December Festivities with the Nielsen Family

Hello everyone!

The last challenge for the year at the SF Collectors' Forum is:

Challenge #23: December Festivities

The close of the year brings festive celebrations to people around the globe, including our friends in Sylvania. Show us how you and your Sylvanians enjoy the season!

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story or do whatever inspires you to create a project around the December Festivities theme!

For this challenge, I decided to decorate the Cozy Cottage I own for my polar bears, who hadn't made an appearance yet. They are the owners of an ice-cream and crêpes eatery, but today we're going to visit their home and see how they've been decorating and preparing for the festivities. 

An overview:

There's not much space in the Cozy Cottage, but I did my best to make it comfortable for a family of five (parents Noah and Barbara, daughter Julia and twin babies Briony and Noel, who share the cot). The beautiful miniature Christmas tree on the parents' bedroom, as well as the delicious-looking Christmas cookies on the table downstairs were both gifts from my dear friend Cutata. She sent them to me last year, and they're finally making an appearance! Thank you Cutata!

Noah, a coffee enthusiast, loves the December festivities. While he makes his first coffee of the day, he's pondering where to hang the beautiful wreath the family has acquired this year. Inside, up on the wall next to the tree, or would it maybe go better outside, on the front door...?

Young Julia is about to start writing her letter to Holyster, so to get into the spirit of the festivities she has just set the cute toy tree she got from one of her best friends, Cleo López, on her table. I wonder what she'll ask for...?

Julia is supposed to be watching her baby sister, Briony, but she's quite distracted as you've noticed. Luckily, Briony is a well-behaved baby who mostly keeps herself entertained with her toys. She loves to eat ice-cream, even in Winter, so as you can imagine, she's very happy about her parents' job!

Baby Noel, on the other hand...

"Let me get your bottle for you, my darling".

I don't think the bottle is what he wants, Barbara!

Seems like Noah has finally decided where to hang the wreath!

"What do you think, sweetheart?"

"It looks great, dad!"

As you can see, the family agreed to pose for a picture to send you all their good wishes (and mine!).

Happy Holidays, everyone! Stay safe and healthy, and might 2021 be kind to us all.

The Holsteins Prepare for Winter

Hello everyone!

While finishing my latest story, I read through the suggestions for Challenge 22 in the SF Collectors Forum and they inspired me to set up some scenes to participate.

Just three pictures this time, no elaborate story. I still hope you enjoy them, I had fun setting everything up!

Challenge #22: Winter Preparations

The winter months are fast approaching. Throughout the Sylvanian Forest, families are prepared for the coldest part of the year. Storing food and other advance preparations are crucial for thriving during winter season. This means wood for cosy fires, well-stocked larders, warm clothing, and planning fun indoor and outdoor seasonal activities!

Make an item or items, photograph a scene, write a story or do whatever inspires you to create a project around the Winter Preparations theme!

This afternoon, the Holstein family members are busy gathering the last harvest of the year. They own the biggest farm in the area, and their fresh vegetables are very popular in Arcfield. With them, they supply not only the businesses in town, but also some of the neighboring villages'. Although they also grow fruit, it's mostly for their own use (mother Katharina loves baking pies!), as the fruit stall in town is owned by the Waters beavers, who grow their own produce as well. The Holsteins also supply the village with firewood

The whole family is here today; Katharina has gone to check that the tools are in their place and ready for use, but she's just discovered that her twin babies Hilda and Helge seem to think that the apples and oranges she recently finished gathering are wonderful toys! Her husband Ulrich is already working in the vegetable patch, and her eldest children, Jonas and Charlotte, are also helping.

Temperatures have already started to drop in Arcfield, so when they their work is finished, the whole family runs inside the farm to rest and warm themselves. Ulrich brings in some firewood and gets the fire in the chimney started. Katharina helps him, and is pleased to see that her son Jonas has already made tea and hot chocolate for his parents and sister. While she wouldn't admit it out loud, Jonas is the apple of her mother's eye!

In the meantime, Charlotte has just finished taking a bath. It feels great to have a long, warm bath to get rid of the cold, dirt and soreness after helping her parents in the vegetable fields! The babies are having a blast splashing around in the water!
"Come on you two, it's time to get out!".

Hope you all like the pictures! Have a great week-end!

December 2020 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone,

Here we are, the last month of 2020. It sure has been a ride... A truly difficult year for me (and for everyone else, I imagine) in many, many ways... Let's hope 2021 is kinder to us all.

In the meantime, let's look at the picture for this month in the SF Official Calendar:

We have a beautiful snowy scene this time, with the gorgeous huge mansion that can be built by connecting several of the new homes and buildings together, all decorated for the holidays. I love the whites and reds in this picture, as well as the beautiful Christmas tree in the left, and, of course, the cute snowman to the right.

As for the Sylvanians themselves, there's a lot to see here! They're all having fun and playing in the snow, interacting with each other (well, except for Mr Osborne who is shoveling snow, haha!). To the left there's little Crème, adorable with her Santa suit and her sled, and it seems like Mr Chocolate is bringing some more Christmas decorations home. I wonder what the two girls to the right are doing, with a bucket seemingly full of dirt. Planting saplings that will sprout in the Spring, maybe?

Freya is also here, of course, but she's not taking center stage or participating in any games and even seems a little pensive.

And that's it for the final picture of this year, everyone. I hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures for each month. Unfortunately, I don't think I'll continue posting the Calendar pictures next year, as I haven't been able to find a 2021 calendar locally, and importing it from Japan is quite expensive. I should also probably let someone else take over if they want to, as I've been posting the pictures for two years already.

Happy Holidays, everyone! Please follow all the necessary precautions during the holiday season and stay safe and healthy!

An Eventful Day at Well-Laced

Hello everyone,

I hope you're all doing well and staying safe and healthy!

It's been a while since I last posted a story here, but recently I found myself missing my Sylvanians and managed to gather enough motivation to take some pictures and continue the story following the opening of Camilla Hunter Smyth's shoe and accessory shop.

This time I attempted to cover two of this year's SF Collectors Forum's Creative Challenges, specifically Happy Birthday and Sylvanians at Work.

Last time, the story ended with Camilla realising that she hadn't thought of a name for her brand new shop. As you might have seen in the title for this post, she finally decided to call it Well-Laced.

I hope you enjoy the story and pictures!

Camilla Hunter-Smyth was satisfied. Her shoe and accessory shop's grand opening had been a success and the little business that had been a long-time dream of hers was doing well so far. Before the opening of Well-Laced, the villagers of Arcfield had to either order their shoes via catalogue or go all the way into town to buy them, so the little store was very convenient for them. In addition, Camilla knew her products well, did her best to assist her customers, and was able to order things for them if they needed anything specific. 

A few weeks after opening day, she had a particularly eventful day at the shop. It all started when the first customers of the day, Yvonne Woodbury and her daughter Angela, came in. They both smiled warmly at Camilla and greeted her. Angela was quickly distracted by the shoes and bags on display near the entrance, though!

Yvonne, her husband Henry, her twin daughters Angela and Harriet and her baby son Oliver didn't live in the village per se but nearby, in in a small clearing in the woods. The couple preferred a more relaxed lifestyle closer to nature, and home-schooled their children. They were also the drivers of the bus that allowed for both villagers and visitors to travel in and out the village, and apparently they actually used it as a living space when it was cold or rainy outside! It doubled as their work vehicle and a tiny home. Camilla had heard that they had had it custom built so that everything inside, be it the bus seats or the furniture, could be easily removed and stored in the trunk according to their needs.

"How can I help you today, Yvonne?" Camilla asked, smiling in turn.

"Oh, dear Camilla, I was looking for some comfortable sandals to wear when I'm off work. Something that's easy to move in. Do you have anything like that?"

"Ah, of course! I have a pair that I believe would be perfect. Let me get them out for you".

"What about these? The material is very soft and flexible, and they're guaranteed to be comfortable. The design also matches the dress you're wearing perfectly!"

"Oh, I do love them! Can I try them on?"

"But of course! Please, go ahead".

Yvonne put the sandals on and looked at her feet in the mirror with a satisfied expression.

"What a perfect fit! They're just the right size. You really do have an eye for this, Camilla!"

"Well, it is my job!" Mrs Hunter-Smyth replied with a small laugh.

Angela squealed with delight:

"They're so pretty, mummy! They look great on you!". Camilla noticed that it seemed like a yellow bracelet had caught Angela's eye, since she was trying it on already as well!

"They're truly comfortable, just what I need. I love them. I think I'll take them!"

"Can I have this bracelet as well, mummy? Look how well it matches my dress!"

"It's lovely, my dear. Of course you can have it, you're always such a good girl. Maybe we can come with Harriet next time and let her pick something as well."

"Oh, thank you so much!"

While mother and daughter were talking, Camilla noticed that Yvonne was eyeing a headband she had on display. She had heard that Mrs Woodbury had been involved in an accident while driving the bus a few years back, before becoming a mother. It had been late at night when it happened, no passengers had been on board and fortunately she hadn't experienced any serious injuries, but the whole experience had left some scars on her face and head. They were barely visible, but Camilla sensed that she was self-conscious about them; she had seen Yvonne unconsciously and nervously touching them while they talked. She decided to intervene.

"Yvonne, why don't you try that silver headband on the display? I've just recently received it, and I think its colour would match your beautiful grey fur quite nicely".

"Oh, I'm not sure...".

"Do try it on, mummy!" Angela said, beaming. "It's really nice!"

"How does it look?" Yvonne asked, her smile a bit uncertain. Angela made a happy, approving sound, and Camilla nodded complimentarily.

"It looks beautiful on you, Yvonne" she said. "You should take it".

"Oh, I'm not sure... I've spent a lot already, and..."

"Since you're buying other things, I'll give you a big discount." said Camilla. "I want you to have it".

Yvonne gave her a warm smile then, her eyes slightly dampening, and Camilla reciprocated. A very important part of her job, and one that she took close to heart, was to make her customers feel good about themselves; hopefully her small gesture would contribute to that for Mrs Woodbury.

 "No need to wrap anything up, Camilla. We'll just wear everything on our way out." Said Yvonne, laughing, as she paid for her items.

"Thank you, Mrs Hunter-Smyth!" Angela exclaimed, quite happily.

Camilla smiled at the mother and daughter and waved goodbye to them. Her day was off to a good start!

Her following customers were the Spinelli children, Silvio and Livia.

"Good day, Mrs Hunter-Smyth!" Bright and energetic, Livia was taking the lead, as usual. Silvio just gave Camilla a timid smile behind his sister's back.

"Good day, children. It's so nice to see you two! How can I help you both today?"

"Well, actually..." Silvio said, muttering a bit. "You see, it's our mum's birthday soon, and, and... we were... hoping to find a present for her".

"Oh! It's Carmela's birthday soon?" Camilla smiled gently. "She's always so kind to me and my family, I'll have to pay her a visit on that day, maybe bring some sweets. In any case, how about a nice necklace? Let me show you what I currently have in stock".

"Oh, I do like this one!" Livia said, holding a white bead necklace with a pink flower ornament. "What do you think, Silvio?".

"It's quite nice, yes... I think mum might like it".

"I'll even give you a nice bag to give it to her in, free of charge." Camilla said. "I'm sure she'll love her birthday present."

After paying for their mother's gift, both children beamed at Camilla and, in perfect sync, exclaimed: "Thank you so much, Mrs Hunter-Smyth!"

She couldn't help but laugh: "It's my pleasure to help. Your mother truly deserves a nice gift for her birthday. And make sure not to let her do any chores that day, hmm?"

"Of course not! We already have a lot of plans to make her day special!" Livia exclaimed, matter-of-factly. Camilla noticed with amusement that Silvio seemed a bit scared at his sister's enthusiasm.

Happily waving goodbye to Camilla, the Spinelli twins then left the shoe and accessory shop.

Not long after, many Sylvanians entered the shop at once! It was Camilla's good friend, Ariadna Andes, accompanied by her daughter Fiorella, Fiorella's best friend Evie Hazelwood, and Evie's mother, Karen.

"Oh, good day, girls!" Camilla beamed at all of them "Are you having fun shopping today? You'll have to invite me next time, you know!"

"Hi, Camilla" Ariadna smiled, shyly but clearly happy to see her friend. "Fiorella and Evie were playing together today, and Karen and I decided to join them for a short stroll. I just had to bring them to your new shop!"

"I adore what you've done with the place, Camilla!" Karen gave her a sweet smile. Camilla had heard from Ariadna that Evie's mother was very down to earth and easy to get along with, and it sure seemed that way.

"Thank you so much, Karen. Come here the both of you, let's chat for a spell!".

While their mothers caught up with Camilla, Fiorella and Evie spent some time looking at the shop's products.

"Doesn't this tiara look good on me, Evie?"

"Oh, Fi, you look like a princess!".

Fiorella smiled widely, delighted at her friend's compliment: "Maybe I'll add it to this year's wishlist for Holyster!".

Before the four left, Karen ended up buying a pair of comfortable leather shoes for her husband, who worked as a chef and spent many hours on his feet.

"Basil will be delighted, Camilla. Thank you so much for your help. See you next week for tea, then?"

"Thank YOU, Karen!" Camilla was happy about the sale, but also to have made a new friend. "Don't hesitate to let me know if there's any issues with the sizing or anything. I'll see you both next week, yes! I'll even bring a couple of shoe creams and waxes, that way Basil's new shoes will stay like new for much longer!"

Camilla's next visitor was none other than Anthony Spinelli, Livia and Silvio's father.

"Oh, good afternoon, Mr Spinelli. How can I help you?"

"Good afternoon, and just Anthony is fine!" He smiled at Camilla. "I was looking for a gift for my wife, actually. It's going to be her birthday soon, you see! I was thinking about a necklace..."

"Oh, no, no, definitely not a necklace!" Camilla said, a bit too abruptly. Anthony looked a bit put off and gave her a strange look, so she continued speaking. "I mean, Carmela is always so busy working at the bakery or doing errands. What about a nice bag? She'll have something to carry things around and it will make her smile each time she uses it, since it was a gift from you. A thoughtful yet useful present!".

Anthony still looked surprised, but a smile slowly started to appear on his face. He let out a little laugh and then shrugged. 

"Well, you sure know your stuff, Camilla! You have convinced me! Let me see those bags of yours!"

"What about this one? Carmela's very feminine, I'm sure she'll like the pink bow and handle. It's also spacious and very light and practical."

"After your sales speech earlier, I completely trust your judgement, Camilla!" Anthony laughed heartily, and in a determined tone of voice, exclaimed: "I'll take it!".

"Thank you for your purchase, Anthony! I hope Carmela likes her gift."

"So do I! Come visit us with your family sometime. I'll get the triplets out of your hair for a while and make pizza for all!".

"We'll have to take you up on that offer! We all love your pizza!".

With a smile and a wave, Mr Spinelli was off.

The rest of the afternoon up to closing time was mostly uneventful. Camilla made sure to try and help all of the other customers who visited her shop to the best of her ability.

"I believe these might be too big for you, Mr Warren. I don't currently have your size in stock, but I can order them for you, and you can pick them up next week if you'd like".

Later, just as Camilla was preparing to close up shop, a last visitor arrived: it was Christopher Spinelli, Anthony's younger brother. He had apparently been to university but hadn't taken his studies seriously, so his parents had sent him to Arcfield to work for his older brother. He mainly did deliveries for Anthony and Carmela, both baked goods and pizzas. Cheeky and charming, he was pretty popular in town.

"Sorry to bother you this late, Mrs H-S." He said, a bit out of breath. "I'm between deliveries, but I really wanted to come by before you closed up shop today".

"Oh, welcome, Christopher!" Camilla said. "No worries, the shop's still open. Let me guess; are you here to buy a birthday present?"

Christopher's eyes widened, and then he laughed loudly.

"Colour me impressed, Mrs H-S! You're absolutely right. It's my sister-in-law's birthday soon, and I wanted to get a little something for her. I might not always show it, but I'm really grateful to her, you know? For putting up with me staying at her place for so long and being so cool about it. So..."

"I completely understand, Christopher". Camilla smiled. "I wouldn't worry if I were you, though. I'm sure Carmela thinks nothing of it. You're family!".

While she was talking, Camilla led Christopher to the accessory display.

"How about this bracelet?" She suggested, showing a pink beaded bracelet to Christopher. "Beads are very in style right now, and I'm certain it'll look good on her. It might even match some of her other accessories..."

"Oh, that's nice indeed. I think it'll do the trick. Thank you so much, Mrs H-S!".

After Christopher left, Camilla smiled to herself, knowing that she had succeeded in helping the last customer of her busy day.

That night, she had a good laugh with her family when she told them that the whole Spinelli family had come to her shop in their search for gifts for Carmela! What could be the chance of that happening? She wasn't going to complain, though! And she sure hoped she would like her presents!

I think she did, what do you all think? :)

The End!

--

I hope you all liked this story. I'm out of practice and it might be a bit long, but hopefully you enjoyed it nonetheless! 

Before ending this post, I want to say a HUGE thank you once again to my friend Berna, who's very generous and talented and has sent me many Sylvanian items and gifts! It's thanks to her that I was able to use this building for the shoe shop. 

She also made and sent me the beautiful clothes Yvonne Woodbury is wearing (I only had her driver's uniform before! She made everyday clothes for Yvonne's husband, too!). 

Moreover, she kindly made Mr Warren and his family and sent them to me; they're my very own, special and unique mole family! She made all of their clothes by hand as well!

Here's a picture of the whole Warren family. I absolutely love their colourful outfits!!

Thank you, Berna! I hope they will be very happy in Arcfield!

I hope you all have a wonderful rest of the week. Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

November 2020 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone,

It's November already, so here I am with this month's page in the SF Official Calendar.

I really like this cosy, autumnal scene. We can see both fruit trees in the background and deciduous trees with their orange leaves in the foreground. 

There's also the new thee-story house, with its cool elevator, and even vegetable gardens!

I really like the new Persian cats. I love how two of them are grey-coloured, and their funny backstory; they're all interested in science and machines (one of the babies likes photography, even!) except for the dad, who loves dancing and having fun, haha! I recommend you check out Mimi's review on them, it's very informative and entertaining. The rest of her site is absolutely worth checking out, too! She makes amazing dioramas and has many tutorials and reviews available. :)

I love the clothes the family and the other Sylvanian present are wearing in this picture, too. They fit their surroundings perfectly! Father Persian, his daughters and Aidan Osborne seem to be getting ready to enjoy eating their yams/sweet potatoes after roasting them at the fire (I'm guessing that's what they are, since they are white inside but turn yellow after cooking them; the dad seems to be putting out the fire, too). The cute baby to the right seems to have found an acorn, and the mom is working on sweeping the leaves. At the background, Coco Chocolate and Millie Maple seem to be having fun with a particularly big crop!

A lovely scene, as usual. Don't you think?

I hope you have a great and safe month of November. Stay healthy, everyone!

October 2020 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

October has been with us for a few days already, so here I am with the SF official calendar's picture for this month.

And it's a Halloween-y picture, same as last year!

It's a very cheery and cute scene; we can see many babies and some children wearing Halloween costumes and having fun in a lovely, colourful playground. I believe the castle and train are both sets available to buy in the current line, and they're both very cute. I adore that huge ghost to the left; it seems like it might be a covered-up treehouse, since it has a tree with a swing. 

I also quite like the lovely autumn-y trees in the background. Where I grew up, all the leaves in the trees turned orange when the seasons changed, and I remember how they cracked under my feet when I walked to school. But where I live now there's almost no deciduous trees, and I've realised that I really miss them and their orange leaves when autumn comes around.

I have to say that I love all three costumes the older children are wearing; I'm especially fond of witches and spellcasters, and Aidan's pumpkin costume is truly adorable. I love how his bucket has a cute face, haha! 

As for the babies' costumes, Crème Chocolate is looking quite adorable in that fairy dress! I love her basket, which also has a face and ressembles a carved pumpkin. The little Walnut demon also looks quite mischievous!

October is a special month for me, since it's my birthday month and marks both the time when I started seriously collecting Sylvanian Families (three years ago, on October 19th) and my blog's anniversary (two years ago, on October 2nd). 

I know I haven't been very active in the SF community lately, but I'm doing OK and I'm still around, though mostly lurking. I've added some sets, families and even a building (the old Supermarket, which I had been wanting since I started collecting) to my collection lately, but I haven't done much with them yet. I miss my Sylvanians, but it's been a strange few months and motivation is still escaping me. That might change at any moment, though! Maybe I should get Camilla's shoe shop out, see if I feel motivated to set up a scene or two for my next story...

I hope you're all staying safe and healthy, everyone! Thank you for reading and have a wonderful week-end and month of October!

September 2020 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone,

A bit late (my apologies), but here I am with this month's picture for September in the SF Official Calendar.

 

How curious that it is a scene of a shoe and accessory shop, seeing that the last story I wrote was about that! In this picture we can see a very fancy shop in the Town setting. There we can find the Chocolate, Tuxedo and Persian older sisters, looking at and trying different beautiful shoes and accesories. I like the beautiful perfume bottles at the forefront, and the bags! 

In the background, there's Freya Chocolate and her mother Teri, also shopping! 

I love the colours in this picture, and that gorgeous mirror with the golden frame. The Town's sets and settings always look so refined and sophisticated!

I hope that you're having a wonderful month of September and that you're staying safe and healthy!

Have a great rest of the week.

A dream realised

Hello everyone,

Despite really enjoying them and having managed to participate in every one of them in 2019, this year, because of several reasons, I haven't been able to participate in the SF Collectors Forum's challenges.

To try and remedy this, today I bring you a story in which I tried to cover the first three prompts that were proposed for 2020: History, Interior Design and Couples.

This is my first story in a long time (though not much of a story really, more like a succession of scenes...) and I hope that you enjoy it.

You might notice that the story mentions the Spring Festival, and this should give you an idea of how overdue it is, haha...

Thank you in advance for reading!

--

It was, once again, time for the yearly Spring Festival in the village of Arcfield, and Charles and Camilla Hunter-Smyth were taking the opportunity to spend a rare afternoon with only the two of them together, as their older children, Isabella and Hector, were busy with their friends elsewhere in the village and had even taken their baby siblings with them. The triplets were quite lively, so this gave the couple a chance to relax a bit and enjoy both each other's company and the festival amenities. Both of them were usually very busy, with Charles being a banker in the city and spending a lot of time away from the village and Camilla having lately been absorbed by her personal long-time project, the future opening of her shoe and accessory shop, so it was truly a wonderful chance for them to spend some quality time together.

The only problem was that, as they were calmly taking a stroll together, Camilla's heart and mind didn't seem to be in it. She had been distracted and distant ever since they had left the house, and Charles wasn't sure what could possibly be the problem. He had asked, of course, but her replies had been evasive, her smiles distant as she assured him that he hadn't done anything wrong. After spending some time looking at the different festival stands and activities, the couple finally reached the forest clearing where an enormous and mysterious tree stump could be found, on top of which the villagers held the most important events of Arcfield and of its yearly festivals.

 

This year, a play was being represented on top of the mysterious and huge tree stump.

It was about the origins of the village, with young Aidan Osborne playing the part of the founder of Arcfield.

The stories told about said founder were diverse and most were quite ambiguous; some stated he had been a weary exile forced to leave his home because of some sort of disaster, either natural or magical in nature depending on the source, while according to other tales he had been an explorer and adventurer, always in search of mysteries and unexplored lands and realms.

Be it as it may, both the stories and the few pieces of writing that existed about him and that were safely guarded in Arcfield's small library, some of which had allegedly been written by the founder himself, seemed to indicate that he had been a young bear by the name of Erastus. They also seemed to coincide that he had got lost in the woods to the south of Arcfield and had almost perished of hunger and thirst, but that the forest spirits had taken pity on him and showed him the way out. The most down-to-earth interpretations of the tale seemed to think that said spirits had just been hallucinations Erastus had experienced due to both exhaustion and food and drink deprivation.

All tales coincided, however, that when he had finally exited the forest he had found himself in a beautiful green plain where he had witnessed a most grand and marvelous rainbow in the sky, which was the scene currently being represented by young Aidan. Just a coincidence or a last gift from the forest spirits? Nobody knew, but most believed that wonderful vision was the reason why he had decided to give the village he had founded in that beautiful field, surrounded by both the woods and the sea, the name of "Arcfield", inspired by the beautiful and multi-coloured arc he had seen over a green, lush field.

Many of the villagers thought that the current mayor, Nicholas McFarlane, might be a descendant of Erastus himself, but young Aidan's father, Jason Osborne, after having a bit too much blackcurrant wine at Wilbur Robinson's pub, had been heard saying that that it was in fact his family who descended from Erastus. Who could know in the present day what the truth really was, though? Maybe only the spirits themselves knew, and if they did, they surely didn't care enough to appear and say it.

The only thing about the play that currently worried Charles was the fact that his wife didn't seem interested in it at all. After they left the clearing, both of them still silent, they ran into the candy and popcorn carts owned by the López couple, César and Mariela.
Both of them were very well-liked by everyone in the village, not only because of the delicious home-made treats they sold in their colourful carts, but because they were generally very cheery and kind people, always available for a nice chat and a good laugh. They were also excellent party planners, and a lot of villagers counted on them when it came to organise a big event. It didn't matter if it was going to be a colourful children's party or an elegant wedding reception, the López were the couple to go to.

When Charles took a look at the delicious-looking lollipops César was selling, he got an idea. Smiling, he approached the vendor while calling for Camilla, who was already walking away ahead of him.

"Wait a moment, my love. There's something I'd like to buy from César".

"Whatever you need, Carlos!" César was smiling brightly, as usual, and gestured theatrically toward his sweets. "Tell me amigo mío, how can I help you make your day a little sweeter?"

"It's not my day I want to sweeten, César, but my wife's. Can I have that heart-shaped lollipop?"

"But of course!"

"Oh, darling!" Camilla exclaimed, looking with a surprised expression at the heart-shaped lollipop her husband had just bought for her. "Thank you so much! But what have I done to deserve such a treat?"

"You don't need to do anything in particular to deserve it, my dearest." said Charles, smiling calmly. "You do so much every day for our family already. You seem worried today, so I wanted to try and cheer you up. You do know that I'm here for you, right? I know that I'm often away from home because of my job, but if there is anything I can help you with..."

In the meantime, the López couple were looking at the Hunter-Smyths and listening to their conversation with a smile on their faces. Seeing the sweet moment between the couple unfold, Mariela approached her husband and lovingly reached for his hand.

"Oh, my love!" Camilla took the lollipop from Charles' hand and quickly went to embrace him and kiss him on the cheek. "You're such a darling! Thank you so much. I know you're there for me, and I'm sorry that I'm so distracted today. I'm just worried about the preparations to open my shoe and accessory shop. There's still so much to do and plan, and so many things that could go wrong! And what if the shop isn't a success and all this hard work is for nothing...?"

"That won't happen, Milla" replied Charles, smiling contentedly. "You're the most organised and disciplined person I know. I'm sure everything will go flawlessly, as everything you do, and that your store will be a huge success. And I'll be there to help you, every step of the way".

Camilla smiled back at him, and embraced him even tighter.

"I do love you so much, Charles...!"

"And I you, my dearest".

And with the worries out of Camilla's head, for a little while at least, the two were able to enjoy the rest of their afternoon together at the Spring Festival.

As the days passed, the preparations for the grand opening of Camilla's shop were quickly progressing. It had been a while since Camilla had asked her now good friend, Ariadna Andes, for her opinion on the wallpaper that she should use for her future shop, and as she wanted her shop to look both cheerful and modern, the two of them had agreed on the one featuring the boldest colours.

It had taken a while for the wallpaper to arrive to the village, as the postal service was quite slow, but it had been quickly installed afterwards. Then, Camilla, Charles and Ariadna had been working hard on cleaning the premises of the future shop. Arthur Waters was also often there, helping with several odd jobs that required the skillset of a handyman such as himself. Camilla was still feeling unsure about the placement of the furniture that was still to arrive, and kept proposing alternatives to her husband and good friend, who tried their best to reassure her.

It was very exciting when the stock she had ordered started arriving at last! The furniture wasn't ready yet, but at least Camilla was able to take a good look at what she would be selling in her shop. She had received several types of shoe polish and even brushes with excellent quality bristles. The shoes themselves were all amazingly made, the material soft and flexible, and she was very pleased. Her baby triplets, Thomas, Gerard and Georgina, seemed to like them, too!

When the displays and the rest of the stock arrived at last, the whole family helped set everything up. Opening day was coming up and it took Camilla quite a long time to finally decide where everything would go! She wouldn't only be selling shoes, but jewellery, accessories and handbags as well, so she needed a lot of space to display everything.

Charles helped with the stand where the shoes and handbags would be displayed, Hector carefully set the mirror in its future proper place, and Isabella was delighted as she carefully set the lovely accessories her mother had ordered from a famous manufacturer in the city on the display table, lovingly looking at each piece before carefully setting all of them down in an aesthetically pleasing way. Isabella had a very good eye for these things, it was an innate quality of her, and Camilla fully trusted it. 

The display table itself was a great piece of furniture and perfect for the store, as the surface on the top could be gently spun around and allowed to better check the pieces displayed on it without having to move around the table.

And so, after a lot of hard work and effort, Camilla Hunter-Smyth's shoe and accessory shop was ready to open. Everything was in its place, the cash register ready and working as well.

As she took a final look at her store before closing the door on the last night before the grand opening, Camilla felt a curious feeling, a mix of anxiety, happiness and anticipation. Opening her own shop had been a longtime dream of hers, and now it was finally going to become true. It had been her hard work that had made it possible, but also the invaluable help, advice and encouragement of her family and friends, and for that she would always be grateful. She wondered if her little business would be successful, and she sure hoped it would. She thought it better to think positively, as her husband had advised, and she decided that she would deal with things as they came her way and try not to worry too much in advance.

As she walked the short distance to her home under Arcfield's starry night sky, she felt quite at peace. She was almost at home when the smile that had been gracing her lips suddenly vanished. She had forgotten one most important thing. What was her store going to be called?! She had completely forgotten to think of a catchy name!

It was too late now. She would have to sleep on it. If she managed to get a wink of sleep that night, that was!

Oh, no!

 --

The End, for now!

Hope you enjoyed this story! I'm a bit out of practice, but I hope it was enjoyable nonetheless!

Since the story ended just before opening day, I'm thinking of making a Part 2 of sorts to illustrate either the opening day or just one day at the shoe and accessory shop. And, as Camilla's realised towards the end of the story, I'll have to think of a name for the shop, haha!

Thank you once again everyone for reading, and have a nice week!

August 2020 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone,

Since it's August already, here's this month's page in the Sylvanian Families official calendar.

Very nice picture this month! We can see several young Sylvanians out at night, stargazing. So many shooting stars! I love the starry sky and the way everyone is looking at it in wonder. Lovely alternative outfits, as always! They're also warming themselves by the fire (I guess it gets chillier at night in Sylvania!) and roasting marshmallows. I don't think they stayed up too late, as they have a couple of their baby siblings with them!

I hope you're all having a wonderful month of August and staying safe and healthy!

Have a great rest of the week!

Fred and George's Adventure in the Countryside!

Hello everyone!

This fortnight there is a Free Challenge in the Sylvanian Families Collectors Forum, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to participate for the first time this year.

I haven't been able to do much for these challenges so far, even though I really enjoy them! Hopefully I'll be able to work on entries for some of the past themes soon-ish...

Free Challenges are an opportunity to work on a previous challenge that you may have missed or wish to re-visit, take up any sort of Sylvanian project that you've not yet had time for, explore different ideas, test new mediums or techniques...anything you wish to work on. There will be a total of at least four Free Challenges scheduled throughout the year, including this one.

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

I have recently been away for a week in a little house my parents own at the countryside, and I found a couple of stowaways in my luggage!

(I don't consider Livia and Silvio stowaways, since they asked for permission to come with me last year!).

"Are we there yet?"

"Where did you two come from?! Does your mother even know you're here?!"

I wasn't really able to pay much attention to the two of them while we were at my parents', but I hear they entertained themselves quite well and made several new friends!

This one apparently sang a beautiful song for them!

This one looked familiar!

"He looks a bit like Freya, but not quite the same, right?"

I hear this one told them quite a few interesting stories! I could hear the three of them laughing from where I was!

"How did you get up there?! Help me up!"

This gnome was quite amused at their antics!

And they enjoyed this one's wise teachings for quite a while once the night came!

"Doesn't this look a bit like a lighthouse?"

"What a big plant!"

"Everything is huge here!"

"These flowers are also huge, but I do not think they're real..."

"It's so hot here! We want to go in the pool!"

"I do not think it's a good idea for you two to go in there..."

Luckily for Fred and George, a pool better adapted to their size was waiting for them back at home.

"Put your swimming suits on first, you rascals!"

Molly, if you're not careful even your baby daughter will jump in there! She's looking quite eager to me! :D

--

I hope that you enjoyed these pictures and that you're keeping safe and healthy.

Have a wonderful rest of the week.