tonight.

Old World Nutcracker, originally uploaded by left wing lucy.

going to see the Nutcracker this evening. An early birthday present from Jason. The Columbia City ballet is putting on the production.

I have never seen the Nutcracker and neither has Jason, so we are both trying to figure out the story line before we go so we are not sooo lost. soo...

I googled it. Seems the ballet is based on "The Nutcracker and the King of Mice" written by E.T.A. Hoffman. Basic plot line, but not as detailed. Seems there are two acts::

ACT I

"It's Christmas at the Stahlbaum home. There' s a huge tree, and many guests arrive to celebrate with the family. Clara's godfather, Herr Drosselmeyer, makes magical toys. He entertains the guests with two life-sized dolls that dance around the room. Then he gives gifts to the children, and gives Clara a very special gift of a nutcracker. Her brother, Fritz, is jealous, and grabs the nutcracker and it gets broken! Clara is very upset, so Herr Drosselmeyer repairs the doll before handing it back to her..


Soon after, all the guests leave and the children go to bed. Clara gets up in the night and goes downstairs to get her nutcracker from under the tree. She falls asleep there, and is transported into Christmas fantasy where her nutcracker has grown to the size of a human. When the Mouse King attacks, the Nutcracker Prince tries to valiantly defend young Clara, but is struck down in the battle. Clara in turn saves her Nutcracker Prince by throwing her shoe at the Mouse King and defeating him.


With the nasty Mouse King out of the way, Clara runs to the Nutcracker Prince. When she kisses him, he turns into a human! Then she and her Prince are whisked away through the Enchanted Forest, where they see dancing snowflakes and other wonders. Then they travel further to the Kingdom of the Sweets. "

ACT II

"In the Kingdom of Sweets, Clara and the Prince behold the wondrous beauty of the Sugarplum Fairy. She invites the couple to stay for a while and enjoy the entertainment of her subjects. Clara and the prince watch in awe as the inhabitants of the Kingdom of Sweets dance before them.


When the dancers are finished, Clara and her Prince sail home in a magic sleigh made of ice and candy. On Christmas morning, Clara wakes under the tree holding her nutcracker doll. " - taken from kaboose.com

merry merry

80 degrees in december.

So not having a camera that I can plug into my USB port and *PRESTO CHANGO* I have pics, is getting really annoying. I had a crappy one for a while there, but Moto ate the USB cord, as he did my sewing machine cord and numerous pairs of socks. So no luck until someone fulfills my Dear Santa letter and I find a new Nikon Digital SLR in my stocking. Well have to wait and see.

I am obsessed with sofites lately. ( that was a subject change, wasn'ti it?! ) Check out this cool blog :: Softies Central. I am in the process of making my very own softie pattern, which I hope to make available for free after I get it perfected. Check back closer to Christmas.

Now for some updates and fun things I found in blogland ::

*Etsy for Animails - is a great group of artists who donate a portion of thier etsy sales to animal charities. Check them out, there some really great artist over there.

*The Journal Your Christmas pool over at flickr is awesome. Wonderful scrappers from around the world. What a great idea shimelle! I'm having a blast doing mine!

*My newest obsession with magazines is adorn who have some fun and free projects for you to try! Check them out here.

*I want to make a couple of these for my studio :: trim box. Thanks to Melissa for this freebie.

*I want to make a whole forest of these soft trees and these stacked fabric trees.

*These just make me smile :: Jar of Whimsies, Unicorn Notes, a red checkered dachsie, Molly Apple and candy jar earrings.

merry merry until next time

Catch up.

Day 10


Love*Elsie, Ki Memories and some yummies from Red Velvet Kit Club's December kit.

Day 11 (to be finished later)



Love*Elsie tags and paper, Making Memoies Stickers and letters, EK Sucess and Paper Bliss. The Fraser Fir tag is from the tree we got this year. On the back it has a short history of xmas trees and facts (I♥ that!).



AND on a lighter note, here is a conversation I had with Jason the other day::

(my phone rings)
A: Hi honey, how's your day going?
J: I'm crafty.
A: Oh yeah? How?
J: I was bored at work and I made a bunny.
A: A bunny?
J: Yep, a bunny. I made him out of a cup, coffee stirs, splenda packets and straw wrappers.
A: Really?
J: Yep. And I named him Latte. Latte the bunny.

And here's the proof ::



Merry Merry

A Christmas Daily Something.

Advent Boxes, originally uploaded by studio*chaos.

They are up and I just ♥ them. Took me about an hour to paint them all, 1/2 hour to number them and about 10 minutes putting them on the wall. And yes, I am a mix the numbers up kinda gal.

Daily Update :: December 08 thru 11th.


merry merry tuesday!

Handmade Christmas # 3

Mopsey the Softie, originally uploaded by studio*chaos.

Thanks to a wonderful blog called Wee Wonderfuls, I downloaded this great pointy kitty softie pattern. It's my first softie. I spent all afternoon on her. The details took up 3/4 of that time. I'm pretty happy with her though. She will be a gift for my sister. I hope she likes her!

If you want to make your own pointy kitty, click here.

Day 8 & 9

I ♥ me some Love Elsie

The bulb up top right is actually a tab for the tag with my journaling on it.

The pages seem to be coming together fairly quickly lately. I did both of these on Sunday night (because I worked all day Saturday). I didn't spend a whole lot of time worrying about these LO's. Maybe thats why they are not my favorites so far. Still having a blast and I have been keeping up!

merry merry

This is what it's all about! ♥ it!

P.S. Make sure your speakers are turned on! :-P

love it.

My sister and I (on right) on Christmas Eve 1987 or 88 (not sure). *Thanks mom and dad for liking to take photos.* P.S. Comming soon:: Tree, boxes, bunnies and of course, journals!