Let's Make Valentine Chocolates

Some of my friends are very crafty, and since Valentines Days is coming soon, they decided to make chocolates to give as gifts. Don't they look yummy and pretty? They even made the boxes. Daisy and Carmela are here to demonstrate how you can do this, too!



First of all we us air dry clay called Model Magic, because you don't have to bake it. Our person can't be around the fumes of the ones you bake, and this is really easy to use. First you roll the clay into a ball and then press it into a candy mold. If you don't have a mold, you can shape the candies yourself. Toothpicks are great for sculpting designs.



We decorated the candies with bits of clay and then let them sit for about a day to dry.



After the pieces dried we painted them with a glossy sealer to make them shiny and look more real. That was kind of messy because we had to pick up the candies to turn them around, but the acrylic sealer washes off with soap and water.



The sealer dries pretty fast, and while we waited we made boxes our of card stock. We also cut little circles out of tissue paper and folded them to look like the wrappers you see separating the candy in boxes. We cut some rectangles of tissue paper to lay in the box and fold over the candy like a present.



Finally, it was time to put the chocolates in the boxes!



A pretty ribbon finishes everything neatly! We also used leftover card stock to make matching cards.

We can't wait to give these to our friends and hope you enjoyed our crafting tutorial!

Daisy and Carmela

Kiki Reports on ... KIKI

Don't you think it's about time I wrote about myself? After all, this is Kiki's Korner, not Mia, Eva, Kirsten, Samantha, Josefina and everyone else's corner. I mean, I like reporting about them and frankly there are days when I don't have a very interesting life, so, it's a good thing someone else does! But, that's not always true, which brings me to the other reason this report is about me.
Today I was wandering around our doll town, wondering what to write about. It was a grey day, which is unusual for us, and a cold wind was blowing. The streets were empty and quiet, except for the sounds of dried leaves blowing across the sidewalk. There was no one around, no kids playing or anything interesting to see.

I was getting cold and I had decided to head back home, when I passed Samantha's house. I saw through the window that she was talking to Eva and Clara. I knocked on the door and they invited me in for a cup of hot tea. I'd rather have hot chocolate, but tea with honey is good, too. I hoped they were talking about something new and exciting to inspire my blog report. But, guess what were they discussing - clothes! Seriously! I couldn't believe it. They were taking all about making new clothes for spring, and what would be in style, what colors they would like to wear... and it's still January! I had my pencil and pad ready to take notes and quickly dropped them back in my pocket. Borrrrring! I drank my tea, said thanks, and left.

So, I guess today I have to write about myself. Okay, first, I am not interested in clothes. (Haahaaa - you already know that!) Second, I have mentioned in other blogs that I love science and animals. And, third, I love sports! My favorites are snowboarding and skateboarding. I also like to roller blade, play soccer, and go hiking, and pretty much do anything outdoors. Lately I've been taking gymnastics, mostly because it will help me learn to do tricks on my boards. Gymnastics is a great way to get strong and flexible.

My gymnastics class is also fun because I get to take it with Mia, Luci and Ayla. It's fun to have friends in classes and makes me look forward to them even more than I would anyway. Luci is really good at the balance beam. Mia and Ayla love the bars. My favorite thing is learning to do flips and jumps. We do them on the trampoline and the floor, too. I'm getting better every day.

So, that's me in a nutshell: not a fashionista, but science and animal lover, and a sporty kind of girl who likes to write reports about her friends and town. There you go!

It would be great if you want to let me know what kind of sports you like best! If you don't like any sports, that's okay, too. And, sorry. It's too windy for me to take any photos today!

Hugs, ~ Kiki

Getting Ready for Valentines Day

It might be a little early, but some of the girls here are very excited about Valentines Day. Lalita, Eva and Luci began decorating the treehouse this morning. I think they are planning to have a Valentines Party.
Lalita wanted to show you one of the hearts they made. First they rolled out some air dry clay and cut out the hearts with a cookie cutter. After it dried they painted on designs, and then added a coat of shiny sealer. Before the clay dried they also poked a hole in the top so they could add a pretty ribbon for hanging up the hearts.

Eva decorated a mailbox for everyone to put the Valentines in.

Luci put up some pink paper with tiny hearts inside the treehouse and is getting ready to put some hearts in there.

Here's the progress so far. I think it's looking good!

Are you doing anything special for Valentines Day?

Hugs, ~ Kiki

Loft Bed

Hi everyone! Guess what??? I got a loft bed. I'm really excited about it because I can sleep up high and then have a special little room underneath to hang out in.


Isn't it cool? And, my new laptop was my Christmas present. I love it!


Right now we have an old table underneath for me to do my school work on, but Tía Meli says she will build or find me a real desk eventually. I am home schooled and really needed a good, quiet place to work. Today Ayla and Mia came over to work on a project we are doing together because they are home schooled, too. We got a little distracted and started giggling, and pretty soon Tía Meli came in to ask what we were doing.


Oops! We got back to work after that until it was time for a snack. School work makes me hungry!

What's you favorite subject to study? I like science, and especially learning about animals!

Hugs,
~ Kiki

Three Kings Day, Legos and Lalas!

Today I want to tell you about how Josefina and her family celebrate more of the Christmas season. Today is Three Kings Day. It is the day when the three kings arrived at the stable where baby Jesus was born, and they brought him presents. To celebrate this, Josefina and Esperanza put out their shoes last night.


The shoes were filled with straw for the camels to eat, and the girls hoped they would each get a present. Well...


Josefina got a lovely doll. She is so happy! She named the doll Niña.


And Esperanza got a necklace which is a beautiful cross. It think there are real jewels on it, but I'm not sure!


So, they DID get presents, and just what they had hoped for. Today they are all dressed up because there will be a big fiesta in the town to honor the Three Kings. Naturally Esperanza will wear her new necklace and Josefina will bring her doll.

In other news... I was playing with Mia the other day. Guess what she likes... Legos!!!


We played with some Star Wars Legos that she had from Christmas and I thought it was fun. But, then Clara came along and wanted to play dolls, but Mia said "No thanks!" I was kind of stuck, because I couldn't just leave Mia and go play dolls with Clara, but I felt bad for Clara because she would have to play dolls all alone. Later I talked to Clara about it and she said not to worry. She and her dolls had a great time. They had a tea party.


Dolly #1 said: "Would you like more tea, Dahling?"
Dolly #2 said: "Oh, yes! That would be lovely, dear."

I guess it all worked out. Next time I want to play dollies!

So, inquiring minds want to know!
1. Do you celebrate Three Kings Day?
2. Would you rather play with Legos or dolls or both?

Over and out,
~ Kiki

Happy New Year

I was so excited about New Year's Eve! Tía Meli said we could have a slumber party and I had a secret plan: to stay up until midnight! I thought that if we played games and had enough things to keep us busy we could stay awake. Piece of cake. Right? Well... It started out fine.


I got some beads for Christmas and decided to share them, so we could each make necklaces. Ayla, Carla and I got started.


Ayla made hers first and she decided to go ahead and make one for Aleah who would be arriving soon.


Aleah came and was thrilled because she loves butterflies and we all put on our new necklaces.


Next on the agenda: PIZZA! What is a slumber party without pizza? teehee


After we ate we played Apples to Apples. Have you ever played it? It's a fun game and we laughed a lot and played it for a long time.


Then I passed out notepads and pencils so we could each write down some New Years resolutions. Mine are to learn more about birds because I want to be an ornithologist. That's a person who knows all about birds. Clara and Aleah both want to learn ballet and Ayla wants to learn to roller blade. At this point *yawn* we started to get... ummmmmmm... soooooo... sleepy.....


And this is what happened! Oh well. Maybe next year I will be able to stay awake until midnight!

Hugs and Happy New Year,
Kiki

Flowers in Winter

Today is typical of our crazy weather. A warm wind came through and the snow evaporated, but don't worry, there is still some up in the higher mountains.


Kit, Clara and I went out to play and look what we found!


It's so fun to have flowers bloom in December right after a white Christmas!


Kit complained, "I"m hot!" I told her she was way overdressed, so no wonder!


She headed back in to change, saying, "How was I supposed to know it got warm all of a sudden. Last time I was out here I was sledding!"

Yep! That's our crazy weather. What's it like where you live?

Hugs,
Kiki

Dolly Ski Day

Yay! Today was warm and sunny and perfect for playing outside in the mountains where there is plenty of snow. We bundled up and grabbed skis, sleds and snowboards for some winter fun.


Aleah and Emily took turns pulling Pippa on the sled.


Then the guinea pig got a ride, too!


Clara hit the slopes right away. She is an expert skier!


I'm a snowboarder, and not an expert. lol Whoops!


It's hard to stop when we are having so much fun, but the sun was getting lower in the sky and it was time to go home.


But, that wasn't all bad because we got hot cocoa and cookies when we returned. Yummy!

I love snow! What are your favorite things to do in the snow?

Hugs,

~ Kiki

Christmas Day

Oh boy! It's hard to get photos on Christmas because it is just so busy and exciting. I did sleep a little bit, but woke up early. "Pssssst! Clara, are you awake?" I asked her. "Mmmmm... what?" responded a sleepy Clara. Then suddenly she sat straight up. "Is it Christmas?" she cried. "Yes! Yipppeee!" I yelled as we both started jumping on the bed.

We ran downstairs and were joined by our friend, Aleah, who was visiting for the night.


There were presents for each of us. I got an Apple notebook, Aleah got a pair of Ugg boots and Clara got a new coat. There were other things, too, really too many to remember.

After opening presents and eating a yummy breakfast of Christmas Stollen, we played our new game, Apples to Apples, while the grown-ups were busy cooking the Christmas feast.


YUMMY! I think that sums it up!


We got all dressed up and had a wonderful dinner. Afterward we all sang carols around the new grand piano, which was played by Amanda. I got sleepy after so much food and excitement and hardly remember going to bed.

I have to add that we had a white Christmas this year. The sun was shining on the snow creating the special sparkles and that look like jewels. I think we may get to go sledding tomorrow!

I hope you all had a fun and merry Christmas day.

Hugs,

~ a sleepy but happy Kiki

Merry Christmas!

The house is filled with decorations and the good smells of baking. Old and young alike have a sparkle in their eye, with secrets of the knowledge of presents to be unwrapped. Will Kit like her hand knit scarf? Will Grandpa like the Christmas cake? Did Tía Meli put in enough rum? teehee! Just kidding!

I am so excited I can hardly type! But, as your ace reporter, I have taken some photos and want to share what is going on around here.


Greta has the stove going in the Larson cabin, keeping things warm and to finish a little baking. She makes wonderful Pepparkakor, which are crisp, thin gingersnaps from Sweden, that she cuts out in heart and flower shapes.


Kirsten just came in with a lovely tree and is starting to decorate it.


Carol Ann and Kelly sat still for a few seconds so I could snap a photo of them in their Christmas dresses. Okay, all done babies!


Little Leticia and Latonda are hard to keep still as well. They know "Sannty Claus" is coming tonight!


Nap time! Yay! Peace and quiet for a little while. ;)


I visited some other parts of Pleasant View Doll Town and took photos of Anya in her Christmas dress.


And, here is Amanda in her new dress that Tía Meli just finished. Amanda was a little worried it would not be done by Christmas and she would have to wear one that was old and too small!


Josefina and Esperanza are ready for midnight mass. After that they will eat the biscochitos, a yummy sugar cookie, that they just finished baking.


Fina is out sledding with her new snowman friend. I liked this photo and turned it into a Christmas card.


AND... last, but not least, here are Clara and I by the Christmas tree. We have just put on our pajamas and are ready for bed. I want to go to bed early so tomorrow will come quickly. But, I don't know if I can sleep. I hope I can stay awake long enough to hear the jingle of sleigh bells and the merry "HO HO HO" of Santa Claus, but I never can. Don't forget to leave him some milk and cookies!

MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL MY FRIENDS!

~ Kiki