12 Doodles of Christmas

For this free-draw Friday, I visited the 12 days of Christmas! :) Enjoy peeking at them--and don't blame me if the song gets stuck in your head....

Christmas Advent Calendar

A couple of years ago, I set out to make my own advent calendar. I wanted it to be made of Christmas felt with hand-stichted embroidery details that gave it loads of love and charm. After working on it in small pieces as holiday seasons came and went, I finally got it out to finish this year--just in time for our first Christmas together. :)

Heart Patch

I can't tell you how devastated I was when I put on my favorite cashmere cardigan only to discover a well-worn hole in the elbow. But with some adorable home-made patchwork, I was back in business and the sweater was cuter than ever!

Glimpse Underwater

A glimpse into an underwater world. Sketched with pen and colored with chalk pastels.

Breakfasting

"What have we always said is the most important thing. What comes first?"
"Breakfast."
"Family."
"Family. Right. I thought you meant out of the things you eat."
--Arrested Development

I tend to agree with George Michael. Because you see, I love breakfast.

Glimpse into the Ball

A wall cut-away of a ball. I was inspired by Disney concept art :) I had the hardest time figuring out the color of the dress, but ended up choosing yellow. Sketched with pen and colored with chalk pastels.

All In Its Place

I love baking. A dash of extra sugar, splash of vanilla, some flour and cold butter. Berries and cherries and apples and chocolate. Cinnamon and nutmeg and ruffled edges and golden brown crusts. The smell of a baking kitchen warms you right down to the bones and makes me feel like humming a sweet song while pulling warm lovelies out of the oven.

And as much as people might tell you that baking is a science--I'd have to disagree. I bake with my heart and see beauty in every piece. Rinsing off strawberries, piling pits of cherries, bread dough on floured wood and perfectly domed cookies all make me feel like I'm painting on the canvas of life.

And as much as I adore baking--I equally adore the process of perfectly poising the kitchen for such an occasion.

(JK's) Cheese & Potato Soup

Jk diligently set to work making this one cold evening, and the result was incredible! (Because he made  it all himself the first time we ever ate it is why I am forever naming it "his".) Never have you tasted a soup with so much flavor, and if you're looking to add a little kick to traditional potato soup--this is it.

Gurp the Sloth

This is Gurp. He is a sloth. And he climbs trees oh so slowly.

Stealing Sweaters

It's well into fall, and sometimes you just can't beat a great big sweater. Chunky knits and billowy tops are making a big comeback in fashion these days. Unfortunately, I don't have some of my own nor the money to buy some, but I DO happen to have a cute little husband with sweaters galore. So, naturally, I stole one of his.

Dressing A Dresser

Using a multitude of hangers and various sizes of baskets in our closet, we had been looking for a dresser for a while. But the only ones we really liked enough to spend money on, were a bit, well... out of our current price range. (At least we have good taste, though, right?) So, we had given up hope of finding a great dresser, and hadn't given much thought to it in a few months until I made an offhanded comment about it to my grandma.

Shepherd's Pie

Have you ever tasted Shepherd’s Pie? It’s AWESOME--and the perfect dish for a cold night. I like to serve this out of mugs, it seems to taste so much better :)

Hogwarts Decorating: Owl Post & Wizardry Signs

There were so many little touches we added for our Harry Potter decoration this month, so here's the rest of them in one nice final post.