'Tis The Season....

Decorations.... Visitors..... Gifts.....

The Time had come, Dear Readers, for me to get my RL Christmas trees decorated! I had put them up last weekend, with only the lights on them, which I dearly love at this dark time of year, but I also love the trees fully loaded with beautiful shiny treasures.... which takes hours of unpacking and arranging. It is a task I love to do and don't like to feel rushed, so it needed the full attention of weekend days. Saturday I adorned the upstairs tree in my Little Studio, all in white lights and snowmen and birds with a few Santa's and reindeer too. This is the room where I have my drawing table so this tree keeps me company while I work on the Annual Christmas Card....(still in the sketching stage...)! Having the tree done definitely helps with setting the mood. And Sunday was the day to decorate the larger tree in my Living room downstairs.... really it stands in the large doorway between the Living room and what would be the Dining room, but is really my Dollhouse workshop!

I always put the colored lights on the downstairs tree.... 

and all the brightly colored glass ornaments 

and all the decorations made over the years by myself and my children.

This way I have a tree nearby whether I am working upstairs or down!

I had almost completed this tree when I got a call from my Sister.... 

she was in the area and hoped she could stop by for tea!

(She lives hundreds of miles away... so this is a Rare Event!)

She wasn't traveling alone.....

Look who came with her....!!!

Buttercup and Marmalade!!!

(They left their wings in the suitcase for safe-keeping on this Journey)

Of course, they had to visit in the Cloud Palace.....

Where Blue had Just put up the Silver Tinsel Christmas Tree 

with all those gold wishing stars....

(Sorry it is so dark and difficult to photograph...!)

Everybeary was so excited to see Buttercup and Marmalade!

And while my Sister and I drank our tea....

Buttercup and Marmalade made friends with the gumdrops!

In case you did not know, all these Fairy Bearys

 are the handiwork of Birgit of BiWuBaren Blog.

 And not only is Birgit marvelously talented, 

she is also amazingly generous!

She sent me a Box of Christmas goodies.....

Full of mini gifts and beautiful cards and ornaments and Marzipan!

(Now we know Nobeary will go hungry in the Cloud Palace... 

as if Hamish Harry would ever let that happen... 

but at least we now know there is enough Marzipan 

to keep us all happy!)

Thank you Birgit!!!!!

Alas, my Sister's visit was very brief, Dear Readers, 

a snowstorm was threatening and she needed to return 

to her daughter's home before it started. 

Once she left, I continued with my Christmas Tree decorating....

I pulled out the little tree that goes in the Lovely Old Dollhouse.

Here you can see it close-up....

It has dozens of tiny ornaments, 

glass balls and metal snowflakes, 

resin figures and lace hearts.... 

icicles and star garlands....

And a beautiful angel at the top!

It always goes in the same corner 

of the Living room of the Lovely Old Dollhouse.

The angel brushes against the low ceilings.....

Charles has taken charge of setting it up again this year.

Helen just likes to watch while he arranges everything and plugs in the lights!

Oh, I never tire of seeing those tiny colored lights!

But where is Pollyanna, I hear you ask? 

Isn't she the one who loves to decorate the Tree?

Well, Pollyanna has become a bit distracted....

She wanted to make a Mini Tree for the little dollhouse....

But when she tried it in the little house, it was too tall! 

It barely fit into the medium dollhouse,

 but Pollyanna has so far to go on this property, 

she was not ready to decorate it just now!

So she made another tree... a little smaller....

And added some golden garland and red ornaments.....

Can you see it...?

This time it does fit into the Smaller house!

Pollyanna is so pleased with the way it looks!

But before she could even blink, 

Salome came to have a look....

"I need one in Gold or Silver...." she said.

"The green one doesn't go with my gown..." she added.

Well! thought Pollyanna.... 

a silver one would be fun too...!

Ah, Dear Readers, 'Tis the Season

For decorations.....

For Trees and visitors....

And Gifts....!

Glass House Beginnings....

Framed..... Or Not!

I must Confess, Dear Readers, that it was only After I had started to work on (*cough-cough*....) Another Project that was needing me to cut plywood walls and doors, that I realized the simplest method of building the Glass House would be to cut the openings for the door and windows from a piece of plywood, rather than trying to construct the walls from pieces of "lumber" like a real life building! I had been pondering the various steps needed to construct the door and the windows and fit them into the uneven brick wall area, and was making no progress! The ready made commercial windows and doors were not the right sizes to be of use here. And three of the four corners were partly supported by the brick wall, which was not the full height of the sides for the Glass House, so they would need to be fit on top of the brick walls.... and so figuring out where to start was just making me go in circles! Then I realized that I could start with the plywood "wall" and cut the openings for the door and windows! So simple!! And I had just the pieces of plywood right at hand! This Glass House is really quite small, being just under seven inches wide and seven inches deep. So I started right in with the front wall where the door would open onto the "courtyard".

The windows will probably be made of real glass 

with additional "framing" to hold them into the openings.

And then I started on the end wall which rests atop the brick wall.

(I apologize for the dark pictures.. I hate to use flash, 

and the light is not strong in this room!)

And then started to fit the challenging back wall .... 

which needs to match the sweep of the wall on one side 

and establish the level base for the rafters above!

The fourth wall will be The Folly wall. 

And the back side of the roof will hinge open for access to the room.

I cut the other rafter frames, but still have to notch them

 into the top of the wall and add the support under their ends.

It went together much faster than I thought it would! 

(Although none of the walls are yet attached.... 

they fall down at the drop of a pin!)

It makes the "courtyard" feel very small and intimate.... 

but really, all the rooms in The Folly are rather small!

But I didn't have time to figure out the hinges for the door...

The Folly is one of those thin plywood kits

 which don't support the use of metal hinges with screws... 

so I used leather ones on the front door....

 which is the only door in the whole house!

The plywood I have used for the Glass House is thicker 

and would take metal hinges with no trouble.

 

 

Meanwhile, Dear Readers, rather than leave you with so little to look at, 

I will share with you some pictures my sister sent recently

Featuring a Fairy Bear adventure (of a small sort!)

Marmalade and Buttercup were playing together

 one sunny afternoon at Hope Cottage.

Suddenly one of them said, "We're sisters, 

but which one of us is the older one?"

"I don't know," said the other one.

And then Marmalade said "Hey, our wings can come off....

 let's trade wings and see if they feel different!"

 

 

And she had removed her wings in no time at all!

But Buttercup's wings would not come off!

"Here, I'll help you" said Marmalade, 

wielding a long sharp looking tool.

But buttercup had complete faith in her sister, 

so she sat quietly while Marmalade climbed onto the outhouse door 

in order to get better leverage!

Soon they both had taken off their wings and they traded, 

Golden for Orange.....

It made them feel a little giddy and full of Adventure!

Next they decided to climb to the top of Sleeping Couch Mountain 

to see if the world looked any different.....

(And of course, they could have Flown up... 

but it seemed more Adventuresome to help each other climb to the summit!)

They made it to the top at last, 

and they could just see Hope Cottage in the distance!

It seemed so small and far away!

Then Marmalade said "Look!"

"We could slide down the Mountain on this beautiful cloth slide!"

And so they did!

Squealing all the way down!

And when they reached the bottom, Buttercup said "what next?" 

And Marmalade said "I'm hungry"

And Buttercup held up her magic wand and recited a quick magical spell......

(The words of which I couldn't hear clearly and have since forgotten!)

Her wand glowed brilliantly....

And suddenly a platter of beautiful fresh fruit appeared, 

brought by a lovely house genie!

Marmalade gave a big sigh! Being sisters was so much fun!

And it probably didn't matter at all which one was older, 

or who wore which wings....

It only mattered that there Was a sister there to share with!

This story was lovingly sent by my sister, Dear Readers, 

to share with all you in blogland 

who might have wondered how Marmalade and Buttercup 

were faring in the South!

Meanwhile, the Glass House is well under way, 

and I didn't have to do any "framing" at all!

The Gift of Happiness.....

Fairy Bearys Go South....

The Time had come, Dear Readers, when the two sister Bearys, Marmalade and Buttercup, were ready to leave the Cloud Palace and travel to their own home way far away in the South. While this might be a moment when Some would feel some Sorrow, the Fairy Bearys did not seem to feel this way at all! They had spent the entire Summer and Autumn with their friends in the Cloud Palace and had enjoyed many Adventures together. They were Happily looking forward to seeing their new Home and meeting new friends when they arrived. There was an air of excitement at the Cloud Palace as the morning dawned and the sun peeked into the Cloud Palace parlor. All the Fairy Bearys were gathered there for a "send-off" breakfast of blueberry pancakes drenched in syrup, and even an assortment of delicate cookies and a blueberry pie! Hamish Harry "Hotcakes" McCloud had outdone himself (with the very Helpful creativity of Elizabeth of Studio E blog!) in preparing this breakfast banquet!

(These treats were all made by the Awesomely talented Elizabeth! Thank you Elizabeth!)

He wanted to be sure that Nobeary would leave the Cloud Palace hungry.... 

especially with such a long journey ahead of them!

And so they enjoyed a Feast to Remember!

But before long the Time had come for leaving.

The Bearys had decided that the best way to Travel 

was the Cherub Cloud Chariot Express....

And they had booked the Early Morning Departure 

on this Perfectly sunny Day!

Buttercup was eager to get started so she hopped on board!

And Marmalade was right behind her!

They waved "good-bye" and blew their kisses....

And the Cherub Cloud Chariot Express floated away from the Cloud Palace....

And while there were Some who Might feel a little pang of sadness.....

the Bearys were not among them! 

They knew that they were heading off on more Great adventures!

 

 

They couldn't wait to get started! 

What a Glorious Day for an Adventure!

Wouldn't you be excited to be Traveling to your New Home?

And all the Fairy Bearys at the Cloud Palace 

are just as excited for their friends!

They know that they will be bringing Happiness wherever they go!

 

Because that is what these Bearys are... 

they are Little Gifts of Happiness!

And speaking of Gifts of Happiness....

I received a surprise package in the mail today!

But seeing who it is from, it is not altogether a Surprise! 

Because Birgit is one of those friends who 

Spreads Happiness with everything she does!

She sent me her Christmas Gift package......

with a Calendar and Advent wreath and tiny wooden decoration!

Thank you, Birgit!!!

But it is the Fairy Bearys that spring from her Needle (and her heart!)

that are Truly Little Gifts of Happiness!

 

And in case you had wondered 

about Marmalade and Buttercup,

 they have arrived safely at my Sister's home 

where she reports that they have filled Hope Cottage 

with sunshine and Happiness and their smiles alone warmed the tea!

So you see, Dear Readers,

The Fairy Bearys have gone South,

But they took with them The Gift of Happiness!