Birthdays, Bitty Blocks and Hummingbird Ornaments...

My mother turned 91 yesterday!  She and my Dad live about 10 miles from our house, in a patio home at a retirement center.  It's close to a few stores and she can walk over and get groceries and prescriptions, hardware, sandwiches, etc, very convenient for them.  Anyway, I thought I would show her off a little, Mum is a fun lady and always good for some laughs.  Pops takes real good care of her, too, which is just great.  We took her a few presents but didn't stay long as she had an appt at the doctor's for a minor thing.  Isn't she CUTE?!  We call her The Mumster.

 My friend Gayla had her annual ornament party this past Tuesday, another fun successful swap of ornaments and stories and ideas, it was a great evening!  These are the ornaments from this year-

 

 They are all so cute and fun and different.  It's always fun to find out what your friends have been making and Gayla throws the best stinkin' parties!  All the food was delish and the girls were all so much fun, and you can see for yourself how cute the ornies are!  One can even be worn as a bracelet, the blue wire one, how cool is THAT?  And the ball of yarn with the needles, love that, too.  Actually, I'm thrilled with them all, what a nice assortment!

 While I was in TX recently, 2 of my friends (Jennifer and Lisa) and I made these little hummingbird ornaments.  They are made with peanuts and are from a Birds and Blooms pattern.  We think they came out even cuter than the pattern.  :)  We made lots of extras so we could all have some to hand out to our friends.  Because of the fun shapes of peanuts, they all turned out different, all 45 of them!  And we changed them a bit- We used red nail polish for their throats and then added some glitter to them, and used shiny ribbon for the wings instead of tulle or netting.  And black beaks.  They were fun and easy to make and everyone that has seen them, has liked them. 

Oh, look!  Bitty Blocks!  LOL  The theme was winter and I made icy thermometers and cardinals.  The red part of the thermometer is red plastic from a container lid. 

I forgot to get a group photo of the cardinals, rats! 

So that's what I've been doing- I hope you all are ready for the holidays and have a safe and happy one!

The Ornament Party and Exchange 2010

I'm a little late showing off the "take" from this years ornament party.  24 women are involved, typically, and we all make and bring 24 ornaments to exchange.  We also bring good food and eat first.  After we're done eating, we do the exchange, play a couple of games and draw for a few door prizes.  We always have a wonderful time at our friend Gayla's beautifully decorated, comfortable home.  

This year, one lady crocheted us all a potholder/hotpad that looks like a reindeer head!  Incredible and so much work!

 

 All the others were actual ornaments, made from wood, wire, paper buttons, feathers, crystals, wool, communion cups, yarn, etc.  One of my favorites is from our newest member and she made these darling tiny cupcakes out of clay, they each have a tiny cherry on top that rides up and down its little stem. 

 See how precious it is?  

 

I made little reindeer bags, an original pattern but inspired by some tiny wool bags I saw on Flickr.  So tiny that I was just able to slip a Dove Promise piece into each one to give it some heft.  

 I used felted wool from a local shop, it's a pretty brown that has several other colors woven into it, like green, red, gold and blue.  The black eyes and glittery red nose are brads from the scrapbooking dept at the store.  Chenille stems for handles and the ears slide onto them.  I had the tiny wired holly. 

The girls seemed to like them.  We had a wonderful time, a few women weren't able to come so we had a smaller, more intimate crowd and that was actually nice because we were able to visit better, it was a little quieter.  Lots of laughs, though!  Another great party at Gayla's and I already think I know what I'm going to make for next December.  :)  Not telling, though!