Anna's "Santa" Hat

Anna did not want a traditional Santa hat. She picked out this yarn instead.  I enjoyed crocheting this while I was pumping at work.

Peg People Family and The Lakehouse

This year I really wanted to make some homemade gifts for my parents that actually meant something. With the birth of our second daughter, my parents have been helping us so much.  I wanted to make them something special.

When I was in seventh grade I had an amazing art teacher. One of our big projects was to use leftover wood and supplies from technology to make a model of something. I made our house out of leftover 2 by 4s and triangles.  It fell apart pretty quickly, but my dad and I have glued it back together many times, and it still makes an appearance under the tree each year.

My parents bought/built a new house about 12 years ago.  The Lakehouse really is a dream property on a lake.  I decided to make a wooden model of it.  I made a pattern and my husband cut it out of wood.  Then we glued it together and I painstakingly painted it.  I am a perfectionist, and this model is far from perfect. I'd like to believe that it's better than I would have done in seventh grade, but I am not sure.  However, my Dad got a little teary when he opened it.  Success!

I also got ambitious and decided to make my mom people for under the tree.  I found wooden peg people on Etsy from The Early American Shop.  This shop also sold snowmen and trees, which I made for each of my sisters and my husband's mother.  I painted 15 people, and it was a learning experience.  They turned out great.  I am not 100% satisfied, but content with them. My Mom loved them, and that is what mattered.