A Magical Place and a Magical Woman creating dreams for little ones

Every once in while you run across  someone with such a gift that you leave the person so inspired. I had that moment, that meeting and that privledge when I met Annette (pictured with the boys above and I did ask her if I could put her here) :)  from www.woolcreations.coms locally in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  I have always described myself as someone who can imagine art, creations etc... but I have never been one to pull any of it off with my own bare hands, I can dream it I just can't create it.  I ache over dreaming things up and not having the ability to pull them off.  So when I met Annette I finally felt like I had found someone who could not only take my grand visions and execute but actually execute beyond any dream I had.  My boys are real into Knights, battles and history in general but when I saw Annette's gallery of handmade wool items and some hobby horses that she had made I knew instantly I wanted to get some custom tournament hobby horses made for my two youngest sons. They had birthdays coming up and I thought special tournament horses to fit their "green knight" and "blue knight" alter egos were in need.  I sent Annette an email and heard back instantly...she was up for the challenge!!!!

What I got days later exceeded any expectation I could have ever imagined.  The pictures she sent me of the two horses not only took my breath away but put tears in my eyes.   It was so hard to keep the secret from Karsh and Tristan...how lucky we were to get to visit Annette's "studio in the woods" to pick up our creations and to drool over everything she created.  Magic comes from those hands... As we walked to the little cottage door that is her studio I swear you had to watch your step that you didn't disrupt some gnome gathering fire wood running thru the garden...it was just magical!!!!

Annette's magic worked wonders again when I needed help planning a birthday.   My youngest son for months has told us he wanted a "Beethoven" birthday theme...how does one plan a "Beethoven Birthday"?  With everything in place (so we thought) he came to me with a new idea of what he wanted...a piano cake with "rats playing the piano". We have yet to totally figure out where this idea came from...but Tristan like his mama dreams big, his description so detailed I knew we couldn't produce. He is my child who will start telling you his dream and 50 minutes later is still telling it to you in much detail.  Searches on the internet left me with a few choices of rats...and then he told me he wanted a Beethoven rat, a "girl rat" (conducting) and another rat playing the violin. Three rats specifically...I assume he wanted the girl after going to the symphony with my Charlotte Mason homeschool group where the conductor was a pretty female but his images were so real and so vivid and I didn't know how we would produce what he was dreaming up.  Then I thought of Annette...no sooner had I mentioned Tristan's dreams and desires then she sent me a picture of a rat in an orchestra that she had created after reading my email.  These precious wool rats were much to beautiful  to dare sit on icing of a cake...but with my minimal baking skills we did create a piano cake with the rats at the corner doing their work, and used a loved beenie baby rodent at the bench...We dressed talking tree up to resemble Beethoven and when it was done got to take a break from creativity for a few moments.

A huge thanks to Annette for creating horses that my son's go few places without...rats worthy of sitting at Beethoven's piano and a lily pad fit for the Frog Prince of two princesses. More pictures to follow when I catch up on life some...

Annette's website is  www.woolcreations.com  She dreams big right along with her clients...We honestly feel like the luckiest folks alive to have found her!!!  Check out her gallery!!!!