Mabel's Mistake and Mabel's Success

"Mabel" made shirts for Lainey and Adria for tonight's Ward Christmas Party. She started this process last night after the kids were in bed. However, mid Christmas-Tree-Pattern-Creation Lainey showed up. "The hall light is off," she lamented. I scrambled to casually hide all the material, shirts, Christmas tree patterns, etc. that might give my Mabely secret away, but it was too late and I knew it. Butch assured me that Lainey did not notice any of my goings on so I continued forward and created some darn good shirts. (Hence "Mabel's success" . . . while I have high hopes that I can be crafty and creative it usually doesn't work out. Case in point: polo shirt, quiet book, sugar cookie {how can those possibly be so difficult?}, and the list goes on and on.)

So this morning when Lainey woke up she said, "Mommy, what were those Christmas trees that you were working on last night?" Darn her Lainey memory! A blessing and a curse. I assured Lainey that I had no idea what Christmas trees she was referring to. Schwhew--crisis averted . . . or so I hoped. Upon opening her Mabely envelope she disappointingly questioned, "Wait, did you make these Mommy?" My answer was that Mabely required just a bit of help--she's a very busy elf. Exasperated and not so sure she believed me Lainey responded, "Well okay, I guess."

Anyway here are pics of the shirts.


So EASY! The idea and directions for the shirt come from Amy @ The Idea Room. I don't know Amy but she is a winner, that's for sure . . . that's where the idea to do activities in the advent calendar, rather than candies, came from. (Mabel, however, is 100% mine!) I am proud to say that the buttons for ornaments and the earrings turned Star topper was all Mabel's idea . . . maybe there is some creative/crafty hope in her future after all! She's even thinking of making a second set of shirts with snowmen. (But first the many needle wounds from sewing buttons on have to heal . . . a needle up the fingernail is pretty painful and it gets blood all over the cute buttons. Good thing that one happened on the last button!)