AND IN TODAY'S KAI HEADLINES ...

... I AM DEFINITELY MOVING! Tomorrow I am signing the lease for a house and will be IN it no later than the 15th. THAT'S the GREAT news! More on that in a sec. But on the down side, I have a BAD case of the FLU & I'm so sick it's not EVEN cute. That means, of course, I must finish packing, call utility companies, etc. and do all of the things that go with moving while I'm ill. NOT FUN. This will be my last post until I am settled in - could be the end of April (I HOPE not) - because I'm OLD so I can't do things quickly the way I did years ago. I also will NOT BE EMAILING ANYONE until late April to early May. I'm going to have SERIOUS withdrawal symptoms! You are all my lifeline to the world. But I'll have a BLAST catching up with everyone via blogs & emails once I'm firmly rooted in the house! Now - speaking of the house. It's old - built in '59. But it's in good condition and it's in a neighborhood that feels very friendly and safe. For me, that's a MUST. It has 4 bedrooms (one - with built-ins will be my craft studio, one - a small one - my office, one- my bedroom, and the master will be my housemate's) two bathrooms, a very ample living room/dining room, a laundry room, a great kitchen, and a totally screened in patio. (If you saw Houston's mosquitoes, you'd understand how awesome THAT is!) I LOVE the kitchen because it is so bright and clean and old-fashioned looking. I can see my cross stitched tea towels in there! Anyway, here are 4 photos. Two are small because they are from the website. The other 2 I took yesterday. This is the dining area which leads out onto the aforementioned patio. Check out that OLD a/c. Goodness! It's just been left there - the place DOES have central air & heat, of course!

And the kitchen ... ahhhhh! See the clever lil' white window shutters? And there are TONS of cabinets! The two glass ones (my FAVORITES!) face another pair you can't see from the photo.

My craft studio has lots of good light and these coolio built-ins! Oh, the GLORIOUS messes I will be making here! LOL! (Note: that tiny reddish cabinet and lamp stand have been removed.)

Then there's the patio. It's WAY bigger than what you see here! I feel lots of 'coffee mornings' out there!

I'll REALLY miss everyone! See you all in a few weeks! Take care of yourselves & post lots to your blogs so I can have all SORTS of pretties to see when I'm back online! HUGS, SMILES, AND TWO TONS OF LOVE TO ALL! (And NOW I have an 'appointment' with a dose of Nyquil. Nighty-night.)

FAIRIES

I LOOOOOVE FAIRIES! What? You didn't KNOW I did? Oh, but I do! Always have, and reading so much Charles de Lint material has reinforced that love tremendously. I thought I may as well incorporate that into the new house. Also, because until recently I haven't ever made much of ANYTHING for myself, I decided to really go all out & indulge ME. Just for a LITTLE while, of course! So, here is my letter 'K' which will go on the door to MY bedroom. Are you noticing a lack of - gasp - RED lately? There will be TONS of red. But for ONCE, not EVERYTHING will be fire engine bright! LOL!

I also started this fairy door. It IS NOT FINISHED!!!!! I have to touch up all the paint, put the lining around the lil' window, etc. etc. So why am I posting it if it's unfinished? Well, darned if I know. I'll post it again tho' when it's finished! I'm going to have fairy doors & windows in LOTS of places. (Oh, yeah! See the fairy in the door's window?)

Here's my Fae K. Self explanatory. Just had to make it.

Now I need to finish the door & work on some other things. I SHOULD be packing, but HEY! THAT'S no fun! Who wants to pack when they could be creating? NOT ME!

BIRTHDAYS TIMES FOUR!

An OLD photo! My daughter at age 2.

Two 'E's for Emily who collects the letter 'E'.

Today is my daughter Leah's birthday! I have talked to her a LOT lately, and today we had a FUN conversation which left us both in absolute hysterics! We are very different in many ways, my child & I, but our humor is so alike where most things are concerned. Talking with her made me really happy! Today is ALSO my friend Jan Glover's birthday. For those who don't know her, she has the blog DAYLILY LANE (on my links) and she is a DOLL! Tomorrow is my friend, Ele's birthday! She's the friend for whom I made the pink-and-blue afghan, etc. I posted earlier. And while I'm at it, my friend Emily Franz of BLOND AND BLITHE, has a birthday coming next Friday! I am SUCH a forgetful chowderhead! Jan's gifts were primarily bought as were the rest of Em's and I forgot to take pictures. Sigh. But I did want to publicly wish them ALL a happy birthday & let YOU all know the dates so you could send YOUR good wishes if you know these sweet ladies! HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ALL! And to my Leah - Nei na su tama habe!

SNIP, SNIP, SNIP!

Little by little, I'm getting things together for my upcoming move. Of course, there IS the small issue of not yet knowing exactly WHERE I'm moving, but that will soon be resolved. In the meantime, I have decided to alter my 'style' a bit. Did I say STYLE? WHAT style? I actually mean my color choices. I will ALWAYS love red-and-green because it's Christmasy! And I will HAVE those colors through the house, only in a different way. It's just that I realized I need to create a little more CALM in my home. So, having noticed how many of the homes I've been viewing online are incorporating shades of tan into rooms, I thought I would do that as well. In addition, I intend to add some retro things to the place. You know, embroidered tea towels, pillowcases, tablecloths - that kind of thing. I want crisp white sheers to let in LOTS of light! Cozy, inviting areas in each room! Anyway, I made a lil' something to hang on the door of my craft room. See how SUBDUED? (Well, for ME, that's REALLY subdued! LOL!) And it will leave no doubt as to what's behind THAT door. I just hope fixing up the house is as much fun as it sounds. Don't some of you want to make a trip to Houston & add YOUR beautiful decorating touches to my place? C'mon - you KNOW you do! Truthfully, I hope eventually I WILL get the chance to have LOTS of you visit me & create with me! Okay - just wanted to show you my scissors! Next time I'll show you the old cd shelf I turned into something else!

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

This blog entry is brought to you by the letter 'E'! LOL! Remember that on Sesame Street? Okay, well neither do I really because I never watched Sesame Street & my daughter hated it. But the couple of times I turned it on for her before she protested loudly enough, I heard those words. Anyway! In this case, the letter 'E' stands for one of THE sweetest, most incredibly generous & good-hearted people I've been fortunate enough to meet through blogging - EleanorErickson (now 'E' is for ELE) of A Bit of Pink Heaven! And her blog IS exactly THAT! If I had to sum Ele's creations & taste up in a single word, I'd definitely say, "ELEGANT!" (And 'E' is for elegant!) You know how some people who have really wonderful taste and the ability to put things together in a perfect way seem a bit - well - untouchable? Example: ('E' is for EXAMPLE!) MARTHA STEWART! Martha DOES have great taste & beautifully decorated EVERYTHING. (Yeah, that's right! You're catching on! 'E' is for EVERYTHING! LOL!) But, tell me - would YOU be comfy walking into Martha's home & sitting with her for a nice cup of EARL (giggle) Grey? NOT ME! I'd be so intimidated! But, I KNOW I could walk right into Ele's home & be at EASE. (Heehee - I won't say it.) She's as gracious as she is elegant! And her birthday is this month - on the 23rd. I wanted to do something a bit special for her because SHE is special. So I made her a pink & blue afghan (she likes pink & blue) and 2 letters - Es of COURSE - plus I added a couple of purchased items! She received the box and I happened to know she opened it EARLY (GRIN) so I can show you the handmade items. Below is one - the smaller - of two letters I made her. Yes, I know. I failed to get all the EXCESS glue off the letter before it dried. Sigh. But that lil' silver bird's nest was a stinker to get on the letter! HAD to get heavy-handed with that glue! By the way, I added those pink 'EGGS' to the nest!


Below, is the afghan I made her. It's just simple granny squares but I made a variety of combinations using the yarns I'd chosen - some very plain 4-ply worsted to keep it 'solid' and lots of cool textured yarns to add an interesting look & some fuzziness to it. I WANTED to add a scalloped EDGING but decided to go with the straight edging.

Last is the larger of the 2 letters. I LOVE how this one turned out. I added some very cool felt lace-trim to it, and a pink vintage birdy, plus a lil' butterfly & a jewelry ELEMENT.

Other items in the box were bought so I didn't photograph those. But, let's see ... I added some truffles (she'd said she likes truffles) a coffee-scented candle (also a preference of hers) and a couple of other things. And because this blog entry was brought to you by the letter 'E', I will say that I am EXTREMELY EXCITED to report that she told me she ENJOYED the contents of her birthday box! Now I've said my ABCs (or at least my Es.) Next time won't you sing with me?

LITTLE DRESSES

You ALL know I do not sew! Huh-uh, no way, not, ain't happenin'! Oh, I HAND sew FELT 'cause that's EASY. But machine sew? No, no, no! Well, I was going through some patterns I'd saved (during moments of insanity) on free pattern sites, & when I saw THIS one again, I STILL loved it. It's VERY simple, there's no REQUIRED hemming or finishing (the more rustic the better) and I thought, "HEY! I'M rustic! (Or is that RUSTY????) I can do this!" Of course, you KNOW I always change things up. And this lil' hanging dress is no exception. But I had FUN. And how CUTE they will look hanging on my bedroom closet door in the new house! I'm also making some of those old-fashioned cross stitched pillowcases & some pretty embroidered tea towels. I want the new place to be airy and sweet and HAPPY. So don't be surprised by the things I'll show you all in the coming weeks. No craziness (for NOW) no blood (BWAHAHAHAHAHA!) just sweet stuff. Ele, if YOU are reading this, I hope my new house will be even 1/100 as pretty and elegant as yours. Viv, if YOU are reading this, I am going to do some paper mache pieces all inspired by your lovely pieces. Susan, if YOU are reading this. I HOPE I can find a soft-yellow house with white trim because, to ME, that's the BEST kind of house! VERY welcoming! Risa, if YOU are reading this, my house will have your beautiful painting and often, YOU in it! And my Jan, if YOU are reading this, you already know all my Jan-art will be making me smile throughout the house! In fact, I'm taking bits of loveliness from ALL my beautiful blogger friends & incorporating them into my home so you will all be close to me every single day! (Now I just have to wait till the realtor FINDS me that perfect home. I'm thinking within 2 weeks. Keep your fingers crossed for me, please!) NOW - to show you the lil' dresses - TA-DA!

FIESTA!

While it's true that my original blog, THE PARTY IN KAI'S HEAD, suddenly disappeared somewhere into Blogger Neverland, I STILL have that fiesta spirit! And now & then I just have to let it O-U-T! This is one of those times. I've got to admit that I've had the absolute MOST fun making these little felt foods. (Now wouldn't you EXPECT someone as round as I am to LOVE creating food?) I have the patterns cut out & ready to make ALL 135 of the foods from the book. But because I decided to stop a bit & work on a very different sort of creative endeavor for awhile, I thought I'd go ahead & show you the ones I've finished. So, WELCOME to the party in my head. Come right in and help yourself to the goodies! Here is my raspberry torte. It's chocolate cake based with a middle layer of raspberry custard and a layer of caramelized raspberry syrup. Of COURSE I added fresh berries to the top! YUM!

Oh! Not a fan of berries? No problem! Do choose a piece or two of the freshly made candies. They really ARE delish. My personal favorite is the chocolate mint.

My preference - even ABOVE candy - will forever be the light but satisying Napoleon. Layers of puff pasty with cream filling, whipped cream puffs on top, and a strawberry half for garnish. Go ahead. YOU take that one. There are more coming out soon.

Can't have a pastry table without bananas! Here's a banana/caramel cake - chocolate, banana cream, and fresh bananas and caramel drops.

I don't generally go for cake, but THIS one may be pretty tasty! It's a rich DARK chocolate with basketweave design in chocolate icing and candied roses. Oh! And of COURSE silver sugar beads! You'll NEED a cup of punch for this one. It's quite sweet!

And I couldn't have a pastry party (in my head or otherwise) without a lovely cheesecake. This one is topped with whipped cream and a strawberry.

And THAT is what this old girl has been creating. Food made from my fabric of choice - FELT. Won't you come to my party & share in the fun? YOU ARE ALL INVITED!