I have wanted to write about my daughter's Christmas presents for a while, but dolls [very stubborn and adorable dolls] have gotten in the way. One doll on her way to a birthday party, another one sitting behind me deciding on her second pair of shoes, and I finally have some time "to myself".
As I was saying, my daughters received two fantastical [steeped in fantasy and fantabulous at the same time] Christmas presents, from the hands of their father and my partner in crime. He made them both beautiful wooden swords and shields. But of course. After the Ancient Warriors extravaganza, both our daughters kept asking us if this or that was going to be for them [it is tough business being the daughter of a dollmaker and a woodworker who happen to sell most of their creations...except when you ask for something and it materializes before your very eyes!}. And when Red Scarlet came about I think they quite lost all decorum and flat out declared, within ear of both parents, that they were to receive a sword and shield, made just for them, by their father. The man couldn't have been happier, been anymore excited, he practically levitated on his way to the workshop to manufacture said requests. Many frozen days later, we were all able to rejoice in the appearance of the beautiful imaginative weaponry he made for them. If you are the daughter of said man, you are sure to understand by now that he just won't give you a silly, half-carved wooden sword. Oh no. He is going to give you a beautiful piece of craftsmanship, tied to the very fabric of his imagination, that just by looking at it you almost feel like you are looking inside his eyes. Sorry to brag so much, but the dude is brilliant. What can I say? I have good taste.
And not only were these toys to be made with the utmost care for them, they were also to come with a beautiful story to accompany them. It is a story that weaves their lives, their imagination, and their path through childhood. All beautifully wrapped within the hands of their father. He tends to be awesome like that. Mostly.
Now, the swords and shields are not stained wood, if that is what you gather from the brilliant colour of the wood used as contrast. That IS the colour of the wood. He obtained beautiful, and rare, woods from one of his teachers: padauk and purple heart. Padauk is the orange one [it was so crazy seeing the orange sawdust on the floor of the shop!} and the other one, well the name says it all. Eldest child got the Padauk set, Littlest One got the Purple Heart [her favourite colour, of course]. They both are taking the same approach they take to the dolls their mother makes them: they first have to see them for a while in their home, they have to feel them, and then they play with them. Forever. We hope we don't end up in the ER with two beautiful, but swollen-nosed girls.
Now we get to re-enact battles, combat a few cooking monsters in the kitchen [I am happy to report that I play the Bossy Queen who sends them away in many quests, for now they seem to be receptive!], and that they end up absolutely exhausted from carrying the God-send weaponry. I also wanted to take photos of these before they got plastered with stickers by the Littlest One, of rightfully written on them with a Sharpie by the Eldest One. I hope that once the Winter court retires to their Northern abode, I get to make some robes or at least some capes to go with them...then it will be time for some "in-action" shots.
Oh, I hear the doll behind me mumbling about, so I better go. I guess she is finished deciding on her chaussures. If the weather cooperates tomorrow I might even be able to take some photos of her too and bring her here for another tête-à-tête.
