Mindy the New Miniaturist!

Having recently met a very talented young lady who makes all kinds of beautiful crafts and needlework Oly and I invited her to join our dollshouse club and challenged her to make some miniatures. She is a natural at scaling down full size and her work is so precise and neat. Look at what she's made already! Mindy made these bags and then a chest to store them in.

 I can't believe these are her first efforts.

 The boxed jewellery is lovely but my photos are not good.

 I just adore this little felt bear wearing his warm scarf.

 I think her embroidery hoops are wonderful, I've never seen any realistic working hoops in miniature before and she even did her first miniature embroidery.

It's fun having a new member of our club and Mindy has new ideas and offers fresh inspiration for Oly and me. I can't wait to see what she makes next!

Vintage Christmas Decorations

I just had to pop in and show you what the post lady brought today. Such a surprise and so lovely!

Sonja sent me these as a Christmas surprise! If you'd like to see more of  the gorgeous miniatures she makes you can see Sonja's blog here
I'm going to create a whole new display for all my special Christmas things. The Christmas house is full!
Thank you Sonja, I love everything!

Shoes and Bags

How fabulous are these!!! They were a gift from my dear friend Bob.

I've always loved Patrisan's shoes and never thought I'd own a pair. Now I have two pairs and a fabulous handbag as well! Thank you so much, Bob. x

For my birthday Oly gave me a handbag kit by Janet Granger which I didn't start straight away as I wanted to clear some unfinished projects first so made it over the new year break. It's really pretty and will look lovely in my ladies shop.

For Christmas this year Oly gave me this lovely cupcake jug which will sit nicely in my Tea Rooms, Gift Shop or Bakery - I can't decide!

As I mentioned a while back, Oly and I made some felt animals which we were quite pleased with as our first attempts. Now I'm going to try and make Easter Bunnies with this brilliant set which I also got from Oly at Christmas. My favourite time of year is Easter, I love the pretty colours and the lambs, rabbits and chicks so Oly chose these for my Easter display. Thank you Oly, I love my gifts. x

I think you'll agree I've received some lovely gifts from special friends.
As this is my first post this year I'd like to wish you all a happy and healthy 2013!

Teapots and Robins

You may recall back in October that I bought some little Christmas ornaments from Susan Howarth. I liked them so much that I bought three more from her just before Christmas. I just love these little teapots and the robins are so cute!

My Christmas house is so full that I've started a new Christmas scene and these look just wonderful in it.
I hope you all had a fabulous Christmas. Mine was perfect, spent with family. I thought you might like to see my youngest grandson on Christmas Day.

All the Other Advent Gifts!

I had to decide whether to open all the advent gifts before I went away for Christmas, which felt like cheating, or save them for when I got back from my family Christmas. I'm so happy I saved them as I had a wonderful time today, opening so many!
These are all the other gifts from Kaisa.
Littlekits for lots of buildings and cars.

Two mugs. One with a photo of my dog, and proving Kaisa has a great sense of humour, the other has a photo of me on my scooter wearing a helmet!

 For the little baker some very useful recipe books.

 A great shelf unit! Very useful, just what the bakery needs.

 To complete the set, another fabulous bag!

 Some nature posters for the children's room.

 I think maybe Kaisa's little girl helped make this gift with her lovely artwork! There is even a tiny eraser,

And , oh my goodness, Kaisa has made me a desk and seat! The desk opens to hold the papers and pencils.

Very thoughtful maps of England and one of Spain!

 I was so surprised to see that Kaisa had these cards printed for me! What a thoughtful and generous gift!

 And look at this! Kaisa is so good with her saw. It has such a lovely, detailed back and the shaped mirror just finishes this fabulous dresser.

 It's been a great swap, exciting and fun. Thank you so much Kaisa, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.