Quiet book

They should have received the quiet book by now in the mail so I'm not spoiling the Christmas surprise (and I assume the kids don't read my blog anyways :D).

This is the latest quiet book that I've made. Every time I'm done I promise myself to never ever make one again. It's so much work. But so worth it.

With this one I tried some new things. Felt! Love it!

I also covered a soft plastic binder with fabric. This is so much sturdier than a fabric cover.

I might make another one...

Lost Doll Story Contest and Giveaway

This is my entry for the lost doll contest from the most amazing doll-maker I have ever seen.

Trashcan trauma

When I was a little girl I received a huge doll from my great-grandma. It was a very special doll to me. My great-grandma died not too long after this and this doll was a special memory for me.

I took it wherever I went and loved dressing her up. We were the best of friends. Here is a picture of me and my doll.

My mom thought that the doll was hideous and too big. She always tried to talk me into another doll, but I refused. I had always a love for the not-so-perfect-looking things (You should have seen the Christmas trees in the years I got to pick them, not the picture perfect ones, not straigth, not full with green needles and even but they were special to me).

One day I couldn't find my doll and looked everywhere for her. I couldn't find her. I went outside to play with my brother. We would go out and explore the world, the forest and our neighborhood. We also looked in the trashcan of our apartment complex (kids!) and I was petrified when I saw my loving doll in the trashcan!!! My mom thought I would never find out and forget about her. I was so mad and got her out immediately.

My Mom apologized a million times, but I was a pretty upset doll mom and was sure she would never be able to make up for this.

One day my mother learned to make Waldorf dolls. I was the lucky receiver of her first self-made doll. She put all her love in it and gave it to me. I LOVED this doll. I soon realized how soft and fun it is and forgot all about the big plastic doll. The little Waldorf doll is still alive and treasured. It's my little Miss Sunshine:

My daugther Laneah is 3 years old and has a really ugly plastic doll with sound. I find it rather ugly, BUT I will let her keep her doll. The love/bond you can have for a doll is priceless. But I do want to give her a lovingly made Waldorf doll one day too. One that she can cuddle and love and dress up. A doll that will remind her of me and be a special treasure to her for the rest of her life and maybe even for her own baby girl.

This might be my chance...thank you Juliane for this giveaway! I´ll keep my fingers and toes crossed.

Of birthdays and cakes

Pretty much all of our family birthdays are in August, September and October. Laneah and Eliam turned three and one and we had a lot of fun on their special days.

My mom and I love to make their birthday cakes. We did one from a Debbie Brown book and bought one 3D cake form. It's easier than it looks. It is just playing with food!

Eliam got a big green dragon. I love to play with fondant. You can model anything you dream of. I am personally not too fond of the überübersweetness but it looks great and the cake tasted so good. Birthday boy had a green diaper the day after. :D

Laneah's cake was a toal disaster. I will never do icing again. I'm used to fondant and wanted to try something new, but after we had 16 packs of powedered sugar in the air and in the bowl it just wouldn't turn out good and we decided to do it our way. But she loved it anyway. It was pink and that's all that mattered to her.

Monster quilt

I can't wait to make this quilt! Eliam will be the lucky receiver. I was thinking for his first birthday but it's probably going to take me until his second birthday to finish it. :D

Look here for more on the Little Monsters quilt, the cushion and the skilled designer.

Australia has some amazing quilt/fabric designers! One of my other favorites is Melly & me.

Car roll-up mat

I've made this car roll-up mat to take along to church or other places. All the sudden my little girl loves cars! I am sure I could come up with a cool version of a doll roll-up mat too. Like a roll-up dollhouse...hmm...sewing machine where art thou...

This one was for my nephew Lorenzo. Thanks for being my guinea pig, I will make many many more.

The kids are both asleep, so dishes, here I come.

Karl

Tonight I heard that Karl Schnibbe passed away. I loved that guy.
He would bring us fresh tomatoes and other special treats while I served as a sister missionary on Temple Square. He would tell us about his experiences in life and what he went through and why he did what he did. He was bold, strong and courageous and I am sure he's happy to meet his dear friends again in heaven.
You can read more about him here:
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/700031380/German-Mormon-Karl-Heinz-Schnibbe-who-resisted-Nazis-with-teenage-friends-dies-in-Salt-Lake-City-at-86.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karl-Heinz_Schnibbe

Simplifying

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."
Marjorie Pay Hinckley

What's your family motto?

Last fall we were so lucky to attend a fireside by Steven Covey and he talked about his family motto: "Gathering for Zion" The whole family wears blue wristbands with the motto on it and even his grandkids can explain what it means.
I also like his life motto: Life live in crescendo!
Paddy and I still don't have a family motto figured out for our family. It's more difficult than we thought.
What's yours?

Spring jacket

I made a new jacket for Laneah and at first she hated it. She threw in the corner and said she'd never wear it. Never say never...especially when Mommy spent her precious past-kids-bedtime hours on it to sew it. Now she saw that there's an ice-cream print on it she likes it. Good girl. She'd better.
It's the Tinka-Bella pattern from Farbenmix. Can't wait to make the winter edition. :)

Happy Mother's Day

For the ones who haven't seen it yet...beautiful, truly beautiful!

Best bread recipe ever

You've got to try this:

500g spelt flour
1 pack of dry yeast
1 handfull of seeds like pumpkin or sunflower or whatever you like
10g salt
1 teaspoon bread spices
1/2 teaspoon sugar
250 ml buttermilk
250 ml water

First mix all the dry ingredients together and then add the water and buttermilk. Let it all rise in a warm place for 40 minutes and then bake in a bread form for about 40 minutes at 200 Celsius.
Let it cool down and enjoy!

First post

It's Sunday evening, the kids are asleep and I felt like starting a new blog about my little paradise of my own creating. That quote from Brother Brigham (on the right) has been my theme for quite some time and I hope to get many ideas from you smart and skilled moms out there! I try to make our home a little paradise and I'll be blogging about it here.
I love being a wife and a mother. I never thought it would be that difficult, but that's probably why it's so great.

Today I taught the adult Sunday School class. Quite humbling. Good thing it was only a one time favour. The lesson was on Balaam and his talking donkey. Fabulous story. I found it quite inspiring as a Mother: Balaam/kids begging Hevanely Father/parent, answer is "NO", "NO" is not the wanted answer, so more nagging until they have a "Okay, BUT..." answer and they go off and do something they weren't supposed to. It's always better to stick to Heavenly Father's advise.