Anna's Slippers

Love love love these slippers.  Used some cozy corduroy from an old pair of pants for the bottom and flannel on the inside.

• How to print your own fabric labels & carve your own stamps  TUTORIAL
• Buy the pattern for these slippers HERE from Winter Peach

Goodbye 2010, Hello 2011

Whooeee!  We have been busy lately!  We spent a wonderful Christmas in Virginia with Bryan's family and then we all came back this past Tuesday to get ready for my sister-in-law's wedding (yesterday).  And between all of the traveling and family festivities a lot of things have slipped my mind.  So it wasn't really until I was catching up around blog land this morning and saw some others' goals for the New Year that I started thinking about some of my own.

Most importantly, I want to keep working toward being the person I really want to be.  Unfortunately, part of the person that I am has always been pretty shy about a lot of things.  I can't tell you how many times in life I've liked some thing or wanted to be some way and the thought that always keeps me from having or doing or being those things is, "I don't think I can pull that off.  I don't think I'm cool enough."

But I've been working on this a little already and it's been empowering to realize for myself that I really can be the person I want to be.  And I'm happier when I'm that person.  Which isn't to say that I have to have cool things or be cool in order to be happy, but I'm happier when I'm true to myself.  So I'm learning to say, "I like that," even when nobody else does.  And I'm learning to tell myself, "It's okay to do this even though I haven't done it before."

Being the person I want to be encompasses a lot of things.  Here are a few specific goals for 2011:

• finish my weight loss goal and reach 120 pounds
• continue to study The Book of Mormon every day
• have preschool time with Olivia at least 3 times a week
• keep a clean and tidy home
• be more thoughtful of others

To remind myself of these goals and of my bigger goal to grow and change for the better, I made myself a little embroidery pattern (the image at the top of this post).  I want to stitch out a little something and find a way to remind myself of my goals as often as possible.

Also, in case any of you would like to do the same, here's a free printable of this embroidery pattern.  Just print it out, tape it onto a window, hold your fabric up to the image, trace the image with a fabric pen (the disappearing ink kind), and then stitch as desired.  Or you can always go the super easy route and just hold your fabric up to the computer screen and trace the image with a fabric pen that way.  :)

Here's the pattern:
"Be the Person You Want to Be" embroidery pattern by Katie Lewis copyright 2010 Notes From A Very Red Kitchen

Wishing you all the best in the coming year!

David's Leather Cuff

When my sister Kendra was teaching a leather bookbinding class last year, she--knowing my love of random scraps--gave me the leather leftovers from the class.  Yessssss.  :)  So, these scraps combined with some heavy duty snaps have made for some easy and awesome leather cuffs.  You can see the first couple I made HERE in an old shop announcement.  (Sorry, those cuffs are long gone.)  :) 

Oh, and since we didn't know whether David would really love it or not (16 year old boys who live on the other end of the country can be hard to guess sometimes), we added a little candy--you know--just in case.  :)

Soapy & JoJo's Dolls

• How to carve your own stamps and print your own fabric labels--tutorial HERE
• Ruby Lou doll pattern sold HERE (Note: This pattern is awesome, but doesn't include instructions for the little scarves.  I just kind of whipped those up.)

Chris' Bow Tie

Somewhere in my hand-written and picture files I have a tutorial for making these bow ties, but I haven't yet gotten around to posting it.  Maybe one of these days.  Until then, Chris gets a limited edition.  :)

A's Lunch Bag

This reusable lunch bag is made from one of Bryan's old polo shirts (not really "bad condition" old just kind of "always been too big so why did he even own it" old), some big buttons, black bias tape, and that liner stuff (for lack of a better term).  It was important that the lunch bag be red and black (a special request), but since this shirt in the to-be-cut-up-and-used-for-something-else-pile was the biggest piece of red fabric I had on hand, the lunch bag itself was rather flimsy.  I thought it could use a little more structure and that adding a waterproof layer couldn't hurt, so I added the button-in lining.  Hopefully now it'll be easy to use, but also easy to wash.

Oh and, just because, I made this super quick and easy little reusable snack bag out of one of the shirt sleeves.

It's not lined, but it'd be good for pretzels or something.  :)

Among my siblings (since there are so many of us) we draw names when it comes to giving gifts.  This year we had my sister's family and I kept joking that we got the family that kept adding family members the closer it got to Christmas.  :)  We made our list of what we were giving everyone for Christmas back in July so we could get started on all our projects.  We had things all settled on the list... and then my sister told us that she's pregnant.  (Yay!)  So we added a little something for their little girl on the way.  Then we had all of the gifts finished up... and found out that my sister and her husband are now foster parents to a girl with autism.  She told me we didn't have to send a gift for her, but my heart couldn't handle that.

I can't imagine--I mean I really, literally, cannot even imagine what it would be like to grow up in foster care, never having a solid home situation that you could count on for eternity (though I know my sister and her family will be a wonderful foster family).  And the thought of our box of presents arriving on their doorstep and everyone pulling packages out except for this sweet girl... doesn't it just break your heart?  Mine too.  So through a few quick conversations I tried to learn a little bit about what this girl might like to find under the tree on Christmas day.

I'll be the first to admit that this lunch bag looks perhaps a little too homemade.  And, though I tried to make it something she'll like and I hope she does like it, I don't mind if she doesn't love it or even if it never gets used.  More than anything, I just wanted her to open the gift from us and somehow have that help her know that Heavenly Father loves her and is aware of her just as much as He is of anyone else in this big world.  Because I truly believe that that is the best gift of all.