I’m starting mine: cookies, cards, menus, gifts. I plan on making (and doing) much less this year than I have in the past, but somehow my lists are long anyway. There are always so many new cookies I want to make:

• I’ve always wanted to try these christmas rainbow cookies.
• these pistachio sandwich cookies look like a royal pain in the ass to make, but they also look freakin delicious.
• I think super crispy gingerbread men sandwiched together with chocolate ganache would be good, do you think?
• alfajores are definitely on the list this year (looks like sandwich cookies are the theme this year)
• I’ve never made lebekuchen, but I do love it.
• these mexican hot chocolate cookies look simple and really good.
• I could go on and on

Martha somehow roped me in to buying another one of her christmas cookies magazines. And now the list is even longer and it might even have “make cookies that look like little mice” on it. Shesh. This is sort of why I shy away from making lists–I know there are so many of you out there that love them.  Mine start out small (laundry, post office) and then quickly get grandiose and undoable (paint the house, rip out kitchen counter). And then when only a few things get crossed off the list I feel awful and lazy and guilty (and, oddly, like the list is watching me).

Enough of my guilt ridden midwesterness. I thought I’d share a few simple ideas from the archives for the holidays. The picture is from a few years ago when I realized I didn’t have any thanksgiving decorations, so I slapped together this project. Two years later I still don’t have any thanksgiving decorations and clementines on the mantel have become a little tradition.

English toffee is always the first christmasy thing I make every year: it freezes well and travel well and little nibbles sustain me through the season. You can find my recipe and tutorial here.

There is time to sew up this advent calendar before December 1st. Really, there is. I think it looks more complicated than it is: there is some simple machine sewing and then a movies worth of hand sewing.  The pattern and tutorial for the string of lights advent calendar is right here. We had an activity in each bulb last year and the kids and I loved it. I put the slip of paper in the night before, so a big project didn’t sneak up on me and because I’m last minute like that.

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And hey! you guys are awesome! Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to fill out my silly little survey. It was super helpful and makes me want to create more surveys so I can get to know you better. The consensus seemed to be you like the little blog just how it is, but wouldn’t mind if I change it up a bit: ads are ok, a recipe or two (if they are good), and more kid’s crafts, food, tutorials, and sewing!  Thanks to the commenter who said, “no pressure or anything!”  And thank you, everyone, for all the kind words. It was unexpected and so incredibly wonderful.

Having a blog is sort of ridiculous. It starts off as a little place to show off the lovely things we’ve made for ourselves, but becomes a demanding little blog you have to make things for. I enjoy making things for the pleasure of it, but I also love making things–tutorials and patterns–that I think you will like.  I need to define a bit more what I’d like elsie marley to be and I need your help with that. I’m slowly (and with much help) redesigning this little blog and I’d love to know what you think of it, where you think it should go, and what you would like to see more of here.

If you have a minute I would love it if you could answer a little survey for me. It is 7 questions that will help me know you a teeny bit better (hello lurkers out there) and know where you think the blog should go. It is such a pleasure to have lovely readers like you!  Without you I would be sitting here talking to myself and that would be silly, because you are much more interesting to talk to.

Click here to take survey

The photos are two pictures I put up on my tumblr a little while back and I cannot. stop. looking at them.  Click on the pictures for the source.

I’m not sure if I like this pillow or not. It’s definitely the goofiest one yet and the most labor intensive–if you can call making pompoms labor.  The first time I made pompoms I thought it was messy and ridiculous and a pain in the butt, but this time the more I made the more I enjoyed the process. If you slap the words “as meditation” after any activity it immediately becomes less annoying and oddly spiritual: pompom making as meditation, washing dishes as meditation, folding laundry as meditation, (look! my whole day is one long zen retreat).

I’ve been dreaming about all the christmas decorations I can make with pompoms (while I was mediating), so there will be more here I’m sure. If you don’t know how to make them, or forgot, there is a nice little tutorial on bella dia for making pompoms with your fingers.

And hey, look at all the awesome pillows from pillow week on flickr. I’m in love with this one.

Towards the end of fall each year we close up the porch and try to fit all the play that happens out there inside.  Mostly it’s art. We have a big armoire filled with paints and markers and paper and glue and acorns and cottons balls and whatever else could be used to make pictures or sculptures or collages. It’s lovely to have a space where the two big kids can go whenever they have a need to make something, but where the crayon eating baby cannot.

Our house is about 900 square feet, so finding room for anything can be difficult, but art is very important to my kids (and me!) so we have to carve out space every last crayon. Last year I came up with the art box. It’s a wooden wine crate I trash picked filled with art supplies that I store in our closet/office and take down whenever the kids ask.  They can work on the dining room table (conveniently covered in chalkboard cloth) away from curious baby hands. Last year one box was enough, but over the summer it seems the materials we work with has grown.

After much rearranging, the art box has become the art shelf. Everything is organized into wooden boxes and labeled with chalk.  I can take out one thing or everything and the kids can put it all away before I put it back in the closet. I’m planning to swap out things as the year goes on. Do you have any suggestions? Is there any good or unusual art material your kids are into?

On the bottom of the box some awesome kid scrawled in big letters KISS! Alive! and it makes me happy everytime I see it as I take the art box down.  And makes me want to get out my old Kiss tapes.

You get two for one today. That is, if you are not sick of looking at pillows yet. You probably think I’m crazy for making all these, but I had been thinking about making a bunch of pillows for ages. It’s amazing how much time I can waste just staring at fabric. This week was a nice kick in the pants to just decide already, they are only pillows you know.

To answer a few questions:

• yes, I’m using pillow forms.
• yes, zippers are really easy. I used this zipper tutorial, but erin has a fancy dancy video tutorial that will talk you through each step.
• yes, I’d love a cup of coffee, thank you.