Holiday Baking

M has been baking holiday cookies again.

This time they are Easter themed.

She did all the baking and made the royal icing.  It was our first time trying something other than buttercream.  We shared duties piping and filling the spaces.  I think they turned out fairly well considering it was our first attempt.

I found some food coloring markers and put faces on the bunnies.

Even the scraps got the "royal" treatment.

Hoping you try something new,

Sharon

The Costumes

While everyone else was carving pumpkins, I was icing the cookies that M made.

After the pumpkin fun it was time for pictures of the little people in costumes. 

Here is GB#4 in her Madeline outfit that I made for her.

GB#3 was a sly little fox.  His mom made the tail.

GB#2 joined her sister (GB#4) as Cinderella in her wedding gown.

 

GB#1 was excited to be a witch

 and was happy to tell everyone that witches say "ha, ha, ha" quite maniacally.

It was quite the feat, but I managed to get a couple shots with all four little ones. 

I hope your Halloween was as fun as ours. 

Sharon

Pumpkins and Paint

Early Saturday afternoon the family all came over to carve pumpkins.

The little ones did some pumpkin painting.

Some of the paint didn't make it to the pumpkin, but no one cared.

When all was said and done we had an aardvark,

Max (Where the Wild Things Are),

Shy Guy (Super Mario Bros.),

Hello Kitty, Cinderella,

and a pineapple to welcome our trick-or-treaters. 

Tomorrow - the costumes.

Birthday Doll

I made this sweet little doll for a sweet little birthday girl. 

The pattern comes from Mollie Makes issue 14. 

I made a few changes to customize her. 

I used felted wool instead of wool felt.  Yes, there is a difference. 

I fused the wool to the base fabric 

and then used decorative machine stitches to secure the edges. 

I cut the front of the shoes differently to give the appearance of a Mary Jane shoe, 

and added a bow to the headband. 

GB#4 (the birthday girl) inspected her face and then promptly 

put the doll's head in her mouth.  

I believe this is the true sign of approval.

Wishing you time to create,

Sharon

Rain, Rain, and More Rain

This evening a strange looking sky turned into a thunderstorm.

The drainage ditches filled up quickly as the storm settled in for a while.

They began to merge with the now flooding street.

Soon we couldn't tell where the yard ended and the road began.

As the drainage pipes couldn't process the amount of water, 

it poured over the driveway and into the yard. 

The rain has now subsided and the water has receded. 

This doesn't happen often so it made for an exciting evening.

Wishing you a little excitement,

Sharon

Cuteness in Black & White

Per Lucy's suggestion, here is the photo from Day 187/365 in black & white.

Old Friends

These gentlemen all went to college together and lived on the same floor of their dorm.

That was forty years ago. 

Today was the annual golf outing and cookout.

Or you could call it what it is, the reunion.

For some it had been a few years since they had seen each other.

There was reminiscing over old photo albums

and catching up to do. 

Some will see each other during the year on purpose or by coincidence. 

If not, they will see each other again next year.