Invasion of the Rubber Duck!

Well who would have thunk!!

So I now have on order 48, yes that's right....48 rubber ducks ~~ 24 Nutcracker Princes and 24 Faeries.

I would like to say thank you to "let_the_party_begin" at ebay for their wonderful assistance at herding in all of these little rubber ducks for me!

Now as far as I am concerned (being the duck fanatic I am!!)....you can never go wrong with a rubber duck :)

Seeds

I have now sent off an e-mail to Suttons from London. A seed nursery that opened in 1806!! Please check out their link to read more about their history http://www.suttons.co.uk/aboutus.htm.

I am requesting 20 packages of their Godetia Sugarplum seeds.

The description that they posted on these flowers is as follows: masses of brightly coloured, exotic-looking flowers that are a beautiful combination of orchid pink with deeper rose markings. (The single flowers resemble poppies, and semi-double and double blooms are prettily frilled). Height 30cm (12"). Hardy annual/Half-hardy annual

When I went to their checkout page I found that Canada didn't even exist! So here's keeping our fingers crossed that they will mail me the packages. I have tried numerous Canadian and U.S. dealers but none of them carry this particular colour and I was informed that they were unable to get them in for me.

I will keep you posted :)

KLIK's

Woo hoo another parcel came in today :)

I would like to say thank you to Jim "price3262" on ebay.ca
He was wonderful to work with, gave me a great deal and shipped items off immediately.

Now I have 30 KLIK Nutcracker Princes. They were available in three colours: red, grey and purple. Now as these are collectables from 2001, I will have to include new candies for those that want to actually use them as dispensers....just waiting for the Halloween candy to come out now :)

The Story of Clara

Well I just watch another of a multitude of Christmas Nutcracker DVD's.

I have purchased the following so for:

Rebecca will be getting ~~~ Care Bears - The Nutcracker

For the families with little ones ~~ The Nutcracker Prince - starring Keifer Sutherland; Peter O'Toole and Phyllis Diller

Everyone will be receiving a copy of The Nutcracker and the Mouseking ~~ starring Robert Hayes and the late Leslie Nielsen

For Matthew and Gillian ~~ Graeme Murphy's production of Nutcracker The Story of Clara -- with the Australian Ballet

Now to add a personal note....this production casted Vicki Attard, Siobhan Elsman and Margaret Scott as Clara throughout her life. Even though the play was centred around Vicki, Siobhan played Clara as a young girl, while Margaret played her in her later years. I just did some research on Margaret and found out that she was born in 1922. This production was filmed in 1994 which made her 72. She continued to play Clara until the year 2000.....she would have been 78! If for nothing else, to watch Margaret in all of her grace, beauty and talent...this is a must see!

I am going to order Tchaikovsky's version of The Nutcracker next. I am just not sure which dancers I would prefer to see. Of course there is Mikhail Baryshnikov...can't go wrong there :)  But there are others listed so I will read some reviews. 

I love the Story of Clara and as it does fit in with my Christmas theme, I feel that it is not quite what I want to give. I am thinking more of the actual Nutcracker story is needed to help fill in the gaps. 

Sugarplum Faerie Bookmarks

Well, two down....countless more to go :)

I decided that I needed little gifts that were light (for mailing) and useful at the same time. I have found patterns for both the Sugarplum Faerie and the Nutcracker Prince.

I have completed two bookmarks so far of my Sugarplum Faerie. Each one will be unique in my choices of floss. I am quite happy with the pattern so that I will not be altering.

These have been so far quick and easy to do. Usually only taking two sittings of a couple of hours. Taking into account that I now have osteoarthritis in both hands and I can do about a one inch square in about two hours.

I have backed them using the same aida cloth and then just used a zig zag stitch on my sewing machine to attach the two sides together.

I found my 'free' pattern at http://cross-stitchers-club.com/. You can join at no charge and you get 20 free points for joining. Each pattern has its own point system this pattern cost me 10 of my free points :)

The pattern unfortunately does not post who created it, so I cannot give them credit for their creation. But the pattern is called "Fairies all round" and it consist of 4 faeries, one each for the seasons. My winter faerie is shown in blue so I changed my flosses to match the sugarplum theme.

My bookmarks are measuring approximately 3"x5" in size.

Bucilla Felt Stockings

So, these are not going to be the easiest things to make and I may to decide whether I want to make all 8 of them or not. Mind it is only January!!

I would like to send a thank you out to Mary for all of her help and wonderful assistance in my first ebay.ca purchase.

Please see her site at: http://stores.ebay.ca/Calleycats-Treasure-Chest

For the ladies....The Sugar Plum Fairie

And for the gents...The Nutcracker Trio

The Nutcracker Prince

Now as some of these gifts get a very personalized touch -- well for the kid's that is :) -- it will take awhile for me to collect all of the nutcracker princes' needed to fill 20 gift bags this year.

But I do have a start on them now. I found in a local store 6 music box nutcrackers. There are 3 styles in total..see below pictures

I have decided for those packages that need to be mailed out, I will look for hanging ornament sizes to ease with the shipping costs. 

As far as the kids go......I will be purchasing nutcrackers made by Kurt S. Adler. Now as these are all collectables only I will have to purchase regular nutcrackers as well :) Please visit his site to see the outstanding work that goes into making these nutcrackers.  http://www.kurtadler.com/

Matthew will be receiving a Captain James T. Kirk nutcracker....

Karl will be getting Snoopy from the Peanuts cartoon

Ryan....well he loves Winnie the Pooh

As I find more/purchase more I will post pictures

Sugar Plum Spice

After buying a box of Celestial Seasonings holiday herbal tea - Sugar Plum Spice, in December my inspiration for my 2011 Christmas theme came about.

The box file shows little faeries dancing amongst floating sugarplums in a wintery backdrop. WOW...that's all it took! The tea itself is a very fruity and touch on the sweet side....perfect for the holiday season.

http://www.celestialseasonings.com/products/detail.html/holiday-teas/sugar-plum-spice

The Beginning

Well here we go...first blog!


First and foremost....SPOILER ALERT


If you are on Santa's list....please be forewarned that the following blogs will be dedicated to Christmas 2011!!

This blog will be dedicated to my family, my company Enchanted Pathways and my life in general.

I have been blessed to have a few additions to my little family during 2010. Firstly, I married a wonderful man, Larry. My new extended family includes Ryan, Larry's son; his wife Noy and daughter Nun. Next came my beautiful first grandchild, Rebecca Joycelynne, daughter of Brandi and Karl. And not to forget my son Matthew and his fiancee Gillian.

With all of these wonderful people being a part of my life, Christmas has become even more special to me. It is not a matter of 'buying' things but a way to share a part of me through crafts and such with my loving family and friends.

A few years ago I started using a theme for Christmas.

For 2009, the theme was mice. Everyone got a chocolate dipped cherry mouse, a wee handblown glass mouse magnet ornament and of course a paper decoration that included the saying for the Night Before Christmas...not a creature was stirring not even a mouse.

For 2010, the theme was Partridge in a Pear Tree. This time I was more elaborate on my goodies. I made 16 complete bags that included the following: partridges that I knitted in little nests; pear ornaments in all shapes and sizes; pear tea; recipe for a Partridge in a Pear Tree drink; Juicy Pear Jelly Belly Beans; Pear candies from England; pear note pads and of course a card with a pear on it.

This year, are you ready for this....as the title of my blog says "The Sugarplum Faerie' and her Nutcracker Prince. As I progress with my crafts I will post pictures, recipes and all the other good stuff.

I hope you enjoy following me on my journey.