Announcing...

'Mama Made It' has a new offering just in time for Christmas: Christmas Bow Ties for the Little Guys!

Even the most conservatively-dressing mother can handle a little whimsy in her child's wardrobe around Christmas. Perfect for your Christmas card photos, holiday parties, or just for fun, your little man will be the talk of the preschool (or nursery, or classroom!) with these bow ties.

They come on three sizes: Small (12-18 mos.), Medium (2t-3t), Large (4t-5t)

Use your child's clothing size as a judge - my son wears 2t clothes, and the size Medium ties looks right on him.

Patterns available are shown in the pictures below.

AND, if that's not enough excitement: I will be glad to make these for you for only $5 more! Visit my Etsy shop to see all the options. The DIY kits are still only $7.50 each.

Sweet boy:




















Three designs: (from L-R) Santa, Candy Canes, Snowmen + Penguins

Nonna Wreath

I had an hour on Saturday night all to myself, so I decided to tackle a craft project. Now, I sew, but I'm really not all that crafty, so this was kind of a fun challenge for me.

Emily Jones, over at jonesdesigncompany.com has a tutorial for a "Nonna wreath" (named for her mother in law, called "Nonna") that appealed to me the moment I saw it. So, after I remembered that huge piece of white felt I had stuck in the bottom of my fabric bin, I decided I had to try it. It was quite possibly the easiest craft project I've ever done.

She has a tutorial posted here: http://jonesdesigncompany.com/tutorial/nonna-wreath-tutorial/

Here is a picture of how mine turned out:

I haven't decided where I'm going to hang it, but since it's white I think it will transition perfectly from Christmas to plain-old-winter decorating.

Still there?

I mentioned recently to a friend who blogs how much I like her pace for posts - about 1 a week. Just enough to keep me interested, without overwhelming my inbox. So, when was I planning to listen to my own suggestion??

We've been up to a lot in the past - ahem - 6 weeks since I've blogged. I came down with a flu-like virus that knocked me out for a whole week. When I was 12, being sick for a week was awesome...no school, movies on the couch, and mom's chicken soup. When you're 26 and have a family to care for, being sick that long really stinks! So, there's week one.

Week two was spent catching up from week one. Week three included an overnight camping trip in the middle of the week, and weeks four and five were spent planning for the upcoming holidays in addition to regular household stuff. So, excuses, excuses, here we are. It's Thanksgiving week and I'm finally getting back in the swing of things.

I've got a couple Christmas-only offerings to post on my Etsy shop, so be sure to check it out! And, of course I'll be posting pictures here too.

Happy Thanksgiving in advance too!