Regency Dresses and Homemade Caramels and Preparing for England 2016! #janeaustenfestival2016

Welcome to the Homemaking Party! As I promised yesterday, I've got a few updates to share with you about my upcoming trip to England. If you missed my post from yesterday, be sure to check it out and see some of the highlights from last year's visit to the Jane Austen's House Museum.

Last week I worked on this pretty coral dress and finished it Sunday afternoon. I'm considering wearing it for the Grand Regency Costumed Promenade, along with an open robe I made last year from a sari a friend brought me from India.

 But then there's this pretty flowered material that I cut out today! I'll be working on this day dress this week and am adding a couple extra touches to it, inspired by Jennifer Ehle's Elizabeth Bennett.

In addition to dress-making, I've been making caramels to sell to friends to earn some spending money. Sales are going well so far---they're always a hit! Here's a link if you'd like to order: Caramels from my Etsy shop.

Hope everyone is having a beautiful week! Thanks for stopping by The Homemaking Party!

Encouraging Kids' Bible Study Ideas with Buddy Box #growkidsfaith #FamilyFaith #familybuddybox #PMedia #ad

This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and Lifetree, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #growkidsfaith  http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV

The Coller Kids had a super great time last weekend playing and learning with their new Buddy Box package. Buddy Box is a monthly subscription for kids that gets them excited about growing their faith and relationship with the best buddy of all—Jesus. Each box features a lesson, games, projects, and more, all centered around a Biblical theme.

Last Friday night, Cainan got the first look at the box and prepared a lesson for his younger siblings. They spent a couple hours learning about overcoming fear in a Biblical way through stories, music, games, and crafts. 

The Buddy Box came with more ideas than he had time to use in one lesson. He's super excited to do more with them this coming week. As a parent who doesn't promote Halloween, I love it that this lesson is geared toward addressing the subject of fear without bringing up the "holiday". It gets harder by the year to find Christian materials that really are promoting a Biblical message and this first introduction to the Buddy Box subscription was encouraging.

Some of the kids' favorite activities featured chattering teeth, a rubber chicken, and this canvas bag decorating project.

The kids wrote out one of their favorite verses, Joshua 1:9, and then decorated this bag with scenes that remind them to have courage and faith.

The slime pot was also a big hit! 

With our busy schedules, it's so important to make lessons on values and faith a priority. The child-led Buddy Box helps parents make memorable connections with their kids and gives them ideas to discuss Jesus and the Bible in ways that make sense and gets them excited about the things of God.

Buddy Box makes sure kids will be inspired to be creative in their play. Avalon was so inspired, she made up a joke: 

Q: "Why did the rubber chicken cross the road?" 

A: "So he could streeeeetch his legs!" 

bwahahahaha!

Visiting with Jane Austen's Family in Chawton, Hampshire

It's hard to believe a whole year has gone by since Lynzie and I got back from England! Now that I'm preparing to go again here in a few weeks, it's occurred to me that I've never shared much from our trip! Today I'll give you a little peek at our visit to Jane Austen's home in Chawton, Hampshire.

Jane Austen's House Museum is full of items that belonged to the family, as well as pieces that are similar to what they would have had in their home. This is Jane's writing desk---probably the most photographed item in the house!

Jeremy Knight, fourth great nephew to Jane Austen, is usually on hand to answer questions and tell stories. He was delighted to see Lynzie dressed as "Aunt Jane" and even had a staff member come in to listen to her play piano in the parlor.

After we'd finished visiting the house, we took a walk up to the Chawton Manor house. On the way, we passed these men replacing the thatch on this house. I'd never seen this process before so we stopped for a couple minutes and my friend, Frances, explained it to me. Look how sweet the trim is along the top!

Here's Lynzie with Chawton Manor in the background. They weren't open for tours that day, but Mr. Knight called ahead to give permission for us to tour the grounds. 

On the way back down, we stopped at the church on the estate and visited the cemetery. Some people are uncomfortable in graveyards but Lynzie and I think they're beautiful and peaceful. Doesn't she just look like she totally belongs there?

Here are the gravestones for Jane Austen's mother and sister. Jane is buried in Winchester Cathedral. She was moved from Chawton Cottage to Winchester shortly before her death, in hopes that doctors in the city could provide effective treatment.

I won't be going back to Chawton this year, but my husband has agreed to (finally!) come with me next year so I'll be sure to make Hampshire a priority stop on the tour I set up for us!

Hope everyone's having a great week. I'll be back with more England photos, as well as an update on my dress-making progress, tomorrow!