Having a Happy Halloween

We spent the day eating and talking with friend's. Drawing on and carving pumpkins.Playing in the leaves. (Mental note; must make a new hat for miss River. It's getting cold and silk is just not gonna cut it.)

Eating candy, of course.

My bff, 23 weeks along with daughter number three. Yes, three girls a piece, isn't that funny?

Dressing up and trick-or-treating. Kaiya is feeling so much better.

My two little witches and their little black cat.

Being out in the country we drive to town and trick-or-treat there. The girls all fell asleep, one by one, on the way home. A peaceful ending to a fun day.

Happy Halloween!

Not Exactly What I Had In Mind

Kaiya has been sick for the past few days. Nothing major but when Kaiya gets sicks, almost always, her asthma flares up. Last time it was bad enough to land us in the emergency room and they sent her home a couple of days later with this nebulizer. I was grateful to have it around when she began to have difficulty breathing a couple of days ago. She's breathing better now and is dying to get outside but I've kept her cooped up another day to make sure she doesn't get down with this again. Her daddy and several members of my family have asthma so I know how bad it can get. She only has issues with it when she's sick but every time she does I hold my breath, waiting for it to pass. I do hope she's feeling 100% tomorrow as she's so been looking forward to trick-or-treating.

We were supposed to have a my bff and her daughters over today to carve pumpkins. I was busy preparing potato soup and coring apples for baking when our power began to dim. Not the whole house, just the dining room, half of the bathroom and half of the kitchen. There was enough power to run the lights dimly but not to power the stove, of course. A repairman came from the power company and we'll have to call in an electrician on Monday. So, not hot meals til then and I went ahead and pushed our pumpkin carving to tomorrow, Oh well, rolling with the punches and all that jazz.

I just wanted to share the window star I made using Nicole's tutorial. Her directions are plain and pictures beautiful. I made mine in some warm fall colors, but I can see they will prove to be addictive so I'll be working on some minis in rainbow colors for the panes of glass front and back doors.

And on to the giveaway list (Just wanted to note, the playsilk giveaway ends on the 31st, Halloween!);

Acorn Fairy

Baby Shoe Pattern

Baby Legwarmers

Playsilks

Batik Onesie

Calender

Pumpkin Soap

Right Now...

1.Farmer/Wife and Barn Animal Wooden Toy Set 2.Two Needle felted Toadstool Gnomes 3.Wool Sheep Ball 4.Woodland Gnome Dolls

...I'm putting the baby back to sleep and making a tentative, mental Christmas list. Facing facts and realizing that, with the way business has been going thus far, I'll probably not have time to put too many handmades (by mama) under the tree this year. This is disappointing to me. There are always so many things I would love to have the time to make for my girls and other loved ones, but the goal is for business to increase... right? I think I will just have to compromise and make time to make just one special thing for each girl. Better one than none. Anyone else dealing with this have advice? Handmade gifts are important to me, it's just not my loved ones that are receiving my handmade gifts. On the other hand, I love my little shop and enjoy making a little income for me and my girls. And it means so much to me to know that others truly love what I do and appreciate my work. It's a pickle.
Fortunately, there are so many wonderful artisans doing the exact same thing and I'm able to give from crafts that I don't do.
Oh, and I am wondering; for children of close age and same sex (or not), what are your thoughts on joint gifts, that is, for both children? Obviously I won't be asking my girls to share one doll. I was thinking a dollhouse they can both enjoy and perhaps a set of dolls for it. Or the wooden toy set in the top left picture. Many pieces to both play with at once. My thought is if they belong to both girls neither can say "That's mine!". And I was also thinking this would cut down on the amount of gifts coming in, though, they will have a couple of individual gifts, as well. What are your thoughts?

Pumpkin Here, Pumpkins There...

Went went pumpkin picking today at Red Wolf Farm. For those local, it is in Maiden.

The best of the worst, picture that is. It's the little one. Now that she is walking it's nearly impossible to get her to stay put for a picture. But how she loved this little day trip! Being around animals so much here I was really surprised at the joy she took in seeing the farm animals.

We played. Got friendly with some goats. Which, by the way, I must now have. We've been thinking about it and this put me over the top. They were pygmy goats, I think, and the sweetest little things ever. Must. Have. Goats!

My husband joined us today. It's the first thing we've done together since we separated, I think. But we're on really good terms at the moment. Here's hoping it stays that way. It was nice for the girls to be able to have us both there.

Daddy's favorite thing about the day; the walk to the creek.

Mama's favorite; the goat's, or course.

Kaiya's favorite; riding the pedal tractors.

Zoe's favorite; the hayride.

And a list of a different sort, the giveaways;

Fly Away Home Necklace

Babydoll Sheep Calender

Teething Set

Daydream Believer's T-shirt

Yoga Mat Bag

Amber Necklace

Gathering

Today we went gathering in the creek. The water is pretty darn cold now, but the girls were prepared (smarter than mama) and wore their rubber boots. We were gathering smooth, round stones to make felted rocks, and they found some other treasures along the way.

What a gorgeous spot this time of year! I'm so glad the temp is finally on it's way down again. Cosy is what I do best and it's hard to be cosy in the heat.

Kiddie leashes are the only way I'll walk on the road with three girls in tow. And they like to pretend they're dogs so it's works out nicely.

Our bounty.

I had planned for us to felt them when we got home but my youngest nephew was waiting for us in the driveway (they live next door) so the girls went off to play. He said he knew we were coming because he could hear Kaiya singing as we came up the road.

I Meant To...

... go to the craft store today and buy some felt and possibly some yarn. I meant to go and buy a hole punch, as mine is MIA. (Funny, hole punchers are quite elusive to me. I put them away but can never, ever find them. Seriously, I've bought several in the past couple of years but can't ever figure out where I've put them, so they never get used more than once or twice. Perhaps the problem is that they can be used (in this house) for a variety of things so there's really no good one place to put them. Where would you be if you were a hole punch?)
I also needed to get a few things from the grocery store.

But, this dear, sweet baby of mine wouldn't have it. She is having a terrible time with those incoming teeth of hers and has demanded to be held and nursed and cuddled most of the day. Though, thank goodness, I have persuaded her to take two really good naps, giving me a breather. She's in the middle of one now so I thought I would share what I've been up to.
We've broken out the paints and the girls and I have painted side by side.

(My project)

And I have been knitting and working up the pattern for this doll.

Here she is waiting for arms. They did come out a bit long (once I got them on) and I would like one less row of garter on the hem. But the girls will be happy to have this flawed dolly, I'm sure.

Perhaps I'll shoot for town again tomorrow.

Saturday and the Giveaway List

I am currently on idea overload. It's really hard to imagine at this point that I was, just a few months ago having a dry spell. So, I am currently knitting, working out patterns and try to keep my ideas straight. Hopefully I will have some new things ready to show you in a day or two.
But for now, the list;

Juice Beauty

Persisting Stars Online Course

Knitting Pattern Kits

Green Toys

Mothering Subscription

Personalized Book Rack

By the way, this seemingly unrelated picture of River is indeed relevant. The Frankenstein shirt she is wearing is a recent giveaway win. It even has her name embroidered on it.

Making

Today my niece turned eight. Kaiya, ever generous and loving, wanted to make her something special. She gathered her supplies; foam sheets, glue, scissors, crayons.... and proceeded to cut and glue and draw. You see, she had a picture in a book, a little bag made from foam with 'Happy Birthday' on the front. She can't read yet but she carefully copied the letters onto the front and came to me for pipe cleaners for the handles. She had intended to glue the sides of the bag together but I thought it was the perfect opportunity to teach her to hand sew.

She caught on very quickly and whipped the sides together in no time. She finished it up with her pipe cleaner handles and I suggested she add some beads.

She could not be more proud of herself!

Zoe found bag construction a little over her head, so she decided to paint her a picture instead.

I've been busy crafting as well. I've been trying my hand at candle making using beeswax and egg shells.

I've got lots more new things I'm eager to work on once I finish up a wholesale order (crowns). I'm just hoping I can hold onto the ideas long enough to get them out.

Happy crafting to you!

A Place For Everything and Everything In It's Place

Some people spring clean... I'm a Fall cleaner. So for the past couple of weeks I've been knee deep in bags and boxes of giveaway. Finally exchanged all of the girls' summer clothes for cold weather duds, packed away the summer things and have generally purged the house of odds and ends that had worn out their welcome. You know, it feels really good to finally be able to let go of things that I've been holding onto for various reasons. Parts of collection, things that have been gifted to me over the years. Things that are lovely but really have no place in my home. A few times a year I will go around and evaluate everything in the house; do I still need/want this. Can I live without it and just let it go? When I remove items from shelves and cupboards the newly opened space feels so cleansing to me. As though, clearing a space on a shelf has cleared some space in my mind as well. And this, in turn, leaves room for new thoughts and ideas. Creativity begins brewing... I still have so much work to do. More rooms in need of purging, but I appreciate the task and look forward to getting back to it.Of course, today is Tuesday so I took a break from the Autumnal cleaning and my mom and I took the girls to the library and the park. The downside to all this cleaning and purging and organizing is that I'm beginning to feel cooped up in the house, so the park was a wonderful diversion.

And today, my Zoe came out of her usual shyness and took a shine to a little girl she met there.

Tomorrow I will be back on the job, though. Clutter is calling!