I've finally given in and have started taking down all the holiday decor.  Fortunately, several of my decorated areas are more seasonal that Christmas specific, so I can enjoy my snowmen and the Dickens Village a while longer.  The Village itself doesn't usually get packed away until the snow has melted, since it is such a huge undertaking.  I think I am reluctant to say goodbye to the holidays this year because I had so much fun making them extra special this year with homemade gifts.  Many of you had commented on the scarcity of my posts this fall (thank you for missing them!) but between other writing that I was committed to and Christmas crafting my time was stretched pretty thin.  Now that all the gifts have been opened, I thought you might enjoy seeing what all my Grandma crafting time was spent on, plus a few fall projects.

New fall pillow covers for my family room sofa and loveseat...I made four of them.  Now I need to make spring ones!

I had such fun finding just the right volleyball fabric for this sweet little mug rug!  I sent this to my niece during her first semester of college.  Sometimes a warm cup of tea or cocoa can help with those first pangs of homesickness!

 

I couldn't wait to knit this sweet little giraffe cap for Madison!  Paired with a giraffe book, it was such a fun gift to give!

When my husband and I visited Iowa in August I found this cute Advent calendar panel at a fabric store.  November found me frantically trying to finish it up before December 1st so that Lily could have fun hanging an ornament each day leading up to Christmas.

 
And once the fall projects and Advent calendar were finished, Thanksgiving dinner cooked, and the house and tree decorated for the holidays, it was time to start the Grandma gifts with a Dec. 25 deadline looming!!  

First up...knowing that Miss Lily loves to dance along to Step in Time from Mary Poppins, a MP pillow seemed in order.  I found the MP fabric online, and then centered it on a pillow cover I made from musical fabric.  I kept humming the lines from Feed the Birds, picturing Mary Poppins singing it while putting the children to bed, and I hope that  Lily can drift off to sleep just as sweetly with this pillow.

I forgot to take a picture when the pillow was completely finished - I used purple felt flower "buttons" at each corner of the ribbon square to finish off the pillow.  I loved how soft the felt buttons were and knew they wouldn't create a choking hazard.  Also, purple is Lily's favorite color.  At least it was, things change so fast when you are two!

That's enough show and tell for today.  I'll be back on Monday with, as Paul Harvey was fond of saying, the rest of the story!  Or more correctly, the rest of the Grandma gifts.  I'm sure the elves were busy at the North Pole, but honestly, some nights I think I matched them in my zeal to finish before Christmas Eve!  

Have a lovely weekend!