A Victorian Christmas

This weekend, we headed to the Dicken's Christmas Fair to get some more holiday cheer. I was so excited to go and check it out, since it's been many years since I've been. Also, I've been aching to create a Dicken's Christmas Party Kit, but some how this season it just didn't happen... next year, next year! Either way, it was entertaining... loved the costumes, and the make believe shops.... and came home with many ideas for next year.

A horn ornament on vintage music.

Hats festooned with feathers, flowers, birds and more...

Playing Card Garland in a shop window.

Old top hat littered with trade cards and Union Jacks.

Glittery beaded birds perched on a cage.

Punch and Judy puppet theatre.

Hula Girl Party!!

Aloha! I know it's December, and the last thing on people's mind is a sunny, Hawaiian luau, but that's the theme chosen by my daughter, so, of course I said, "Sounds great!" Fortunately, we live in California, and the weather, although it can be rainy, held out nicely for our luau fun.

Putting on a luau is lots of fun. When I started creating this party kit, I quickly realized, that there's no way that I could only have one luau party in my future collection--- so many different ideas and looks were coming to mind when I gathered imagery (think tiki, surfer, etc.)... so, once I reminded myself that this party was definitely geared for a girl, I had a great time concentrating on a truly girly Hula Girl luau theme-- soft colors, lei flowers, raffia (grass skirt), and retro hula girl imagery. Below are some snapshots from the fun.

A detail from the Hula Girl banner.

A detail from the luau invitation.

Leis, leis, and more leis lined our coat rack for all guests to put on.

Leis, fishing net, shells decorate the outdoor fireplace area... and yes, the not so sightly stereo played great hawaiian music.

The girls LOVED all the crafts--- only a handful of boys participated though... they were quite taken by the lawnful of beach balls... many which ended up at the neighbors by the end of the evening!

More Holiday Shows...

It seemed a little insane, to try to pack in one more crafty affair... just as the holidays are ramping up, and my daughters bday party was on the horizon... but ya know, ya just got to do it some time! So, just a little stress, and some table arranging magic, and a pot of coffee and voila, it was holiday coffee/open studio time. All said and done, it was well worth it. Here are some shots from the show.

Santa cards topped with a candy cane.

I need to find more glitter in my house... Ah, there it is.

Cards and Tags galore...

I threw in some baby cards too... just for fun!

ROADTRIP!!!

Our family was in desperate need of a get away this past Thanksgiving weekend! We had our turkey, we had our family gathering, now we needed to get the heck out of dodge and go on a ROADTRIP!!! (you must yell "roadtrip" like a frat boy when you say that word :))


When my husband and I were "courting" we were quite the roadtrippers. Our longest and most debaucherous roadtrip was from San Francisco to N'Orleans via Las Vegas, the Grand Canyon and Austin, TX. It's debatable if I'll ever share all the details of that trip with my kids... but now it was time for our kids to get a taste the adventures of the road!


Ok. I admit, I'm being a bit dramatic. We really were only heading out of town for an overnight... but we left the house with only a small bag, and no hotel reservations for the night. We were really living on the edge. ;)

Our destination... the gold country of California. Why? Because it's beautiful in fall, and it's in range of a good overnight destination from our house! Now, I think everyone in the Bay Area had the same idea as us, or else they just thought that getting in their cars and driving on the freeway was how they would spend their weekend... so the traffic was a nightmare.

In true roadtrip fashion... we got off the main highway, and cut our way up to the Sierra hills through back towns and country roads... with our GPS/traffic maps guiding the way. (Yes, the GPS kindof kills the "adventuresome" aspect of the roadtrip, I know.) We had a great time pointing out to the kids things that you can't see off I-80...

Once up in the hills, we headed to Jackson, CA. It was already evening, but the town was a buzz. Holiday festivites were in the air. Lights lined the streets and the shops were buzzing with people. For dinner we headed into Sutter Creek. Even more lights, even more decorations. It was a great way to kick off the holiday season.

Here's a window from a shop called "Tomorrow's Heirlooms" in Sutter Creek, CA. Very cute place.

This was in the window of the ice cream parlor in Sutter Creek (featured in Sunset Magazine.) What a great place. Not only was the ice cream de-lish, but the owner even headed over to the old fashioned piano and played some tunes for us. Then he plugged in the mechanical Jingle Bells song and away the piano played.

Great memories, and great road trip!

Christmas Craft Craziness

It's that time of year again... it's holiday craft fair time, and I'm knee deep into it! I'm so fortunate to have a studio to work in, but this time of year, I have spread out to every corner of our house to create... a table here, a table there... glitter here, paper cutting there... my husband is so tolerant :)

I'm a relative newbie to this whole craft fair craziness... which is quite intimidating when many of my fellow artist friends have been doing this for years. I'm sure as the years pass, I'll get a little better organized... a little ahead of myself, and not need to spread out to every corner of the house. I doubt it!
I found a great way to pass time while I was engrossed in production was listening to craft podcasts like Crafty Pod and Craft Sanity. I know it's totally geeky, and a little sad, but I found a little taste of that craft community while I listened to the interviews and heard other crafters stories... I was also very inspired by all of their stories of success.


I hope your holiday season is just starting, and if you're searching for that perfect gift, head to a craft fair... perhaps you'll find something you just can't resist :)

World Explorer Party - All Indy Fans Welcome!

Attention all Indiana Jones fans... Attention travelers of the world... here's a party kit for you!

This past weekend, I helped throw a World Explorer party for my 12 year old nephew. It was a blast. He is a HUGE Indiana Jones fan. He can practically recite the movies, so of course I jumped at the chance to make a party kit in the Indy theme.






Part of the fun of making a party kit is the research... and to be honest, I'm sure I don't need to do nearly as much research as I do, but it's so fun. I found some great books on Adventurers thoughout history.... One book was awesome! It was full of short chapters about treasures of the world, including all of the treasures in the Indiana Jones movie series (the arc, the crystal skull, etc.) As part of the party, I came up with an (what seemed) like an elaborate Indiana Jones type treasure hunt. I have to admit, coming up with a treasure hunt for kids from 4 to 16 was not easy... but it turned out great, especially since many of the adults agreed to dress up and lead the kids through the clues. Below are some shots from the adventure...

Indy necessities, snakes, a whip and a hat!

Come sit in the garden of eden to hear a clue...

Another clue in market of Morocco (the tree house...)

The Renn Faire

We headed off to the Rennisance Faire this weekend for a great day trip of revelry. This was the first Renn Faire for our kids, but my husband have been a couple times now.

By no means are we Renn Faire regulars... we've only been a couple times, but every time I love it. It's the whole dressing-up-thing and pretending-you-live-in-a-different-time... and yes, the people watching. There are all types out there, and it's just fun to watch!

This year I also came with a slightly different eye. Having completed a Royale Faire Princess and Knight Party Kit, I couldn't wait to see other ideas to complete the whole Royale Faire party experience. Of course, there are plenty of elaborate ideas one can glean, but I did see several simple ideas. that would be easy to produce at a princess and knight party. Here are some shots from the day...Ribbon Garland - How simple and festive is this! Just tie a bunch of ribbons
along a twine and hang!

"The Queen, the queen..." a royale parade causes quite a stir in the crowd.




Plenty of Tarot readings at the Faire... wouldn't that be fun at a Royale Faire bday party?