Just Soupy.

Things are calming down around here, mainly because we all came down with a cold. On Friday evening, the girls and I came down with runny, sneezy noses within an hour of each other. Poor Isabel has been sacked the hardest, battling a fever last night, and a bit today. I was hoping today we would all be well, that the girls could run around outside in their party dresses for me to photograph, that I would be taking pictures of some new things for my shop, and that I would have finished all my custom orders, and would be making a baby quilt. Instead I am tending to all my sicklings, including Nick who is home sick on this overcast Monday. Thankfully I am feeling much better today, and able to handle all the tea and soup making and little -feverish-child snuggling required of a mama. Until we are better... have a lovely week! :)

The Very Busy Weekend

We had a very fun, and very busy weekend! On Saturday I had my much-anticipated table at our local "Festival of Leaves" with my neighbor and it was a busy day! It was a lot of work for the amount of sales I ended up making, but I used my funds to take my family to the Maryland Renaissance Faire.

It has been about 4 years since my last trip to the Rennaisance Faire, so it was really exciting going back, and taking our little "princessies" (as Anastasia fondly calls princesses). Unfortunately it was very crowded when we arrived around 2pm, but calmed down after we took a little break, got the stroller and enjoyed some Italian Ices (my personal favorite faire food!).

Nothing could compare to the wonder on Anastasia's face when she got to ride a pony and talk to a "real" princessie. She was also so thrilled when a tribe of leaf people walked by and handed her an acorn. That acorn is now a sacred treasure.

It was really nice making the day pretty special for our little girl with her big imagination! I was also thrilled to score some new pottery at a little shop with inexpensive pottery! I wish I had bought more!! Nick was happy with his hard cider and an italian sausage sandwich.

And yesterday was a recovery day. A few friends of mine hosted a shower for me and another mom who is also having her third child. It was nice to recieve 2 of the things I had yet to make, burp cloths and receiving blankets. So now I just need to buy some diapers and make some wool pants and covers and I will be all set for the little guy!

Isabel's Birthday!

Yesterday Isabel turned 2. We had a nice family party at my parent's house. Just her style with bird decor and undivided attention of doting grandparents, uncles and aunts. We tried to make it really special for her, and I think we succeeded. :)Nick and I thanked God for our Isabel... and that she made it to the age of 2! lol. Our poor accident prone daughter frightens me sometimes with her ability to hurt herself in new ways everyday. But she is tough and resiliant. She is a sweet girl with a big heart and a great sense of humor. She loves making us laugh and is not afraid to try new things. She is very smart and wants to know how everything works. We love out Isabel, and we are so glad she had such a lovely birthday!I was having slight regrets about spending four hours of my life on her cake this Saturday. The colors weren't what I was hoping, but Isabel was completely enchanted by it. She kept opening the fridge and asking us to come look at her cake. I think it was entirely worth it now. And the girl's dresses turned out fantastic. I didn't take any great pictures of them, but I will. Someday when its sunny and warm outside! :) Isabel had so much fun opening presents until her sister hit her in the eye with a book. Poor girl. She can't avoid injuries even on her birthday. She also is obsessed with candles and cakes and sings her own version of "Happy Birthday" that goes, "Happy to you you you (Mommy)" everytime someone lights a candle. She was mezmorized by her own cake, and was in little toddler Heaven when everyone sang to her and her getting to blow out her candles.

Nick surprised her with 10 balloons. Balloons are another one of her obsessions. Really, it couldn't have gotten any better for our sweet girl. :) Now I hope and pray she makes it to 3! :) Anastasia already has lots of plans for her 4th birthday which is now the talk of the day!

Happy Monday! I must now get back to cleaning up the carnage from all the party prepping, etc...

A Series of WIPs

Painting, Stitching, Knitting, Sewing, Glueing, Pasting, Planning, Sketching. I feel as though my life is a series of "works in progress" right now. My entire house is reflective of all the incompleted projects coming together over the next week. The above picture is the top of my microwave: painted stools, tables and mushrooms ready to be sanded a bit and packaged into little sets.

My once-clean sewing room is littered with fabric and trims, scissors, glue and pins as I am cutting up and sewing "Tweet" dresses for Isabel's birthday this Sunday. I am dreaming of finishing them, and little doll dresses in coordinating colors, and possibly a birthday crown? I am so over-ambitious which is probably the reason most of my works are only "in progress" these days. I think I need a maid and some employees who work for free.

These watercolored apples and number "2" in all their blurriness are sitting beside my kitchen sink. The apples are for the "Festival of Leaves" and I am hoping to find away to stand that 2 on top of Isabel's cake... WITH a bird on top. Hmmm:

I sketched out my cake idea... and its amazing. BUT I am not a cake decorator. Its not my talent or gift or even something I really love. My best laid plans get completely smothered by icing of the wrong consistancy... cakes that fall apart, and flowers that are usually funny looking blobs. I hope THIS TUTORIAL helps me a bit. A multitude of sins is covered by a few spoonfuls of buttercream frosting. That is why I make cakes. For buttercream frosting. YUM. And the decorations have been bought... Now just to figure out a nice centerpiece! Unfinished bird houses, mossy rocks (super cute from the $ store!!), spanish moss, felted birds, and leaves! oh my! I set them out on the kids table hoping they will have fun with them while I sew... which is really what I should be doing right now...

Buttons

Do you remember playing with buttons as a child? I remember my mom had this big round tin of buttons and it was like opening a treasure chest! I picked up some little pill boxes for each girl and gave them a scoop of buttons to examine, sort, and play with. I remember some friends of mine had button collections and I am thinking of starting some for the girls. It seems like a simple little pleasure to hand out a couple buttons for a job well done or to find a small pouch of buttons in a stocking on Christmas morning. Either way, the girls enjoyed playing with buttons for an hour or so while I got some sewing done yesterday.

I cleaned most of my craft room this weekend and brought the girl's table in so they can do their own crafts like Mommy. Since I have less than 2 weeks before the Festival of Leaves, I have a lot of crafty cramming to do and I thought this might make my life easier and their lives more interesting. Now they can paint, play with buttons, do puzzles, glue, cut, etc. right next to me! I just started putting together a little toddler sewing basket. Check out this great one HERE. Its fun to share my creative passions with my children and bestow on them the same love for all things crafty while working on little gnomes and things for my shop!

Well, I have goats to move to the woods and diapers to hang on the line before I start some more "crafty cramming". Please share any open-ended craft projects you do with your children!! I hope to have 3 projects lined up each day for them while I work. :)

Birthday Madness!

This is the second weekend in a row that we have had a little birthday party to attend. Its always fun to watch the girls and their friends. This weekend's party was at our local National Forest and was quite enchanting and sweet.The hostess had make-your-own-trailmix for the kids, little banners hung around the pavillion, a nature walk, and little pumpkins to take home. OH, and mushroom cupcakes. But really, what do you need to entertain children in the middle of the forest?Isabel was quite enchanted with the cupcakes. Her little birthday is coming up this weekend and I have been busy thinking of ideas for it. Have you seen this little Woodland Fairy party? I just had to share because it is SO SWEET. I am thinking some choclate nests will be in store for Isabel's "tweet" party. I am hoping to complete my goals for my Etsy shop today so I can work on their birdy dresses (and matching ones for the dolls). We are just doing a small family party this year due to the craziness of my life right now, and the inconsistant energy levels associated with being pregnant, lack of sleep. And honestly, even if I wasn't preparing for a festival and completing custom orders for Etsy, just keeping Isabel out of trouble is a full-time job. She really defines "terrible two"! lol Today she already tried to flush a hand towell down the toilet, moved a kitchen chair across the room and broke into a bottle of bubbles, dumped her bowl of oatmeal on the table, a basket of colored pencils on the floor and pooped in one potty, in the hallway, and again in the bathroom potty, and somehow covered herself in Poop!! I guess it is Monday afterall. I just CAN'T WAIT for naptime! Hope you all had a nice weekend and are surviving Monday....

We have been terribly busy. Maybe you guessed that already, but really, I try to simplify my life but it seems that things are starting to snowball instead! Last week though, Anastasia spent the night at my mom's house, and we met afterwards at the Glen Burnie Gardens in Winchester. It is such a magical garden with waterways and fountains everywhere. And look, I am getting big!!!

Its hard to believe how fast this pregnancy is going, but I am getting to that big-uncomfortable-always-tired-yet-nesty phase. 2 Months left. I could use about 4 months at this point. But I can't wait to meet the little guy, and see his sweet face. He is possibly the most active in-womb of the 3 and I have had the worst heartburn as well. Not sure what all that means, except that he is a happy, little, living baby, and pepcid is my pill of choice these days. Nick and my brother were both big baby boys... so I wonder if I should expect the same of this little guy. So many unknowns, and so little time left to wonder!

I have been working a lot on custom orders lately, which is great!! I just hope I have time to stock a bunch of items for the Festival of Leaves that is in 3 weeks!!! I finished Anastasia's waldorf doll... and I will post pictures, I promise... when she gets some clothes. I have 3 patterns, including a princess pattern (thanks Wendy!!!!) so that is no longer my excuse for naked dolls. This is the first doll Anastasia has really liked and played with... and Isabel drags hers EVERYWHERE... almost as much as her blankie. :)

Anastasia's recap of the garden: "We went to the garden with Monie and saw the fish and toads in the water." Actually we did see some frogs, and even as big and pregnant as I am, it was nice to know I haven't lost my frog-catching skills from my younger years:

He didn't stand a chance. :) Now... back to those orders...