Inspired By London

I just got back from vacation in England, and after visiting Buckingham Palace and seeing the beefeaters, I made these two dolls for my friend's little boys.  She's an anglophile too, so I think she'll appreciate them.  I'm thinking of making similar ones for my Etsy shop that are little pirates, or maybe matroyshka nesting dolls for girls.  Oh, the possibilities...

Mouse Dolls!

Here are my little holiday mouse girls.  They are now available in my Etsy shop.

I also have kits to make your own mouse doll.  They are very easy to sew and make great gifts!

A Very Mad Hatter

I had great fun coming up with my Halloween costume this year.  I ended up going as The Mad Hatter because I have been making so many custom hats for my etsy shop lately.  I already had a big green hat, so I just added a tag and some extra feathers to it.  I also made a little teacup fascinator to wear under it.  With an orange lace blouse, my old pirate vest, and a wild Harris tweed coat I found in a thrift shop.

Halloween Regency Ball

The Regency Halloween Ball was great!  Lots of good spooky fun.

The conjurer put on a great show.

My dad was a pirate and my mom was a masked ghost.  My sister and brother-in-law were zombies.  I made Allie's dress was made out of an old sheet, and Marc's zombie shirt was made from the pillowcase.

 Kaitlin and I were dark and mysterious, and I love the fact that I got to wear wings and horns!

Overall, it was a wonderful event, and I hope we have another Halloween event next year!

Preparing For The Halloween Ball

My Regency group is having a Halloween assembly next week, and I've been having fun getting ready for it.  My sister is going as a zombie (a la Pride and Prejudice and Zombies) so I made her a dress out of an old sheet, and today we spread it on the lawn and flung grey dye and coffee grounds all over it before stomping some grapes into the back.  Now we just have to drizzle some fake blood down the front and make a few more rips and tears. 

Another project I've been working on for the ball is updating our collection of Regency pictures to make them spooky.  Here are a few of my favorites.

More pictures of the dress are coming soon, and there will definitely be pictures of the ball!

My Cozy New Cottage Tea Cosy

A few weeks ago I went to the Penelton Woolen Mill outlet store and got some really great chartruse wool from their by-the-pound bin.  I tried felting it, and along with some other wool that I dyed and felted, I made this cottage-shaped tea cosy for my biggest teapot.  I used lace for the curtains and velvet ribbon for the half-timbering.  The shutters move so it looks like they open and close.  Now all I need is the perfect bead for a doorknob.  I’m really pleased with the way it turned out, and it definitely keeps my tea warm!

Big Eyed Cat Dolls and Kits!

I am delighted to announce that I have some adorable (if I do say so myself) big eyed cat doll in my Etsy shop.  I also have complete kits so that others can have the fun of making them too!

Betsy, Carmen, Gertrude, Hester, Penelope and Millicent

New Bonnets, and DIY Kits

I have some new Ready-To-Wear Regency Bonnets in my Etsy shop.

 I also have some new Decorate-Your-Own Bonnets.

 

And I have added some complete kits so you can make your own Regency bonnet from scratch!

  

  

I can't wait to see the bonnets that people create with these!



Corsets on Etsy

I just added some corsets to my Etsy shop.  They are reversible, made of two colors of brocade each, lace up the front, and are tons of fun.

Decorate-Your-Own Regency Bonnets

I now have some plain, ready to decorate Regency bonnets in my Etsy shop, along with a number of finishing kits in various colors.  I love to imagine all the possible combinations these will create!

Fantastic Etsy Project!

I'm very excited to be included in a wonderful collaboration on Etsy.  Ashley from Octopus Pie Studios has created Inspired Artist Series, a set of drawings based on items created by other members of the Etsy Ugly Cute team.  Here is the fantasic drawing she did for me.

It is based on Blush, one of my goblin dolls, and is entitled ‘Whimsy’ in honor of my shop. 

Ashley will be selling prints of Whimsy in her Etsy shop.  http://www.etsy.com/shop/OctopusPieStudios  I ordered mine last night and can’t wait until it arrives.  What fun it is when creative people work together.  You never know what wondrous collaborations will result!

Regency Beach Picnic

Last week my friends and I had a Regency picnic on the beach.  It was fabulous.  By unspoken rule, we all arrived wearing red and blue, and so looked very 'Rule Britannia'.  I had a new red velvet spencer for the occasion. 

The weather was all grey and foggy, but it was remarkably warm and there was no wind.  I didn't even need to use my parasol.

We met at the beach at Tierra del Mar, and when we walked north we could barely see the houses through the mist. There aren’t any cars on that part of the beach, we only met a couple of horses.  It felt very much like a English beach.

  We went into the water (only ankle deep) and found some beautiful shells.  Then we returned to our blankets and had a glorious feast.

This picnic was planned at the last minute, and many of our friends weren’t able to come, but we definitely want to have another one next year!

Regency Goblins

Farthing and Snuff are my newest goblins, a pair of Regency cuties.  They are now in my Etsy shop.

Farthing the Regency Goblin Doll

  Farthing is a darling little goblin.  She is a transplant from the English Regency era.  She lives in a little cottage with her very own Mr. Darcy- Snuff.  They have an upper-maid and two parlors and eight cows.  Farthing loves to draw and is an accomplished harpist.  She would be happy to come play the harp and draw for you.

Snuff the Regency Goblin Doll

Snuff is a dapper little goblin, but don’t mistake him for a dandy.  He is a transplant from the English Regency era.  He lives in a little cottage covered with vines with his own true love; Farthing.  She thinks he is every bit as romantic as Mr. Darcy They have a grove of old oaks, a haw-haw and Snuff’s Folly- a Grecian temple.  Snuff drives a barouche and collects snuff-boxes.  He would be happy to share his collection with you.

Bonnets on Etsy

I've just added some ready-to-wear Regency bonnets to my Etsy shop.  I plan to have decorate-your-own bonnets with finishing kits and kits to make your own bonnets from scratch soon.  What fun it has been putting together all the fabrics and feathers and trims.  Here are the finished ready-to-wear bonnets.  Let me know what you think!

Google Loves Puddle!

This morning my Etsy shop statistics showed that I was getting a lot of traffic from google, so I just checked and when you google "house elf doll" Puddle comes up third!  Incredible!  I have no idea how long this will last, so I'm going to take advantage of the moment and shout it from the rooftops while I can.  Nickel and Zinc popped up high in the google image search rankings too.  So thanks to everyone who has googled my elves or favorited them or just checked them out on Etsy.  You've made my day!