Holiday Bliss

My little family had an amazing Christmas.  We all got things we wished for and had a few days of feasting and generally goofing around.

I thank our extended family members around the world that all sent gifts and love to us.  We have Grandparents in Texas and Vera Cruz, my brother in Kentucky and Esteban's sister in Spain.  Wonderful people who honored us by thinking of us this holiday season.  They all helped create for us what Sebastian called "The best Christmas ever."  Isabel agreed, when she could look up from her new phone;).

So here are a few pictures of our wonderful holiday.

The photo is crooked, not the tree;).  Isabel put it all together herself, it was beautiful.

Here is a picture of Santa Esteban wearing his Power Rangers hoodie that he was wishing for.

Minutes later.......Santa takes a nap on the wedge pillow I made him for Christmas.

My handsome son got that nice shirt for Christmas.  He said his favorite thing was a wi-fi Jam speaker he got from Santa.

Isabel got that cool black beret, Cookie monster jammie pants, anime t-shirt, and you see her favorite thing, her phone.

The phone again, and my favorite, that smile.

I got the most comfortable slippers I have ever worn.  They are Dr. Schools and feel like two soft furry kittens are hugging my feet.

I also got this amazing tool that has two pincher holders, I have already used it a few times and it is awesome.  Santa also got me a new camera too and it is wonderful, I am learning the new features.

Sebastian picked out this great stuffed pig for Luci, she is still chewing the heck out of it.


So you can see we all had a great holiday.  I hope each of you had as much fun.

Happy New year!

Friday Family Fun

This weekend we are just goofing around and getting ready for Halloween.  Sebastian is not sure if he is dressing up.  Isabel thinks maybe one of the characters from Frankenweenie, but she has a few back up ideas.  Esteban wants to participate in a costume contest at work, so we are going to work on that.

I got this great shot of Isabel working on her computer.  She put her pillow down for Luci and covered her with a jacket.  Luci is like our giant furry baby.

This is Luci wearing Isabel's winter Owl hat.  So funny.  Luci is not sure if she likes it.

Maybe a nap will make it better.  Naps make everything better.

Have a great weekend.

Friday Family Fun

The kids are helping me get our online shop ready for the holiday season.  As I add new items, they must be photographed and listed.  Both Isabel and Sebastian are helping set things up to get better photos.  We are trying to use props and show our work as it looks when worn.

Sebastian moved my sewing model into the corner and hung up the lamp from the light box.  The light was harsh so he hung a tissue paper as a filter.  You can see the light box on the right, it is glowing because of sunlight coming in from the window. Isabel dressed the model so we could show our necklaces in action, we are also going to use a plain white shirt to see which looks best.  She hung the baking tin that is our magnetic jewelry holder in the upper right corner.  It helps us keep track of our things as we take photos and it's pretty too.  We just used a lovely scrapbook paper to cover the baking tin, then added magnets and presto.

Before I knew it, they had a little photo studio ready for action.  I love that both are helping and feeling part of the project.

We have a large cardboard (you can see it in the lower left corner of the photo) and are going to make backgrounds for a photo booth in the same corner.  We want to use it for Halloween, so we are still researching good background ideas and will begin work on it soon.

We are also going to use word charms and initial charms to customize a few of our pieces.  Sebastian likes using the hammer.

We also used clay to experiment with a few new ideas.  The round pieces were just cooked and now will be sanded and painted.  I haven't used clay in years and forgot how much fun it can be.

The feel of the clay as it gets warm is exciting, like the clay is storing warm energy to help make your creation come to life.

We are going to continue working on things this weekend, but also want to see a movie.  I am voting for Looper, the time travel sounds interesting. 

I hope your weekend is at least as fun as mine, even more fun if that's possible.

Week-End Peek-In Photo

I hope your weekend is going as well as Luci's is.

Around Our World

Today is a certain handsome hubby's birthday, so I have to make this quick.  So let's get this ball rolling!  I want to share a few simple things I treasure.  The first thing is old and a bit worn with love.  It is my awake asleep doll that I got for my 18th birthday from a friend in Germany.  She bought it in a little German Shop that had the coolest handmade items.  I love my little doll.

On one side she is awake and smiling and you turn her over and she is asleep and smiling.  The design is simple but brilliant.  She is made of wood.  Isn't she sweet?  I've had her for 22 years?!  I play with her all the time.  She loves my new trees.  She likes to get lost in the forest whenever she can.  The trees look so pretty, right?  I love the way they sparkle.  (You know I am obsessed and had to get the trees in here somehow.)

Next, I want to share my favorite tools.  I use these every day.  I know it seems odd to see heavy duty nail clippers, but they are the best at cutting the wire in tight spots, very sharp.  Don't worry, they were brand new before I added them to my tool box;).  The bent nose are great for grabbing and bending the wire with precision.  I bought them a few months ago, they were on sale for less than three dollars, I am still surprised about that.  Maybe they were discontinued or something; what ever the reason, it was an amazing deal. The round nose pliers help shape the wire without leaving marks.  I use the regular cutters for most cutting and the nail clippers only for the close cuts.  I got the round nose and the regular cutters in a tool box at a garage sale years ago.  I've seen other fancy and expensive tools, but I find that they duplicate the functions of the tools I already have.  I am super lucky to have these fine tools.

Ok.  Gotta go bake a cake!  Thanks for taking a look at a few things I L<3VE!

P.S.  I've been working on a few knot rings lately for Isabel and I.  Check this one out.  I'll share more about these on another day.

Have a great day.

Around Our World

Happy Sunday.  I want to share four pieces hanging in my room that we all love.  I found them at a Goodwill several years ago.  Each of us decided to take an animal since we had exactly four of these amazing brass medallions.

Esteban is the Lion.  He is a Leo, has a beautiful mane and is a great protector with a loud roar.
Sebastian is the Elephant.  He is the largest of the four of us, has a great memory and does not like mice.
Isabel is the Owl.  She loves to sing, has beautiful feathers and wears glasses.  Whoooo!?!
Frances is the Phoenix.  I manage to rise up from the challenges I face.  I am able to rise up because I have a  Lion, an Elephant and an Owl in my family;).

We thought it was funny that we got three real animals and a Phoenix.  At first we thought it might be a bird or a Griffin, but the flames make it clear to me that it is a Phoenix.

We are finalizing the packing for Isabel today, tomorrow is the big day!

Have a great rest of the weekend.

Around Our World

While on break I have been looking around with new eyes.  It is like waking up from a long sleep.   As I've been looking, I was compelled to capture some of the interesting things we have collected over time.  I thought I would share some of them here today and in an ongoing series.  Of course the photos have been colleged*;)

*colleged-word I made up that means I put the photos in a nice college format.  Warning, I may be a bit addicted to colleging.  Another new word!!  Ok. I am backing away from Picasa.

These faces are scattered around our living room and hallway.  We've had a few of them for more than 15 years.  They look so interesting close up.  The lion and blowing man are actually very small, about the size of a closed fist and are made of rough plaster.  Sebastian and I found the wooden face carving in the lower right corner on a bench in a park in Tucson.  It is also pretty small, so when Sebastian sat on a bench he picked up the piece of wood that was there.  When he turned it over and saw the face he was so surprised and delighted.  We believe that someone carved it and left it there for another to treasure.  It hangs in a place of honor in our hallway. The lovely face in the lower left corner greets people as they enter our kitchen.  Although she looks like she could be on the bow of a tiny ship, the face in the upper right corner is actually a wall vase that holds dried flowers.  The two men with faces made of leaves look like they are talking; I really like the detail and whimsy.   Seeing them together like this might make you think that we have faces of random people all over the place.  We don't.  This is it.  Too bad, right?

All of the things in this second college are from my desk or the bookcase right beside my desk, except the one in the middle.  It is a fisherman's tackle box that I converted into my craft tools and supplies storage (I <3 this box).  The lower left picture is my sewing machine cover with a strip of leather that I stamped and propped up in front of it. I am so drawn to the blue plaid fabric that I had to give it a central location.  The paintings in the upper left and lower right corners are post cards of  "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" a Japanese masterpiece by Hokusai and a favorite by Van Gough called "Almond Branches in Bloom San Remy".  The rich color and details on the tiny paper animals make them fun to look at (and play with).  I am working with beads right now and find myself really drawn to a certain range of colors and textures.  I like how shiny the glass bottles look in the photo.

I am having fun with all of my little things, they really help inspire me. I even like organizing my desk and crafting corner. I feel so fortunate and grateful to be able to spend my time in a place I enjoy.

There are also several pieces of fabric collected over the past few months that I am madly in love with right now.

The black and white fabric is a soft light sweater like material that has just a bit of wool from fabricmart.com.  I ordered it when it was still cold out and haven't been able to commit to a project for it, yikes.  I may use it to make a hat for fall, until then another great idea may come along.  The pattern on the fabric looks like chain mail to me, I am surprised that I am so drawn to it.  The blue floral fabric in the upper right corner is a poly cotton jersey from JoAnns that I want to make a hat out of but I can't bring myself to cut it just yet, that color range just pleases my eye right now.  I have it draped over my desk chair so I can just look at it for a while.  The lower left is a nice floral I got at Ikea, so cheerful.  I am looking for a quick project for it this summer.  The last is a great thick material from JoAnns I used to make a small backpack for Isabel recently.  I love the colors in it and plan to use it to make some kind of small bag for myself.  I know they sound pretty willy nilly, but these are actually back burner projects.  We have a priority on completing jewelry crafts and prepping for a special summer adventure Isabel is going on.  We will do a special post on that so stay tuned.

Thanks for starting the journey around my world, more to come. 

Have a fun Friday.