December 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

Believe it or not, it's the end of the year, and here I am with the last picture on this year's official Sylvanian Families Calendar.

 

And we have an appropriately festive picture! I really like how everyone's wearing coats and/or scarves. Love Freya's coat, and the tiny husky babies are just the cutest. That snowman in the back looks quite friendly too! Looks like Frasier is building another one with Crème right next to it. And the huge tree looks just gorgeous!

I don't think I'll be able to get my hands on a Sylvanian calendar this year, sadly, so these monthly posts might have come to an end! It's been very enjoyable doing it for several years in a row, and I sure hope you liked it as well. :)

I hope you're all enjoying the holiday season, and that you have a wonderful weekend and a very happy start of the new year. 

Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

November 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

Here I am once again with the calendar picture on the very last day of the month, haha... Sorry about that!

Here it is:

Isn't it cute? I think it might be one of my favourites yet. The Sylvanian children seem to be working in several crafting projects. Look at all those tiny supplies! Love the decoration in the back too, especially that clock. And of course Aidan Osborne is making a huge hamburger, his most favourite thing in the world! The Persian twins are adorable as well.

Have you all been working on some crafting projects for your Sylvanians lately? Do tell! I still haven't been able to regain my motivation, but I always enjoy looking at pictures and reading about everyone's projects.

See you soon with December's calendar picture! Stay safe and healthy!

October 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

It's finally Autumn/Fall in my part of the world, and temperatures are getting chillier after a very harsh summer. October and the spooky season are here! This is also my birthday month, so it might be my favourite time of the year. :)

Today I bring you this month's picture in the official SF Calendar.

Appropriately, it is a perfect picture for Halloween! I love seeing all the Sylvanian children and babies in their costumes. The Haunted House is adorable, I do wish it was a bigger building though. Candy and fun all around! An adorable picture, and not scary at all. I like it!

I hope you are all doing well and having fun with your Sylvanian projects. I've been quite out of touch with the hobby lately, because of work and other issues. I do want to get back to it, I miss setting up scenes with the adorable figures and miniatures, taking pictures and writing stories. I thought that maybe once summer ended the motivation would come back, but it's just not there yet. Hopefully soon!

Stay safe and healthy everyone and have fun during this spooky month!

September 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

I am not too late, am I...? It's still September in my part of the world as I post this. Very sorry about the delay!

This month we have a fun scene with balloons, bycicles, and the village children and babies. Seems like with the chillier temperatures, the youngest Sylvanians are able to do a bit of exercise outside. Love seeing the new pandas and huskies in the picture. Freya is also here, of course, and wearing a pink ribbon similar to Arcfield's Freya, too! 

How has your September been? Any new Sylvanian projects? Do tell!

Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

August 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

Hope you are all doing well. :)

Better late than never, as they say, here I am with this month's picture from the Sylvanian Families official calendar:

This month we have a lovely outdoors scene. It seems like our dear Sylvanians are fighting the heat having a nice day by the river or maybe a lake, doing some fishing! I love Freya's outfit, much more appropriate than her dress for such an activity, and looks like Ralph has made a big catch! Love those big sunflowers in the background, too!

Here in Spain the heat has been almost unbearable this summer, but luckily it seems like temperatures are starting to cool down. I can't wait for Autumn/Fall! 

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

Have a great day!

July 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

It's hard to believe, but half the year is already behind us. Here's this month's picture in the official Sylvanian Families calendar from this year 2022.

And we have a parade from the theme park setting! A very colourful picture indeed, look at all those babies, vehicles and costumes! It's truly adorable, and there's so much to see! I don't plan on getting any buildings from this series, but they sure are cute and whimsical. 

Work has been busy and I have not had much energy for my Sylvanians lately, but I have recently purchased the Puddlefords re-release and the Beaver's Hiking set. I love both sets and the figures are truly adorable. I hope to be able to introduce these Sylvanians to my Arcfield stories soon. :)

Have a wonderful month of July, and stay safe and healthy!

June 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

It's the 15 of June already! Oops! Sorry for the lateness; I have been very busy with work lately.

In any case, better late than never, I bring you this month's picture in the official Sylvanian Families calendar. :)

Isn't this month's scene just adorable? I think it might be one of my favourites yet. Love the picnic blanket and basket full of goodies (which don't seem to be Sylvanian, at least not all of them?). The family's clothes are very nice, and the teeny tiny babies are just the cutest. Seems like the Chocolates are not going to disappear from the official pictures just yet! And I'm glad; they might be everywhere, but I'm quite fond of them. 

We're entering Summer and enduring a heatwave here in Spain, so it's been pretty harsh! I hope the weather is nicer and milder where you live. :) 

Have a wonderful month of June and stay safe and healthy!

May 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

April has come and gone and we're already in May! So here I am with this month's picture in the Sylvanian Families official calendar:

And we have a busy scene in Town! I believe this building is the Japan-exclusive Royal or Grand Hotel. It might also be the last building in the Town series, which I believe has (strangely, due to its popularity) been discontinued.

Like most of the newer buildings, the hotel seems to have a lot of lovely engraving and details. Love the shape and colours of the roof as well. The Sylvanians in this pic are impeecably dressed, and we have lots with lots of activity all around. I absolutely love all the little details in this picture.

Are you a fan of the Town series? How do you feel about it ending? While I do like the aesthetic and feel of the Town, I haven't bought any buildings from it, as I lack the space and I prefer the village/woodland setting. I do have a few sets though, such as the chocolaterie. :)

I have been adapting well to my new job, but I sadly haven't had much time to devote to Sylvanian projects. I look forward to seeing yours, though!

Have a wonderful week and stay safe and healthy!

April 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone!

We are now in the month of April and entering Spring in my part of the world. The sun we've had the past couple of days is most welcome, as we've had a very rainy and cloudy March with very little sunlight and opportunity to go out. I hope you are all doing OK!

This month, as usual, I bring you the picture in the SF Calendar

And it is quite the lovely illustration, very colourful and perfect for Easter! We have several of the children and babies of the village having fun with chocolate eggs, as well as decorating the huge one in the center! Egbert Highbranch, the giraffe father, seems to be supervising everyone. Love the ribbons, the flowers and decorations made of fabric and the tiny baskets. A very cheery picture indeed! The colours are beautifully pastel IRL, my photo doesn't really do it justice. 

Have you managed to find all the hidden eggs? Do your Sylvanians have plans for Easter? Do tell! :D

I have not been able to do much with my Sylvanians recently because a couple of weeks ago I started working full-time for a new client in a very exciting position. I am still adapting to my new schedule and feeling a bit tired as a result, but I hope to get back on track soon, as I have plans for a story mentioning the nursery, as I mentioned in previous posts. I did get the building and the furniture I want to use out of their storage and started setting everything up, so all that's left is for me to gather enough motivation to continue! The fact that we have more hours of sunlight now will hopefully help. 

We also took Vega (our dog; not a puppy anymore, really, as she's recently turned 1!) to the vet for her sterilization surgery this past Friday, so we have been a bit worried about her and giving her lots of attention this week-end. She's doing fine, though! She doesn't seem to be in pain at all anymore and is slowly showing her playful personality again. Hopefully in just a few days she'll be 100% back to normal. 

I hope you're all doing well, stay safe and healthy and have a wonderful day!

Evie and Fiorella's Sleepover

Hello everyone!

Here it is, at last! The sleepover story I have been talking about for months now is finally finished. I apologise for the long delay, but the motivation to take pictures and write Sylvanian stories has been a bit lacking for me lately, and the whole pandemic situation sure didn't help. I do want to get back into my Sylvanian hobby, so hopefully more pictures and stories will follow soon!

(I feel like I always say this, haha...).

I have had this idea for a very long time, and I actually wanted to present it for the SF Collector's forum challenges... Challenge number 14 of 2021, ouch!  Better late than never, right? The prompt was "Sleepover Party".

This story has taken me so long that there's even Christmas cookies in one of the pictures, haha... (made by my dear friend  Cutata, thank you!). I do apologise once again.

Once again, there's not much of a story, really; it's more a slice-of-life succession of scenes, but I hope you'll enjoy it. 

---

 

 

 

It was a sunny afternoon in the village of Arcfield, and near one of the houses in the outskirts, cheerful voices could be heard: Karen Hazelwood and her daughter Evie were just arriving to the home of the Andes alpaca family, where Ariadna and her daughter Fiorella were welcoming them. Fiorella was delighted; she and her best friend Evie were going to have a sleepover that day, an event she had been eagerly awaiting for weeks.

She didn't waste any time and quickly led her friend upstairs to show her that in her room everything was already ready for their sleepover.

"Oh!" said Evie, quickly turning to say hello to Fiorella's baby brother, Óscar, who adored her. "You even moved the bed, Fi?"

"I did!" beamed her friend. "Well, papa did. He's going to be out until late today, and mama promised to keep Óscar occupied. We already have the sleeping bags prepared, and I even got some playing cards! We are going to have so much fun!"

Evie couldn't help but smile back at her friend, seeing her so excited. When they were with other children, Fiorella could be headstrong and bossy; lately, she had been proclaiming to anyone who would listen to her that she and Freya Chocolate were lifelong rivals, a rivalry the young Chocolate rabbit herself seemed oblivious about!

But when it was just the two of them, no one else around to boss around or impress, her friend visibly relaxed and was able to just be herself, the amiable and generous Fiorella that Evie knew so well.

Downstairs, Ariadna and Karen were enjoying some tea and cookies that Evie's mother had brought with her. Ariadna was also at ease despite her usual shyness and introverted personality, since Karen had been a very close friend of hers for a very long time, ever since their daughters were just babies. So they happily chatted, enjoyed their snacks and started making plans for next time; they would have liked for Camilla Hunter-Smyth and her daughter Isabella to join them and their daughters, but they hadn't been able to come, so they hoped it'd be possible at another time. Camilla was a relatively new friend of Ariadna's, and she would be very happy if she and Karen could become friends as well. And she was convinced the responsible and studious Isabella would be a good influence on her Fiorella.

Not long after, Karen Hazelwood left, leaving Ariadna with the girls and her baby son.

The sleepover was already in full swing upstairs; the girls had changed into their nightgowns and were excitedly chatting about anything and everything while Evie brushed Fiorella's hair. Despite them almost always being together, they never ran out of topics to talk about.

The afternoon had already turned into evening by the time Ariadna went upstairs and smiled at the two.
"Girls, how are you doing? Are you getting hungry? I'm starting to think about dinner and I thought we could bake some sweets for dessert if you feel up to it. What do you think?"
Needless to say, Evie and Fiorella were on board! 

After deciding that they would be making waffles, the two friends went to the kitchen and gathered the ingredients for the batter.
"Eggs, milk, butter..." muttered Fiorella.
"Do we need a mould as well?" asked Evie.
"Not at all!" her friend replied, her smile a bit mischievous. "You'll see!" 

When it came to start mixing the ingredients and making the waffles, everyone moved to the dining room table, where there was more space. Little Óscar was quite interested by the batter, and Evie was amazed at the Andes' waffle maker!
"See?" Fiorella said, as proudly as if the machine were her own invention. "We pour in the mix, and then just wait a little and bam! Instant waffle!"
"It looks and smells so good!" exclaimed her friend, marvelling at the golden waffle shaped like a rabbit's head that appeared when they opened the machine's lid.

Since making the waffles with the waffle maker was so quick and easy, the girls ended up also making cookies for fun. With Ariadna in charge of the oven, Evie and Fiorella prepared some cookie dough, rolled it with the rolling pin and used moulds to make differently-shaped cookies. Fiorella was having so much fun that she even forgot her slippers somewhere!

After having a healthy and delicious dinner consisting of a fruit, cheese and nut salad Ariadna prepared, the girls were finally able to enjoy the sweets they had made while playing a friendly game of cards. Fiorella was in such a good mood that she didn't even get angry when Evie eventually won.

After their game, feeling contented and a bit sleepy, the two girls went back upstairs and got their sleeping bags ready.
"We could read a story. Do you want me to read aloud?" asked Evie. The two friends had enjoyed reading together ever since they were very little.
"Sure!" Fiorella agreed, happy that Evie had volunteered to do the reading. They usually took turns, but she was feeling quite tired already.

After reaching the end of the first short story, Evie noticed that Fiorella's eyes were already closed. Smiling, she put the book away and got in her sleeping bag as well.

Just before drifting off to sleep, she heard Fiorella's slightly drowsy voice:
"I had a lot of fun today, Evie. Thank you for being my friend".
"So did I" Evie replied, her voice warm. "I will always be your friend, Fi. Good night".
"Good night" Fiorella replied, the corners of her lips turning slightly upwards in the comfortable darkness of the room.

And so, the two of them peacefully fell asleep. It had been a great sleepover, as it always was when they were in each other's company.

---

And that's it! I am a bit out of practice, and I know it isn't perfect, but I had fun taking the pictures and writing the text; I hope you enjoyed this hopefully wholesome story.

Have a wonderful rest of the week, everyone!

March 2022 Calendar Picture

Hello everyone,

We're in March already, Spring is rapidly approaching in my part of the world (and my allergies are noticing it too, ack!) and here I am with this month's picture in the official SF Calendar, along with the items we need to look for this time:

This month, as usual, we have a colourful picture! It looks like a nursery scene, specifically during a health check day! I understand that in Japan these yearly medical checks are done at the school, so that must be what this picture is representing. We can see the teacher, Mrs Periwinkle, measuring the babies' height in the background,  there's a scale for weighting, and even an eyesight test taking place!

I like this picture; the scene might be a little unusual but it's quite original and shows something that happens every year for Japanese children. All those babies in their kindergarten uniforms are quite adorable, too! And I love the decoration and the drawings on the wall above the little piano. I've been meaning to write a story featuring the kindergarten for a while now (my friend Berna generously gifted me the building quite some time ago!), hope I'll be able to get to it soon.

I also wanted to show you my entry for February's Sylvanian Photo Challenge in the forum. The theme was "Your favourite colours":

Mr and Mrs Diggory are experts at making tunnels and underground chambers. It's what they have been doing all their lives, and, up until now, they have always lived underground. Recently, however, their tunnels have led them to an area full of oversized roots, and those roots led them to the surface, to a forest full of huge trees and plants. They're quite curious about this plant that's growing right inside a tree trunk. I wonder if they'll find the little Sylvanian village right next to the mysterious forest...?

You might be wondering where my favourite colours are in this picture. Well, I like blue and yellow! :D

I wasn't sure what kind of picture to take or what family to feature for this prompt, and when I saw my new moles, dressed in their colourful outfits, I knew it had to be them. Love this family!

I hope you have a wonderful month of March. Stay safe and healthy, everyone!

February (and January) 2022 Calendar Picture!

Hello everyone!

We have already left the first month of the year behind, and here we are in February 2022.

I know I said that since I didn't have a calendar this year I would just upload some of my favourite pictures and update family biographies in my monthly posts, but I have a surprise for you all: I do have the official calendar now! My wonderful boyfriend, Marcos, got it for me during January. So I can now keep posting the monthly calendar pictures! 

Before posting the picture for February, I wanted to show you the calendar's cover as well as the pictures for December 2021 and January 2022. There's a fun game included with the calendar this year; for every picture (the cover included) there's objects and Sylvanians to find! I'll upload what you need to look for each month here as well. :)

Cover:

December 2021:

January 2022:

 

 And February 2022:

Such lovely pictures so far! Very dynamic and full of details and Sylvanians interacting with each other. :)

For this month, looks like we have the ponies' hair salon. This image instantly made me feel happy, so much colour! My photos really don't do these pictures justice. I love the Persian cat relaxing in the background, hehe! And all the accessories in the table to the left as well.

What do you think about Serafina and her daughter Sally, will they be moving to your village? I must admit they are growing on me, although I'm not sure about the brushable hair, haha. I do love the blond braids Sally has on this month's picture though. I like the concept of a hair salon, but I wish the colours were more neutral. I do love pastel colours but it might be a bit too much for Arcfield, hehe!

I thought the new Persian cats were slowly starting to replace the Chocolates in the official pictures, but Freya and Crème still are in every one of these so far, haha!

I hope you have a wonderful month of February. Stay safe and healthy!

Happy New Year 2022!

Hello everyone,

Happy New Year! It's 2022 already! 

2020 and 2021 have been quite difficult and exhausting so I truly hope 2022 will give us all a break.

This year I unfortunately haven't been able to get my hands on a Sylvanian calendar, but I think it would be a good idea to keep the monthly posts going, so I decided to re-post some of my favourite pictures I have taken. 

This is one of the very first Sylvanian pictures I took. I believe I didn't even have much furniture for my brand new Beechwood Hall back then! We can see Nicholas McFarlane enjoying his balcony here. The sea in the background is the actual view from my window. Arcfield is supposed to be near both the sea and the forest, and since the McFarlane's home is on high ground, it works! The lighting worked in my favour here, too. :)

My boyfriend Marcos also suggested that I each month I could post the biography of one of my families. I think this is a great idea, as I still have so many to work on, write, and post. Some families don't even have their picture for the biographies page taken yet! And some others I don't want to post yet since seeing the complete family would spoil some of the stories I have thought of, haha. I really should get started on writing those... But motivation has been eluding me lately. Sorry about that. I'm still working on that Sleepover story I keep talking about, haha.

So, I have updated both my Stories page (with links to all my stories) and the Families page, where you will see some new pictures and biographies. I sneakily added the biographies for the Chocolate Rabbit grandparents a few months back, and today I worked on the Waters Beavers, so this month I have two to post here!

Grandfather Rhys Chocolate and Grandmother Patricia Chocolate are Teri's parents. They are adventurous, free spirits and are often away, travelling by boat. That doesn't mean, however, that they aren't loving grandparents that dote on their grandchildren, because they sure are! They often come back to Arcfield to visit their family.

Rhys, a sailor, loves indulging his many grandchildren and their friends with tales of his adventures at sea (although it might be that not all of them are strictely true!). Much to his daughter's dismay, he also likes telling embarrassing stories about her childhood!

Patricia, an excellent cook and baker, loves making delicious meals for her loved ones. She tends to overcater, but she means well and just wants to make sure that no one stays hungry. Aven though she's a refined lady that was born in a wealthy family, she feels much more at ease doing things herself and freely traveling the world with her adored husband than she ever was back at her childhood's mansion.

Father Arthur Waters and his wife run the fruit cart in the village plaza, where they sell their own home-grown produce. Arthur is also known as a bit of an odd job man in Arcfield; if anything needs doing, you just need to let him know and he'll be there to lend a hand. Woodwork, broken pipes, roof repairing, you name it, he can do it. He has a calm, carefree disposition, in contrast with his rambuctious family! He adores his wife, Molly, but her nosiness and prying ways seem excessive to him at times. He believes people's private affairs should be left alone if they so wish!

Mother Molly Waters runs the fruit cart with her husband Arthur, and she loves their occupation, since it makes it possible for her to chat with everyone on the village and find out about every little detail of their lifes! An honest Sylvanian, full of candor, generosity and warmth, it is hard to refuse to answer her quick, insistent questions. She does mean well deep down; if she hears someone's in trouble, she'll do whatever's in her hands to help them. She has her hands full with her four children, but adores being a mother and loves her little ones' cheekiness; she hopes they won't grow up too quickly!

Brothers Fred and George are like two peas in a pod; they're always seen together and they're usually up to no good. Cakes and pastries are their absolute favourite, and if a cooling cake on a windowsill is suspiciously missing a slice (usually two), it has usually been these two's doing! Rumours say they're both quite admirative of the town biggest troublemaker, Freya Chocolate, but since she's a little older than then and also more subtle in her mischievous deeds, the three of them haven't associated just yet. The villagers can just hope they don't ever think of it, or even worse, that they start competing!

Baby sister Ginny and baby brother William (usually called Bill) are very happy babies, always full of smiles. They love to play together and with other children, as well as dressing up in costumes for the village's festivals and holidays, and it's very likely that they will inherit their older brothers' naughty dispositions. For now though, everyone enjoys their cuteness and hopes for the best!

--

Finally, a brand new picture! My entry for the monthly Sylvanian Photo Challenge in the forum:

This month the theme is New, and the sloths are a new family in my collection! I got them for Christmas (along with the black moles!). Seems like the babies are exploring the treetops of Arcfield already! :)

I hope you have a wonderful rest of January and that the Three Wise Men bring you plenty of presents if you celebrate that tradition in your country!

Stay safe and healthy, everyone.