Here is my latest doll, now in the shop.
I’m really happy with her – she is so cute!
Garage sale score
Husband got all these games in mint condition for $2 each! And no missing pieces!!These are from a time when they bothered to make games out of durable materials and not that light, crappy plastic.I’ve never played Jumanji and Yahtzee I remember my Nanna playing with my siblings but I never wanted to play (don’t know why).I feel a games night coming on!Oh, by the way, I’ve made a few changes to the look of my blog, even girls can have too much pink. Hope you like it!
Another bear doll
She is being sent as a gift to someone who has been generous to me. I like making these – they’re really cute and feel just right to hold. My 3 year old daughter is giving much encouragement at the moment with her exclamations of “oh Mum, she’s beautiful!” and by hanging around the sewing table to watch and read to me while I work. I even have to appreciate my 19 month old daughter snatching handfuls of wool from the bag and running off with them held to her face – at least she appreciates natural materials!
Ash Wednesday
Today is the beginning of 40 days of fasting and penance for Lent to prepare for Easter. As Jesus went into the desert for 40 days before the crucifixion we try to imitate Him as we prepare to celebrate his Resurrection at Easter. It is a great time of “toughening up” mentally, physically and spiritually by challenging yourself to go without and denying yourself comforts and luxuries.
A near perfect evening….
Lastnight. The children were all silently tucked up in their beds. It was cool outside with a breeze. My husband sat at the keyboard playing beautiful, relaxing and random music. I sat at the table working on a doll at my leisure. The phone did not ring, there were no disturbances.
Sigh. It was wonderful.
What I’ve been up to
I finished this custom doll to send off to a US customer, I hope she likes her. She is 18 inches tall and came together beautifully. Now on the to do list is a bear doll as a gift and another doll for the shop, which is looking a little empty. I really think we need a better camera, my photos always come up blurry and don’t show detail.
We spent a nice sunny morning at the park where we met some other homeschoolers, which is always nice. The kids had a ball at the park, I must make the effort to get there more often!
New fabric
I love new fabric, oh the possibilities! These will be used for doll’s clothes. I’ve been furiously dollmaking the past few days as sales are better than ever so I’m trying to keep up!
We spent the morning rushing around to appointments and errands, then the afternoon at the beach. There weren’t many people about and the water was beautifully clear. As per usual, I forgot the camera, so no pics.
I’m hoping to fit in some more sewing tonight after the children are in bed, fingers crossed.
Dolls
Well, most of the day was spent dollmaking, after the usual housework drudgery was satisfactorily (half) complete. My doll inspiration seems to have returned with a vengeance, I only lament the lack of time compared to the number of ideas. Just came across the Froken Skicklig blog, how gorgeous are her dolls?! (not to mention her other work). What does she use for hair? How does she get her dolls to look so warm? Aren’t the little knitted caps beautiful? Can you tell I get excited when I find dolls I love?
Happy Saturday all!
Teddy bear
I finally finished this bear for my son. Bearmakers – I take my hat off to you, this is much more difficult than I thought! I had numerous problems in the making process and was not in positive spirits when I finished. He is 13 inches tall and passed the snuggle test lastnight, so at least he’ll be well loved.
Family Finance 4. False economy?
I’m always willing to try “home brand” products and many offer a true saving for a product equal to brand names. You do however have to be selective and be aware of certain pros and cons. Here is an example:
I recently bought “home brand” liquid soap. We go through a lot of liquid soap with young children in the house there is a lot of handwashing to be done. After it was all used up I bought a brand name soap to compare. I found I can use about a quarter of a squirt of the brand name, as opposed to 1 – 2 squirts of the “home brand”. Therefore, I’ll keep buying the brand name soap.
Another example is toilet paper. I buy middle to high range quality paper as the cheap paper disintegrates on contact with moisture, therefore you have to use about 3 times as much.
There are some “home brand” products I’ve used for a long time that are just as good as others, such as flour.
So, try all products but be aware that “cheap” products won’t always save you money.