play kitchen

We finally finished making the kids play kitchen. It was intended to be their Christmas present, but as usual we were too ambitious. In ways it is nicer they were given it away from the Christmas hype. It is made from a pile of scrap wood salvaged from a verge collection, a bit of paint and a few fittings.

We are going to be fed pretend cups of tea and wooden food for the rest of their childhood years! It is so lovely to watch kids creative play.

puppet community

Oma knitted these finger puppets for us when we were little kids. A bride, a groom, a bridesmaid, a school girl, a school boy, a baker, a grandma, a grandpa, a nanna, a mamma, a daddy, a teenager, a baby, a sailor, a swimming champion, a hunter, red riding hood, Sinterklass and Zwarte Piet. My favourites were always the bride and groom and Sinterklass and Zwarte Piet (Saint Nicholas and Black Pete. Sinterklass is a celebration on the 5th of December in Holland to celebrate the naming day of Saint Nicholas, patron saint of Amsterdam. It was such an exciting day for us as kids).

Mum kept the finger puppets in the attic all these years, and recently brought them back to life for our children to play with. I really appreciate now how much work went into making them and how beautiful they are. Made with the most intricate details, using tiny buttons, feathers, beads and embroidery.

giddy up

I always wanted one of these when I was a kid, and just had the kitchen broom to ride on, but now I have two. Well not actually me, but the girls do. I've been on a bit of a creative frenzy making things lately. Made from scraps of material they are now horses with personality. My handy man made up the beautiful wooden poles and wheels.