share the friendship!

Teacher Gift

I just love how many easy, printable, gifts there are available on the internet these days.  It sure makes gift giving easy!  For teacher gifts on the last day of school, I used this adorable printable by eighteen25, along with an itunes gift card. 

I printed mine out on happy yellow cardstock (yellow is my favorite color!) that coordinated well with the green gift cards, and tied it all up in a pretty green bow!   Happy Summer!

Toddler Apron

I have several fun dresses on my mind that I want to sew soon. But, first, I've been taking a little bit of a break from sewing. Sewing on a deadline can take it out of you a little. :) So, I'm catching up on some stuff and spending more time with my family, both things that got just a little bit ignored during the SYTYCS competition.  :)  (In case you haven't heard...I was eliminated in round 3, only one vote short of making the top 3.  That I got that far with my little bitty blog here is pretty amazing, so thank you everyone for your support!). I hope to start a skirt on my to-sew list in the next week, though.

But, I'm getting a little tired of seeing my pretty yellow dress at the top of my blog. :) So, I thought I'd post about this cute apron I made my 2-year-old niece for Christmas.

I love that cute food fabric (from Walmart!) and how the blue broadcloth pulls out the blue in the waistband.  And, it was super simple. It's just a gathered rectangle attached to a waistband. It probably took me 20 minutes. Don't you love super-quick projects? Instant gratification! :)

Too Cute Tutu

I have two nieces with birthdays this week! I'm not doing a homemade item for niece number 1 (there are just not enough hours in the day to do homemade for everybody...), but I did make this cute little tutu for the other birthday girl.

Her mom is doing a "dress up box" theme for birthday gifts this year and this tutu is my contribution to the dress up box. It's not too often that this mom of boys gets to make something so frilly and foofy. :)  I didn't even have anywhere girly to display it for the picture, so it's hung from the very BOY shelf in my youngest's bedroom.  :)  Please ignore the light switch in the picture.  It's hard to find spots in the house to hang a hanger on that have good lighting!

I just did the simple tutu where you loop lengths of spooled tulle around an elastic waistband.  It's nothing special, and I don't even have a source to link to, since this idea is so pervasive on the internet right now.  I've seen it a hundred different places.

I think it's cute, even if it's red and blue, not a more "fairy-like" color.  I think my soon to be 2 year old niece will like it, at least I hope she does!

Wedding Gift Idea: Family Home Evening in a Box

Are you tired of hearing about the wedding yet?  Just one last wedding-related post...  My brother-in-law and his bride were pretty well set up with household items, so I had an opportunity to get a little creative with their wedding gift.

My church encourages families to have an evening at home with their family each Monday, where they learn and have fun with their families.  It's called Family Home Evening, and usually includes a lesson, music, activity, prayer, and a treat. 

When my husband and I got married, I found it a little hard to do Family Home Evening with just the two of us.  One usually thinks of Family Home Evening as something you do with kids.  But, all families (even newlyweds or retired couples) are supposed to do it.  Years later, I came across this book:

It's called Family Home Evening For Newlyweds, and has a bunch of lessons that work for just two people, specifically a newly married couple.  It was exactly what I had needed as a newlywed.  But, of course, by the time I found it, as a mom of twins, I no longer needed it.  But, I thought it was a great idea and started occasionally giving it as a wedding gift. 

This time around, when giving this book as a gift, I made it into a little kit of sorts, a Family Home Evening in a box. 

I got a cute sweater box from Target and filled it with the Family Home Evening for Newlyweds book (the lesson), a board game (the activity), and a mix to make a treat with.  Then, I tied it up with a pretty bow.  The box was so pretty, I didn't even need to wrap it!

Teacher Gifts

Where are these mythical lazy summer days I keep hearing about?  They're certainly not at my house.  It's busy busy busy over here.  With last day of school festivities, houseguests, a wedding, making what feels like zillions of scripture totes for Girl's Camp, hosting book club, as well as normal daily life, I could use a breather!  So, it's no surprise that posting has been a little light here on Jengerbread Creations. 

But, I have a little craft to hold you over until things settle down a bit over here: This year's teachers gifts for my kids' teachers.  I usually just do the gift card thing, but with so many cute ideas out there, I wanted to jazz it up just a little bit. 

 

Isn't this pencil bundle cute?!  I love buying school supplies.  The adorable little notes are from No Fuss Fabulous.  And, I still included the Target gift cards I usually do (the gift card is strung on the ribbon right behind the notecard), since I know how much teachers appreciate gift cards!