Hi everyone!
Here's my entry for the sixth creativity/crafting challenge of the year in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community. The theme was:
Challenge #6: Spring Festival
The weather in Sylvania has become warmer and green is beginning to
appear throughout the forest. What better way to celebrate than with a
festival?
For this challenge, show us how your Sylvanians are gathering together
to welcome spring! What sort of events are happening in your village?
Perhaps there is an Easter egg hunt or maypole dance? The bakers of
Sylvania might have a bake-off competition. Gardeners might be eager
to show off the first blossoms of the year in a special festival display
or competition. Maybe there are spring foods that are anticipated all
winter. There could be a feast, music, and dancing to celebrate. Others
may prefer a more low-key celebration or just be eager to enjoy time
outdoors. Show us the spring celebrations that your Sylvanians take
part in!
Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story, or do whatever
inspires you to create a project around the Spring Festival theme!
If you’re not feeling inspired by the festival aspect of things, feel
free to make any sort of spring-related project. Equinox and Easter
(even though it's still a month off) projects are welcome too!
--
Every year, when Spring
arrives, the villagers of Arcfield set up a festival to celebrate. Near
the woods close to the village there's an enormous tree trunk. No one
can explain its existence or tell how long it's been there, but it's
somewhat of a local landmark, and every year, as part of the festival
activities, the villagers dance on top of it.
This year, Charles Hunter-Smyth has managed to procure a piano from the city, and has taken upon himself to provide the music for the festival. He studied piano when he was younger, and on this day he's playing cheery tunes for the couples and friends to dance to.
Rick and Ariadna Andes are here, of course. Those two are like a couple of teenagers! They never miss the opportunity to do romantic things together. :loveit:
Wilbur and Fliss Robinson have a stall at the festival, but it seems like they got away for a bit to have a quick dance. :D
And look! Seems like Coco Chocolate has managed to muster up the courage to ask Annabelle McFarlane, the mayor's daughter, to dance with him!
The Chocolate rabbit couple have set up a little spot to sell their chocolates and sweets (though, admittedly, they are mostly giving them for free to the children that come visit!). After giving the inaugural speech, mayor Nicholas McFarlane goes with his wife Elizabeth to see them. The four of them are good friends after all (and Nicholas does love chocolate, too!).
Not far from them, Anthony Spinelli, always the child at heart, has volunteered to keep the babies entertained. He's having as much fun as them. :D I wonder what the strange creatures his puppets represent are?
Most children in the village take advantage of the festival to play outside. Some of them, like Frances Robinson, just enjoy reading quietly while enjoying the warmer weather.
Fiorella Andes, though she wouldn't admit it, is feeling a bit jealous of Freya. Even though the rabbit girl is new to the village, she sure is popular! Fiorella can't go anywhere without running into her, it seems like she's everywhere! She can't understand why people would prefer to hang out with Freya instead of her, who is undoubtedly the nicest, prettiest girl in the village. Truth be told, Fiorella's upset because her best friend Evie couldn't attend the festival as she wasn't feeling well. I think she's just feeling a bit lonely.
Frances is cautiously looking at Fiorella over her book, hoping she doesn't try to talk to her. She can be quite bossy!
Not far away, the Spinelli siblings, Silvio and Livia, are playing with a ball. Well, Livia is trying to get her brother (who is quite the couch potato) to play with her; as usual, she's the most spirited of the two.
"Silvio, you seem distracted! Focus!"
"I... I don't feel so good, sis..." Silvio's face is red, and he has been sneezing all morning.
"Oh, come on, it's Spring already! Don't start again with that whole 'We should be hibernating' thing!"
But when Silvio goes away to lie in the bench next to Frances Robinson, Silvia starts to feel worried. Truth is, her brother doesn't look too good. Despite his complains, she usually manages to get him to do whatever she wants.
He won't stop sneezing!
"My head hurts...!"
"Are you okay, Silvio?" asks Frances, concerned.
"I'll go get mom!" exclaims Silvia.
"And I'll go look for my dad!" says Fiorella, who's also still around. Rick Andes, her father, is the village's doctor.
Doctor Rick to the rescue! Seems like Fiorella managed to get him away from her mother and the dance, hehe.
Thankfully, it's nothing serious. Just Spring allergies from being outside all day long, near the flowers! After taking some medicine, Silvio is able to join his sister and the rest of the children in the festival's activities. :)
--
Hope you enjoyed the pictures! I wasn't feeling too creative but I did manage to take some pictures and it was fun, so I'm happy. Spring brings the dreaded allergies for me, so when my boyfriend suggested I should incorporate that to the story, I thought it was a great idea, hehe.
Have a great Spring everyone!
Hi everyone!
For the fifth creativity/crafting challenge of the year in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community, I wrote a short story. The theme was:
Challenge #5: Farm Life
Spring is almost here! All over Sylvania,
eager farmers are beginning to prepare for some of the busiest months of
the year. Most of the foods that Sylvanians eat come from their own
gardens or local farms, so agriculture tends to be a major part of life
in the village.
Perhaps, in some areas, there is a large farm that supports many
villagers. Or, critters might have kitchen gardens, small allotments,
or windowsill herb gardens. Younger Sylvanians may be trying their hand
at growing their first vegetable while more experienced adults might
have plans to use a special growing technique or cultivate a unique
crop. Those that live in the Town will begin looking forward to the
arrival of fresh produce.
Show us how farming is connected to the lives of your Sylvanians! Make
an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story, or do whatever
inspires you to create a project around the farming theme!
I was all out of ideas and inspiration for most of the fortnight and had pretty much decided I wasn't going to participate this time (as none of my current families are farmers nor do I have any farming items), but my boyfriend gave me an idea and I decided to write a mini-story. Hope you like it, and sorry if it's just barely related to farming!
--
The Hunter-Smyth family has just recently moved to Arcfield from the big city. Father Charles is a banker and commutes everyday to and from work, but as he grew up in his parents' farm as a child, he wanted his children to have the same type of tranquil childhood he experienced. His older children, Hector and Isabella, are not quite yet sold on the idea, but they're slowly getting used to life in a small village.
Today Charles has a day off and he's taking care of the children while his wife Camilla does the grocery shopping. Hector and Isabella are doing their homework, and he's trying to convince them about visiting his parents' (their grandparents') farm... all while keeping an eye on the baby triplets, Dylan, Helena and Gerard!
"You would have a fantastic time at grandma's and grandpa's, you see!"
"No way, dad!" Hector says, lifting his eyes from his maths book to look at his father. "We would have to get up at the crack of dawn..."
"...and spend all day in the dirt, picking and pulling vegetables! Ugh, hate them!" Isabella finishes her brother's sentence. They're twins, and they tend to do that!
Charles sighs. Hector and Isabella are city children, they can't help it. But despite the hard work, he remembers his time at the farm fondly. He wishes they could understand.
"But you would get to run around in the fields, climb trees, lay on the grass to look at the clouds and the stars, read a nice book by the chimney at the end of the day... Dylan, get off the table!"
The triplets are quite energetic, always moving around. Poor Charles is severely outnumbered!
It is just then that Camilla gets home from her errands. All children say hi to their mother, and the triplets run to her. They have sure missed her!
"Charles, when I was going past the post office, I was told that there was a big box for us. Your mother and father sent us a lot of their crops! It was so heavy I left it at the entrance. Could you please get it in the house?"
"Ah, but of course, my lady! Your wish is my command" Charles replies jokingly. Camilla smiles back at him, amused.
Charles brings in the heavy package, and the children clear out the table in order to see some of its contents. There's a lot of delicious and healthy-looking fruits and vegetables! Isabella wrinkles her nose at the veggies. She's not a fan.
"These are so fresh, Charles! They look like they were picked just this morning".
"Ah, that's because they probably were" says Charles, smiling. "My mom and dad have probably paid a lot to make sure these reached us today. I'll have to give them a call to thank them".
Camilla uses the fresh produce her in-laws sent them to make snacks for the whole family, which they later enjoy together while the triplets are taking a nap.
Isabella opens her eyes wide after tasting the delicious juice made by pressing the oranges her grandma sent.
"Wow, this is the best orange juice I've ever had!"
Hector smiles after taking a bite of one of the slices of the apple his mother cut up for them.
"It's so juicy and delicious! I have never had an apple this good!"
Charles is also pleased with the delicious salad, which tastes like the ones he used to have as a child. But the star is, no doubt, the sweet yoghurt cream with fruit. All the flavours of the different fruits complement each other perfectly.
"Dad, you didn't mention that we would get to eat food this good if we went to grandma and grandpa's!" says Hector quite loudly.
"That's right!" says Isabella, nodding repeatedly. "I'm thinking that we should go visit as soon as possible, don't you think, mom?"
Charles and Camilla look at each other and start laughing. Who would have thought their children could be convinced through the stomach?
--
The end! Hope you enjoyed the short story and pictures. :)
Hello everyone!
It's a new month, and here I am with the picture for March in the SF Calendar for this year.
There's a lot to see this month! This picture seems inspired by both Spring (with all the pretty flowers and soft, pastel colours) and Easter (looks like an Easter egg hunt is happening here!).
The first thing I noticed in this picture were the Marshmallow triplets. So cute! Love the little hearts in their ears. And the crib they're in is so adorable, too! They seem to have found a couple of eggs already. Can you spot some of the hidden eggs in the picture?
Love the beautiful wreath on the door at the back and the wheelbarrow full of flowers Mr Marshmallow is pushing. The sister's dresses in the back are beautiful! I really like this picture, so full of colour!
We have BOTH Freya and Crème this month, hehe! They're both holding Easter eggs and wearing beautiful pink dresses. I wish they put some more Sylvanian clothing for sale, and that they made it easier to get from countries outside Japan. Most I've seen is imported and very expensive due to shipping. Babies especially are in dire need of some better clothes!
Here in Spain we do not celebrate Easter with Easter egg hunts and such (although in the past few years chocolate eggs and chocolate bunnies have begun to show up in stores for people to buy around the time of Easter). We have a very religious holiday instead, the Semana Santa (Holy Week), which this year will be in April.
Are you looking forward to Spring and Easter? How do you celebrate in your country? We are having quite the warm weather for Winter in Spain these days, and my allergies are already acting up, ack! Flowers are also starting to bloom as well, the poor things are confused!
Hope you have a great March!
