A Handmade Christmas

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Some years, I am really great at rolling out the handmade, meaningful Christmas gifts, and other years, I just have less time.

Some years, time works against you.

This year, I made Eli's family their annual calendar. 

I designed and ordered it early early early. 

And it arrived in Yellowknife late late late. 

So, they will be in your mailboxes early 2012.

Sorry.

Now, also early early early, the girls are I were out shopping in the craft supply section, which is where we almost always end up.

They found large wooden letters.

Naturally, they found G and A,

but we already have a large G and A in their bedrooms (2010).

Last October (2010) they designed these button letters for their bedrooms. 

The girls loved doing this craft (2010).

So, at the store, they found N and P for Nanny and Papa and wanted to make them presents.

At home, I took out the acrylic paints, and the girls got to work. 

They made beautiful patterns on the letters. 

They had fun with the colours. 

But, eventually the girls were most satisfied in swirling the colours together. 

Proud painters. 

They covered the edges very well indeed.

The next day, when the paint was dry, we added some bling to the letters.

They are see-through "jewels" like those you might use in a fish tank or at the bottom of a glass vase for flowers.

In the mail, and especially-- I think-- due to the cold weather, some of the "jewels" fell off in the mail. 

Luckily, Papa has a glue gun and restored the letters to their intended state upon arrival in New Brunswick.

The girls each printed their names on the back.

Miss G put their ages.

I printed the year.

Now, Daddy's present is entirely different.

I totally took this idea from Pink and Green Mama's Back Massage T-Shirt idea.

But, of course, we put our own spin on it.

With the girls' guidance, I helped them to draw the basic structure of "Daddyville," and they did the colouring and additional artistic details (including the people... Daddy with Miss G and Mommy with Miss A), all with permanent fabric markers.

There are two lakes. 

The one at the top is the beach lake,

and the one at the bottom is Daddy's fishing lake (his car is parked there with his blue boat). 

Miss A wanted a jellyfish and a whale in the lake.

Our house in Daddyville is red with a star. 

This was Miss G's idea; she added the "shining" lines.

Nanny and Papa live in the green house, and Gramma and Grampum live in the yellow house.

There is a bridge over a river (like the Miramichi bridge), and footprints after the bridge to the trees.

There is a red school with a playground, and the chocolate egg store (our grocery store) with giant eggs on top.

There are big rocks at one end of the road, and two cul-de-sacs, like the court we live on now.

On the front, the girls put their hand prints with acrylic paint, and printed their names (the heart stickers are blocking that detail out).

Truly, Daddy love his girls' handmade t-shirts, and he wears them all the time.

He likes to show them off.

He put this one on right away, and Christmas evening, the girls gave Daddy his first back massage by driving cars along the roads in Daddyville.