Introducing the Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup

About a week ago, I previewed Scarlet Elfcup's upcoming holiday goodness. Today, I am proud to introduce to you the Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup. Here is an itty-bitty doll fit for tiny hands and pocket snuggles. Not only will this collection be the feature for the holidays but this will also be one of Scarlet Elfcup's permanent line of dolls.

The Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup was derived from one of Scarlet Elfcup's very first creations, the Gardien, introduced in the spring of 2014. The Gardien was an idea that I loved...a tiny doll fit for the pocket, fit for dollhouse play and fit for those tiny people in our lives. And when I created them back in April, I was content because it was an idea brought to life, but I was not completely satisfied with the pattern. In the months following the introduction of the Gardien, I spent more time pondering how I could improve on the Gardien...to create something just as small, but more sophisticated, more detailed and more beautiful. Tiny creations are fun and interesting, but they also pose their own challenges...tiny body parts are more difficult to sew and maneuver, tiny clothing bits are also more challenging to piece together and the fiber selection must be limited to fabrics that are soft and easily moveable. Additionally, tiny dolls and toys take up nearly, if not equally, as much time to complete as larger ones. Despite this, I felt that I really wanted to make something small and cute. And so, I present to you this itty-bitty Elfcup.

The Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup features a doll that stands less than 6" (15 cm) tall. The seams are double stitched just like the bigger dolls. The hair, for the time being, will consist mainly of brushed mohair. The Wee-Bee Minis have details that include shaped feet, hands with thumbs, buttocks and a belly button. 

Clothing for the Wee-Bee Minis are challenging, but a lot of fun...AND so darn cute. Here are a few previews of some winter gear for an upcoming doll.

The Wee-Bee Mini Elfcup....fit for tiny hands and cozy pockets. The first of the Wee-Bee Minis will be in the shop tomorrow. Thank you and I hope you get out and enjoy the lovely air today.

Itty-bitty Surprises

Fall is in full swing with relatives visiting from afar, baby and pre-school schedules filling the days, skies heavy with clouds and the air smelling of crisp golden leaves and pumpkin vines. This week I finally had some time to sit down and think about holiday fun. I've been wanting to re-design Scarlet Elfcup's Gardien pattern for some time and it seemed appropriate that now would be the time. So, this week was spent drafting and tweaking a few details to give the Gardien a new look. Here is a sneak peak of what lurks round the corner for the holidays. The rest, I leave to your imagination.

These itty-bitty Elfcups will be trickling into the shop in the next few weeks.

Fall Owls and Kitties

Fall is my favorite time of year...a time when the breeze blows gently or sometimes blustery and rustles all the leaves so that they come to rest on the ground and color the earth hues of yellow, green, orange, red. There are signs that Fall has arrived...

leaves begin to fall

colors turn from green to yellow, orange, red

pumpkins appear

squash, pumpkins, gourds go up for sale at the market

little ones...big ones...

our Japanese Maple begins to turn

our Tibuchina blooms brilliant purple while their leaves reveal crimson red

acorns are everywhere

our Birch sheds it's yellow

the colors of Fall are here.

It is this time of year when creatures of all shapes, sizes, and types come out to play. While some may dress up and go trick-or-treating, others will dress up and go picking-and-greeting. Owls and Kitties are here to play. They've come to harvest the crop that is ready for harvest and they want to greet you with baskets full of their pickings. These friends make great companions for a happy Fall season or for a happy haunting one.

Made from Scarlet Elfcup's The Owl and the Pussycat pattern, these Owls and Kitties are ready for Fall time fun.

Meet Blue. Blue is anything but blue. Blue is a jolly and mischievous little owl as you can plainly see by the expression on his face. You can read this one like a book. What you see is what you get. He is all about fun and playing pranks. For him, Fall is pranking season. Prank as he likes, he is simply just playful at heart.

Blue is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials. His facial skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock and his body/bodysuit is composed of clean and pre-washed, repurposed 100% cashmere (makes him super soft). He is softly stuffed with bio-wool. His owl bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but his hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of natural white mohair. His owl hat has buttons for the eyes and a piece of printed fabric for the nose. He has an embroidered face full of laughter, fun and mischief. His cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. His wings and owl feet are lined on one side with a beautiful printed fabric. He comes bearing a crate full of his Fall harvest...four needle felted pumpkins of various colors, sizes and shapes.

Next meet Jade. Jade is named for her beautiful green eyes. Jade is a sweet baby girl kitty. She's fun loving and simply sweet. She loves walking around in her kitty costume as she imagines that she lives and roams outside wherever she pleases. And when she gets tired she imagines that she goes to lay under the warmth of the sun and snoozes away. That's Jade, she likes to pretend play.

Jade is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials. Her facial skin is made with premium quality cotton jersey and her body/bodysuit is composed of clean and pre-washed, repurposed 100% cashmere. She is softly stuffed with bio-wool. Her kitty bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but her hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of natural white mohair. Her kitty hat has buttons for the eyes and an embroidered nose. The whiskers are made of embroidery floss. She has a sweet embroidered face full of charm and innocence. Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. Her kitty paws and feet are lined on one side with a beautiful printed fabric. She comes bearing a crate full of her Fall harvest...four needle felted pumpkins of various colors, sizes and shapes. 

Here is Avery. Avery is ivory. He's a sensitive little guy, sensitive to others, caring, thoughtful, always concerned. This is Avery, nothing short of loving.

Avery is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials. His facial skin is made with premium quality cotton jersey and his body/bodysuit is composed of clean and pre-washed, repurposed 100% cashmere. He is softly stuffed with bio-wool. His owl bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but his hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of curly brown boucle (a looped mohair yarn). His owl hat has buttons for the eyes and a piece of printed fabric for the nose. He has an embroidered and expressionless face. His cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. His wings and owl feet are lined on one side with a beautiful printed fabric. He comes bearing a crate full of his Fall harvest...four needle felted pumpkins of various colors, sizes and shapes.

Next we introduce Rose. Pink is Rose's signature color. She is spunky and funky. Her laughter is contagious. Her soul is adventurous. And her demeanor rings of confidence.

Rose is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials. Her facial skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock and her body/bodysuit is composed of clean and pre-washed, repurposed 100% cashmere, making her extra soft and cuddly. She is softly stuffed with bio-wool. Her kitty bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but her hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of pink mohair. Her kitty hat has buttons for the eyes and an embroidered nose. Her whiskers are made of embroidery floss. She has an embroidered face full of spirit. Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. Her kitty paws and feet are lined on one side with a beautiful printed fabric. She comes bearing a crate full of her Fall harvest...four needle felted pumpkins of various colors, sizes and shapes. 

This is Boo. You ask, "Boo who?" Boo Cool...the owl who never fusses. He never cries. He never whines. He never gets grumpy. He's always a cool, calm owl...that's who Boo is.

Boo is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials. His facial skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock and his body/bodysuit is composed of clean and pre-washed, repurposed 100% cashmere. He is softly stuffed with bio-wool. His owl bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but his hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of brown mohair. His owl hat has buttons for the eyes and a piece of printed fabric for the nose. He has an embroidered and expressionless face. His cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. His wings and owl feet are lined on one side with a beautiful printed fabric. He comes bearing a crate full of his Fall harvest...four needle felted pumpkins of various colors, sizes and shapes.

Last, but never least...meet Juliet. Juliet is shy, humble, quiet, observant and sharp as a cookie. Juliet is an old soul, mature beyond her years, wise beyond her age.

Juliet is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials. Her facial skin is made with premium quality cotton interlock and her body/bodysuit is composed of clean and pre-washed, repurposed 100% cashmere, making her extra soft and cuddly. She is softly stuffed with bio-wool. Her kitty bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but her hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of brown mohair. Her kitty hat has buttons for the eyes and an embroidered nose. The whiskers are made of embroidery floss. She has an embroidered face full of wisdom. Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. Her kitty paws and feet are lined on one side with a beautiful printed fabric. She comes bearing a crate full of her Fall harvest...four needle felted pumpkins of various colors, sizes and shapes. 

If you are interested in welcoming an owl or kitty into your home this Fall, their price is $52 USD each. They each come with a small crate filled with four needle felted pumpkins. The pumpkins may not be exactly the ones shown in the photo below, but I assure you they will be very similar and equally beautiful. If you are interested in bringing home a pair (one kitty and one owl). The cost of a pair is $96 USD. You can mix and match. And they will come with two crates of four needle felted pumpkins each. Plus they will come with a small guitar and a honey jar so that when not romping around picking pumpkins and squash, they may hop on a boat and sail across the seas as The Owl and the Pussycat.

These little darlings are now available for purchase in the Etsy shop.

Happy Harvest, everyone!

Clementine and the Sun Egg

IMAGINE...what if the sun were to drop an egg? Can you imagine it? Can you see what the egg would look like? Would it be red with flames all ablaze? Would it be yellow and oozing of molten lava? Would it be orange-green, like an orange? And if you were a little elf who lived in the woods and you often found it in your nature to rescue little eggs that fell from trees and belonged to birds or other animals, how would you go about returning an egg to the sun?

The story really began when a small boy went looking for wild strawberries in the wood and dropped an orange out of his picnic box.

One day, when a little elf went exploring in the wood, she saw the large, round and yellow orange lying on the ground.

What a big egg," she thought. "Where has it come from, I wonder?" She looked up and saw a bright hole in the clouds overhead.

"I know," she said. "The sun has dropped an egg and she can't see it because the cloud's in the way."

The Sun Egg, Elsa Beskow

She wondered why the egg of the sun is not scorching hot as she thought it would be.

Nonetheless, she still thought that she needed to protect it and keep it safe until it can be returned to it's mother. She she sat down beside it and kept vigilant watch over it.

Each day she would visit the egg several times a day to be sure it had not hatched and that it stood safe where it fell.

Day after day.........

.........after day, after day.....

She spent hours on end sitting with the egg...watching, listening, waiting...waiting and waiting.

Ever faithfully, as the days went on, she would remain by the side of the sun egg constantly, sleeping next to it, waking next to it.

In truth...she was the only mother the sun egg ever had for she was there day in and day out, keeping careful watch, protecting, listening, waiting, hoping, fearing....fearing for the day when the egg would hatch or when she would have to see it go off....back into the heavens. She is mother of the sun egg. Her name is Clementine.

When I received a request for a red-haired Gardien, I could not help but remember the story of The Sun Egg by Elsa Beskow. I love the little folktale books by Beskow. Each story is filled with fantasy fairies and beautiful illustrations of a wonderful imaginary world full of gnomes, elves and captivating little beings that live in the woods. In The Sun Egg, a little woodland elf stumbles upon an orange dropped by a little boy. She thinks it was an egg dropped by the sun. So she goes to share the discovery with all of her woodland friends. And so began the little adventure of the red-haired elf in a white dress.

For my own fun story telling purposes, the version of the story above is told from my own meandering mind and the name Clementine was derived, not from the story, but from my own whimsy.

Clementine is made from Scarlet Elfcup's Gardien pattern. She is a little over 5” long and is made with 100% cotton interlock and stuffed with bio-wool. Her face is embroidered with cotton floss. Her beautiful red mane is made of mohair and can be fashioned in a number of ways.

She comes with a few outfits:

A white hand knit dress made of a 100% wool-silk blend.

A 100% cotton blue-white striped dress. The sleeves and waistband are made of lace elastic.

A sweet pink dress made of 100% cotton knit.

A pair of pajamas made of 100% cotton.

The Sun Egg (aka the orange) is needle felted with 100% wool roving and measures 8.5" in circumference.

Made special for an auntie and a niece.

The Owl and The Pussycat

In my previous blog, I mentioned a number of nursery rhymes and music collections that are the favorites in our household. Amongst some of my favorites to sing to my children at night or whenever they need comfort and soothing is Edward Lear's, The Owl and the Pussycat. Although The Owl and the Pussycat is a nursery rhyme/poem, I first discovered it through music by Susie Tallman.  This very popular poem was sung beautifully by Tallman in her album, Classic Nursery Rhymes.  And it is to this tune that I sing to my children The Owl and the Pussycat.  

When I sing this song, I am taken away to a place of beauty, on a boat, floating peacefully at sea under a moonlit night with the echo of the lovely guitar and the lapping of the waves against the hull of a boat.  It is not so different from one of the most beautiful and magical moments that I had with my husband when we travelled to Vietnam many years ago. During part of our trip, we spent three days and two nights on a sampan floating amongst the amazing labyrinth of limestone mountains jutting out of the sea in Halong Bay, north Vietnam.  I will never forget how peaceful, simply magical, and amazing it all was. Truly, I am humbled and struck with awe time and again by the breathtaking grandeur of our planet.

There are things like music, like smells or light, which are so provocative of moods or places or people, and which being shapeless, are timeless. If only there was a way we can capture these things and lock it up in a bottle so that when we forget we can always open up the bottle and let it remind us of how alive we are. In the same, I wish there was a way to capture the sense of peace and happiness I had being with my husband on that sampan in Halong Bay many years ago and of the moments when the world around me is still and I have only my babies in my arm to rock and sway to sleep. But, sadly, these things that are shapeless and timeless are also elusive and they slip very quickly from our lives. So, in an attempt to bring tangibility to what is not, I created The Owl and the Pussycat. And in the hope that touching and feeling the love and the life that exists in the boat, I can in some small way send into the world a bit of the peace and happiness that I experienced with my husband and that I experience now when singing my children to sleep to the sound of the song The Owl and the Pussycat.

You can listen to an abbreviated sample of The Owl and the Pussycat as sung by Suzie Tallman, here.  Just click the play button at the lower left hand corner and a 30 second sample of the song is played.

The Owl and the Pussycat went to sea in a beautiful pea-green boat.

They took some honey and plenty of money wrapped up in a five-pound note. The Owl looked up to the stars above and sang to a small guitar, “O lovely Kitty, O Kitty my love, what a beautiful Kitty you are, you are, you are, what a beautiful Kitty you are.”

Kitty said to the Owl, “You elegant fowl, how charmingly sweet you sing. Oh let us be married too long we have tarried, but what shall we do for a ring?” They sailed away for a year and a day to the land where the palm tree grows, and there in a wood, a piggywick stood, with a ring at the end of his nose, his nose, his nose, with a ring at the end of his nose.

“Dear Pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling your ring?” Said the Piggy, “I will.” So they took it away and were married next day by the turkey who lives on the hill. They dined on mince and slices of quince, which they ate with a runcible spoon. And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand, they danced by the light of the moon, the moon, the moon, they danced by the light of the moon.

The Owl and the Pussycat, Edward Lear

The Owl and the Pussycat set comes with the following:

The Owl

The Owl is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials and he is a one-of-a-kind cutie. His facial skin is made with premium quality swiss cotton interlock and his body/bodysuit is composed of clean, repurposed 100% cashmere (makes him super soft). He is softly stuffed with bio-wool. His owl bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but his hat is remove-able to reveal a sweet head full of brown hair. His hair is made of mohair yarn. His owl hat has buttons for the eyes and a piece of printed fabric for the nose. He has an embroidered and simple, expressionless face. His cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. His wings and owl feet are lined on one side with a beautiful but neutral colored printed fabric.

The Pussycat

The Kitty is an 8" (20 cm) doll, made with natural materials and she is a one-of-a-kind sweetheart. Her facial skin is made with premium quality swiss cotton interlock and her body/bodysuit is composed of clean, repurposed 100% cashmere, making her ultra soft to hold and cuddle. She is softly stuffed with bio-wool. Her kitty bodysuit is permanently sewn on, but her hat is remove-able to reveal a head full of red hair. Her hair is made of mohair yarn. Her kitty hat has buttons for the eyes, a nose that is embroidered and whiskers made of embroidery floss. She has an embroidered and simple, expressionless face. Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. Her kitty hands and feet are lined on one side with a beautiful light, striped, pink-colored printed fabric.

The Boat

I had a lot of fun entertaining numerous ideas for the boat. But, there is after all only 24 hours in a day, so I chose the one idea that I thought was the cutest...the pea pod. In the lyrics, The Owl and the Pussycat travel in a "pea-green" boat. So, this gave me the idea to add a dash of imagination by making the boat a pea pod. How fun is that? The boat measures 30" (76 cm) long from the top of the stem to the end of the boat. It is 16" (40 cm) long at the bottom/base. And it is 6" (15 cm) tall from the bottom/base of the boat to the top edge of the boat. The boat is hand knit by me using a 100% organic cotton yarn by Blue Sky Alpacas. The pea pod pattern design is by Angie Hartley of 4aSong. Angie's pattern is intended for use as a newborn photography prop. However, I've turned it into my purpose of use as a boat for the Owl and the Pussycat and it turned out to be perfect for this purpose. The boat includes amazing details of a pea pod's stem, leaf and tendril. I've converted the ball of pea into an anchor for the boat by attaching a long i-cord to the pea. The stem, leaf, tendril, and pea ball/boat anchor are made from a 100% superwash merino wool by Cascade Yarns. The pea is softly stuffed with bio-wool. It measures 3" (7 cm) in diameter. 

The Guitar

The guitar is made of 100% cotton fabric. The front fabric has a sweet vintage print of The Owl and the Pussycat and the back side of the guitar has a green wood grain printed fabric. This tiny guitar is softly stuffed with bio-wool. It measures 5.5" (14 cm) long.

The Honey Jar

The honey jar is needle felted using 100% wool roving. It is capped with a vintage cream colored doily and tied with a strand of hemp cord. It stands 3" (7 cm) tall.

The Owl and the Pussycat set can be used for a number of purposes interchangeably. It's intended purpose is for play or for a nursery room decor piece. The pea pod boat can also be used as a newborn photography prop when the dolls, guitar, honey jar and pea anchor are removed.

The Owl and the Pussycat set is recommended for ages 4+ due to the delicate nature of the design and the small parts on them.  

The Owl and the Pussycat have found a beautiful home to go to. Thank you.

Babies and young children love their parents to sing to them.

Nursery rhymes are a magical means of helping our little ones learn through play, while lullabies soothe and comfort them anytime of day. Ha. Ha. Even I can make up some rhyming lyrics.

I was never much of a singer...in fact, before having children, I never sang.  The reason being that I was self-conscious of my voice, felt like I didn't have much of a singing voice and more so did not have the natural ability to move to the rhythm of sounds and beats.  So, I felt shy about singing out loud, even when in the presence of just myself. That changed after I had children and after I discovered a program called Music Together.  I'll talk more about these later in the blog.

I grew up in a household not so full of books or children's music.  In fact, I remember my first experience with music did not happen until the end of 8th grade.  I remember that I briefly attended an end of the year dance at my school (an after school thing).  At the dance, they had music...go figure!  Who would've thought that there must be music in order for there to be dance?  (Being sarcastic here.)  I enjoyed the music so much because it was my first time really hearing music, the lyrics, the beat...the beautiful sound of music. Immediately after getting home, I looked around our house for music...but, there was only the radio.  So, I turned on the radio for the first time in my life and I discovered the world of music and wondered why it had been missing from my life for that long.  But, as with most things in life, one must just be grateful when something is given and never look back on why it was not presented sooner...for all things come and go in our lives at just the right time.

When I was pregnant with my first baby, I knew that I wanted music and singing to play a big role in my life and my children's lives.  And I knew that I wanted the presence of music and singing to be part of our household forever. Most of us know the songs for Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and Rock-a-Bye-Baby, though in this age of media and technology it seems many traditional rhymes are being phased out in favor of pop songs or the lyrics to children's television programs. In search of good old classics and programs that really teach music to infants, I found a number of favorite programs, artists and books that still hold on to the classics.  Here are a few of our favorites.

Music Together...I cannot speak enough about this wonderful, wonderful program.  I discovered this music program when my daughter was 4 months old.  I immediately enrolled her.  And ever since then, Music Together has been part of our household.  Through Music Together, I mustered up courage to begin singing out loud to myself, to my baby, and even to my husband.  Through Music Together, my daughter developed the ability to move to rhythms and beats and sing at a very young age.  In four more weeks, she is going to turn 4.  And up to this day, you will still hear her singing and humming throughout the house. She just loves music and she loves to sing.  It is through music and books that both of my children developed language abilities at very young ages. And I would say that without Music Together, my enjoyment for music and singing to my children would not have unfolded the way that it has thus far. I sing to both my children every night. I sing in the car. I sing in the shower. I am always singing these days. This is very different from the old me. And this is due in part to the encouragement that the Music Together program provided to parents. Both my children love music and they love to sing and hum. Again, this is due in most part to being part of Music Together. 

We love Putumayo Music in this house.  We own many of the Putumayo collections.  Two of my favorites for children's music are Dreamland, World Lullabies & Soothing Songs and Acoustic Dreamland. In Dreamland, one of my all time favorites is Erick Manana's Ny Fitiavako An'I Mama - (Madagascar).  Manana has a beautiful voice and Ny Fitiavako tears me up each time I listen to it because it's so beautiful.  I'm still on the search for the proper translation of the song's lyrics.

I love this version of Hush Little Baby by Sylvia Long.

Some more favorites that are part of our household music is Susie Tallman's music.  In the Classic Nursery Rhymes collection is a lullaby/nursery rhyme that I love to sing to my children.  It inspired the upcoming Scarlet Elfcup creation.

And Then It Was Teatime.....Tea for Three

A passage from Anne of Avonlea by Lucy Maud Montgomery:

"But oh, won't you stay and have tea with me?  Please, do." said Miss Lavendar.  Anne replied promptly,  "We'd like to stay...if it won't inconvenience you.  But you are expecting other guests, aren't you?"

Miss Lavendar looked at her tea table again, and blushed.  "I know you'll think me dreadfully foolish," she said.  "I AM foolish...and I'm ashamed of it when I'm found out, but never unless I AM found out.  I'm not expecting anybody...I was just pretending I was.  You see, I was so lonely.  I love company...that is, the right kind of company...but so few people ever come here because it is so far out of the way.  So, I just pretended I was going to have a tea party.  I cooked for it...and decorated the table for it...and set it with my mother's wedding china...and I dressed up for it."

Diana secretly thought Miss Lavendar quite as peculiar as report had pictured her.  The idea of a woman of forty-five playing at having a tea party, just as if she were a little girl! But Anne of the shining eyes exclaimed joyfully, "Oh, do YOU imagine things too?"

That "too" revealed a kindred spirit to Miss Lavendar.

"Yes, I do," she confessed, boldly.  "Of course it's silly in anybody as adult as I am.  But what is the use of being an independent old soul if you can't be silly when you want to..."

And so here we have...three friends playing pretend...they had a tea party.  They cooked for it...and decorated the table for it...and set it with Lamoge...and they dressed up for it.

Penelope:  I had no idea there was anything approaching good taste in these remote areas. It is quite a surprise to me.

Makena:  I am afraid you judge of the country too harshly.  Personally, I believe there's nothing half so nice as living in the country.

Salemina:  I could and would do without a set bath-tub.  I wouldn't mind living in a cabin one day.  May I pour you more tea?

Penelope (with elaborate politeness):  Please, thank you.

Salemina (sweetly):  Sugar?

Penelope:  No, thank you.  Sugar is not so fashionable any more, is it?

Makena:  Sugar for me, please.  And lots of cream.  I love milk with my tea.

Salemina:  Homemade macarons, lemon cookies or an English shortbread?

Makena:  One of each, if you don't mind.

Penelope:  Macarons, please.  Lemon and shortbread cookies are rarely seen at the best houses nowadays.

Makena:  Mandazi and samosas are my favorites for teatime when I lived back home in Kenya.  They are nothing more than flour and sugar cooked in a lot of grease.  

Penelope:  In Japan they eat rice cake for tea.

Salemina:  And in Moscow...it is Prianiki, a sweet gingerbread cake.

Makena:  How about Fiji?  What do they have for tea there?

Penelope:  I'm not sure.  Good question?...breadfruit?

Salemina:  Is that a kind of bread?

Penelope:  It's a fruit.  I hear it tastes like potato or freshly baked bread.  And when it's very ripe it becomes sweet.

Makena:  Delectable!

And so, these three enjoyed a lovely afternoon in each other's company, under the shade of a tree, drinking tea and musing about the global tea traditions.

They are the best of friends, these three.  Yet, they are as different as different gets.

Makena is a joyful soul.  She loves just about any type of food and she'll eat just about anything.  She used to live in Kenya in a large compound with lots of family and extended family.  So, she is used to being around a lot of people all the time.  She doesn't mind being crowded out of her space.  And she flows with just about anything.  That's Makena...easy going, always open to new things.  Makena also loves nice things. She thinks that one must always look her best.  And so Makena likes to dress nice a lot of the time...always in her best, most respectable self.

Makena is a 14" doll, made with natural materials and one-of-a-kind.  She is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe and firmly stuffed with bio-wool.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement.  Her hair is made of Malabrigo Gruesa, a super bulky hand painted 100% wool yarn and Cast Away Knit Collage, a super thick hand carded handspun 100% wool yarn.  She has an embroidered and simple facial expression.  Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax.  She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes.  She has a sweet belly button and an oh so soft bummie.

She comes wearing a neutral colored linen dress that opens and closes fully on the back with pearl snap-on buttons.  The dress has a peter pan collar and decorated with velvet flowers.  Makena has on a pair of hand knit shoes.  The shoes are made from Heritage Cascade Yarns, a sock yarn made of 75% merino wool and 25% nylon.  The shoe straps are made of velvet ribbon.  Makena comes bearing some goodies to go with tea time...three needle-felted macaron pieces (these were a lot of fun for me to make...made me want to try recipes for the real thing) and a tin can of Nia's Tea.

Makena is recommended for ages 3+.  If you are interested in bringing Makena home and giving her a warm and nurturing environment, she is now available for purchase through the Etsy shop.

Next is Penelope.  Penelope is a very mannerly young lady.  She was born in the big city. She is used to city playgrounds, access to interesting eateries, libraries and museums. She loves the noise that a city has to offer. In the country, when things get too quiet, it spooks her a little.  She's just not used to it. Penelope is good with her "pleases" and "thank yous" and is a little girl who crosses her t's and dots her i's you might say. She loves reading and you might also say she's very well read for someone her age. In fact, she learned to read at a much younger age than most children.

Penelope is a 14" doll, made with natural materials and one-of-a-kind.  She is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe and firmly stuffed with bio-wool.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement. Her lovely locks are made of mohair boucle (otherwise known as loop) yarn. She has an embroidered and simple facial expression.  Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes. She has a sweet belly button and an oh so soft bummie.

She comes wearing a sweet cotton dress made from a modified Fig&Me dress tutorial. It opens fully on the back with one pearl snap on button.  Penelope has on a pair of hand knit shoes. The shoes are made from a Madeleine Tosh merino wool yarn and embellished with a flower. Penelope comes bearing some goodies to go with tea time...three needle-felted macaron pieces (these were a lot of fun for me to make...made me want to try recipes for the real thing) and a tin can of Nia's Tea.

Penelope is recommended for ages 3+.  If you are interested in giving Penelope a home, she is now available for purchase through the Etsy shop.

Then, there is Salemina.  Salemina is an old soul.  She is a bit introverted, very curious, always open to learning new things and new ideas.  She's the one who loves living close to nature's heart. She loves her friends and her family. She stays close to home, finding enjoyment in the little things surrounding her daily life. She likes being comfortable in her clothes for she's always running and jumping and climbing. Therefore, you're less likely to find Salemina is fancy dresses or shoes.  She's a practical one, this Salemina.

Salemina is a 14" doll, made with natural materials and one-of-a-kind.  She is made with premium quality cotton interlock imported from Europe and firmly stuffed with bio-wool.  Her seams are sewn twice for reinforcement. Her wonderful maine is made of mohair yarn...lots of it for combing and styling as you wish. She has such thick hair that she asked for a headband to keep it out of her face. So, I made her a headband to match her dress. She has an embroidered and simple facial expression. Her cheeks and nose are blushed with red beeswax. She is a sitting doll with sewn joints that are made flexible for easy movement and changing of clothes. She has a sweet belly button and an oh so soft bummie.

She comes wearing an adorable cotton outfit composed of a simple top and knit pants with lace trim. Salemina has on a pair of hand knit shoes.  The shoes are made from Heritage Cascade Yarns, a sock yarn made of 75% merino wool and 25% nylon.  The shoe straps have a functional wooden button, but the shoes can also slip on and off just as easily without opening the buttons.  Salemina comes bearing some goodies to go with tea time...three needle-felted macaron pieces (these were a lot of fun for me to make...made me want to try recipes for the real thing) and a tin can of Nia's Tea.

Salemina is recommended for ages 3+.  If you are interested in bringing Salemina home, she is now available for purchase through the Etsy shop.

Teatime is Serious Child's Play

Tea has had it's part to play in history and in literature.  And being that I love books and children's literature, I couldn't help but make the next set of dolls following this theme of tea time. Whether in the adult world or in a child's world, there is often much more brewing than tea at teatime.

At our house, we like to play tea time a lot. It's been at tea time when I've learned about many stages of emotional development happening with my 3-year old daughter.  At tea time, we often sit with one of many friends and discuss all sorts of topics...from how her day went at school to what each of her animal friends like.

Today, we had tea with Bob, the bear.  Bob likes to wear pink sweaters and it turns out Bob likes a lot of pink things.  That's the beautiful thing about a child...to my daughter pink means nothing more than just that...a color.  It can be worn by bears, male or female.  For us supposedly older and wiser adults, who have our opinions and biases to bring into much of what we see and hear, pink is categorized as something for only females...unless you are in the world of fashionable men...then, pink is ok.

In recent weeks, my 3-year old daughter has taken a strong liking to princesses.  This has sparked some curiosity on my part because in our household we don't often dote on princesses.  So, I've been wondering where she learned so much about princesses and why she wants to be one.  You see, I have this thing against princesses.  They are good and well and nice to read about.  But, I don't want to raise one.  I guess I want my daughter to know that she can grow up beautiful, intellectual, loving, fun, caring, thoughtful, capable of taking care of herself and most importantly BEING herself.  I don't want her to think that she has to be a princess to be pretty and to need loving by a prince and rescued and pampered and taken care of and to always walk around in pretty dresses and have on pretty smiles and pretty hair.  And I guess this thinking comes from the image that is portrayed of a princess in all the stories we read, the movies we see, and even the real life princesses that still exist in today's world.  So, I try not to bring the world of princesses into our household.  And yet...here we are...

I am not so sure how to encroach upon this topic with a 3-year old...this topic of why being a princess is really not all that.  I am not graceful or tactful about these sort of things sometimes.  And I'm not so sure I should even address it at all because after all she is a 3-year old who just wants to be a princess.  So, why can't I just let it be?  But, I don't just let it be sometimes.  So, today at tea time with Bob, the bear who loves to wear pink sweaters, we talked some about princesses and fairies and ballerinas.  I asked my daughter what she likes about a fairy, what a fairy does, why she would want to be a fairy.  And how about a ballerina...what do ballerinas do, what is it that makes her someone fancy.  And then, how about the princess...what do princesses do, what do you like about a princess, why you want to be a princess.  Turns out that fairies have magic wands and wings that make them fly and it would be fun to fly.  And a ballerina has pretty shoes and she dances and dancing is fun.  And a princess...well, she didn't know what a princess does or even what she likes about the princess.  It also turns out that being a robin (as in the bird) is also nice because one can fly high in the sky and that would be great fun.  So, we left the conversation at that.  But, that was our tea time conversation.  For her, it was child's play, we are pretend playing.  The three of us talked about ballerinas, fairies and princesses.  For me, it was a way to understand my child, a way to help me process my stubborn adult biases and learn how to let go of all my ideas about how I want to raise my children.  And so, we came to no conclusion about the princess.  But, yet, I feel better for having talked about it.  And tomorrow, perhaps she will still go running around shouting, "I'm a princess.  I'm a princess." And I will cringe once more at hearing those words.  But, for today...we had tea with Bob, the bear in a pink sweater.

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A handmade placemat set for you and your doll.  The life sized placemat measures approximately 13" x 18". The doll sized placemat measures approximately 6" x 9".

Hand embroidered.

Appliqued with satin stitches.

Quilted and padded with 100% cotton batting.  The back of the mat is a beautiful cotton flower print.