Gnome Man's Land

Yep!  I'm THAT mom.  I sew outrageously tacky holiday dresses for my girls and even considered making a matching dress for myself.  Luckily, I decided against it.  On Halloween, Pyper and Raegan wore their spook-takular dresses all day, while anxiously awaiting my arrival home so we could go trick or treating!

 Pyper was getting ready for the cold weather (35 degrees, with misty rain and wind), while I got costumes ready...

 Itty played a little ditty...

 And I got them dressed.  Here are my little garden gnomes.  I made all the parts of the costumes except for the turtle necks.  The elf shoes were made out of felt and fit over their shoes like spats.  Their hats and capes are from a wool sweater I bought at the Goodwill for $3.50, and the cool vintage mushroom material, I bought at Jo-Ann's this summer.  Yep, that's how long I've been planning this...

 Each hat was made from the sweater's sleeves.  Of course, I had to push the cute factor a bit more and add felt pointy ears and white beards. 

 We stopped by the pharmacy to see daddy.  Pyper is rallying her buddies, Steven (Thor) and Hunter ( a pirate) to take cute pics.

Alma, our trusty technician, holds Itty Gnome.  It was one of the coldest Halloween's I can remember, and only made it to 4-5 houses before we headed to our church's Halloween party...INDOORS!  It was a blast though. 



Gone to the Dogs

The rescue where we adopted Naki, Imminent Danger German Shepherd Rescue, is having a drive for items they need.  Since Deb, the owner and lady that found us Naki, is so wonderful, we have decided to try to meet the needs of the rescue.  They need dog bowls, food, collars, leashes, toys, medicine, bleach and paper towels, and dog beds.  I love to sew, and I love saving money, so I started thinking of how I can donate dog beds in my tight budget.  They're expensive brand new at the store!!!  I had an old comforter that I've had for 5+ years that I washed and stored away.  I no longer was crazy about the pattern, and thought it would be good for camping.  SO, I got to thinking...scary when that happens!  I laid it out, and cut into fourths.  Perfect sized dog beds for large German Shepherds. 

 Itty wanted to inspect my work...

 Then Naki came along and made herself comfortable.

 I used a large zig-zag stitch on my sewing machine and sewed up the 2 raw sides being sure to sew down the batting.  Naki approved of my work!

 Hammish really liked it too.

Hannibal didn't want to be left out, and I found him trying it out.   These beds are bigger than I had anticipated, but can easily be folded to fit into a crate.  I just like knowing that precious rescued dogs will be enjoying them this winter!