Merry Christmas!!

Although Louisville was disappointing in Football, we have high hopes for basketball. Britton's mom got us tickets a few weeks ago. We had a blast. I love college sports.
Here is our "family" Christmas eve photo. Don't we look festive!? :) Hope you all had a blessed holiday. It was hard being away from Colorado for the first time, but my family made a huge effort and was super generous making me feel loved and special. Britton was super thoughtful too!

One of my favorite Karpenske traditions is fireworks on Christmas Eve! I think I am the only Karpenske who really cares about this tradition anymore, but it is unique and one of my favorites. When we were in TN last weekend Britton was thinking ahead and being wonderful and got fountains and sparklers for us to continue one of my favorite traditions. :) We had fun!
We also read "The Best Christmas Pagent Ever" which is amazing and wonderful.
I hope you all enjoyed time with family and friends and had a wonderful holiday! Merry Merry Christmas!

christmas crafts!

I tried to make most of my gifts this year. My sisters are still in progress... but they got cute frames I made with a pic of us from my rehearsal dinner. They turned out cute and I printed a picture for me, so I'll have to make myself one eventually. I made my in-laws a frame with their dog- They LOVE their dog.
For my grandmother I made a card keeper book. I started from scratch and it was a more intense project than I thought, but I think she really liked it and will find it useful. I started with file folders and turned each into a pocket page (I cut the top 1/2 of the front page off and taped the bottom to the back and bottom to create a pocket.) Then I scrapbooked each page for the month. I collected all the family birthdays and listed them for each month (with space to add more). Now she can keep track of her cards and who she has purchased cards for already etc. There are cards for every month and then extra pockets for congratulations cards, encouragement cards, condolence cards, congratulations cards, and baby cards. (I am not posting all, just my favorites)I made Holly and Lindsey's presents too. I don't have pictures of Holly's yet (I'll add them later with pictures of the presents for Britton's friends). For Lindsey I made her wall art using 5x5 canvases. I used my favorite 2008 trick- freezer paper and stenciled her name using different fonts. The fabrics I used match her bed spread. When she gets them hung up I'll post another pic. They had been in my head for awhile so it was fun to see it turn out great. I think next time I will try to remember to stencil before I staple the fabric on the canvas. (It's hard to iron the stencil onto the canvases. I am quite proud of my 2008 resolution success- to craft more :) My inlaws got me a new Singer for Christmas and I have a list of WIP, so 2009 looks good too!

Catching up...

I have been teaching a lot lately. Which is great! but wears me out! I have also been having a life and Christmas crafting in my spare time (still working on some- sorry sisters :) It will take a few posts to catch you up! I did win a subscription to Better Homes and Gardens (or BHG). I am thrilled!!! Thank you so much to Bonnie from Quiltville! She is so friendly and generous. I love reading her blog and can't believe I won. I love BHG and haven't had a subscription for a few years.
I had 4 pre-christmas birthdays. People need to pop kids out in Nov. or Jan. so Dec. is not so crowded with presents :).
I made coffee sleeves for my coffee drinkers... Brianna, Alex, and Melanie. Alex had his monogram which I handstiched and turned out pretty cool. (I had to make it tough and not girly.) Melanie's had a button closure which was also a first. I was happy with how they turned out. I forgot to topstitch around the outside on this batch. Nobody cares but me, but I think it does help it to look more finished- so I'd better remember next time! :)
Kameron prefers wine to coffee :) so she got cloth napkins to match her adorable robins egg blue kitchen accessories. I had gotten the plain white napkins on clearance at Target. I love Target! I had been plotting this for awhile. I had seen MODA stuff with a really cute trim, I thought I could replicate it. (These are the inspiration) I made bias tape and stitched it closed and then created the trim. I turned out really cute! I am excited to make more and on the lookout for cheap cloth napkins... (or I could make some if I wasn't perfectionist/lazy.... :) I'll work my way up to that.
We had a wonderful time celebrating with our friends!
I also made a housewarming gift for the hostess (Alex's mom) It is a pillar candle with ribbon and their monogram. It turned out really cute and was super easy. I need to keep the supplies on hand for easy hostess gifts.

Karpenske Elfs!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

baby blankets

I finished 2.5 baby blankets last week. One is for a girl using yarn I had.. I think I know who this one is for. :) and one is for some good family friends who are having a boy and due at the end of this week! He is their first and his name is Westin. His nursery is baby blue and chocolate. I found this light brown yarn with blue specks called tweed and bordered them with a dark brown yarn. It's small but the yarn is awesome. I hope I get it mailed this week.

Thanksgiving....

My pies turned out super yummy!! Here they are in their glory.Coconut Cream


Pumpkin (I made 2 and am enjoying the leftovers!!)
Apple
Apple Tart
Nantucket (Cranberry and walnut, it was awesome!)

Here is Britton's cousin Aaron helping me get the pie off the fridge where I'd stashed it. He's one of my favorite new relatives!Here are Aaron's sister Casey, me, and my SIL Lindsey. Hope you had a lovely weekend! It took me a long time to post- gotta love thanskgiving weekend working retail :)