Sunday, December 30, 2012

FE.LIC.I.TY My word for 2013

I have chosen the word
FELICITY
as my theme for the year. Not only is it a pretty word, but it also has lovely connotations. 

fe·lic·i·ty

 noun, plural fe·lic·i·ties.

1. the state of being happy, especially in a high degree; bliss: marital felicity.
2. an instance of this.
3. a source of happiness.
4. a skillful faculty: felicity of expression.
5. an instance or display of this: the many felicities of the poem.
 source
 
My goal for 2013, is to embrace the felicities of life, in my personal and my blogging life. It is stated that felicity is synonymous with happiness. I want to focus my time and energy on things that make me and my family happy. I want my blog to be a source of felicity, and give my readers happy confidence that they have the ability to create and do, and find their own true felicity in life. 
 
I think of it as a seed, and hope for 
 in the near future.
What a fantastic dream!
 
I wish for you; A Day of Creative Felicity!
Do you have a word for the New Year?
 
Risa 

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Reindeer art tutorial


I was going through instagram the other day, and came across a picture from my super talented friend, Amy Twitty. It was of her and a bunch of girl friends who made darling glitter reindeer art. I was instantly crazy about it, and went to her blog. You can see the post with instructions HERE.  A few minutes later, I was in the car, on the way to Home Depot for wood. (This seems to be a pattern for me.) I started out making one for myself only, but it was so easy, that I ended up making a bunch more!

All you need for this craft is wood or canvas. I used wood I got at Home Depot. It's just 12 inch by 8 foot common board (pine). It was around $13. I had the nice worker cut it down to 14inch pieces for me. They just got a new blade, so it required very little sanding. Happy Day! This will equal six 12x14 boards, and one 12x12ish board.


You will not believe how easy the next part is!!! 

I used this coloring page, which I cropped, printed on card stock and cut out. I like that I didn't have to pay for vinyl, and I am feeling a little over the look of vinyl anyway.



I cut carefully, and made sure to make nice cuts, so I could use both pieces of the silhouette.

I laid one piece on top of the wood I had already painted, and traced around it with the galaxy marker I mentioned in my last post.

 

After that, I filled in a bit with marker. I left some of them just marker, and painted over others. I like the way they both turned out.You can see on this one, I painted the board cream first.


 The red marker actually looks a little pink, which is fine for some people. You can see I painted over this one with red. I didn't even have to be very careful, and take it to the edges, because it blended so well. I painted the edges gray. The red I used is by Americana, and it's called, cherry red. I like that you can see the brush strokes. It is sitting on my dining room table.


For this one, I used the inside of the silhouette, and traced around it with white, leaving the deer natural looking.


Then, I went around all the edges with red, minus the deer body, and I love how it turned out!


Here is the same technique, but in red. The sides are painted white. This one is my husband's favorite.


I designed this little printable in pic monkey. Which I LOVE!!!



I made this one tracing the outside of the stencil, and leaving the wood around natural. I can't decide which I like the best. By the way... the deer pictured below, is done on the end piece of the wood that is 12x12, so it is more square.


I love how cute it is all wrapped up with gray yarn and the CUTE printable.


Thank you Amy for the inspiration. You rock! I think I am going to use this technique soon to make some dinosaur prints for my toddlers under-the-stairs playroom. I am already excited!!!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day,

Risa

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Wooden Shoes & Sinterklaas

 Every year, on December 5, Sinterklaas visits our home. Sinterklaas is Dutch Santa. My grandfather is from Holland. I never met him. He and my grandma had my dad when they were both in their 50's. Bless their little hearts... Every year at Christmas time, my dad would tell me and my siblings the stories his dad told him of living in Holland as a child, and Sinterklaas. My husband and I invite my parents over every year to share the same stories with our kids. It is so fun! Then, the kids place their shoes under the tree, and anxiously await the arrival of Sinterklaas.

 

I buy all my wooden shoes at thrift shops. They are about $10 to $15 each. I like them to look authentic, like my Dad and Grandpa's. I don't like them to be painted with scenery for the most part.

I was excited when I found these, but didn't like the mural.


So, I painted them red. Don't hate. I would never paint any shoes that had any sentimental value.


I was dreading the thought of hand painting the white part, when I saw something so cool on Studio 5. It is a marker that acts like a paintbrush! Genius! You can see the Studio 5 clip here. I decided to give it a shot, and OH MY!!! It was perfect! In no time at all, I had these!!! The kind of marker I used is called, Galaxy Marker, and can be found at Benion Crafts for $1.99 each.


I just copied some shoes I found online. I typed in , "red wooden shoes," on google, and found this

You can see in the picture, that they are not perfect, but I feel like it makes them even more charming.


Look at the back. I wrote Sophie's name on them. I hope she will cherish them forever!


 When Sinterklaas comes, he fills the shoes with pepernoten (recipe here), a chocolate letter, an orange, gold coins, and some wooden ornaments.


These are my shoes. So charming, and adorable!


My baby sat still with me for a half a second... long enough to snap this sweet picture.


 It's fun for all on Sinterklaas Eve at the Baker house.

 


Sinterklaas morning is also great fun! The kids are always thrilled to see what he brings, because it is not like the traditional things they get from Santa.
 

If you would like more Dutch inspiration, please visit my, "Everything Dutch," Pinterest Board.

Do you have any special Christmas traditions? I would love to hear about them!

Thanks for stopping by.

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa


Monday, December 3, 2012

Christmas Tree in my Kitchen

 So, my husband got the potted trees out that used to be on my porch, and the bottom half of one of them didn't work. We both tried to get it to work, and it never would light up, so I had just one. I like my porch to be symmetrical, so decided not to put it there. I put this tree in my kitchen for fun, and decided to keep it. I found a bunting that I made last year, and wrapped the tree up (an idea I saw on pinterest just this morning), but it still needed more.


I stuck some wooden spoons in, but I still needed more.


 So, I got out my holiday cookie cutters. (I have no idea why I have so many!) Maybe because my mom always made sugar cookies with us as kids, and it makes me feel warm and fuzzy?


I think it turned out cute for a kitchen Christmas tree. We'll see how my toddler does with it. The good thing about it, is he can't hurt it. And, it really brightens up my kitchen!


I have six additional trees in my house, and I will show them to you in the next little while.

Hope you are doing something fun today! Thanks for stopping by!

Have a Happy and Creative Day!

Risa
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