Post Christmas Day

It has been a quiet few days...enjoying the time home, playing with our new toys, building Lego kits and watching new movies in the evening eating popcorn from the gift tin we received.  Doesn't get much better than that. 

Amelia has been (has always been) quite fascinated with the fairy world.  She has quite the imaginative way about her.

Built my Eiffel Tower.  Amelia built her Lego friends penguin set...then helped build the Jungle Rescue set, which in turn rescued the penguin.  Quid pro quo I would say.  Yet...wasn't the penguin happy where he was?  I would dare ask.

We made a few cornstarch dough ornaments.  Can't remember the exact recipe I used, but just look around on Pinterest you will find one.

I have made a hand ornament each year, using various clays etc.  This type is not that light, however, I love the pure white color.

We made a couple ornaments too and cut paper clips and inserted into the dough to make hangers.  Amelia decorated.

Wanted to share a fabulous Blueberry Coffee Cake recipe that I made for Christmas morning.  Delicious and made with the blueberries I froze last fall.

And have to share the basket that our neighbors gave to us.  Filled with homemade goodies ... chocolate covered pretzels, graham cracker bark, banana bread and jam with a big tin of hunter's peanut mix...couldn't have better neighbors that is for sure.  Note:  There was a bottle of wine, but quickly took that out for our Christmas Eve feast of Roast Turkey :)

I had mentioned I'd post a couple of the decorations I had forgotten...

These are from a craft punch and thin fishing line.  Will be making LOTS more of these for Amelia's Winter Woodlands birthday party in a couple months.  Leaving up quite a few wintery Christmas decorations too.  And working on the invite ...awesome is all I have to say.  Lots to come on that.

Our little paper houses we made a couple years ago, adorn the shelf in her playroom.

Finally, yesterday she was playing with her new barbies upstairs and was inspired to put in the Barbie Rapunzel movie that we have watched 600,000 times.  However, this time we watched the extras.  One was entitled the Artist In Me featuring 19 year old artist, Amanda Dunbar.  She was completely inspired.  Watched it at least 5 times.  Love the artists paintings, but will wait for Amelia to make me one that will be much more prized. :)

Two stories came to mind as I assisted her in getting out her paints and paint brushes.  

One was myself as a kid watching Captain Kangaroo's crafty time during the show and running to get all my supplies to make whatever it was they were doing at the time.  Of course...that very minute.

Second,  sitting on my sister Donna's bed and playing with all her art supplies and vividly remembering all the paint splatters on the quilt...looking at the canvas of a girl and her St. Bernard dog (Donna tell me you have that one).  OH and an even larger canvas of bike riders and our local grocery store (I know you have this one!). 

I have my sister, Bonnie's, extra large pencil drawing of a shepherd boy too...will ponder where I can put that up on Christmas...it is big!  My sister's kids, Aaron, Matt and Liz have the artistic blood as well.

Must run in the family...although my artistic abilities are not so pinpointed :)  Perhaps if I focused! hahahaha.

Will post on a few gifts that I made this Christmas and finally...the bar stools that were refinished awhile ago, but with all the Christmas Crazy...didn't have a place to post until now. :)

Happy New Year to one and all.

Christmas Highlights

It just goes by too fast.

She walked aimlessly around looking for a particular gift she has been asking Santa for over and over...yet all the Santa gifts had been opened.  How could he have missed it!

I helped her out a bit in finding it as I thought she would fall into the tree eventually.  I explained that Santa has a way of knowing if someone else bought it for you.  

I am not sure why she wanted this so badly...it is not like she doesn't have other Barbies.  It was the perfect fit for my sister, Donna, to get for her... she loves her snorkeling!

And who can go wrong with a Barbie and pegasus combined?

She loved her cousin Andrea's cozy zebra blanket...it was only appropriate she had one too.  Lots of cozy things were opened :)

She was quite patient in watching others open gifts.

And after a bit ... she wanted to stop and play...and fix her hair at her new vanity.

more gifts..

Time to change clothes.

And change clothes again...then put on a show with the new microphone Santa gave her.  

Play a bit more...

with the doll she already had (the outfit is new).  I asked her why not use her new doll?  She replied "she has brown eyes, I need blue".  Wow.  I had to check as the other doll was more blonde than her "Liz" doll...but she was right, she had brown eyes.  She accepted her later on when the dolls went camping in their new tent.

Tried to organize and clean up...

 The Lego Company took a big chunk of our Christmas spending :)

Also received some beautiful gifts from family afar.

Although it was hard to notice, Amelia was still not 100% and still recovering from a stomach bug and after the sunrise finally came and a whirlwind of playing...it was time to crash and burn.

While watching Barbie's Pink Shoes of course. :)  

We had planned a fondue dinner that evening, but Amelia wanted nothing to do with that and opted for a bit of soup instead.  

Last year, we all watched the movie "Totoro" for our Christmas night movie and since she received "Kiki's Delivery Service", it seemed we could make a new tradition in watching a  Hayao Miyazaki's movie while snuggled up in all 3 of our new blankets.   All I can say...I am getting her a Gigi cat for her birthday :)  

More tomorrow.