Hager Show Goat

In my previous life, I was the "VBS lady."  I ran our church's bible school for 10 years and had an entire generation of kids in our small town.  I met Macin when he was three.  This is the very first time I met him and he was super ticked that his mom left him at church.

Over the years, he grew to like me -- LOL.  He was always one of my favorites.  He's a year behind my daughter in school.  When we adopted Mariah in the 7th grade, I was at the school for the first time picking her up in the afternoon and I saw Macin's mom.  She asked me why I was there and I told her and she was so excited for us.  The next day, Macin walked up to Mariah and said, "Are you getting adopting by Mrs. Loveday?"  Mariah said she was and he said, "Well . . . you're lucky, because she's AMAZING!"

I'm sure he probably doesn't remember saying that, but I do.  On my worst parenting days when I thought I couldn't possibly get any lower, I'd hear Macin's voice say that in my head and remind myself that SOMEONE thought I was amazing.  And I think he's pretty amazing, too.  He's just one of those human beings who radiates joy.  It's impossible to be in this guy's presence and not smile.  Here we are at a Christmas wedding last year where I was singing and he was asked to dress as Santa:

We live in a small, rural community where lots of the kids are involved in 4H.  Macin raises and shows goats and and plans to be an auctioneer when he graduates in the spring.  Here he is doing what he is most passionate about:

He unveiled a logo for his goat business on Facebook and something made me immediately think I could work that into an ornament.  I didn't love the Carolyn DeAngelis goat pattern, so I did a little Googling and had Macin's mom send me a picture of his current show goat so I could get the color and markings correct.  I largely do ornaments for me, my kids, and close family friends, but every now and then I make one randomly for someone special.  This is the one I made for Macin this year and I hope he likes it.  

And in case you need to make a goat, here's the pattern:  

  

Wicked Collection

One thing Caleb and I love to do together is go to musicals.  Sometimes we convince Scott and/or Mariah to come along, but it's just as often the two of us.  I have something special like that with each of the kids.  Mariah and I like to order room service or go to the dine-in movie theater and Caleb and I see musicals.  One that we really loved was Wicked.

The set of Wizard of Oz ornaments I did several years ago is a set my kids battle over in the game of "Who Gets What When She Dies?"  I'd like my kids to remain close when I'm gone, so I'm trying my best to alleviate unnecessary competition.  I couldn't bear the thought of another set of the Oz ornaments because they were SOOOO labor intensive and I already made a second set for my sister.  Once we saw Wicked, I knew what I'd do.  I actually started these in 2017, but I wanted to wait to post them until I could share the entire set with you.  I made Glinda, Elphaba, Chistery, and an Ozian.  Caleb is about to die trying to figure out what the final one is.  He keeps guessing the Emerald City.  WRONG!!!  His set will now be complete and these will be on his tree this year.

Because the Oz ornaments were beaded and sequined, I did that for these two.  Again -- trying to avoid future family fractures.  These are ones I designed from scratch by adapting DeAngelis patterns and looking at lots of pictures online for inspiration.  I feel okay about sharing the patterns with you because I don't think I'm violating any copyrights.

Spa Girl Mariah

Mariah is planning to go to beauty school to become a nail tech and is into all things makeup and girly.  I happened upon this cute spa day clipart  that I thought would be an adorable ornament.  I've actually had it for a couple years and finally got around to making a pattern and ornament. 

I think the face mask is HIGH-LARIOUS!  And I just did little dots of paint for the nail polish.  Yes -- those individual polka dots are stitched down because I'm a martyr, but that's exactly what Mariah's little furry bathrobe looks like.  I even took my felt up and matched the color.  She's gonna love her!  



DISCLAIMERS:

In case anyone happens by and thinks I've stolen someone else's work or thinks I'm profiting from it:

• I purchased the clip-art.  I did not do a "right click/save as."
• I am not selling a pattern made from this clip-art.  I'm not even giving away a pattern made from this clip-art.  
• I am not selling ornaments made from this clip-art.  

Mama Sloth

Last year, I made these cute llamas for Caleb and Mariah because they have a llama thing.  I don't know why.  I bought the pattern on Etsy from a great shop called Maisie Moo Pattern Shop.  At the time, she was running some sort of BOGO sale, so I picked up another couple patterns that I thought were cute, but if I'm honest, didn't really have a plan for.  Earlier this fall, Mariah bought a pair of socks with sloths on them that she thought were the cutest things in the world.  That reminded me that one of the Maisie Moo patterns I bought was a mama sloth with her baby.  How convenient!

Her patterns are well priced, simple, and have great instructions.  This mama sloth turned out adorable and I know Mariah will love her.  

PLEASE NOTE:  I have never personally communicated with the pattern designer other than to order the pattern.  I didn't receive a free pattern for this post and I'm sure she doesn't even know this blog exists.  

Petunia

Millie was a skunk this year for Halloween.  I already made her the birthday party cake ornament for her first birthday, but there's no rule saying I can't make her more than one ornament a year -- right?  I knew the Carolyn Deangelis Petunia pattern would be perfect and it was.  Easy, too.  I did separate the tail and make it a separate piece, but it was smooth sailing other than that.   

Millie with her mom and dad

Petunia 

Village People

My kids LOVE the felt ornaments and with each passing year, they grow increasingly competitive and concerned about who will get what when I die.  I make specific ones just for them that they can take for their own trees, but the unspecified ones go on MY tree.  Lately, Caleb thinks if he comes up with an idea, that means the ornaments are his.  WRONG!  Those circus ornaments and me are in a "'til death do us part" relationship.

We were in a deep ornament discussion one day when Caleb said, "I like when you make sets.  It makes me feel like they're collectible."  (Did I mention my kids are weird?)  Then he said, "You should make the YMCA guys."  Or, The Village People, as us old folks like to call them.  I thought, "You know what?  I SHOULD!"  Challenge accepted.  I mean, let's face it  -- Carolyn DeAngelis already did part of the work with the cowboy and the sailor.  How hard could this be?  And I knew I wanted to use beads and sequins because, hello -- who's more flamboyant than The Village People?  I did Google an image for inspiration and when I found this, they practically made themselves:

I have the first three done and he'll get the remaining three next year.  I'm not gonna lie . . . it's gonna be hard for me to hand these over on Thanksgiving because they make me smile every time I look at them.  They're just hilarious.  I reworked the pattern for the cowboy and the sailor, so I'll include all three patterns with this post.  I'll warn you . . . as soon as you scroll down, you're gonna have "YMCA" stuck in your head for the rest of the day.  Sorry in advance.  

Al Ahoy

My youngest nephew, Zach, graduated high school and joined the Navy this year.  No problem picking an ornament for him!  Straight to Carolyn DeAngelis' pattern for Al Ahoy.  I added some stripes and changed the shape of the sleeve a little to mirror Zach's actual uniform.  I think he turned out great and I know Zach will love him!  

Zach and his mom/my sister, Jenny