Three Kitchen Fairies

Gifts.

 

I couldn't show these gifts to you before Christmas because they were for my daughters. Believe it or not they could have found about them here. This is the embroidery set I put together for my six year old daughter...she loves it. As you can see, she has already been working on it.

 

For fairy number 1 I made two note books and I got her the "I Love to Write Book." She is really into writing. Someday... she wants to participate in the National Spelling Bee. For that she is reading the dictionary...

   

Fairy Number 3 got a doll bed. I got this from IKEA. I painted it and made a doll size quilt to go with it.

...and for my mom I got this tea pot and I made a tea cozy to go with it.

I feel relief that I can show you now...

P.

12 years and counting...

 

You treat me like I'm a princess
I'm not used to liking that
You ask how my day was...
Your love is thick and it swallowed me whole
You're so much braver than I gave you credit for
That's not lip service...
You are the bearer of unconditional things
You held your breath and the door for me
Thanks for your patience...
You're the best listener that I've ever met
You're my best friend
Best friend with benefits
What took me so long

These are excerpts from "Head over feet" by Alanis Morrisette. There is not another song that better describes my relationship with this man...12 years and counting.

Best wishes...

 

We're  now in our  "Christmas break."  My girls are happy spending most of the day playing together, and makinkg stuff around the house. Of course all these activities keep me busier than ever, and very, very happy too. It's very cold outside. Today (3 F) we'll spend our day indoors. I did finish my to-do list, and I will show all my work after C-Day. I'll leave for now with some pictures, and I'll be back right after Christmas.

 

 

Merry Christmas to you !! Happy Holidays!!

XOXO

P.

Sunday Stash...on Monday.

 

Blues...

 

Pink, pink-ish, and yellow. All these fabrics were a gift from a friend. Her name is Silvina, she is the one who taught me how to make patchworks and quilts. She's an amazing quilt artist but she wouldn't take this compliment seriously...Next time I visit her I will take some pictures of her works to show you.

P.

Pretzels, shopping, and crafts

We are only three days away from the first school " winter break."  I think I'll be done with my to-do list right on time. Last Sunday I made the chocolate covered pretzels for family and friends. They just need to be delivered.

 

Yesterday, I was supposed to go shopping in the morning but I got a sick girl here at home. I only got to go to the post office to deliver some packages. I was starting to feel a bit stressed and grumpy about Christmas, so much to do and to shop for. How can I disagree with "the Grinch" when the parking lots are starting to get crowded and people are starting to get rude. I simply can't enjoy it this way. Lucky for me, Jose came back from work early. I went out into the shopping jungle and one way or another my shopping is finally DONE!!

Crafts: It has been impossible to go out to play. It's way too cold, and there is ice on the ground. Crafts are the entertainment for most afternoons.

 

We made this garland out of recycled Christmas cards and bakers twine. I just traced circles in some interesting parts of the cards, then cut them out, and then glued two circles together with the twine in the middle. The girls loved it and they lasted a good deal of time working with it. We hanged it right away in our dinning room with some other "decorations."

Are you having a fair enough pre-Christmas week? 

P.

Sunday Stash 3

 

The nearest fabric store to my house is only a four minute drive, and it's on the way to my daughter's preschool ;) There is always a good reason to stop by... so last week I stopped by and picked eight fat quarters randomly just to make this:

 

I'm in love with it!! just my kind of colors.

My inspiration was this girl's blog. And the instructions are in this book. I had a great time making the pin cushion, and lots of fabric left for tons more of them !!

...more stashers here.

Have a great week everybody!!

P.

Don't forget to play!!

The Holiday season is a tricky one for me. I get so tangled with the making of crafty gifts and Christmas shopping that I have to set the limits. I have to remember how important it is to spend some time playing with my girls; and that nobody is going to give me back their time when I'm finally done with everything. So I made it a rule: "when they are here, my time is only for them." For whatever they feel like doing: playing, reading, obviously homework and violin practice. They also have little works around the house that need a bit of supervision. One of the things I love to play with the most is this:

 

 

Calico Critters. These little toys are so cute and entertaining. I love to set them up for the girls and to prepare everything for them as to start "the dialogs." We got a few sets two years ago and the girls are still enjoying them like if they were brand new.

Another good game to play:

 

Tea party with Simba and Ciara.

Sometimes we only need time to talk. Just to talk about anything that happened during the day. Like the other day poor Clara fell on the ice on her bun while trying to get to the bus. She told me that no one helped her up or asked if she was OK. Life is tough sometimes and we need time for talking and hugging...

So moms out there take a break and go to play.

P.

Birthday Party.

My due date was December 25 but she was born on December 16. We only get regrets if we celebrate right on her day, it is so close to Christmas. This year we celebrated on the first weekend of December (yesterday) with a big party at Jump City.

I baked "vegan" cupcakes for the almost 20 kids plus parents (she is turning 6 so I asked the parents to stay.) The kids did not even notice the cupcakes were "vegan." Success!!

 

I also made a "Birthday Party Outfit," and she was happy to model it. And so happy to wear it. The cupcake on her t-shirt had sprinkles too.

She is such a special person: sweet, kind, modest, smart, and generous among other things. People say she looks just like me... If I were to write about her I would never end.

It was a super fun weekend. Now she is asking if we can go to Jump City on her "real birfday."

Hmmm...

P.

Sunday Stash 2

 

Light colors...

 

medium tones,

 

and some darks to make this quilt:

 

I've been dreaming of this quilt for a year at least. It's going to be one of my new year's resolutions.

Tomorrow we have a big B-day party, so I'd rather post my Sunday stash now than never. More stashers here.

Happy weekend everyone!!

P.

Shopping, shopping, shopping.

I can be a disaster when it comes to having a well organized living space; but when it comes to money I try to spend just the right amount on what I exactly need.  I'm not a penny picker but I'm neither a big spender. Today I realized I was way behind in my list of things "to buy." This morning after I sent my two girls to school, Isa (the little one) and I got ready and headed out to Michael's, hehehe! And bought all these:

 

My five year old is such a crafter...we ran out of stuff to make other stuff and she was cutting the pages of her notebooks to make "more stuff."

The dessert stand is for her B-day party this coming Sunday. I was told last week that cupcakes were "in." Of course, I was at the Cupcake Station. They have the most beautiful cupcakes ever, and I have to try to make them for the party. It is on my "to-do" list too. So we got all these plus Christmas dresses for violin recital and Holidays.

My craftiness: I worked like crazy last night. And I want to show you just a pick of what I'm doing so I don't feel bad about not sharing. The thing is: this is part of one of my Christmas presents for my family, and sometimes my eight year old picks at my computer to see my last post...anyway here it goes.

 

Do you like it? I'm going back to my basement, and I'll show you more stuff later.

P.