16 Years of Bliss!

Yesturday, my dear love and I celebrated our 16th  Wedding Anniversary.  Its always such a good feeling to look back on all the years we've spent together and also to plan for the ones ahead.  We were married on a Monkey's Wedding Day - not sure if you know what that means, but from where I come from, it happens when it's raining but the sun is shining at the same time.  I'm sure you've all witnessed an occassion like that.  In South Africa we called it a Monkey's Wedding Day!

So, to celebrate our special day, we spent the evening at a quaint little Bavarian House and sampled their delicious escargot and baked camembert with cranberry sauce for starters, and then we each tried a different Schnitzel.  Mine was an Oscar - with crab, asparagus and bearnaise sauce, while my sweet love tried his with a rack of lamb, crusted with a mustard rub.  Definitely yummy!  And the red cabbage was to die for - who knew cabbage could tast so good?

That's us at my mom and dad's on Sunday.  Mom made us a lovely cake and took this pic of us with her new camera. 

Hopefully I'll get one more post in before we leave for our trip on Friday!  Until then, enjoy the rest of your week!

hugs,
Shell

Georgina

This is Georgina.  She started off with a different name a few posts ago, but as I was dressing her and getting her finished, she took on a new look.  This young lady evolved from countless body patterns - I lost count after the third try, but I'm finally satisfied with the results and will definitely make more in the future.  She is also the first doll to have wefted mohair hand sewn onto her head.  I just love the pale auburn colour of it!

She's wearing a green silk sleeveless camisole with a fringed edge, a pleated black and white polka dot skirt and a wide ruffle edged waistband.  Her shoes are felt, and a narrow ribbon and beaded rose circle her neck.  If you'd like to see more pic's, please visit my flickr.

Little Ladies on hold for our Holidays

It seems that my days are getting busier as the summer begins.  We've had a busy household with the boys doing end of the year exams, spring cleaning, and for me, finishing up some last minute custom orders before we leave for our summer holidays.  We'll be away for most of July and are planning a scenic trip of British Columbia.  I'll be closing my etsy shop on Wednesday, June 30, and will hopefully re-open it on the 18 or 19 of July.  Anything sold up till Wednesday will be shipped before I leave.

I am adding a new Little Lady - Josie, and she is the last of the six I started a few weeks ago.  I was lucky to find enough of my favourite blue soy wool yarn in my stash to make her hair, but that is the end of it and I cannot find it anymore.  She'll be in my shop tomorrow (Saturday).

British Columbia is such a lovely part of Canada and we're all excited about our little expidition!  I'm going to keep a little diary and take lots of pic's to share when I get back.  I feel a little sad that I'll be leaving my embroidery thread, fabric, felt and yarns here while we're away because I work on some aspect of my Ladies or anime bears everyday.  It kinda feels like I'm leaving a special part of me behind!  But I have a plan - I'll be taking my little sketch book with me, 'cause you never know when a new idea might stike!  I'm also taking my clay and watercolour paints and maybe, when I return, there will be something new to bring back with me!  

A few weeks back, a sweet little Saffy Blythe moved in with us.  She was the first to come and I thought she was pretty cute.  My mom on the other hand, thought she was pretty ugly!  Lol!  Well, this week my hubby took her head apart, boggled her eyelids and we both removed her eye chips.  I then got to work sanding her face and removing all traces of her make up.  When that was done, I used a pencil crayon to add colour to her lips and cheeks and then used pastel chalk on her lids.  She also got new eye chips and lashes and when all was ready, hubby put her back together and added a new pull string to give her sleepy eyes.  We had some problems with a couple of eye chips falling out and into her head, so she had to be opened up a few more times to retrive them.  Thanks heavens my dearest has the patience of a saint and I'm so lucky to have a guy who'll help me with the most unusual things!!  So, her name is Skye, couldn't resist after painting her lids that lovely shade of blue!  My mom likes her much better now:)  You can see the rext of the customization pic's on my flickr:   http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingermelon/

Yesturday a new girl arrived in the post.  She is a Simply Peppermint Blythe and I've named her Julip.  When we get back from our trip, my hubby dearest will have to start the whole process all over again.  I can't wait!! 

Enjoy your weekend!

And the Winner is....

Firstly, I just want to thank everyone who participated in this give-away! I wish I had a little set for each of you! I enjoyed the whole process so much, that I've decided to do it on a (hopefully) monthly basis. I have another needlebook and pincushion to give away when we get back from holidays next month.
Anyway, I got my trusty helper, Dylan to do the honours of drawing the winner.  He was'nt excactly as excited about the whole thing like I was, but he did a good job of acting the part -  Lol!  So,  the winner is Ana!  Hope you have many hours of happy sewing! 

Grand Opening!

Hello everyone!  I just had to share some wonderful news!!  My mom and I have just opened our new etsy shop!  It will specialize in handmade clothing for Blythe and Pulllip dolls.  My mama has been busily sewing her fingers off for the past few weeks and we finally decided that there were enough outfits ready to list.  So, for the past few days, we've been frantically making sure that each outfit is co-ordinated, and then we got our girls ready to play dress-up!  We had so much fun trying all the outfits on while I took  the photo's of each ensemble! It was hard to believe that there were well over 100  pictures at the end of our session!   Of course for etsy, you are better off having five pic's of everything so everyone can see every angle LOL!  I then spent hours, tweaking the 'exposure' button with Picnik.  Thank goodness for that wonderful tool!  If you don't have it, you don't know what you're missing!  Well, the shop is ready, and I'm so proud of my mom!  Please take a look http://www.etsy.com/shop/myfairdolly. 

I have a lovely picture to share!  I could'nt resist getting my dear boys and their friends to pose with my Little Ladies!  Brings a smile to my face...

By the way, if you haven't had a chance to read my last blog, I have a give-away on the go.  If you'd like a chance of winning an embroidered needlebook and pincushion, please leave a comment on that post and the draw will take place on Thursday, June 17th.  Good Luck!
hugs,
Shell

Give-Away!!

 

Hello there!  How would a give-away sound!  I'm going to attempt my first one, and if it goes well, I have more goodies to share with you in the future.  This give-away will consist of a dear little needlebook, handmade by me and embroidered with a cross-looking donkey and a matching pincushion.  The pins and needles of course are not included ;).  If you'd be interested in adding these handy items to your sewing basket, please leave a comment and I'll draw a name on Thursday, June 17 for the winner.  Good luck!

This Little Lady is Sienna.  I decided to play around with some yarn I had on hand, and after what seemed like HOURS of separating each strand, I came up with this interesting look.  By the end of the evening, I was ready to pull my own hair out and jump for joy at the same time!  I love the wispy, fly-away look, but it's very fragile and definitely should not be handled to much.  For her day dress, I shirred and beaded the bodice and then added ruffle sleeves.  She's waiting patiently for her guests to arrive for the garden tea party.  Available in my etsy shop.

I'm still working on my art doll.  I had some lovely auburn wefted mohair that I stitched onto her head.  The fabric beneath her will be used for part/all of her oufit, not sure just yet.  After many attempts and much tweaking of the pattern, I think I'm finally happy with her shape.  Can't wait to see what she's going to want to be.....

Please don't forget to leave a comment, and best of luck!

Viola, Lexi and Gwyn

I had a craving to make some Little Ladies this week.  It's been awhile since I got some made and I really love the whole process of deciding on all the details that go into making them.  So, I traced the outlines for six bodies and got to work embroidering each little face.  Once that was done, I sewed, stuffed and closed all the openings on two of the bodies and decided what colour yarn to use for each one's hair.  Lexi and Viola are the first two to emerge.  You might notice that Gwyn's little face is familiar if you've been following my blog.  She started out as Paige (a few posts ago), and I gave her a new look.  I made her a new 'do', with a copper organic cotton yarn, and whipped up a new dress in an adorable animal print.  I think her new hair colour brings out the colour of her eyes better.  I'll be listing these girls in my Etsy shop tomorrow.  Next week I'll be working on the rest and I'm hoping to get them all listed by next weekend.

From left to right -Lexi, Gwyn and Viola.

Below is a photo of the girls before I stuff them.

Each dress was made with new fabrics that I've been dying to try!  I love the softness of the background colour of each piece, and the prints are darling. 

Once the dresses are sewn up, I hand sew the neckline and attatch a hook and eye closure at the back.  Then I root through all my trims and decide what I'm going to use to finish them off.

This time I ended up using the same trim for all three - I kinda thought it was a dainty touch!

If you'd like to see more photo's of these girls, please check my flickr:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/gingermelon/

Have a wonderful Sunday:)

Treasures in the Post...

I just love comming home to find treasures in the mail!!  Today was especially wonderful because my little art doll - Rosalinda, from Paola Zakimi arrived, and she is beyond adorable!!  She's a tiny work of art and came in a sweet, hand painted and signed box.  Please check out Paola's blog at:  http://www.paolazakimi.com/.  She is very talented and I just love all her creations!

Is she not the sweetest thing you've ever seen?  Thanks Paola!

My very first Blythe arrived today too, she's a Saffy and I got her from Tamarra, who's etsy shop, http://www.etsy.com/shop/dollymolly, has been one of my fav's forever!  She sometimes sells Blythe dolls on her facebook site, and I encourage anyone who's interested  in Blythe dolls, clothing, etc to visit her etsy shop.  Anyway, I'm going to attempt a sand-matting on her face - got to get rid of that shine:), and then I want to re-do her make up with chalk pastels.  I'm also considering re-rooting her hair with mohair locks in the future.  Will keep you posted on that!  Oh, and she needs a name.... 

Lastly, I just wanted to share a pic of an art doll I started awhile ago.  Well, I removed her orange hair and decided to try on some wefted mohair instead.  I love it!  As you can see, it's just pinned on for now, and I still have to figure out the best way to sew it on.  I also have a new art doll in the works, she needs to be stuffed and I have attempted a new jointing method for her arms and legs.  I really hope it works!   

Before I go, I should add that the picture at the very top of this post was taken of my shelf dedicated to my dolls.  I've included my collection of wooden treasures that have come from around the world, the first being the two giraffes that my grandmother, who still lives in South Africa, brought for me when she came for a visit a few years ago.  The tall statues of ladies are both from Cuba, and each was given to my by clients who visited that wonderful country!  The tiny bobble heads and baby in a basket are  from one of my son's  best friends who's an International student from Japan.  He brought them back for me after his last visit home.  The tiny Dutch shoes came all the way from Holland and very given to my by Dees who also made an adorable bear and piglet for me.  You can check out her blog at:     http://nannypumpernickel.blogspot.com/.  She makes the cutest little creatures!  And last, but not least is my teeny elephant.  If you could see him closer, you'd notice that there are tiny holes carved into his body and within those holes is another teeny, tiny elephant.  Amazing work considering that the elephant is smaller than my thumb!  This delightful little treasure was brought from India and given to me by one of my tenants who immigrated from there to Canada years ago.  All these wonderful treasures are very special to me and each has a story of it's own!