Create

Celine has been sewing up a storm these days.  To hear the sewing machine humming, to provide feedback for her design ideas and to see the quality work she's producing is such a blessing to this mama's heart. I feel a sense of deep satisfaction as she makes this learning her own, knowing that the way we've chosen to homeschool has given her the time she needs to pursue her own goals and dreams.

Sigh... I am a happy homeschooling parent.

One of Celine's recent projects was to sew a sock monkey for her cousin, who turns two years old the beginning of next month.  This was a paid commission from her aunt to create a handmade toy that the parents (Celine's aunt and uncle) could give to their son as a gift.  

I am so proud of Celine for accepting this project and following through.  Damien and I encouraged her to take on the project and offered whatever help she needed. But ultimately the choice to make it and the work was done by her.

We took her shopping to buy an appropriate pair of socks, helped her find a pattern, read through the instructions with her and at the very end helped her sew on the eyes and mail the finished product. But that was it, the rest was her doing. 

In case you are interested in doing a similar project this is the pattern Celine used, found at Craftbits.com. The instructions are straightforward and Celine was very pleased with the end result.

But more importantly Celine was pleased with the process. This girl loves to sew and I couldn't be happier for her. These are Celine's own words for how she feels when she's sewing, "I'm in my element!"  Music to a mother's ears. 

Editor's Note: I am thrilled to turn the blog over to Laurent today. I know many of you have kiddos and we thought they might appreciate doing a search and find.

This is a picture I drew of a flooded section of the rainforest.

You can look for:

1. 6 snakes
2. 7 pink flower blossoms
3. 2 yellow breasted hummingbirds
4. 2 green frogs
5. 2 turtles
6. 8 grey fish
7. 3 red piranhas
8. 1 school of blue fish
9. 2 parrots
10. 1 capybara

Capybaras like the water and they are the largest rodents in the world.

Click the attachment on this post to see the answer key.

What's your favorite rainforest animal? How many items did you find without looking at the key?

(editor's note: To view a larger version of the drawing please click here. Then drag the picture to your desktop and open it there.)

{editors note: Celine is the mastermind and creator behind this post. She built the dollhouse in its entirety; the house itself, period figurines with moveable limbs, furnishings and itty bitty food. She also photographed and wrote the text. This is what we call "school".}

Hello. My name in Rosalind. I am the housekeeper for Edward and Elizabeth, who live in this Victorian dollhouse.

The dollhouse (and myself in fact) was made by a young miniatures enthusiast named Celine. I am going to give you a tour of our house.

First you should meet Edward and Elizabeth, the master and mistress of the house.

Please do come in. This is the entrance hall.

Here I am in the dining room setting the table for breakfast. The breakfast menu is bacon, cheese and ham along with buttered toast and sandwiches. Coffee is served for refreshment.

Here is Edward and Elizabeth sitting in the parlor. Waiting for breakfast to be served.

This is the upstairs hallway and, as you can see, it has a balcony at the end which presently Elizabeth is occupying.

This is Edward's bedroom. In this photo I am tidying it up.

I am tidying up Elizabeth's bedroom now while Elizabeth is looking in the mirror.

This is the attic where I sleep.

On pleasant days Edward and Elizabeth take tea in the garden.

Thank you for visiting. If you have enjoyed this tour I think you might be interested in the medieval castle that will be featured here in the future.