Handmade
This past weekend we took a whirlwind trip up into New Brunswick to pick up Laurent from my parents. We were supposed to meet in Maine and be hiking Mt. Katahdin with them (and a bunch of other people) but the rain and thunderstorms thwarted those plans. So instead we were gone a mere 28 hours; spent the night at a campground visiting my folks and came back home a complete family again.
The girls are happy to once again have their brother, friend and playmate back. Although we had some good times while he was gone I'm sure our days were not as special as being the only grandchild spending two weeks with your adoring grandparents. Quite predictably, Laurent had a fabulous time and (not so predictably) honestly didn't miss me a stitch (I just made up that phrase).
He's a live-in-the-moment kind of person and had just too much fun with Nana & Papa to think twice about missing life at home. I'm happy for this time he had and the memories, handbuilt wooden boats, beach stones and thrift store clothes Nana bought him that he came home with.
But while he was away the girls and I made a few memories also. And we even made some wardrobe updates of our own.
Pretty Sewing
One project I started that I haven't yet completed was to sew simple sundresses for the girls. I hope to finish these by next week and post my progress. Even more simple than those dresses though was making flouncy skirts out of existing sundresses.
The girls both owned sundresses with bodices that were either too small, itchy or just plain uncomfortable. After a few easy measurements I cut the tops off, sewed a casing, inserted an elastic and viola... pretty skirts. The perfect project for the girly groove we had going on.
A Paper Doll Craft
The main creative project of the last couple weeks has been paper dolls. And in Celine's case magnetic dolls. What started this crafting was the store bought magnetic doll set (pictured below) the girls were given on our trip to Gaspé. Celine originally thought she'd like to buy herself a tin, so the girls would each have one, but changed her mind to making them herself. That's my girl!
Celine made magnetic paper dolls and their clothes using two methods:
- Drawing and coloring designs right on the magnet sheet (purchased at the craft store).
- Printing paper designs and glueing on the magnet.
Brienne stuck to printing paper dolls and their clothes to play with and add to her collection.
Liana's Paper Doll Blog was our go-to source for the past two weeks. The girls spent hours surfing her hand drawn designs, picking and choosing their favorites to print. Celine prefers medieval-like designs and Brienne likes anything pink or purple!
The fashions on this blog are definitely womanly and not little girl paper dolls but they were perfect my girls' interest in grown-up gowns and period costumes. It's a very cool blog with many, many dresses and dolls.
Celine's own medieval dress design
A Princess Story
Knowing that I'd have just the girls for a couple weeks I even picked up a princess read aloud for bedtime. The Ordinary Princess is the delightful tale of a princess who is given the gift of "being ordinary" by her fairy godmother, much to the dismay of the royal court. She grows up looking rather ordinary, loving nature and the outdoors, not at all interested in normal princess life. When she is threatened to be married off to anyone who will take her (she is very ordinary looking after all) she runs away to live in the forest and eventually finds employment as a kitchen maid in the castle of the neighboring kingdom. While employed there she unwittingly falls in love with the young, very nice, "man-of-all-work" king, whose real identity is hidden from her, as hers is from him.
The story ends as you might expect, with a royal marriage - but this one based on loving each other for who they are, not their royal identities or pretty complexions. I personally loved the honeymoon in the small forest cottage.
This was the perfect princess story to read to my outdoor loving girls with just the right amount of girly romance, being who you are and "finding one's true love". All three of us loved it.
And there you have it. Two weeks of pretty, dolls, pink and princesses. Now that Laurent is back the days are more rambunctious, goofy and filled with insects and fantastical creatures once again. Family life as normal. It feels wonderful.
PS. Please see FIMBY mainpage or click the button below to find my updated resource page for all our household and kiddo craftiness.
One of the things I have so enjoyed about blogging is how it has expanded my circle of friends and contacts, in ways unexpected and delightful. Meeting people around the world, reading about their everyday lives, so different yet sharing similarities to my own, makes me happy.
Sometimes you get to know these strangers a bit and you share things you've created. And that takes everything to a whole different level.
Here's few care packages and swapped goods I've received lately that I wanted to share.
Christine of Simple Savvy and I recently swapped my hand crafted lotion for her hand knitted dishcloths and beeswax chunks she owned but didn't need. We live fairly close so shipping wasn't even a big cost.
Now this is the really cool thing, Christine made these gorgeous dishcloths from a recycled cotton sweater bought at a thrift store.
I was so excited about that. I must say these are some of the nicest dishcloths I've used, very thick and absorbent. You probably all know this already but she reminded me (I didn't know) to not wash sharp knives with these cotton cloths. It cuts the fibers. Duh... maybe that's why the handmade dishcloths I use (gifts from other people) break down so fast.
You can read Christine's side of the exchange at Barter Edition on her blog Simple Savvy.
My local friend and fellow blogger, Cori, has started giving homemade bread to neighbors. When I read about that I inquired if maybe I would be considered a neighbor? Apparently I met neighbor criteria (we do see each other almost weekly during these summer months on our farm pick up day) and we were given a jar of homemade sourdough crackers. Yum!
This was an unexpected gift and I hastily picked her a fresh bouquet of garden flowers in return but I'm fairly certain we got the better deal!
A couple months ago Jenn at The Promise of a Rainbow had a button giveaway on her blog. Celine and I ohhed and ahhed over the buttons and Celine wrote a comment with me how much we would like to win them.
Our names weren't chosen but Jenn knows how much Celine likes sewing and her mama heart showed kindness to Celine gave her some of the extras. How sweet was that? Thank you Jenn.
Unexpected loveliness and gifts in kind, a nice benefit of blogging.
Earlier this year as mom and I started to think more seriously about our weekend together we thought it would be nice to do something crafty together. Maybe even learn something new. Mom contacted her friend, whose home we stayed at, to see if she knew of any artisans/craftspersons who offered workshops in the area.
We really lucked out that where we were staying, St. Andrews, NB - a artsy community in its own right, was close to the home/studio of June Cable, Wizard of Felt (located in Pennfield, NB).
I knew the day held promise when we arrived and were greeted by June, wearing this totally cool, thrifted, recycled sweater dress. The photo does not do its awesomeness justice.
For an amazingly good price mom and I had a six hour private workshop that included lunch and all materials. We even came home with extra wool and the basic tools of needle felting to make more on our own.
So... what did we make? Glad you asked.
In the morning we learned wet felting technique (using easily sourced and recycled materials) and each of us created a landscape of sorts. We didn't know first off what the end result was going to be. We didn't think to ask and June didn't elucidate more than the step at hand. In some ways this was good. I think I would of over-thought the product and not enjoyed the process, which is very physical and tactile. On the other hand I might have chosen a different concept if I knew what the intended product was going to be.
Regardless, I like the birch tree landscape I created. It reminds me of spring in the mountains. And of course I love being in the mountains. Purple wildflowers, melting snow, blue ponds and sky. I intend to stitch bright green beads sparingly on the branches, to sparkle like jewels just as the leaf buds do in nature.
My mom's green pear is a stroke of creative genius if you ask me as it represents her so well. Mom is the best kind of foodie there is - a gourmet cook studying to be a holistic nutritionist (I know, I'm crazy to live twelve hours away from her kitchen). That her objet d'art is a piece of fruit is simply perfect.
After lunch shared around the artist's kitchen table - mom supplied the black bean based, gluten free fudge cake - we were back in the workshop. This time learning to needle felt comfortably seated on a couch around the wood burning stove.
From a pile of wool and a bit of yarn we created little ladies. The first "doll" I've ever made for me!
Miss Andrews, as I affectionately named her after the town we visited, has received many oohs and ahhs in this handmade-doll-loving home. But she's definitely mine. Even mama's allowed to have a doll.
Working with wool in this way is very rewarding and I can see how my needle felting friends enjoy this so much. If I ever discipline myself long enough to sit (not at my computer) I'd love to make this kind of art more often.
