Why this is an Award Free Blog

Plushpussycat

has said what I feel so much better than I can express myself.

I want to thank all of my followers

and especially all who leave comments,

without you there would be little reason

to share my humble creations.

The Current Fur Family

It's been quite a while since I mentioned
the Furkids,

so I thought I'd share a recent photo of my darlings.

The current family keeping my seat warm for me!

Four wonderful, eccentric, joyous

Furbabies.

The Whinnying White Ninny

(white with chocolate nose)

Flossie Flannel Drawers

(Fawn with chocolate sabling, chocolate nose and white bib)

Freddy Frog

(Fawn with black sabling)

The Blonde Bomber

(Fawn and white, her sabling has faded with age)

They are my constant companions,

wherever I am, they also can be found.

The specially love to 'help' me crochet ;)

A lovely warm doggie blanket in winter,

not so welcome in summer!

When there were eight.

We have sadly lost four of our little troop

in the past couple of years.

The loss of a loved pet is such a private grief

don't you think?

It's especially difficult to lose a young one.

Georgie

was only 4 years old when she was diagnosed earlier this year

with Glaucoma.

Removal of her beautiful eyes was not an option

for this outrageous, energetic

Wild Child,

she would have suffered severe depression.

Choosing blindness for her would have been

a much easier decision for us

than choosing euthanasia

but knowing well the difficulties of life of a blind member

of a pack of dogs

and taking into consideration

our beloved Furbaby's age and personality,

we could not do that to her.

Vale my precious George,

we miss you.

Collaboration between Friends

Remember this gown from a few posts back?

A lovely and clever friend embroidered it,

hasn't she made it special?

She also made the doll,

a very talented lady!

She also did the embroidery on this Heidi Ott crawler doll romper.

Welcome Downunder Bella Mouse!

Recently I was stunned to find that I'd

won a most beautiful give away

from

Lucy and Annabelle

Bella Mouse arrived

today!

I am so delighted with her

and utterly gobsmacked

at the perfection of her dear little face

and lovely clothes!

Thankyou so much

Lucy and Annabelle

for your kind generosity,

you have warmed my heart.

When Robin heard that the postman had left a parcel

all the way from the USA

she knew instantly whom the parcel was for

and jumped out of the bath in great excitement!

(remember she was having a bath 

in our last visit to the dollhouse?)

She grabbed a dressing gown

and quickly wrapped herself in it

and flew down the stairs, 

nearly tripping in her haste and excitement,

into the lounge room

and unwrapped

the tiny and most gorgeous

Bella Mouse!

Bella grabbed up her wee basket and purse

so they wouldn't be lost midst the chaos

and plonked them on the couch

while she and Robin hugged one another

and danced around the room.

Robin could barely speak she was so happy

at meeting her new friend.

When they began to be dizzy

Robin sat on the lounge with Bella on her knee,

she couldn't bear to be parted from her special friend

for even a second.

(I must admit myself to having a little tear in my eye

seeing their happiness together)

Poor Bella was a little jet lagged at first

but a heartening cup of tea set her to rights quickly.

When she was feeling revived

she told us her journey had been quite comfortable

and she hadn't been travel sick at all 

but she is very pleased to be on terra firma again.

The upside-down weather had her a trifle puzzled

as it had been warm when she set out

on her journey.

On arriving in the Land Downunder

she was very glad she'd packed her warm coat

because,

although the sun is bright and the birds are singing happily,

it is mid-winter in her new homeland

and quite cool.

Robin and Bella fell in love instantly they saw one another,

the smile on Robins face says it all!

One of the dogs seems to have fallen for sweet Bella as well ;)

Robins pet rattie Camilla

(aka Milla)

thought she might be a tiny bit jealous of the newcomer

who was receiving so much attention

but Bella is such a gracious and sweet person

that they've become best friends already.

As for myself, I too am under the spell of

Sweet Bella Mouse.

I can't believe my luck in winning such a wonderful

Give Away and can't say thankyou enough.

Bella is loved by all,

and will be a treasured member

of the dollhouse family.

Belly Button Baby Cradle

Midget is an obliging little babe,

here she is happily showing the size of one of

Lidi's

beautiful rocking cradles,

a perfect fit!

  She's modelling bonnet, knickers and bootees

made in vintage cream

to match the vintage style cradle.

And a shawl made in the matching cream.

7 Little Australians

Or

The Continuing Tale of the Dollhouse Family.

The lovely

and talented

Robin

of

Coombe Crafts

recently completed the rest of our dollhouse family,

so here we have a little of their story.

Each of these little people has been named

with my own families names.

We have a couple of sets of twins in the extended family

and the name Robin appears twice

so together with the creator of the

Dollhouse Family

being also Robin, we of course had to have a Robin.

Hilda Grace and James George

are an amalgamation of family characters.

James/Jim is so often used

my mother used to say-

"We have old Jim and young Jim

and young Jim's son Jim

and baby Jim as well."

True Story!

I've had so much fun endowing these little people

with characters and names

in memory of loved ones

and Robin has given them faces to go with their character.

Well, enough history, on with current events.

Mum Janet has been enjoying the warmth

of the late autumn afternoon sun

on the upper balcony

reading to the 3 year old twins 

Pip and Pippa.

Dad Jim arrives home from work

and knows where to find his family

so he's headed straight upstairs

after a quick pat for a couple of the dogs.

Jim owns a small bus company.

He started out driving buses when he first arrived Downunder.

He saved very hard and, 

thanks to a loan from his dear Dad,

he was able to buy his first bus.

With good management,

being handy and doing his own repair work,

he now has the beginnings of a fleet of buses.

A hug for his wife and a pat on the head

for Pip who has run to greet him.

G'day to Gran and Granddad

who have also been enjoying the weather.

Looks like Granddad is hoping for a game of chess

with his son before they have tea.

One of the 8 month old twin babies has woken from an afternoon sleep

so Gran brought her upstairs for some fresh air.

She is excited to see Daddy!

Young Jim has been looking for his slingshot,

it must have been on the seat beside Mum!

He's glad to have it back in his possession,

that annoying little brother would love to get his hands on it ;)

Oh, no, Pip is playing with Young Jim's billy-cart!

He's going to get a good scolding from big brother!

Pippa is the quiet one of the three year old twins,

she's happy to play dollies

and enjoy the company of the bunnies

and the chihuahuas.

The two older girls are sharing a bath

after their busy day at school.

You can see Robins pet rat

sitting patiently on the chair

waiting for her to cuddle him again.

Sissy is horse mad but she doesn't bring her horse

into the bathroom!

With so many

Little Australians

in the family,

Robin and Sissy know it pays to get in early!

The sun is sinking quickly

and the evening chill will soon

send our family indoors for their evening meal

and later,

some happy time sharing the events

of their day.

It's evident that

7 Little Australians

will be

8 Little Australians

in a few months!

Janet and Jim don't mind another mouth to feed,

they always wanted a large family

and they love their brood.

(I can't help thinking two sets of twins is enough though,

lets hope the new arrival is a single!)

Gran and Granddad are reveling

in their life with their loved ones.

A New Cupboard for the Modern Kitchen

It's a couple of years since Real Life allowed time

for creative thinking and putting ideas together,

so,

when I found myself with half a day free and

nothing desperately calling for attention,

I played!!

Bashing cupboard doors out,

fitting paper to the back,

finding pretty things

for the shelves.

Miniature time at its best.

I don't like the drawer/tray in the lower right opening

so it hasn't been painted.

Any suggestions what I can put there instead?

A Gift from Lidi

Look what I brought home from

The Great Miniaturist Get-together :)

A very detailed waste basket!!

Isn't it lovely?

How lucky I feel simply being able to see Lidi's baskets,

I drool over every one of  her designs,

but to own them is such pleasure!

It actually lives in my dollhouse but I couldn't get a decent

photo of it there, there isn't enough light in that room,

so the stable agreed to host the photo shoot.

I could easily just collect one of each of Lidi's designs

for the sheer pleasure of looking at them,

without including them in scenes.

I've had a Lovely Day!

I had the chance to meet a lovely blogger

and her equally lovely husband

and charming son

yesterday :)

We had known one another from miniature groups

and blogs for quite a long time so it was amazing to finally

meet face to face.

Sandie

does quarter scale to perfection and she brought

half a dozen of her tiny treasures to show me.

I've often said it's hard to pick the scale of Sandies work in photos

and seeing them up close in Real Life was certainly not disappointing!

It was a real treat to see such beautifully made little cottages

with the most gorgeous tiny furniture you could imagine.

Thanks Sandie.

Today we got together again and went to visit Lidi

and spent a couple of hours looking at her paperclay buildings.

I never tire of seeing Lidi's artwork.

The conversation was all miniatures!

Such a treat for me to meet another miniaturist.

My blog has been quiet for a while,

I've been busy making Midget a new dress but

I didn't want to show it until Sandie got to see the one I made for her.

Some New Treasure

As you probably know,

I love collecting beautiful artistmade

Treasures!

So,

as I've not had much of my own work to share lately,

I thought I'd share some photos

of recent additions to my collection.

Around Christmas time

Adelaide and Christopher

found they needed a new brother and sister.

From

Alliebean

This is

Little Dot,

about 2 3/4"long, squished into Midgets cot.

Adelaide has loaned her a play suit

but it's a trifle on the tight side!

Adelaide and Little Dot get on well together.

Next we have

Henry.

Also squished into Midgets cot.

He's not in the least concerned that he's 'naked'!

Henry and Christopher have something in common,

they both enjoy a good snooze!

I absolutely love Alicia's OOAK babies!

Next aquisition via ebay

is for the stable.

I'm gobsmacked by the craftsmanship of this set.

The riding crop is a perfect rendition.

That crash hat is silk lined!

And the boots are beautiful thin leather

made to appear well loved.....

I do love them!!!!

Then along came another exquisite

handmade miniature

to tantalise!

One of

Pamela Junks

little dollies.

Adelaide took one peek

and claimed her for her own.

And last but most certainly not least,

a recent exciting parcel arrived

from

Christine

I've loved Christines miniature toys

for a long time,

they're her own unique style

with such appealing little personalities.

This little bear spoke to me

and said it belonged with Midget!



Midget and Gidget

For the benefit of new readers,
the gown that Midget is wearing
was inspired by a Doris Thurlow design.


Today is the first day that feels like autumn,

Yay!!

Yippee!!

It feels soooo good :)

Enthusiasm returns,

get the camera out and

do some pics!!

A few weeks ago,

Midget

acquired a twin sister.

Her name is

Gidget!

(what else?)

Here they are together.

Gidget never cries.

Midget is a sweet natured baby too ;)

I really love these little ones!

Midget gave Gidget her christening layette to wear

while she waited patiently for some clothes.

Poor naked baby!

Meantime I started working out

a layette for Midget

using finer thread than the previous set

that I'd done as part of the swap for

Midget and Gidget.

With the finer thread I thought I'd try crocheting the entredeaux

instead of using the machine made type.

It turned out quite well,

a bit smaller than the bought version.

Here she is in her

"smalls".

In her petticoat.

And in her gown.

Not ready for a sleep?

Play time.

Midgets Bed

Finally the wee mite has somewhere to lay her sweet

head but she isn't very sleepy right now.



Midst the Chaos

A spot of doodling with my Wedgewood Plate design.

Crochet is my sanity as the seasonal chaos reigns.

Lots of luck to everyone who is preparing

for their own seasonal celebrations!

Best Dressed Babe Around!

Midget is the best dressed little darling

in the world!

Isn't this layette the most precious thing you ever saw?

I can't take my eyes off it!

So delicate you couldn't tell the size

if you didn't know Midget is only 1 3/4" long.

The embroidery is perfection.

Made by a very lovely lady

who is also a dear friend.

Thankyou isn't enough

but I thank you

from my heart.

Something I did a while back....

A little experiment I did a few weeks ago

while working out the size of the gown for

the tiny BellyButtonBaby.

Photo of Midget with Emma Rose,

Midget is tiny!

Smaller in the body than a HO baby

but slightly larger head.

This gown fits a Heidi Ott baby better than it fits the BBB,

the sleeves need downsizing and the HO size bonnet doesn't fit etc.

Another experiment.

Handmade insertion in the gown on the HO doll.

It needs some embroidery!!

Long Time No See..........

Real life gave me some grief over the last couple of months

so

there's been nothing to share,

hence my silent blog.

I'm so disappointed that my courtyard has had to be put on hold

for the time being.

Every week it's been fingers crossed that I could make it to Lidi's

for a lesson

and then

sadness

when it doesn't come off.

Miniature crochet took a holiday too

until

A dear friend suggested a swap!

:)

What better way to get yourself out of a deep hole

than to put some love into

a miniature swap.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world today!!

I am the proud new mother of 

Midget,

a Belly Button Baby,

designed by none other than the very talented

Alicia

who made big sister Adelaide and big brother Christopher,

both of whom you've met before.

Now take a peek at Midget who is modelling the

Christening Layette

that I made for my end of the swap.

Bonnet, bootees, and pilcher designed by me.

Gown and petticoat inspired by a Doris Thurlow pattern

but made of finer thread with a finer hook

and downsized to fit this 1 3/4" baby doll.

And here she is with big sister!

Isn't she the cutest tiny thing?

There won't be any more miniatures happening for a couple of weeks,

my close work glasses broke :[

You might as well cut my hands off as take my glasses away!!

Progress

I had to miss a play date with Lidi last week

so she kindly played catch up with me today.

My painting skills haven't improved I'm afraid

so the artwork is all courtesy of the amazingly talented Lidi!

I watch what she does with a wiggle of the brush

but when I try to do the same thing

I just make mud.

So,

thanks Lidi

 for doing my painting.

The bench will stay but the rest of

the loose items are only temporary.

The first wash is done on the plaster work,

the rocks yet to be done.