These Beautiful Days

It has been simply gorgeous weather here these last few days, beautiful sunshine, and warm enough to venture outside without big, puffy coats. At least for a little while.

(I just can't just enough of the chickens lovely eggs, it's probably lucky I don't take a picture of them every day.) It was so nice to sit out in the sun and watch the girls cook away in their mud pie kitchen, I miss the ability to do so so much in the Winter.

While enjoying the fair weather, though, I can't help but wonder, and worry a bit. I don't remember any Winter as mild as this one has been. I still feel like we're working our way into the season, like it hasn't actually hit yet. Shouldn't it still look like this? (Last week.)

Aside from playing outside as much as possible, I've decided to attempt crochet again. My Mum taught me when I was young how to make chains, and a basic stitch, and... I have never made it any farther than that. I am starting out by reacquainting myself with what I already know, which is pretty much a simple scarf, and nothing more. I hope to move on from there, and figure out how to look at a pattern without it looking like an entirely different language. I began with a little blue scarf for Katalin, but when Kaia saw it, she wanted to know if I would make her one. For her Birthday. Which is in a couple days.

I quickly put Katalin's scarf on stand-by, and began working on one for Kaia, getting in a row or two whenever she is not looking. I'm using up the Bernat Mosaic Yarn - Psychedelic I used on Kaia's unicorn tail. I've gotten midway through, only to rip the whole thing out, so many times now that I've lost count. Eventually it became obvious that she would get either an imperfect scarf, or no scarf at all. Now I am just trying to do my best and roll with it. Wish me luck, please!

Castle Birthday Invitations

Sharing with you the invitations we made for Miss Kaia's birthday party. They are pretty simple affairs. I folded a piece of scrap paper in half and drew half a castle on it, then cut it out. (So it will be symmetrical.) The door is cut out the way it is so that it is easy to trace the shape, and I know where to stop cutting to leave paper "hinges" on.

I used that first piece as a template to trace out the rest of my castles, and cut them all out. The doors are cut up the center, then down each side about halfway, leaving them attached and openable.

Using a glue pen with a sponge tip, I applied a light layer of clear glue to the backs of the castles. I adhered them to card stock, leaving the backs of the doors unglued.

To make so many windows easier to do, I cut potato stamps in three shapes. A large window, and smaller window, and a point for using on doorknobs. I dipped them in embossing fluid and stamped my windows, dusting them with embossing powder, which I then set. I outlined the windows and rooves with a glue pen and dusted them with sparkles, as well as adding a big "K" to the front. (For, "Kaia", of course.) The embossing adds some neat texture to the castles, as the windows actually bubble out, something not really picked up by the camera.

Inside the doors, I drew a bunch of balloons, and touched them with a glitter pen. I outlined them with pen, and also used pen to add a couple flag poles on the turrets. I cut tiny pennants out of card stock, and glued those above the towers on the "poles".

I added all the party info to the backs, (what I would give for a printer!) and what I would like to say now is that I immediately slipped them into addressed envelopes and sent them on their way!

Unfortunately, what really happened is that I set them in the middle of the table to do just that, and while I was was not watching, (probably cooking, doing laundry, or *gasp* in the bathroom, heaven forbid,) my inquisitive little 18 month old, Miss Katalin,  got them all down and "happened" to them. Kataclysm! Oh, this age. Such fun.

So I have remade just a handful to send out to Grandparents, which I am doing quite belatedly. Ah, life.

{this moment}

Joining Soulemama's {this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember.

If you're inspired to do the same, leave a link to your 'moment' in the comments for all to find and see.