.....here come the girls........

kokeshi completed!

....my kokeshi art dolls are available

here

...oh and i've had a little

re-stock in the shop too!

'wishing' you all 'love' and 'dreams'

 for a

happy weekend!

x

..beating the blues......

i always struggle in september...

...the end of the long holidays..

....the children are back to school...

... it takes me a while to adjust

....to the old routine....

...so i'm trying to keep positive this year...

...and fight the blues...

...i found these amazing vintage japanese 

paper decorations in norfolk...

...and was going to save them for christmas..

...but as i was unpacking them last night..

...i decided i needed them now

...to cheer my workspace!

...i then decided to frame some lovely

wrapping paper to hang in a prominent place..

....and with some fresh flowers...

 and a bit of re-jigging....

i think i'm ready for you september!

X

.....coffee with the girls..,...

...and a quick catch-up!

....so the sun came out to play at last...

...and i have been very busy...

....having coffee...

 ...lots of work-related meetings of course..

 ...just relocated to local coffee establishments...! 

....and i have been 

watching and waiting for this bud

to burst outside my kitchen window...

...come on sunshine!

...inspired by a darling dolly coat

given to me by miss daisy

that fitted my deers perfectly...

...i decided they all needed one...

..and set to work...

...so once she was fitted and finished...

....i delivered her and some other

squirrel makes to the lovely

Ruby Rockcake

who is so kindly stocking my wares...

ruby is in Lyme Regis...

..so poor me had to spend the day there...

(more coffee...2 cups..oh and lunch too)

....such a chore....

(so beautiful on the beach today!)

..and look at these poor lovelies..

...being sold by the beach...

....very hard for me to walk on by!

...but i did...

...because i have lots of new lovely girls

already just listed in 

my etsy shop

...kiki the kokeshi...

...gertie the geisha...

..and pretty polly the polish poupee...

*****

...so you see i have been busy..

..just that i'm running on caffeine!

X

....all made up.....

...as promised this is the story of

my smelly filthy dirty dolly wardrobe...

..despite its misgivings..

...squirrel loved it...

...and had plans...

..so first stop was a jolly good bubbly scrub!

...so satisfying to see layers of grime 

just wipe away....

...as it was still a bit musty inside

my new samantha stas lavender bag

found a new home amongst the little pastel dolly hangers...

..in true squirrel style..

 there had to be some ribbon...

...i then had mod podge fun

...covering the shelves with fabric...

(i was very excited by this point)

...then came the really fun bit...

...folding up a little stash of some of my favourite nursery and ditsy fabrics...

...a little pile of vintage quilty scraps..

..and a little tin of doilies 

and embroidered hankies...

..ta daaaaa!

...not perfect..

...but i love it!

....as the front sections don't open out completely it's hard to show you

the full effect....

...you'll have to come round ...

...oh and bring your dollies!

x

.....reasons to be cheerful.....

...despite spring only lasting
 for a day here...

...i have lots of lovely reasons to be cheerful...

...these lapin and me cuties are half price in

 urban outfitters..

..i have admired them from afar for a while...

...so couldn't resist a bargain

(currently residing in my daughters room pretending they are hers!)

...then a lovely little parcel arrived from

samantha stas

..i love everything she makes 

and treated myself to this lavender bag

 and little button card dollies....

..as if that wasn't exciting enough...

i won the giveaway at 

clover clogg likes to blog!

thank you hesta i love my new yarn bag...

....and i very rarely win anything...

...but i did also win a big cuddly black cat

in one of those 'grabber' games

 in the arcade last week...

....now that IS lucky!

look at this amazing fabric...

...sadly not won in a prize...

 but a new wardrobe investment for the summer from the label'nice things'....

come on summer....let's just skip spring...

....oh hang on....

..better finish off easter first...

...i found LEFTOVERS!!!!!

x

.....a friend indeed......

..you know when somebody really knows you when....

.....they give you the perfect gift....

....for who else would know that a 

sad-eyed, one-armed naked dolly would make my heart skip a beat?

...or that this beautiful old tin

was just the thing i was needing?

....or just HOW much i love 

homespun dishcloths?

.....so thank-you

 miss daisy

you are a special friend indeed

X

...we are family....I got all my sisters with me....

...there is quite a girly gathering

going on round at vanilla squirrel's...

..i seem to be running a kind of 

dolly refuge...

i don't seem able to walk away

from those little naked souls left lying 

in display cabinets...

...and seem to have quite a collection gathering....

...don't worry girls i have plans for you...

...i just need some time....

..and maybe a little help from a sister!

x

sweet serendipity...

..isn't it strange how sometimes

things just work out?

meet mabel....

we met by chance in my favourite antiques centre

 in honiton last week..

..for some strange reason my husband now thinks that everything i buy is for my new etsy shop(yeah right)

it's an excellent theory...

he just forgot to factor in his wife's

  love/need/want issues....!

(...i loved her face

..i needed to rescue her

...and i wanted to keep her!)

***

mabel is a jointed soft-bodied 1940s dolly...

..but something was bothering me..

..it was the dress..

..pretty but a bit too big..

...not quite right....

(here comes the serendipity bit)

remember my dolly knits?

ah ha...i had a lightbulb moment...!

so with a little dress alteration

(retro laura ashley leg o' mutton sleeves removed....)

it was meant to be.

i wonder who the other knits will belong to?

..so the sun was shining...

...the birds were singing(squawking?)

..and what treasure should i find next???

a beautiful hand painted bowl 

with flying bluebirds...

(£2 again....serendipitous indeed)

oh and another keeper i'm afraid darling....

..and as if i hadn't had enough lucky strikes...

...i have had this little deer for a while...

he's very unusual as he looks like he's been carved from wood..

..but actually he is made of a celluloid sort of plastic..

...well would you believe it??!?

..i found him a friend!

whatever next?

and they all lived happily ever after...

with me!

x

p.s just put my badgers and a few new items in my etsy shop...

do pop by!