4 season birch trees

{4 seasons photography challenge}

These are the birch trees, budding in spring,
nestlings of robins and promise they bring.

From "This is the Feast" by Diane Z. Shore

For all my friends who love birch trees, this one's for you :)

See you tomorrow for the last 4 seasons photography challenge.

4 seasons rock/lake

{4 seasons photography challenge}

I read about this challenge in a photography book ~ take a landscape photo at least once per season in the same spot... this location was tricky as once spring arrived the lake level started to rise & I wasn't able to continue to take photos at the same spot/angle (unless I wanted to get my feet wet!)... I like the rabbit paw prints in the snow shot.

See you tomorrow for another 4 seasons photography challenge.

PS Many thanks to Craft for featuring me.

Dala Horse Felt Crown

 {Scandinavian Christmas}

I've had this Dala horse felt crown idea in my head for over a year, so it was nice to finally make one. It was the perfect thing for my blond hair, blue eyed Swedish looking son.

Kathryn from The Pickled Herring kindly asked me to be a guest blogger during her Scandinavian Christmas 2011 series.  Today you can head on over to read my guest blog post about how to make this Dala Horse felt crown & be sure to check out all of the Scandinavian Christmas 2011 posts.

PS Check out these great blog posts about ideas/inspiration/patterns on how to make a dress-up crown:
C is for crown (with a template)
Felt Birthday Crown (with a template)
Dress-Up Crown Tutorial (some made with gorgeous vintage fabric & lace)
How to make a royal felt crown
Wool Felt Birthday Crown Tutorial
Dress-up Crown (reversible, made with cotton fabrics, not felt)
Birthday crown (with velcro)
Far, Far Away week-felt crown tutorial
wool felt birthday crowns

Nordic Christmas Decorations

 {Scandinavian Christmas}

During Advent I go on a date with each one of my 3 kids... my 2nd son enjoys decorating gingerbread houses, so he & I went to a castle to do just that.

The castle was all decorated for a Nordic Christmas...

 They have a nice little children's play area including a bookshelf which includes many Swedish & Scandinavian children's books.

PS Here's a round-up of all my previous Scandinavian posts:

Scandinavian Goodies
St Lucia knitted crown
St Lucia crown/wreath centerpiece
St Lucia program
St Lucia smorgasbord
Scandinavian books
Nordic Crosses Gift Wrap
Tomte Stuffy
St Lucia Choir Concert
Scandinavian Christmas Fair

Scandinavian Christmas Fair

 {Scandinavian Christmas}

Last month I discovered for the first time this Scandinavian Christmas fair, here are some photos I took... Enjoy !

(I bought the wooden St Lucia ornament in the above photo)

 I bought this St Lucia paper doll chain (also bought an ABC Sweden card, an Advent calendar card, & Dala horse cookie cutters)

PS here's a round-up of all my previous Scandinavian posts:

Scandinavian Goodies
St Lucia knitted crown
St Lucia crown/wreath centerpiece
St Lucia program
St Lucia smorgasbord
Scandinavian books
Nordic Crosses Gift Wrap
Tomte Stuffy
St Lucia Choir Concert

St Lucia Choir Concert

{Scandinavian Christmas}

This past weekend my daughter & I attended a St Lucia procession & choir concert (there were over 100 in the choir!) ~ it was lovely & a new experience for the both of us.

Happy St Lucia day !!!

PS In December 2010 I blogged a week about St Lucia, if you're interested you can find the posts here:
St Lucia knitted crown
St Lucia crown/wreath centerpiece
St Lucia program
St Lucia smorgasbord
Scandinavian books

Also be sure to check out starting today:
Scandinavian Christmas 2011 @ The Pickled Herring

Sew, Mama, Sew! Giveaway Handmade Kid Item

ETA: I wish I had 151 dresses to give away, but I only have 1 & the winner is Dianne !  Thanks for entering everyone ! 
*****
It's December Giveaway day !

A big thank you to Sew, Mama, Sew!  for hosting such a fabulous giveaway event !

The prize:
A princess Rapunzel dress sewn by me, this dress would fit a 4-6 year old girl.
I sewed 3 of these dresses for my daughter's princess Rapunzel birthday party.
I had enough supplies to sew a 4th one, so now you have a chance to win a never worn one (the first photo here will be the actual dress you will win).
The photos shown here are of my daughter modeling her dress.
If you're interested in sewing a dress like this, check out my notes here.

Enter to win:
:: please leave an answer to the following question: if you win this princess Rapunzel dress, who will wear it/who will you give it to?
:: one entry per person
:: open until Friday, December 16 at 5 p.m. PST
:: I will choose a winner and email the winner by December 18, then I will note the winner in this post
:: I will ship internationally
:: the princess Rapunzel dress will be shipped by December 24