TO THE LADIES, SOME CATS AND A VERY PATIENT MAN

I want to tell you about my last few days, funny old days they have been. Firstly I have to thank a very special lady, Gena , who has a fabulous vintage web site called ' these foolish things' if you haven't visited Gena yet you really must go see. Gena's blog is the one that started me off , I'd never heard of blogging before then, but I sure do now!! This kind and generous lady offered to put my dolls on her website, and there they are. A helping hand of friendship, it restores my faith in human nature when sometimes it has been challenged by things I have seen and heard. So, if I was a clever blogger I would make an award for our blogging friend Gena, and it would read, " MOST GENEROUS HEART AWARD", can anyone help me do this? or point me in the right direction? Gena, if you are reading this, you never know, another generous heart might just come to my aid and you might get your award lol!! I love this blogging lark don't you?.....

PANSY POTTER

ROSEY PINK

I have posted the pics that went missing off my last blog and also two more girls, these ones are a bit flighty and have already flown the nest- yipee! children, we will eat this christmas! joking.

It's been a stressfull week for a number of friends this week. It's hard being a grown up isn't it? Our friend Betty has a new ethical jewellery business where she employs underpriveliged people in Rodrigues and India to make jewellery from coconut and found objects. It's a struggle and Betty is hoping to launch ' BEAU COCO' at' The Clothes Show' next week. Betty, and all the makers have worked soooo hard to get things ready and Betty has invested everything in this. It looks like the Indian couriers may have let her down,900 pieces are missing. I am a believer in positive thought, so am willing these parcels all the way from Dheli to Betty's front door.

If any of you are going to ' The Clothes Show' go say HI! to Betty at ' BEAU COCO' and send her my love.
Finally, a great big THANK YOU to my man Andy. For the lovely red roses and giant chocolate coin - my favourite! it cheered me up no end. Also for all your support through my hours of doll making and getting stuck in and stuffing the legs, you are one of a kind XX

NOT QUITE CHRISTMAS, BUT HEY, I'M GETTIN IN THE MOOD

Hi there, managed to find a window of opportunity to do a quick blog. Is it me, or is everyone finding time just seems to evaporate? Anyway, the weekend was cold and we enjoyed some family time, mainly infront of the fire but hey, thats good enough for me!!

I spent some time sorting Poppy's room out, no mean feat I can tell you. on doing so I came across the dragonfly lights I'd temporarily put up there a year ago eeek! and thought they would look nice on the mirror in the front room, this being too early ( or so I've been told ) for the

Christmas lights, I thought they would temporarily feed my need, crafty heh?

Poppy insited on having her photo taken like my dolls on the little yellow chair. This is for Michele at cowboys and custard, I thought you would appreciate her cowboy skirt, it's a favourite.
I thought I would post some pics of the 'Rufus' cats I've been working on. Again, I use vintage materials and paint and stitch the faces.

This is Rufus Rhinehorn, the inspiration for the cloth cats. He is Abyssinian, and has the classic looks of one, that being the long years and long wirery body. He is the happiest cat I have ever met and feels the love wherever he goes. He is truly one of a kind. Mama loves him.

Time to go now and collect Poppy, hope everyone is having a great day. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments about my dolls. I shall pay you all a visit as soon as time allows.

P.S. my pics are all over the place, some have vanished all together??! so apologies if it posts a complete mess.

MEET MY GIRLS

VIOLET BROWN

MADAM BUTTERFLY

LADY DRUSILLA BIRD

FORGET-ME-NOT-MARY

BETTY BUTTONS

BETTY BUTTONS BEFORE HAIR

ANNIE BIRD

Hi everyone, or anyone who may be stopping by. I must say, I don't seem to be having many visitors of late, probably due to my lack of posting due to these maidens. I have been all out producing these one off hand made dolls, I really enjoy making them but find it hard work juggling this with being Mammy and tending to daily chores, how to get the balance? as much as I try I am failing miserably in my quest as super woman, How about you? any tips would be gratefully received,lol. I really miss the blogging too, so hopefully in the next few weeks I can join everyone else in the excitement of festive shinanagins ( don't know if it is spelt right, but hey, it looks a good word ).

I took my dolls on their first adventure today. I took them to ' The Brewery Arts Centre' in Cirencester to see if they could spend some time in the shop there. It went ok, but the commission is scary, it works on a 40:60 basis,oh poo!! It's hard being a maker. It's a possibility next year, but she did like them, which was great for my self esteem I can tell you. I find that I busy away at making something and kinda lose sight as to wheather the things are working or not. Lets face facts here, I'm a maker not a business woman. I also took them to a fantastic little shop called 'Just Maud', if your ever in Cirencester you really must go see. Annie the owner is lovely and sells all sorts of wonderful clothes , jewellery, altered art etc. etc., she is incredibly lovely because she is taking two of my dolls on sale or return to display in her Christmas window!! I'm chuffed, but again the mark-up is too much. I will be amazed if I sell, but two of the girls get to spend a bit of time in that wonderful shop. Annie gave me a few contacts to follow up in London, which was great, but I don't think I'll manage it before Christmas alas.
On the home front, everything is well. The children are slowly but surely getting excited about christmas, like so many of you out there, we love it and feel it is a really special time. It's not the present giving, it's decorating the house and making the special food that smells so beautifully christmas. Saying that, Andy made the christmas cake last Thursday evening, I came in from being at my knitting circle expecting the house to smell Christmasie, it didn't. Andy had forgotten to put the mixed spice in! I tell you, mixed spice is obviously for me the smell of christmas. We have a cunning plan, we will dissolve the said mixed spice in warm brandy and then drizzle it over the cake. Do you think it will work? I'll let you know.

Have a fantastic week, and to all you makers out there, be productive and don't panic. xxxxx

AUTUMN SKULDUGGARY PART 2

Hi everyone!As you can see from this post I am seriously behind with my posts. I just wanted to show some pics from a Halloween party we went to on the 31st October. George as a dashing wizard

Ooops! this shouldn't be in this post but non the less it does look a bit creepy....

The little ones had a great time.......

And so did we........ Wish I hadn't eaten sooo many squirting skulls, felt a bit rough next day. Thats beautiful Betty on the right, the hostess. Thanks Betts x

AUTUMN SKULDUGGARY PART 1

Autumn is such a beautiful time of year isn't it? Half term arrived along with our children's eagerness to be entertained. They had spent a glorious weekend with their grandparents and Tuesday morning breakfast was spent defending myself from questions like " what are we doing today?" and " we are not staying home all day are we?". I have to confess to getting a little bit hot under the collar, and we all exited to our own little rooms to lick our wounds.

This is when I realised that there was NO WAY we were going to spend such a fabulous day wallowing in our self pity, so I decided we should take a rucksack with some food and head off on a grand adventure, when put to the children in such a way how could they refuse?

So off we went, much happier and relieved to be on our merry way, full of expectation of what we might encounter in the woods on our way down the Slad valley.

I felt top of the blinkin world, walking with my two through those woods. It was cool and smelt wonderful and the sun shone further down the valley so it was quite dark, but somehow it was comforting. We all found our sticks and searched as we walked for any hidden treasures.

The two pics at the top are the view over the Slad valley from the wood. The one with the cow was taken while we sat and ate our sandwiches and bananas, what a view....

We met only one old man on our journey but we made two new special friends, two Gloucestershire old spot piglets who live in a lovely little bit of the wood, they followed us as far as they could. Poppy was overjoyed and helped them dig in the undergrowth with her trusty stick.

We walked for nearly three hours! I was very impressed that Poppy did it, towards the end I did have to promise hot chocolate, jam tarts and snow white ( and that was just for me, lol ).

It was a lovely adventure and needless to say there was peace at last in the Hutchinson camp.ZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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