Sunny

On a lovely day this past weekend, a beautiful little doll named Sunny arrived from Thimbleprim Studios. (I was the lucky recipient of Sunny, through a giveaway hosted by Cindy.)

She was made with care and arrived packed just as carefully...with obvious love.

I showed Sunny around so she might feel at ease with her new family. After all, we have 4 pets that prowl the house and they can be quite disconcerting to small folk.

She liked being in the dining room....but said she would rather be out with us than tucked away within the safety of the china hutch.


She enjoyed visiting the fairies at their home....but she felt their nocturnal activities would keep her up too late.



She loved the small herb garden, especially the thyme. However, we both agreed that with no shelter this simply wasn't the best option for her.



She had a wonderful chat with a few of the local cherubs...but decided they were much too flirty to live with....I mean, REALLY what would people think? (She has heard rumors about a young lady living with 7 dwarfs and is simply ALARMED at the thought!!!)
Here they are gathering grapes to feed her!


Sunny really liked the new birdhouse....but once outside, it will be inhabited by birds. (They can be quite messy, you know.)


She seemed most happy here amongst the mushrooms......so here she will stay...


Thank you Cindy. Sunny is perfectly exquisite and I adore her!

To anyone new to Cindy and Thimbleprim Studios, click here to go to her blog...she also has an etsy shop for anyone interested. Oh, and go here for her blog store...

I know I should act my age. But really, couldn't they have named this a little better?

I mean, REALLY.

People get paid A LOT of money to come up with names......so when I first heard this one on TV, I thought they were talking about flatulence (but it's for heartburn...)




in case your wondering,....it's pronounced:
\ˈas-ə-ˌfeks\

The first (and only) time we saw the commercial, we did what all abnormal, immature families do:

We started making horrid jokes like these:

Who has the 'best' aciphex? (It isn't me.)
Who has the 'loudest' aciphex? (it isn't me.)
And
Who has the most 'interesting' aciphex? (it isn't me)
I personally don't HAVE aciphex.

Interestingly enough, we haven't seen the commercial since...I guess marketing pulled it....wonder why!?

Enchanted Annie

I already posted about the Annie I sent Sandy, but look what she made me!

Enchanted Annie is sooooooo cute!

Here she is in her travel basket with a blanket and pillow.....don't you love her little wand! It's reversible. (In case she meets up with a frog...or someone who NEEDS to be a frog!)

Here is a photo of the other goodies....

Everything came individually wrapped and labeled.
You can't see them but there is a teensy jar of pixie dust and a teeny box that she can store secrets in. There is a candle with a star shaped holder, some baubles, some bubbles...and more!

Here is a closeup of the birdhouse


She also sent me this cute page of paper dolls!
Curly Girl SQUEALED when she saw them. CG makes her OWN paper dolls to play with and immediately whisked them away.

Here is a close up of Annie....don't you love her acorn necklace? She has willow branches for 'wings'....so sweet!

Thank you Sandy!

Annie's day...

I have lots of pictures with this post so be warned!

I joined Cindy's Travel doll swap.

My first Annie doll. I am so happy with how she turned out. I used this pattern by Denise White of The Cat's Pyjamas.
She also smells amazing because you stain her with a mix of coffee, cinnamon and vanilla...yummy!
I also gave her a belly button and heart but decided not to photograph them....after all, a girl needs her privacy.

The thing I was most worried about was making teeny weeny clothes but I managed to slog my way through. I threw out 3 pantaloons before getting them right...oh, and 3 tops....the pattern that came with Annie was too snug so I kept trying new 'versions.'

The tunic turned out really cute, I hand stitched the button holes since they are so teensy...gave me a new appreciation for not being Laura Ingalls...

See that teeny apron made from the cute picnic-y fabric?

Well....since I know Sandy loves to bake, I made HER one too! It turned out so well, I almost couldn't part with it.


here is a close up of Annie in her little basket with her baby doll and teeny journal...


a little notebook, cookie cutters, some baubles, a recipe and fairy fireplace...all for Fairy hunting!



Wait a minute!...why is there a Mardi Gras sign and Saints flag and VOODOO doll in her package?


Well, lets just say Annie had a GREAT time attending her FIRST Mardi Gras parade!

During the parade, Mr. VooDoo flew through the air in order to meet her....

You can see him whispering sweet nothings into her ear.


I think he is a bit over bearing though...she seems a tad frazzled by all the attention....I hope he didn't say anything inappropriate!

March's challenge

Part of Year of Enchantment is to give everyone a challenge.
I adore these pincushions from Little House By The Sea.
I thought they would be the perfect challenge for the mushroom and toadstool ornament theme this month.

I'm not very good at embroidery...about the only thing I did well were the french knots! I still love them though.


I also made myself a couple mushroom ornaments.


and this one....I used one of my mushroom stamps to create a pattern on this little mushroom fairies nightgown.

Her little nightcap is really cute. I take awful pictures, I know....but you get the idea...

March makeover

In getting ready for Spring, I decided our bistro set cushions needed a makeover.

I purchased the fabric last year while it was on sale, so it was a really quick project.

Old

New

from a distance....


and...


Now everyone will have ladybugs and dragonflies to rest their bums on!

Thursday's curse

This is getting ridiculous. You take a boy, you mix in a basketball and stir well. Then you add a curb and you get this:



So now Rip stick Boy is on crutches and wearing a fashionable bootie...I can't wait til NEXT Thursday to see what we're in for...

March's ornament....

March's ornament...a chicken?


No! I just knew my partner adores them like I adore toadstools!

I wanted to try something new this time so I made these out of paper clay.

and I made these out of sculpey


here is the of the rest of the stuff....a sparkly toadstool bookmark, Mardi Gras beads, a little lace doily I found in an antique store and a shamrock garland.


one last photo of Henrietta since the first photo was so light.....

She got everything already and lucky for me, approved!

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

"May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go."
~Irish Blessing

destashing......

Curly Girl got a new papasan chair awhile back and gave this bean bag to Ripstick Boy.

Since Leo had 'claimed' it, he went with it into the 'boys' room!
Then Leo got sick.....yuck. We almost lost the poor boy but he is feeling much better now.

I'd made the cover several years ago and hadn't made it removable so I just cut it off.
Besides the yuck, it had lots of little rips in it so I just pitched it.

After ripping off the cover, it looked like this...bubblegum pink just didn't quite work for RB's room (or personality!)


So I recovered it using some white canvas from my stash.
This time though, I made one end drawstring style so I can just yank it off and toss it in the wash. It looks pretty good with his little owl on it....

If you are contemplating covering a bean bag...do it! I didn't even make a paper pattern, just sort of eyeballed it.
It took me about an hour, including cutting and measuring, etc.
You just have to take your time cutting and measuring panels. I added about 2 inches per panel which gave me plenty of wiggle room for error.
If anyone wants to know how I did it, let me know and I'll email you...be sure to leave me an email addy though.

March's Toy Society drop

For those who read yesterday's "trauma drama" post, here is the reason I had the camera in the car!

I made a little Shamrock doll for this month's Toy Society drop.

After Curly Girl's ER visit, I asked if SHE wanted to keep the little doll but she said no, that some other child might need it more....


We couldn't find anywhere that wasn't occupied in the ER so we dropped her on a bench in one of those bus stop kiosks outside the entrance.


I hope she brightens someone's day.

Trauma drama

Today was NOT a good day. Unless you stop to think how it could have been an even WORSE day.
At 6:25 am, while I was signing papers for our son for school, Curly Girl fell down our stairs...all 16 of them...face forward...and landed on the tile floor below.

She was sick with a fever (and her FIRST visit from Mother Nature)....and just toppled over....she doesn't remember a thing.
She doesn't even remember going TO the stairs...

Ripstick Boy called 911 while I laid on the floor next to her and tried to wake her up...she was unconscious which REALLY scared me.

I didn't want to roll her over in case she was badly hurt but I was afraid not to in case she couldn't breathe. The blood scared me the most.
I am so proud of how quickly her brother took action.

The Fire dept guys got here first but then the ambulance came and whisked her away. It happened so quickly, it made my head spin.

Meanwhile, I was in a total fog......The captain of the Fire department had to tell me to go get dressed, get my wallet and purse, etc. so I could go with her.
I wasn't sure if I'd be able to reach Dean so Rip Stick Boy rode in the ambulance with her while I followed in my own car. I had my camera since we were doing a toy drop today (that post will come later...)

Here she is on the gurney....


We were lucky in that the ER was empty when we got there. They took care of her right away. After checking her out, they did a CAT scan. Later on, they gave her fluids and antibiotics for her virus.

Her sweet face is beaten up and swollen but she is okay. She broke her nose...just a teeny fracture thank goodness and bit her lip.
You can't see from the photo but she looks like she's been in a fight with a raccoon.
She is going to be one sore little girl this weekend.


During all the activity I saw this....pretty neat how they do this.
They wrote all her vitals and info down on the bed sheet.....including her codeine allergy.



I know we ALL are guilty of complaining about being in the ER forever, but I can tell you this is one of those times that you don't mind being in ER for 6 hours.

Here she is walking with Dean back to the car.

Thank you God for sending us angels.......

Making my own luck

While taking a break from working on my ornament for my partner this month, I managed to make a cute St. Paddy's day decoration.....




I found the pattern here. (don't you just love google?) It makes up very quickly....

"The Precious"

*disclaimer: Dean denies all knowledge of any event in which his driving expertise is questioned,tested, or criticized.



Yep. That's what we called this old Ford Explorer.
We dubbed it 'The Precious" because Dean had fits if anything got it dirty.

Now, that being said, between dogs and kids, I give you a VERY short list of a few of the things that 'yuckified' it:

Hot Chocolate: Ah, the splendor of hot cocoa while driving through the neighborhoods looking at holiday decorations. Yeah...until Dean GUNS it after a stop sign and the cups fly out of their cup holders. Doesn't even matter that they have lids. The cocoa goes all over the floor AND the seats. Thank goodness we had golf towels in the car to clean up most of it.
Not one year, oh no, we learned the hard way. It took us several years to give it up...well, I guess we still do it. And I admit, the FIRST year, I used coffee mugs...but it was Dean's fault for driving so badly.

Root Beer: On a hot summer day, who needs a bottle of root beer? Our son does! (of course, it was a glass bottle, not screw top.)
Dean takes a corner a bit FAST and plop! The bottle pops out of the holder and rolls UNDER the back seat, emptying the contents there. Thank goodness it was only HALF full. (ha). Of course, I was HOWLING and Dean was fit to be tied. I thought he was going to make the poor kid walk home!

Ginger: While Dean drove a U-Haul to Oklahoma, I took the kids and dogs. We 'forgot' how nervous Ginger got while riding in the car back then.
I was reminded a little after midnight when she got REALLY sick with... (wait for it...) diarrhea!
So, there we are, on the side of the interstate cleaning her AND the car up in the freezing cold AND rain and wind.

Imagine the joy the kids and I shared driving another 2 hours with all the windows rolled down in 20 degree weather. We were BLUE. Thank you God for giving me a good sense of humor...
Of course, the Precious never was quite the same. After that, I dubbed it the 'poop mobile' and refused to drive it for about 3 months. It took two detailing jobs to get the smell out.

Memories aside, I never wanted a Ford....

BUT....

this was one terrific vehicle. (We have to see how long the Subaru lasts before naming the Precious "The BEST" but Dean is convinced it will win...)

When he traded it in, the service guy couldn't believe it had 246,112 miles on it.
He also commented on how 'clean' it was.
Little did he know all the horrors that poor car endured at the hands and paws of our family!

Now, the last thing we wanted was a car note in this economy....but when a car dies, it dies....so here is the new Precious II next to dependable Precious...it sure has big shoes tires to fill....

Not brand new...but new to us.
Although the kids both agreed no food in this car, I noticed Ginger eyeballing it suspiciously!

Fairy pouches and fireplaces...

I've been busy creating things for Missy's "Fairy Went A Marketing" swap.

I made this little bag using her tutorial. I am a total nimrod when it comes to reading patterns but hers was great.

I put 10 little 'fairy fireplaces' in the pouch. They turned out so cute! You can see one in the doorway of our fairy house...we light it up at night and it is lovely!