~Pamela Susan~

Merry Christmas!!

This little elf is ready to hit the sack, but I wanted to wish you all a Merry Christmas before I go to bed since I most likely won't be on the computer tomorrow, soooo...

Our tree is ready for our little munchkins in the morning...

And so are their stockings... these little Strawberry Shortcake dolls will complete their collection!  I've been waiting months to give them to the girls.  So excited!

I hope you all have a wonderful day, and that it is filled with family, friends, and love!

 

xo,

Pamela

The cutest fabric owl ornaments and dare I say it... Reindeer poop!!

Whoo-Whooooooo still needs to make a Christmas ornament?  An owl one, perhaps?  Here's what I've made this year.  Simple.  Cute. Tiny.  Can't stop making these little owlies!

Thanks, Martha!  The tutorial was straightfoward & simple, just the way I like 'em.

And speaking of ornaments, upon waking up this morning Miss A presented me with two crafts she had made before I had even got out of bed... a paper ornament and a fabric wreath.  I tell ya, that gal is good with a hot glue gun!  I was sooo not that creative when I was her age.  Not even close.  I just love her mind.  She found the ideas in a little Christmas craft book that she helped herself to from my bookshelf. 

Love her use of ribbon.

And real quick--for those with little "elves on the shelves", I have another idea for you!  Remember my friend Lindsey who shared the TPing the tree idea?  Well, another idea she shared was when her elf brought back some "snowman poop" (powdered doughnut holes) from the North Pole.  hahahahah!  Such a fun idea!  I did the same thing a couple mornings ago, but I think I must've erased the pictures because I can't find them anywhere.  Buuuuuut, the "snowman poop" did give me an idea... why not use chocolate covered doughnut holes as "reindeer poop"?  Needless to say, the girls LOVED it.

Here are two letters that Petals & Winkie wrote for the girls for both mornings.  Writing with my non-dominant hand came in handy to disguise my true handwriting. :)

They laughed and laughed. And so did I!

 

xo,

Pamela

To Make a Fairy Village...

(Post Edit:  To learn how to make wood critters from a pro, go to Amber Dusick's Website to watch this video.  She's the lovely gal that inspired me to create the Fairy Village.  She is fabulous!!)

 

I recently received an email from a reader telling me she wanted to make a Fairy Village for her children for Easter!  She loved the thought of filling their Easter baskets with handmade gifts...I think it is a lovely idea.  She hoped I would be able to send her a few pictures of the little village I made for my girls, so I thought I'd put them on here just in case more of you are interested in doing the same.  Take a gander:

Here's the gang enjoying a cupcake party...

 

I used wood-glue to adhere the separate table pieces (cupcakes are one piece)...

 

A fine wood-burner tip was used to outline the silverware (pic of tip below)...

The tree is made of one piece...

 

whereas this little mushroom house is made of two separate pieces...

 

Don't forget to add a snail on the back of the house!

This is where the fairies baked the cupcakes...

And most importantly, do not forget to sign and date the pieces...this is a must!

 

Yes, a fun time was had by all!  Oh, to be a fairy...

 

Here's a picture of the wood-burner I purchased at Michael's.

These are the two tips I used--the fine tip was used for the silverware.

  
In the interest of time, I've copied and pasted a portion of my response to my reader, Katie, just in case you are interested in learning how to make the village.

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As for tips, I believe we used a scroll saw to cut out the little pieces.  The majority of the pieces were cut from a plank of pine wood, which was relatively cheap!  :)  I used a pencil to draw the outlines of the items and then cut them out with the saw, then sanded the edges.  I then used a pencil to draw the details, woodburned over the pencil marks, then used cheap craft paint from Michael's to color them.  They were SOOO much fun to make!  And how cool would it be to make little bunnies for easter to add to their collection?  I think I'm going to attempt making some for the girls instead of buying plush bunnies for the baskets...they don't need ANYMORE stuffed animals!  lol

Oh!  One more tip--I used a Q-tip and blunted toothpick to help clean the paint out of the woodburnt lines--I'm interested in experimenting with painting BEFORE using the woodburner to eliminate the need of using a Q-tip/toothpick.  

********    

  Alright, that is it!  I hope this will be helpful to those of you who are interested in making these.  

Let me know if you have any questions!

xo,

Pamela

p.s.  If you don't own a wood-burner CLICK HERE for a 40% coupon to Michael's to buy one!

 

Our Green Day

Did St. Pattie's Day really come and go without me blogging something about it?  Wow.  This time last year I was all over this holiday!  Oh well, there's always next year.  We did do something fun this year, or should I say Avery and her Grandpa did...they made a leprechaun trap!

Yes, they got pretty creative with a soup pot, acrylic yarn, a "spurtle" (thank you, Uncle Ross!), and tape.

It's kind of hard to see, but the string runs across the room and attaches to the window.  Why you ask?  For the leprechaun to follow, of course! 

(as you can see, the bookshelf is almost full!  yippee!) 

Well, they didn't catch that mischeivious little man dressed all in green but he did visit our home and it just so happens he left a handful of gold coins in the trap!

And the girls enjoyed every last bit of them.

 

One last thing--we made a few green accessories to ensure we wouldn't get pinched :

 

Tutorial coming soon!!

xo,

Pamela, a gal who is SO excited for the weekend!

 

 
 

Christmas JOY

I hope your Christmas was as enjoyable as ours!  My heart is full...it was wonderful having Dad, Lane, and Ashley with us over this special holiday.  Their presence in our home was a gift itself.

The first night they were here we joined efforts and created a festive centerpiece with greenery that Lane collected from my parents' home.  He and Ashley were lucky enough to find a box of beautiful vintage ornaments for only $1 from a local thrift store to decorate it with...how fun is that?

 

 

 

Ashley and I then cooked a batch of Mom's toffee.  I'm telling you...this stuff is ADDICTING.  I love it.  

I have no idea how much I've consumed over the past few days but I can tell you 

this...I enjoyed every  single morsel with zero regret.

 

As for Christmas morning I was delighted to see that Avery and Clara were excited over the quilts and Fairy Village I made for them. 

 

 

 

And later that morning we found Rudolph's track in our front yard!  I'm sure you can imagine Avery's excitement over this!

 

It was a wonderful morning indeed.

The following we day we enjoyed a much needed walk around the lake.  It was a gorgeous day!

 

 

As for a baby update...there's no sign of her arrival just yet.  

                      I'm experiencing occasional uncomfortable braxton hicks/contractions but other                than that I'm feeling pretty darn good.  I'll let you know when things start happening.  As for now I'm enjoying my time with the girls and knitting a few hats for the little one.  :)

xo,

Pamela  

Busy

Yes, life has been busy around here!  

I've been busy filling Christmas orders...

 

Spending time with Dad and the girls while Aaron was gone on business...

(for some reason it's always been quite the task to get my Dad to smile for pictures...can you tell?!)

Cleaning "lipstick" (a.k.a. blue marker) off Clara's face...

 

and getting things ready for Christmas.  

Ahhhh....Christmas.  It is right around the corner!  And so is the arrival of our little one.  I closed my shop up over the weekend for this very reason.  As a mother of young children,it is very important for me to keep my life balanced, especially at this time.  I mean, I'M HAVING A BABY IN LESS THAN 4 WEEKS!  Wow.  I cannot believe it.  I cannot wait.  I'm so looking forward to meeting her.  A new little daughter to add to our growing family.  I feel blessed.

So, now you know why I haven't blogged for a while.  

But I'm very excited about some things I've been working on lately...I'm making most of the girls' presents for Christmas this year.  I'll have to share a few of them with you later this week.  Let's just say I've been keeping my sewing machine busy, and the wood-burner nice and hot.  Oh, I love this time of the year!

I hope you are all well!

xo,

Pamela

p.s.  check out this pic of Clara and Avery while scouting out our Christmas tree.  Is that the peace sign I see??  Where did she learn that??  (Actually, I think she learned it from Naomi--gotta love that one, right, Yumiko??)  

 

Life is good.

Halloween FUN

What a fun-filled Halloween weekend!

If you've been craving a squash soup you really must try this Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup we ate before heading out for trick-or-treating: Download ButternutandAcornSquashSoupRecipe

 

Yes, the night was filled with sugar cookies,

 

a cute little chicken and spider,

 

spider legs,

 

 

 

 

trick-or-treating,

 

and of course, CANDY!

Yes, a fun time was had by all!

I hope your evening was just as magical!

xoxo,

Pamela