Important Life Lessons - The Christmas Edition

Important life lessons I've learned from

watching Hallmark Christmas movies:

1. Dreams jobs appear just when you need them the most

2. There are a lot of handsome royals walking among us

3. The more pastries you eat - the slimmer you are

4. It is always the guy in the sweater, not the one in the suit

5. And, a small town over a city every time

6. If you have a fireplace, it is always lit when you come home,

as are at least forty candles

7. And, there is no need to turn off the lights. Ever

8. Some of us are amazing bakers, the rest are either 

event planners or own a bookshop

9. If you don't fall in love during the holidays, your best

friend/cousin/colleague is letting you down

10. Be nice to that lady booth seller, she is probably

a fairy godmother.

(©handmade by amalia)

♡

Featured: Trees recycled from an old magazine. 

Happy Holidays!

The Fight

I was playing a game

with my brother Finn.

He said he didn't cheat,

just "helped himself win."

He looked so smug

as he finished the game,

I got mad and called him

a very bad name.

(©handmade by amalia)

♡

Featured: a cereal box

upgraded into a game of

snakes & ladders

(played in great harmony).

The Snail Mail

 

In our post office

works a snail,

who takes forever

to deliver the mail.

He crawls around

at an awful pace,

says slow and steady

wins the race.

We try to be patient

whenever he’s late -

when snail mail comes,

It is well worth the wait.

(©handmade by amalia)

♡

Featured: crafting with my

nephews. We turned

cereal boxes, old magazines

 and odd bits of paper 

into cards for the new year

and a  mail box to

put them in.

Small Things Make a Life

A seed to sow

A place to go

A walk to take

Something to make,

A life.

♡

A seed to sow - 

Working on my autumn veggie garden.

A place to go - 

Planning for happier days.

A walk to take -

A favorite again now that the weather is cooler.

Something to make -

Made these napkin holders for the table 

from recycled paper rolls.

Life. So precious.

♡

The Pink Forest

There once was a forest

where all the trees were pink,
it was quite glamorous -
magical, don't you think?

But the animals living there
asked with a frown:
"Can't you trees be ordinary?
What is wrong with brown?" 

(©handmade by amalia)

♡

Featured: Little woodland friends

A Small Break

 I'm taking a small blog break.

Meanwhile, you can find me 

on Instagram at (link)

 see you soon!

♡

A Dark Tale

Last night I dreamed

that I lived in deep space

I played with the stars,

that was some race.

But then I got sucked 

into a very dark hole,

it didn't end well for me

and I mean - not at all!

Then, in my dreams,

I lived under the sea,

it was beautiful there

with so much to see

Until a shark appeared

and boy, was he fast

I have to tell you -

that I did not last.

I woke up to find

I've survived all my dreams,

convinced that our world

is not as bad as it seems.

♡

Featured: A star fleet

upcycled from paper rolls

with my little nephews.

Season's Greetings

Sending you

my yuletide wishes

for a holiday

fun and delicious.

Good company,

food and cheer,

and all the best

for the coming year!

♡

Featured: paper tree origami,

made from old magazines.

Important Life Lessons - Hallmark Movies

Important life lessons I've learned from

watching Hallmark movies:

1. Dreams jobs appear just when you need them the most

2. There are a lot of handsome royals walking among us

3. The more pastries you eat - the slimmer you are

4. It is always the guy in the sweater, not the one in the suit

5. And, a small town over a city every time

6. If you have a fireplace, it is always lit when you come home,

as are at least forty candles

7. And, there is no need to turn off the lights. Ever

8. Some of us are amazing bakers, the rest are either 

event planners or own a bookshop

9. If you don't fall in love during the holidays, your best

friend/cousin/colleague is letting you down

10. Be nice to that lady booth seller, she is probably

a fairy godmother.

♡

Featured: A welcome home greeting card

and a doll made of the cork of a wine bottle.

A Five Star Review

 Five reasons I'm giving five stars to 

Murder at Madame Tussauds by Jim Eldridge.

1. The setting - We are in London, 1896, and one 

of the nightwatchmen at the Madame Tussauds museum 

is found dead while his colleague is missing. 

2. The protagonists - Daniel Wilson was once a 

Scotland Yard detective, part of the team that hunted 

Jack the Ripper. His fiancé Abigail Fenton is 

an archeologist and Egyptologist. Together they are 

‘The Museum Detectives’ and they are great at it.

3. The history - There are many snippets of 

historical details in the book that never overtake the plot. 

I enjoyed learning more about the origins of the 

Madame Tussauds museum and the wax business. 

4. The tone - The tone of the book was spot 

on for me. This is not a gentle, cozy read. 

It is fairly fast paced with plenty of twists and a 

rising pile of bodies, but still not too gory or dark. 

A fun read.

5. More to come - This is the sixth book in 

the Museum Murders series (you guessed it, 

each book centers around a different museum) 

but perfect as a stand-alone. It is the 

first I've read and will now go back to read others.

♡

Featured: I made stickers for some

handmade gifts.

Spring Cleaning

Spring is here

all is in bloom,

and little doll Millie

is holding a broom.

She is giving the playroom

a good old clean,

going over and under

and in-between.

The grumpy bear says:

"Well, if you must,

but what is wrong

with a little dust?

Millie doesn't listen,

she is on a mission,

she polishes the floor,

fluffs up the cushion.

The bear tries again:

"You go a bit far,

we do like things 

just as they are."

Millie says to the bear:

"You really are sweet,

now stop complaining 

and move your feet."

"Open the window,

let in the air,

and enjoy the season

you silly old bear!"

♡

Featured: Corkscrew doll Millicent,

in her little shoebox home.

She knows her own mind and speaks it too.

Art with Heart!

In the middle of our street

on the square, facing west,

someone's built a house

that is not like the rest.

The houses on our street

are all cozy, full of heart,

and this house is more

like a fine work of art.

A house so unusual

it looks as if someone

has built a house and garden

wrapped up all in one!

The neighbors are puzzled,

they gossip and stare -

they all want to know

about the people who live there.

I was the first

to meet her by chance -

an elegant woman with

a gallery in France.

The house and her life

are devoted to art,

but she will fit right in -

she's a neighbor with a heart!

♡

Featured: my new doll-house is covered by 

wallpaper from Photowall. I was blown away 

by the selection. If you fancy a 25% discount, 

you can use the code handmadebyamalia25

until March 20th, 2021.

Here is the link: Photowall

A Grumpy Rapunzel

My hair is pure gold,

my heart true and good;

it's a disgrace that I'm locked

in a tower, in the wood.

I'm stuck in this place,

just me and the plait;

if a prince is coming

he is late for our date.

I've tried being patient

but it's too much to bear -

it takes me two hours

just to wash all that hair!

♡

Featured: a grumpy new friend.

When the Animals Got Together

If we ever need a leader,

said the nice giraffe,

remember I'm the tallest

and really like to laugh.

The lion disagreed:

of course I am king, 

and did also I mention

that I can dance and sing?

The frog answered him:

I'm not at all convinced,

as everyone well knows

inside I am a prince.

The dinosaur roared

you are all the worst -

don't you remember?

I was here first!

♡

Featured: I made these 
paper roll animals
for my nephew Ariel.

Happy New Year

Why did the year
up and run
when I hardly got
anything done?

What happened?
It is a riddle,
I hope the coming year
is a bit more civil.

There is much I want
to learn and create -
the year barely started
and I'm already late.

One advice to myself
I am giving -
a little less planning
a little more living.

♡

Featured: We are celebrating our New Year.
I made these new year cards
from recycled bits and pieces
and put a little card and
a little treat in each.
The idea came from here.

A Handmade Holiday

Our Passover this year was quite

casual and very child friendly.

I wanted to share some things I made:

1. Yogurt drink bottles made into little vases

2. I used empty tea packets to draw

these little characters

3. And wrote names on them to use as

place cards

4. I filled drink cups with festive choclates

and artificial flowers

5. And put giant marshmallow lollipops

in little bottles

6. These went on the table and at the end

of the evening every child got one of each.

7. The adults got a roll of date delight

(recipe below, if you'd like to try it)

8. And a jar of my grandmother's

traditional holiday cookies

9. Finally, I made a felt flower garland

♡

Recipe for Date Delights:

Warm up 500 grams of pitted dates

with a little butter to soften them.

Let cool and add 3 cups of goodies -

granola, quinoa puffs, broken cookies,

nuts, dried fruit, whatever you like.

Mix well, make little rolls

and roll them in coconut.

Easy and quite healthy. Enjoy.

A World of Candy

Wouldn't' it be dandy

if the world was made of candy?

and everyone you meet

would just be nice and sweet?

I'd live in this world

with my teddy and doll,

and my good friend the dentist

will take care of us all.

♡

Featured: we are celebrating

the holiday of Purim today.

This holiday is rich in tradition

and one of the most important customs

is to give and receive a lot of candy.

We made these candy containers out of disposable cups.