Another homemade gift... Obi-Wan Kenobi costume

I was very excited to make this costume for my Star Wars consumed grandson. He eats and breathes Star Wars and Light Sabers. It is the only thing he asked for for Christmas. I am not well-enough versed in the proper attire and so I searched the web for a costume that looked like it could be copied.

I found this here.



I shopped the second hand stores and found some boots that looked like they would work and a belt. I had recently made a bunch of costumes using a very simple tunic design that I could easily do without a pattern, but I used a costume pattern's hood for a princess (I believe) to make the hood. The top was simply a long rectangular piece of material that I pleated to look like Obi-Wan's top. I also made a white sash on which I glued a section of the belt I had found at the second hand store. I only glued the belt on in 3 spots, so it is easy to clip on the light saber, that I also bought at the second-hand store.

Here is the finished product on my grandson.




So you noticed that the pants don't match the outfit. I decided to not make pants. I knew that he would be wearing it over his clothes and didn't want to make the outfit too hot and too cumbersome to put on.

He loved it!

Christmas Presents-Baby doll carrier and diaper bag

I have been very busy the last month manufacturing gifts for my grandchildren. I decided it was time to share the results. This first set of gifts were for my +/- 2 year olds. I have been keeping track of this website. It has had many gifts to make for children.

I saw this and then adapted it to my own purposes.



I bought a simple and cheap doll from Walmart and made a little pillow and blanket to coordinate.



Then it was time for the diaper bag. The instructions for it are here.

This is how it turned out...



I also added the accessories that I found on the same website...here and here.

The wipes...



The diapers...


Arranged in the diaper bag...


The finished product...


One of my granddaughter's reactions...

Hey, what did you expect from a two year old?

Primary Girls Activity Day - Christmas Service

I was thinking of what I could do in Activity Day this week and remembered something I had done the last time I was Activity Day Leader many years ago. It was based on a story that I had read in The Friend. I didn't remember the story exactly, but I remembered that you made a baby Jesus and manger and then as you did a service for someone, you added a piece of straw to the manger to make the bed soft for the baby Jesus. Imagine my surprise as I searched the LDS.org website to find that the story had been repeated in the December 2010 issue. I decided it must be a sign.

Last time, we made babies out of sculpey clay and baked them, but they tended to fall apart and the manger was out of popsicle sticks. I wanted to do something different and found this at this website. I decided it would be cheaper if I used the little plastic babies that you can find in the baby shower section of craft stores. It also turned out to be wise because of time constraints.

We had a great time doing it. The hardest part was tying the floss on. We eventually tied the floss around the neck first to get it to stay. The girls were happy and I hope they follow through with acts of service.

Primary Girls Activity Day Play

I was reading ideas for Primary Girl's Activity Day online one day and came across an idea that I loved. I have felt that the girls have not gotten a good basic knowledge of the stories in the scriptures. I wanted to do something that would help them learn at least one story and then this idea popped up that would fulfill 2 achievements and my goal also. I'm sorry to say I can't find the original blog now.

Basically the girls were supposed to pick one Book of Mormon story that they liked and write a play and act it out.

It was difficult to pick a story because the only one they knew was about Nephi, so I started telling them stories from the Book of Mormon. When they learned about Ammon and the possibility of Ammon chopping off arms, they were sold. It took months to write the play, make costumes, scenery and props, and practice. In October, we were finally ready. We performed it for their families during the regular meeting time and then after the Primary Sacrament Meeting Program, we performed it in Primary. It turned out very well. They weren't pros, but they were able to do a good job.

I've blurred out faces for the girls' and our one guest actor's privacy, but here's how things went.

The infamous chopped arms...


The Lamanite shepherd gathering the arms and Ammon gathering the sheep...


The Lamanite shepherd explains what happened to the king...


The king hears about the gospel and faints and lays as if dead for 3 days...


The king preaches the gospel to his people...


The girls loved this long-term activity! It was a perfect idea for our 11-year olds who are so ready emotionally to move into Young Women's, but the younger girls loved it too. It fulfilled two Achievement goals...
Developing Talents # 3 Write a poem, story, or short play that teaches a principle of the gospel or is about Heavenly Father's creations.
Learning and Living the Gospel #6 Tell a story from the Book of Mormon that teaches about faith in Jesus Christ. Share your testimony of the Savior.

Liver surgery is off

Jeanine had her PET scan this week and as you can tell from the label, the surgery is off. She was originally told that if the scan worked and showed cancer in other areas of the body beyond the liver, they would not operate. That is the case. They found that the suspicious spots on her lymph nodes were indeed cancer. This means that operating will not get rid of her cancer and it would still be spreading throughout her body. It is a devastating development.

Simple Ghosts

I was blog-hopping and found a simple project that I loved. I can't find the site that I saw it on, but here is where she said she found it.

I found LED Christmas lights at Walmart, followed the instructions and here is what I got. I still love them!

The Oncologist and liver surgery

Jeanine went to see the Oncologist today. He told her that since the Liver Surgeon thinks the liver is operable and that they think they can remove all of the cancer in the liver, he has taken away his objections to her surgery.

He wants her to have a PET scan, if the insurance company will ok it. He says that the kidney cancer does not always show up on it, but if it does, they will be able to tell if her cancer has spread anywhere else. If she has the PET scan and it shows other cancer spots, he will meet with her and explain her options. If the PET scan is not approved or if it shows no other cancer, he says that she can have the surgery. He also told her that liver surgery is a very, very difficult one. She is willing to go through the suffering for the chance to have years (hopefully) of remission.

She was so happy to hear that he had taken away his objections. It's a wait and see game again. We do know that if she has surgery, it cannot be before the 15th of November. She has to be off Avastin for 28 days before surgery.