Back to School

Hello everyone!

In the SF Collectors Community forum there's currently a contest with the following theme: Back to School with the Treefellow Owls:

Back to School with the Treefellow Owl Family Photo Story Contest

As we enter the last weeks of July, Sylvanian children and teachers are beginning to anticipate the new school term. Teachers are preparing lessons and students are planning on how to make the most of their remaining days of freedom. Parents may be looking forward to the re-opening of school and having a little extra free time of their own! This contest is in honor of Sylvania's leading scholar and very first teacher, Aristotle Treefellow, and his family.


Rules and requirements:

• Create an entry consisting of at least one (1) and no more than four (4) photographs

• Your entry may be a short story or a photographed scene with a caption

• In honor of Sylvania’s original school master, each entry must either include a photograph of a Treefellow Owl or a mention of a Treefellow Owl in the caption, in order to be considered

• Please be sure to incorporate the Back to School theme

• The winner will be determined by community vote

• Post your entry (or a link to your entry) in this thread

• Submit your entry by 1 September! Voting will begin shortly thereafter and continue until 15 September.

I wasn't sure if I would be able to participate because of my summer schedule, but I managed to get something done!
Without further ado, here's my entry for the contest. Hope you all enjoy this little story!

--

As Summer reaches its end in the small village of Arcfield and the weather starts to cool off a bit, the start of the new school year approaches. The local children have been finishing up their summer projects and getting their supplies ready for a new year of learning.

Time tends to fly during the holidays, and after several weeks of uninterrupted fun and relaxing days for the children, the morning of the first day of school finally arrived.
Before she had children, Teri Chocolate fantasized about what this day would be like when she became a mother. She visualized herself gently waking up her children, making them a delicious breakfast, and having a nice time together with them before they eagerly and happily left for their first day of school.
Alas, reality isn't always as sweet as daydreams.

"Freya! Coco!" she nearly screamed at her oldest children, who were still happily tucked in in their beds. "Will you, for the love of all the forest spirits, get up RIGHT THIS INSTANT? Do you know what time it is?! You're going to be late on the first day of school!"

Coco, who occupied the top bunk, barely moved, and Freya slowly stirred only to look at her mother with a peaceful smile.
"But, mommy, the alarm didn't go off..."

Teri was perplexed for a second, and then she felt a strong guilt. Here she was, screaming at her children, when it had been her who had forgotten to set the alarm for them the previous night. She then stared at their clock, that she was holding in her hand, and suddenly noticed that for some reason it was two hours early. 

Someone else might have missed the slightest smirk that appeared in Freya's face just then, but Teri was her mother. No one knew her better.

"Why would you change the time on the clock on purpose, you cheeky girl?! Are you seriously trying to drive me crazy?! I'm sure you changed every single clock in the house!" Teri was screaming at the top of her lungs. The vacuum machine she had been using before going to wake up her oldest children was already making its noisy "brooooom" sound, and the babies were giggling behind their mother as Freya squealed:

"Noooo!! Don't vacuum me!".

Coco just turned around under the covers despite the uproar, barely disturbed by it all.

It was just then that grandpa Rhys, Teri's father, entered the room. Teri's parents usually lived in their houseboat, but they were currently visiting their family in Arcfield.
 
"But what's this ruckus, so early in the morning?"

"Your granddaughter is trying to make us all go nuts, that's what's happening! Can you believe she changed the time on the clock? It's the first day of school today!".

"Now, now, it's just a childish prank, don't be so mad". Rhys spoke in a soft voice, trying to calm his daughter down. "I'm sure Freya was just pulling your leg and planned to get up on time. She's not the type to be late to school, you know that. Besides, I seem to remember a worse prank that a certain rabbit girl once played for the first day of school, as well...".

For a moment Teri was confused as to what her father was talking about, but suddenly remembered and went bright red.

"Dad, don't you dare...!".

"I'm sure you remember that time". Rhys happily ignored his daughter's plea and continued to tell his story. "You had had such a wonderful summer with all your friends that you didn't want it to end, so you told everyone that the first day of school was cancelled, as the whole village was going to celebrate some kind of festival... The "Moon Rabbit" festival, was it? Anyway, I'm not sure why everyone's parents believed that story, but I certainly remembered the call I got from the principal, Aristotle Treefellow. The poor man was very confused, as no one had attended the school on the very first day of classes! Can you believe that he contacted every single family with school-aged children and was able to trace the origin of the story back to you? Now, that was a dedicated headmaster... Anyway, as you can see, the apple doesn't fall off from the tree!".

Just as Teri's father had predicted, Freya was able to get up and get ready on time for school despite her prank. She even helped her brother, so they were dressed on record time and were even able to have a short breakfast before leaving! After Rhys told the story of what had happened when Teri had been Freya's age, she had expected her daughter to roll on the floor laughing, but she had just looked at her strangely instead. Teri could have sworn that what had shone in her daughter's eyes was admiration. That she would admire her for that, of all things!

As her children happily waved away to her and left for their first day of school, Teri reminisced about the past. Her old school grandmaster, Mr Treefellow, had surely been kind and understanding. He had not even reprimanded her that badly for her prank at the time. He had understood that she had just wanted her summer holidays to go on for a little bit longer. That year, he had even assigned to her the main role in the school play, aptly named "The Moon Rabbit"! She also remembered his history classes fondly. She wondered if she should send him a letter and invite him to visit her family in Arcfield some time...

Teri let out a small sigh and held her baby daughter Breeze tightly in her arms as she started walking back inside her home. She worried, because that's what mothers do, but she was certain her children would have a wonderful time at school, just like she had had when she was younger. 

She also needed to have a serious talk with her father regarding the stories he was allowed to tell his grandchildren! But she smiled, as she was secretly happy to have been given the opportunity to remember that embarrassing, yet fond memory of her childhood.

"Don't grow up too fast, Breezy" she whispered to her baby daughter as she closed the door.

--

The End! Hope you enjoyed this little story. I had fun writing it for the contest. :)

Have a great end of August! And if you are still at school, hope the school year goes smoothly!

 

A Holiday Trip

Hello everyone!

For this fortnight, it was another Free Challenge in the SF Collectors Community:

Challenge #16: Free Challenge

The second half of August brings a free challenge! There will be no new theme, so this is a chance for everyone to work on a Sylvanian project of their choosing. Choose a prompt that you would enjoy taking on, expand upon a project that you've already created, or try a new technique or material!

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story, or do whatever inspires you to do something creative with your Sylvanian collection!

As I was going away on vacation for the second fortnight of August and have done all previous challenges so far, I thought I'd be skipping this one. However, I was thinking about bringing a Sylvanian with me on my trip and thought it'd be a good idea to bring little Silvio and Livia Spinelli, as it seemed to me that they hadn't been featuring much in my photos and stories lately and felt a bit sorry for them. So, after asking their mother for permision, along they came! And here's the pictures; this could be considered as a second part to the "Sylvanians in the Real World" theme, maybe!

They were very excited after getting on the car! Livia wouldn't stop asking if we were going to be doing multiple outdoorsy activities, and I could tell Silvio was getting a bit worried...

Things got quieter shortly after, and I was afraid I'd be subjected to endless "Are we there yet?!" questions, but luckily, they kept themselves pretty well entertained during the trip.

Around two hours and a half later, we arrived at our destination, my relatives' home! 

Livia and Silvio didn't waste time and got to exploring right away.

"Wow, look at these huge snacks!" 

 

"Are you coming or not?"

"But sis, how did you even get up there?!" 

We went to a live concert one night!

 

"Wow, look at this! Do you think I could convince papa to start serving burgers instead of pizzas?"

I'm afraid your father is too invested in pizza for that, Silvio...

Another day, we went on a short hike. We passed by a port full of boats!

And even went through a tunnel!

Enjoying the view and saing hi to the camera! :) 

 
Couldn't end this post without another picture of them with pizza!
"This would blow papa's mind!"

It was soon time to get back home. I think Silvio and Livia had fun during the holidays, but I'm certain than there was somewhere that they were very happy to return to...

Hope you enjoyed the pictures!

A Day in the Outdoors

Hello everyone!

This fortnight's challenge prompt in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Community was:

Challenge #15: Summer Camp

Camping and exploring the forest are favorite activities for many Sylvanians and August is the perfect time for camping holidays with friends and family. Many young critters will be spending their summer attending various camps! Some may attend camps focusing on a specific theme (music, football, dance, or science to name a few), while other camps are all about the Great Outdoors!

It’s an exciting time, as some Sylvanians are looking forward to reuniting with camp friends and others are experiencing life away from home for the very first time. Older siblings get an opportunity to work as counselors and adults love to share their wilderness expertise with the campers

Camps need campers, counselors, guides, cooks, nurses and teachers, so the entire village has opportunities to help make camp a fun experience for all involved.

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story, or do whatever inspires you to do something creative with the Summer Camp theme!


This is my entry for the current prompt, earlier and shorter than usual since I'm a bit pressed for time this fortnight.
Hope you enjoy it anyway!


--

Frances Robinson and Isabella Hunter-Smyth, who have recently become friends, have decided to take their little siblings camping!
...Well, not really camping, since they're only planning to take a stroll in the woods, have a little picnic and come back home before nightfall. But both these girls are the type to prefer to stay indoors, so this is big for them! They're really trying to get out of their comfort zone. :D So they have made sure to be prepared. Both older girls are wearing wristwatches, to keep track of the time, and they also have a camera ready. And of course, a basket and a bag full with supplies and delicious food made by their moms!

Both Robinson girls are also wearing hats to protect their heads from the sun. Their mother wouldn't have it any other way!
"Cali, don't wander off" Frances says gently. "Here, take my hand".
Cali can be a little terror, but she always listens to her big sister!

Isabella is having a harder time controlling the triplets.
"Come on, you three, don't get distracted!"
Thomas and Gerard insisted on carrying the basket with the food, but they seem to be tired already and want to start eating!
"A bite!"
"No!" exclaims Isabella sternly. "That's for later".
"Picture?" asks Georgina with a big smile. She's quite proud to be carrying her toy camera.
"Not now! Maybe later. Come on!" Isabella sighs deeply. The triplets can be hard to manage! 

 

A kind camper took a picture of the group on their fun day out!
(Please cherish this picture; you wouldn't believe how hard it was for me to manage to have the figures standing up on the grass mat, haha!).

Hope you liked the pictures! Have a great day!

August Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

Believe it or not, it's August already, so here's the picture in the SF Calendar for this month.

This time we have a beautiful kitchen scene with the new furniture! I really like those new sets, but so far I haven't had an excuse to buy them, hehe. I'm thinking of buying a Cozy Cottage to add to my Beechwood Hall and re-decorate it for a different family (it's currently set and displayed as the McFarlane's home). That way I could have a couple of extra rooms and make a big mansion (and finally have a proper bathroom with a bathtub in one of my houses, haha!) 
At first I was planning to re-decorate the house for the Tuxedo cat family (when I get them...) since they look so elegant! But lately I've been thinking that it could also work for the Hunter-Smyths, which is a family that I actually own and that I also see as quite wealthy. Decisions, haha!

Anyway, back to the picture! We have the Chocolate rabbit family, dressed in lovely new clothes, enjoying a delicious, fresh watermelon! They also have some other fruits at hand. I love how they displayed the kitchen table, it looks so real and busy! I also like the wall decoration at the top left of the picture. At the front left we have a couple of very cute babies about to start eating some delicious-looking pancakes, and to the right we can see the incredibly adorable Osborne siblings. I love the outfit on the baby! I wish they sold the baby figures with clothes like that. 

I actually quite like the Osborne bears, but I'm a bit reluctant to get them since I already have the McFarlanes, and I'm trying not to have too many figures of the same species in my village, since I don't have a lot of space for my collection at home and I'd rather have variety.
If I were to get another bear family, I'd probably go for the polar bears or panda bears, since they're quite different. Before I started collecting, the Petites were my favourite. Love their colour scheme.

In this month's picture we have Freya Chocolate (of course!) but not her sister Crème! I believe the Chocolate baby in this picture is her even younger sister, Breeze.

In other Sylvanian news, I have almost managed to complete the baby band from the blind bags! I wasn't planning to try and complete the collection, but... you know how things are with Sylvanians, haha! I actually like the shopping blind bags babies better, so I'm hoping for them to start appearing at shops soon! Cutata told me she'd found them at a shop in Spain, but quite expensive, at 8€.

I sure rambled a lot this month, haha! Sorry if I bored you. I quite enjoy reading other collectors' thoughts in their blogs though, so I thought it'd be OK to write a little about mine in these monthly calendar posts. :) Feel free to look at the picture and not read anything else, haha!

I'll be posting less this month, as I'll be leaving to visit some relatives soon and won't be back until September 1st or 2nd.
Have a great month of August and a wonderful rest of summer!