New Year Crafting for my Princesses

I have lots of new crafting ideas. I have more ideas than I have time for, but I am making headway! Munchkin has been talking more and so have her toys. It gave me inspiration for more Barbie dress making.

They only posed a moment for the pic, then continued fighting over the handmade satin rose between them.

 

Then, I have been having some inspiration for creating some little girl joy. I found a large formal skirt at the thrift shop for 100 RSD…  (Republic of Serbia Dinars) about a dollar depending on the exchange rate. I created three dresses from that and one more from scraps. I have one a little more work to do on that one. Excuse the poor quality, but I had to share!

I can’t wait to give them to the little Munchkins I love. It will definitely call for a Princess tea party!!

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Crafty Crowns Photography Friday

Normally I post pics on Fridays. Today I am having some technical difficulties and have decided to post a craft that I just made.

I am a fan of Pinterest for cool gift ideas and this is one of the many pins I have tried and achieved!

I went to a Thrift shop and found this ornate pillow. Dismantled it, and up-cycled the lace!

The crowns were relatively easy once I found some wired ribbon and the no sew heat bonding strips that made this project a snap! With an iron, adhere the lace to the ribbon. Then, just a hem them in the back to close the crown and Wa La!

Presto!! Kiddie crowns. I am tickled with the way they turned out. I am only leery of giving them as a gift in Serbia. I know back home my nieces would love them… Wish me luck. One will be a birthday gift today.

Another Pinterest idea turned gift.

Permanent marker on a plate… baked at 400 Fahrenheit ror 205 Celsius for 30 minutes. Buying cute things with names is not a big here as it is in the U.S. So, I am making my own. The project worked so long as you don’t scrub really hard the marker stays put! Hooray for my new name plate craft!

Happy Friday everyone!

Dobar Dan!

Whatever Wednesday-Craft bag and blog awards

Lucky Thrift Store find

A while back, I believe I posted about this cool find. I planned to fix it up and I HAVE. I am pretty sure I completed my up-cycling of this little bag.

First the bag was washed to try to remove the light stains at the bottom. They remained, but I waited to wash it again after the project was finished.

Black ribbon replaced the tired old pull string. Embellishments in red were added to the ribbon. The red and blackish embroidery that spells out Amelie was covered with all red thread. On top of that, I added bright red beading. I outlined the yellow name box with black Xs. Child style embroidery, because I haven’t got skills for anything more fancy.  The corners were adorned with black beads.

Finally, I let the bag sit for a day with strong stain remover. The bag came out stainless and much more vibrant than it had gone into the wash.

I still have the tent to finish and a few more little girls skirts. I know I can do this for a while. I find it fulfilling. Bu,t I have been thinking lately, I need to find a real job. But there aren’t any here to be had by a foreigner who speaks little Serbian. I am will have to start my own business. I doubt making crafts will make it here in Serbia. But it is a start! I have another crafty thing just finished this week. This was my first attempt at this Pinterest inspired craft. I will be doing this again soon. I think they make nice gift baskets. I like to put gifts inside of gifts. (when I have the time)

Now, I would like to lightly and politely decline the blog award nominations I have received lately. I have gotten 2 from a close friend I have known for more years than I would like to write. Another one had just come from a blogger I love to read. I have one award already, and I don’t really have an addictive personality. One blog award, one tattoo, and one baby is enough. I write for fun, not for awards. I write in the precious free time that naps my toddler takes allows. Sometimes, I write while she whines at my feet. That is not quality writing time.

Thank you again for the lovely nominations.

The Munchkin turns One!

Last night, We had a wonderful group of close friends come to celebrate the first year of the munchkin’s life.

Blowing out the candle

All three the January, February, and March 2012 babies got to play together.   They are all walking now, and have less than 10 teeth between them. 😉

Jan, Feb, March girls

 

We still have some more celebrating yet, but this was the big shebang! It is a tradition here to celebrate the First birthday before the actual date. But we chose Saturday, because most people don’t work, not for the sake of tradition.

There are lots of traditions here for the first birthday, mostly revolving around a child being Christened in the church. They baptize the child, and cut locks of hair from the child. Then when you return home from the church there are still more of they traditions to follow. The Kum (pronouned KOOM) or Best man from the wedding has to cut another lock of hair and maybe give a speech.

All the traditions are very nice. But this was stressful enough for me. I am glad we did not have to do all the regularly scheduled Serbian traditions on this day as well.

Trying to plan a birthday party when only one person in the house speaks both languages and the other two women try to understand each other it is a bit more hectic. Throw in some PMS and different cultural ideas and it can turn ugly. It didn’t though. It only got a little harried when The muz (husband) heard his father planned to bring a roasted suckling pig. (That was  a jolt of Culture shock!) This was the day before the party and after all the food prep and planning had been done.

The only little piggies at the party. Yummy bread piglets. With pepper seeds for eyes and Rye for the nostrils.

I will admit I was a bit miffed that mama was making my little one’s first cake. I had planned for the cup cakes I was making to be her cake. But that was lost on the mama and I was too tired of trying to explain. In the end it turned out better that way. The recipe I tried for the frosting was horrid. It was better to use her cake.

I did get lucky with the cup cakes frosting. At the last-minute there was some pudding left over that make a nice topping for the cup cakes.

International baking is much more difficult than one would imagine. The flour around the world is NOT the same. It tastes different so do some of the other ingredients. Making the finish product taste different from it does in your home country.

Our flour comes from our families fields. After the harvest, they take it to a mill where it is ground. It is not processed and bleached like the flour you buy at the store. You can imagine how that can change things.

The Munchkin is awake now. Must go carry on with the day. More about the party tomorrow.

Dobar Dan

 

Princess Skirt 365-47

I have taken on new crafty endeavors here to pass my time. I am working on these for my friends kids. This tutu was pretty quick. The little one is beginning her modeling career for me.

orange tutu

 

This one is the one I am most proud of. This is an up-cycled curtain from the thrift shop. Now that I am without a steady income, I must be more frugal. I am going to try to make gifts more. and honestly, I wouldn’t want to buy a skit like this here if I could find it. It would be expensive.

Princess skirt

The pocket

I am glad to be finished. It is hard to work on something that requires so much attention when a baby is whining at your feet to be picked up. constantly.

I completed the skirt this morning. but in an ironing blunder… I melted a huge hole in it. Needless to say, I was gutted. Fortunately, Mama came to my rescue. She finished sewing in the replacement panel while I took care of the teething fussy munchkin.

I am excited to start my next project. But this week is all about birthday prep. Lots to do.

Dobar Dan

Dear Blog Diary, Yesterday….365-31

Yesterday I went to the hospital to visit two family members.

lonely hospital halls

Mama is still in the hospital after having surgery for the second time in 2 years to repair hernias that she got post babies some 30+ years ago. This time, the nurses are great. Her room is clean and she has a nice room mate. The window are new, so the room is warm. She even says the food is good. I will take her word for it. This is a a 180 from last time. I am seriously relieved. And, I hope when she gets out, there will be no more problems with her lower stomach.

Deda Mumshilo had another heart attack. The first one was some 10 or so years ago. He is recovering in the same hospital one floor down. The conditions are more crowded and not quite as nice. But decent for “free” care.

An empty, clean hospital room

He complained about the food, and said he wants a burger. I called him a baby, told him he needs to eat his soup and rest. All in all he is doing well, if he can complain about this and that he is just fine. If he stops complaining, I would worry.

In Deda’s room there were two other older gents with beds next to his. Across the way, there were two other men and a very OLD Baba fully dressed in black “baba attire”. Including the required kerchief tied around her head.

She was dressed like this, but sick in a hospital bed. Seriously, it is like there is a Baba uniform.

Deda’s room was too warm, but older folks are always cold, I am sure it was to keep them comfortable.

I spent just a short time with Deda. He was too tired to really have company. But I spent more than an hour with Mama.

We had a really nice talk, I brought her an old photo album of mine to pass the time. Unlike in the US there are no televisions in the rooms to ease the boredom of laying hour after hour, day after day in the hospital to recuperate.

I also got to show Mama the cool little bag I found at the thrift shop. I am totally stoked about it! Check it out!!

I

I am gonna fix it up. Another cool project! off to work on it. I  will give the before and after when complete! 🙂

Dobar Dan!

(Good Day!)

Sveti Sava 365-27

Traditional Bread for Slava

Today, a friend invited me to join her and her little munchkin. We attended a museum celebrating Saint Sava. The place was packed.with people. There were Children’s drawing all over the three rooms that held all the artifacts for celebrating this Orthodox holiday. Breads, decorated with flowers, crosses, leaves and a myriad of Icons with lots of meanings were the biggest attraction. There was a contest for the best one.

This one was the winner.

Lots of work goes into these breads. I haven’t even attempted to make one. I must learn how. My friend M. told me that the children are taught at school how to make them. These breads are entries from the kids in school. But it is obvious these are not made by the kids. They are amazing works of art!

The best bread were all on this table.

The kids drawings were really nice. I was really impressed. One day the little munchkin will be drawing these things too.

Kids drawings of the Saints

There was a priest there that gave a short service in the beginning and the Sveti Sava song was sang by all. Below is a nice version on Youtube.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mvwUdxizLwY

There was even a table up front with the traditional foods and wine.

The bread, wheat, and wine were the traditional foods… the cookies were just an added bonus. SO yummy!

My little munchkin slept most of the time. She woke up after we left. Kinda nice to have the quiet time. It was easier to take pictures with the phone while she slept. 🙂

The backyard of the Museum

The weather was great for walking to and from the museum. The grounds for the building are so gorgeous. I must go back with the good camera for pictures in the spring.

 

Staying busy in Serbia 365-16

I am trying to stay busy without spending money, i.e. going to cafes or out to lunch. With help from Pinterest, I have found productive ways to spend my time!

Right now, I am working on two products, a little girl’s tutu and an uber-cool bohemian play tent. Neither are common here, as the world of Pinterest has not made a huge impact on Serbia.

If you are interested… here is a link to the spot where I have gotten the super coolest ideas for everything from kids crafts to recipes to how to fix this or that!

http://pinterest.com/

None of my Serb girlfriends have heard of it. But I know lots of American-Serbs love it, They found my pics of Serbia, and have reposted or followed my boards and I have reciprocated.

The first tutu was just finished today. The tent will take some time yet. I want to make it really fun. With lots of frills and colors. It is mostly pink but adding more vibrant hues will give it more flare.

I am excited to see the finished work. Something to look forward too. I love the sense of accomplishment when a craft if completed.

I would like to make quite a few tutus. It will make playing dress up that much more fun for a few special little ballerina’s I know. The first one turned out quite well, don’t you think?

My little model was sleeping, The doll volunteered for the job.

I admit is swallows up the dolls lower half, but it will fit a child beautifully! (big smile)

The progress on the tent is going well.

(my work in progress) Should be fun for the first birthday party next month.

I will give all the info on the tent when it is completed. Trust me it has been no small feat getting all the supplies here in Serbia with the language barrier. But I am managing well! Yippee!

The munchkin woke up, so I got to take a few pics with a real model.

I’m so cute, too bad mom didn’t take a clearer pic of my cuteness.

my best side! although it is sometimes stinky.

I’ll have to do a “how to” blog to make these crafts in a following post.

Dobar Dan!