Elemental plush doll: Earth

I've been planning this one for a long time in my head before trying it out.



My daugther loves to sit her dolls and plush, saying SIT! out load (she's 20 month old) So I made one.
I've used a pale pink t-shirt my mom never wear, filled the doll with it's own cut-out and other various felt cut out as well. It's really really soft and hugable.
It's my own pattern, and I want to make several of those and try to sell them as we need money. So typically this is my prototype.



Another view


My daugther stole it this morning when there was just the body done, no eyes or mouth, and I had to work on it while she was really busy eating or taking a bath since she insisted on napping with it and taking it everywhere around. I prevailed not giving her for tonight bedtime and was able to finish it

Close-up at the hat; it holds with sticking velcro


The facial feature are inspired from waldorf doll making. the dress is out of another t-shirt and I used green felt the leafy things, plus some green jewelry wire

Naked


Ultimatly I'll put more details in other dolls as I get better doing them.. This one has a pair of boot pending. I'll also make versions for older people with beads and jewelry and such

So, what do you think of it?? C&C welcome!

Harry Potter crafts from a swap

Again, a swap on crafster.org :)


First I made 3 magical plants

Blanche's leave, Whomping Maple and Rainbow Cactus

Wand

(out of a paint brush +pipe cleaners)

Voodoo Doll


Cauldron pincushion



Stitch Markers (because she crochets)

With a potion making theme

And an Hand bound potion book

Mint-Chocolate T-shirt

I'm involved in a forum swap where I have to make/embellish 5 t-shirt/sweaters for a toddler. I got a boy! I'm really happy with that... And I thought I could use some of Dana's idea from the celebrate the boy month, and so her 90 min shirt tutorial.

Building the shirt was alright... I took a T shirt my mom bought but never wear.
....But... I ended up with a tad of ruffles at the top of the sleeves (they were too big apparently!). Not really boyish. Also my lack of green thread made me use brown one, and that chocolate mint cake idea came right away... So, as it wouldn't fit a boy anymore, I decided to go for it and make it as girly as I could.

I've put bows on the top of the sleeve to hide the imperfection... my pattern wasn't made very well and it showed...
I've cut the letter free hand, as well as the cake.

(Choco Menthe stands for Chocolate mint in French, as you would have assumed...)

I've even made myself a tag!

I'll update my post with "Action" pictures tomorrow..but I bet It will be too big for my daugther...

I'm linking to :
and


Update: Here's the clearest action shot I could get:

Not particularly flattering, but at least my daugther does not look like a little devil. It's a tad too big, will be perfect this summer!

It begins to look like a craft "room"

I went to the dollar store yesterday and bought 10$ worth of storage goods.

I also re-sorted everything I had craft-wise, and put them in boxes, tins, etc..
I dig out my tube paints and put them in nice bowls, my recycled water containers (from various pudding and purée) are now in no danger to fall everytime.

I wish I could install shelvings of some sort... But I can't :(

I've changed the place of the screen and the bookcase; gives more room for the craft area and make the bookcase more reachable.

here the before

I'm not done yet, I have more box and containers to buy and find a way to have my acrylic paint around as well.

Since the wall as some random holes already, I might arrange a wall like this:


In a pretty frame or something.

I also can't wait for the BF to get his desk here so I don't have his schoolstuff around....

The Real Witch Project Documentary

I've just finished listening to this; a really interesting documentary about ordinary girls trying the wicca way for a lunar cycle.

p.s: Please, Oh please... Don't read the tons youtube of comments... Really not worth it.

When you choose a different path

Becoming a mom was a choice. It happened on purpose, and luckily, really quickly (after 2 month only of tries!). I was 18 when the whole world saw me with that huge belly on my 4'11" frame. You couldn't mistake my pregnancy with being obese; all the weight was in the belly (and the very huge boobs).

People don't look at me the same if I'm grocery shopping with my BF, my MIL or my mom. For the first, everything is okay I guess. For the second, they assume she is the mom (you know, she's only 42 and looks younger...) and she's the one being asked the "stats" question about her baby; I become her oldest daugther... and with the last.. Oh, what I poor child I am, raising my kid with the only help of my mom who pays us grocery...

But I don't mind that. Really. But I realized this (starting our family earlier then other persons) was the beginning of my adult life as someone who won't follow the society's chosen path.

Here's what we should have done accordingly to Québec's society archetype:
1-Get a degree, 2-Find a job
3-Buy a car (preferably new)
4-Wait to be secured at this very job
5-Move with the Boyfriend should you have one. 6-Wait
7-Buy another new car. 8-Wait
9-Change Boyfriend (cause this one don't want to get engaged) at this state I should be 25-26,
10-Move with the new boyfriend. 11-Wait for a promotion
12-Buy the biggest TV I can, 13-Start looking for a home
14- Get Married, 15-Buy a house
16-Then I can start thinking of having babies, if the BF has a promotion. At this point I should be 32-33
17... Have difficulties trying to have babies and etc (I don't enter that subject because it's not true for everyone)

So... We did not want to wait. I truly hate going to school. I had good grades and love to learn... but public school isn't for me. I also didn't want to have school debt when having children so I'd have to work. I choose to by a mom. I am not a career woman. I hate people assuming I was just "not intelligent enough" to get a degree. Would a not intelligent enough little 14 yr old be fluent to speak in English when she never had anyone to practice with? (I live in a total French region) I was making my mom's class when she had to replace an English teacher! But due to the system, they couldn't spare me the English classes and I was forced to get there and do each and every little English exams, having 100% each time. I couldn't go to my speed. I was always held back. That's what I made choose #2: I'll home school my kids.

Oh my God(s)!
Everyone outside my boyfriend (which is totally with me) thinks I'm totally crazy. How will my kids socialize?

But it seems their arguments stops there.
Oh, my mom talked about being competent enough...(yes, that mom that asks me for help in correcting her student's art projects)

I personally never socialized in school. I was the alone child in the break time, eating alone in my corner, getting picked last in gym. People would talk to me to copy my answer or borrow a pencil. I was so lonely I ended up depressed and dropped out school. No one ever cared. Maybe a teacher or two...

Great socialization that was!

But since you have to finish secondary 5 to get any stupid job here, I went to the adult school the next year. Oh what a change!
Bit I had to re-do all my 5 sec. year class... I thought I could do it in no time, and I was right!
As I entered the English class, I asked (in English) If I could do the exam right away. The teacher first asked me why I was here, which I replied I was sick, then she said of course and proposed me to take the exam for the next level as well so I can get my credits.
That way I did 2 grades of math, French, biology, physic, ecology, and other stuff in the time of 2 months.
And I thought: If only I could have done all my studies that way!

well that's what I want to give to my children; an education at their rhythm. There's not only school were a child can socialize.

Simple Ostara dinner

----> That's what we ate tonight. My favorite milkshake recipe which is:
a block of mango flavored toffu,
strawberries, banana, yahourt, and other stuff on hand.

also...
We did rainbow cupcakes!

Yummie!

I know spring is really here...

...because I can't stop coughing, and usually I get this when spring arrives!



Ostara 2010

Yesterday was really calm. I wasn't feeling great for a ritual being sic (I wouldn't have stand incense at all!) So I've pass the night at my mom and we had a chocolate fondue. Great fun. Mom didn't want to eat it at first but she ended up fighting for the bowl at the end.


I'll still do "Ostara" stuff during the week...because frankly.. Why should we limit ourself to a date and stop once that date is passed? I wanted to cook with my daughter, a pretty colorful cake, or cupcakes perhaps. Because I know that Easter is coming in 2 weeks and Blogland will be filled with spring goodies I'll want to try :)

Ostara...Why Bunnies and Eggs ended up partying with Jésus

image taken here

If you're interested a tad bit into History, you know most of the Holidays as a pagan root. Thought growing up in a mildly catholic region, my mom chose not to get me baptized and Easter was really much more about chocolate and eggs in my family.

Transferring Pâques (French for Easter) to Ostara wasn't much of a problem for me. Instead of changing the date each year, I stick around March 21st. (The equinox is March 20 for the northern hemisphere this year).


I could do this the complicated way and talk about the Goddess Eostre (which might have never existed)and eggs (which might be a tradition coming from Middle East instead of europe) but I'll simply state what this holidays means to me like I did for Imbolc.

image taken here

The neo-pagan tradition is pretty much made up with lots of bits of other tradition, yet what always comes up is symbol.

Basicly, I celebrate spring. I love spring. Winter here in Québec is really harsh, often confinding us to our homes because the weather is too cold or dangerous (even with our snow-tires). I'm so happy when the sun start warming the earth; I love not having to put on boots to get out of the house, I love that my baby is able to move in her light spring coat.

It's a time of the year I'm glad to celebrate. It's an equinox, always reminding your should have a balance; Night and Day, your inner male and female aspect.

It's always a time to celebrate fertility; earth that will soon offer us flowers, the dairy animal who gave birth... Our own human fertility. Did you know most birth happened on March and April (according to a statistic from Québec anyway).


Tomorrow I'll be celabrating with my mom and daugther. We won't do anything special since my daugther is so young, but I'll find something to make it special anyway :)

I leave you with my little fairy....

Happy Ostara!

About receiving awards....

Since I've been nominated there there and there for the beautiful blog award (or something like that) and once more for my playfood blog here, well first, thank you ladies and gentleman.

But I won't follow the rules... To me those award are some kind of a chain mail thing, and I don't want to send it to (15!) persons according to the rules...

But I like the "7 facts" rule and the "share lucky fact + 3 things to brighten your days" so I'll post that.

So for the seven facts:

1. I almost had my hair always really long. I cut them above shoulder once (I was 12) and thought I like how easy the maintenance was, I hated the look.

2. We lived in a house with about 4 spares room before moving to this 4½ rent. I had set up a tattooing room where I could control hygiene and BBPs. I'm sad I lost the room and I can't tattoo anymore, but we moved so my BF to walk to school and I could easily go where I want with a stroller. It saddens me a bit but tattooing can wait...

3. Me and my boyfriend went to school together since kindergarten, we were pretty much always in the same classes and since our last name begins with the same 3 letters we're next to each other in graduation albums.

4. I'm a terrible housewife. First, I'm not even a wife, second, house cores tends to mount in piles... I start laundry loads everyday... I just rarely fold them the same day and ends up folding 5-6 loads in one evening. Then I ask the BF to put himself his own t-shirt in his closets.

5. I'm not found on putting huge suns and stars and animals bibelots everywhere... but I have some discrete elements like little suns holding my living room curtains, a little pentacle offering bowl, each room as its element's color on the wall and a table full of greens.

6. I keep my altar in front of our bed, on an antique 3 drawers dresser that has this use for 10 years now. Yes, it's full of burns and wax spots. I love it!

7. 7/7/8 is the birth date of my daugther. I'm glad she has such powerfull numbers in her bday!


The Lucky Fact:
I've got a shamrock tattooed on my hips. I've got it in this time of the year when a was 17 with a friend who has a matching one. It reminds me the kind of friend I am, and the situation I was when I got it. If I have irish ancestor (which is higly probable due to my father coming from Montréal) I don't know about and they must be far in the tree branches. But it shows my interest for every culture and I'm supertitius enough to think It might bring me luck ;)

Now, 3 things that brighen my days:
1-My daugther. Making her laugh is so easy!
2-The moving baby in my belly. Wherever I go I'm not alone
3-My boyfriend. He's the cuddling type.


So sorry I don't pass this award along... I'm pretty sure those I would have give it to already received it anyway!

Coming... The garden!

We're living in a second floor. And the staircase are inside, totally protected from the snow on winter (thank gods!).
It's detached from the rest of the house and not insulated, I have this (kind of) huge space above my staircase that hold 4 shelves next to a window... There will go my plants once it's stop freezing at night (which is soon enough!)

I received those via a swap package on craftster



Completed with that really neat idea of markers :D

Stay tuned for little pots and such :P I'll show you the corner with shelving once it'll be cleaned a bit

The greatest funerals I've ever assited

I was off blogland for 4-5 days, and here's the reason: On Wenesday, my boyfriend's grand-mother died. I didn't know her, when I started dating with my boyfriend she was already stolen by her illness. She was 82, almost 83 (born the 19th of March) and was not an ordinary woman. She raised 16 children (2 died before age 4) in a wheelchair from age 30 -a spine tumor stole her legs.

My Boyfriend's family a profoundly catholic, and the funeral happened at their village church; where herself, all her children got married, where her children and most of her grand-kid got baptised, where her husband was burried... A really nice, light church facing the huge Saint-Laurent river (50+km wide), with mostly Saintes surrounding Jésus (maybe 10 saints out of 11 were woman) statues.

The ceremony trully was about her. Since it was a diacre instead of a priest that was giving the ceremony, they couldn't have a communion with an ostie... so my mother in law cut a bread in little pieces, a bread she makes with her mother in law's recipe, and that was their communion ostie.
My younger sister in law, who is 16, read a text she wrote for her grand-mother, she is the youngest cousins out of something like 70 cousins. A wife read a text for her husband too, a really touching text about how last years illness -something close to alzheimer, stole all her memories but haven't stole his, and the print she left on her family.
The older son and the youngest daugther lighted the pascal flame, the priest surrunded the coffin with incense and, one after the other, her children spread water on her coffin. A gorgeous montage of flower was mounting the coffin. The 14 of them surrunded her, holding hands. This part was the most touching for me, as you know I'm pagan, and that for me was casting a protection circle.
Another wife read a text about the seasons of her life, this one was great, too.
There wasn't any pre-fabricated text that you insert the name of the departed while talking about Jesus; The diacre trully talked about her, about love.
The church was full, and most was her children and descendant. 100+ persons, this not counting wifes and husbands, holding each other.

The weather was awesome for this time of the year, the sun was shinning.

Marauder Map Needle booklet

I've made her a needle book, marauder map style, for someone did for a swap on crafsters

it's 4x3 folded and 4x5½ unfolded


Entrance Hall.


Sub floor mixed with rez de chaussé.. I've also included moving staircases


Dungeons


bits of 1st/2/3/4/5/6/7 floors + Towers


Back... Hogwarts Ground


made with cotton and black sharpies Enjoy !