IT'S THE FIFTH SO IT'S DOLL PHOTO DAY

 Yes it's that time of the month and starting the second half of the year, so lets get started..

From Jenni in Wales we have her boy Elijah , a very handsome lad who needed eye surgery by the famous surgeon Ms Shelly Baxter. Now he can see perfectly.

From the cold north we have Tatum and Hopeless with their dog Scatter , the whole house of Sasha's there have attitude even the dogs!

When they are like this , you just know they are planning some mischief , the poor neighbours 

From Gill we have a gorgeous line up of some of her blondes, looking ready for those summer days of fun and adventures.

Over the pond Steve's girls,  Meredith and Midori and enjoying their new Ginny dresses and don't they both look gorgeous 

while the boys, Dennis Demetri and Dan Ryan are wearing the red white and blue for the 4th of July celebrations, they are only slightly disappointed not to have been invited to Travis and Taylor's wedding ! They would have enjoyed some cake and then shaking it off but alas they'll just make do with some fireworks and burgers.

Here in the village a few of the brunette's wanted their photo taken together , Calico , Linnet, Claudia, Sapphire and Violet were very good standing together.

While when the buttons got together for a photo, Arabella insisted she had to be front and centre ! To ensure this happened she threw herself backwards twice ! So Reba had to give up her middle spot for the diva of the family ! So from the left we have Reba, Magda, Arabella, Linnet and Calico Cate.

Here we have Laura IOW, Mira and Laura Herts enjoying some paddling . They are 17 inch Roche dolls and the photo was put together by a friend using an AI app. 

It's amazing what can be done, the app as put them into the water , holding their shoes and added some matching hats to the centre and right hand doll. Very clever tool, especially if you don not have the space indoors or out for setting up scenes. The only thing I would say is it can make the faces more real than they are.

Thank you to everyone taking part and sending in their photos. Still time to have one added, just send it in

Dee

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY

 

                     WISHING ALL OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS A HAPPY 4TH OF JULY 

CATCHING UP

 

Well it's been very busy since the last time we chatted ! On Sunday we had the garden open , along with ten others in the village , the day was quite warm but there was a lovely breeze which helped. Probably had about 200 plus go round the garden and we had some lovely comments from the people, who all appeared to enjoy the garden.

I made this cushion cover out of an old curtain, that was no longer needed.

My favourite two comments were , 1 )  This is an artists garden  and 2) Your garden is so romantic. 

We had lots of conversations with the visitors, speaking about the garden, names of the plants and that they were taking away lots of idea's for their own gardens. We were open for five hours, which did go quite quick and it was very tiring.

Obviously those who have their garden's open , don't get to see the others, unless they have a few extra adults around to leave in charge, so we are having some of the other open gardeners around on Tuesday evening. We did our date offer quick , so we don't need to keep the garden spotless for too long. Plus while their are plenty of flowers in bloom.

So that was Sunday, then Monday little Adam went in for his open heart surgery. It took five hours and he is now on the mend and already off morphine and just on normal pain pills and up and walking around and could be off home in a couple of days, which will be a week earlier that originally stated but he will have to go back one of the days to check his chest.

Then on Wednesday it was my birthday, what's called a big one. I had my best friends round for high tea and we had a good time and lots of cake ! 

I was spoilt ! I now have a fitbit to count my steps , which saves me having to have my photo in my pocket to count them, three vases of flowers, plus a bunch of  Marsh Mellow  'flowers' plus some outdoor plants 

Marsh mellow flowers 

c

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and some dolls clothing 

and this beautiful William Morris fabric Ruth Hartley dress set from Gill.

Which is being worn by today's headliner Claudia.

I even hand sewed up her red socks , so she could wear them with this dress set.

But I need to get the sewing machine out and finish off the rest of the socks.

On the sales front, a few more items of clothing etc have gone, so the box of goods is finally getting smaller. But a doll did arrive, yes a Sasha. A pintuck's that is barely hanging together and was in the most stained brown dress and petticoat and pants I have ever seen. I considered throwing them out, but instead, I put them all in a very mild solution of bleach and water and left them for several hours and much to my delight all the staining was removed even the really dark parts. Then a good rinse and another soak this time in washing powder , followed by rinse and washing line and it's as good as new.

She herself is minty ! But yet another one to restring! I need to remove her wig to wash it and then decide if I an going to re wig her and have her eyes painted or just put her wig back and leave her as she is.

But having not only lost the wheels on the wagon along with the spare , my wagon will be staying in that ditch for a month or two.

I've still go to carry on searching for missing items while clearing out the studio, which is full of boxes and bags again because of visitors. So from the seventh I will be having a blogcation for around six weeks. While the country goes from heatwave and back again and I try and finally get the studio sorted.

Please don't forget Doll photo day on the fifth and also the fifth of August as I will still put that post on even though I'll be blogcationing.

I'll be back soon with more waffle , enjoy the rest of the week 

Dee

DAY THREE OF THE . . . . .

 

Heatwave !!! Now I know everyone living in deserts and other hot places all over the world, is looking at the UK and thinking WHAT ! It's barely warm !

But you have to realise what to you is barely warm, to us is one step away from being in a furnace ! WE don't do well in heat or for that matter in the cold. We are an Island of people who like it just right, neither hot nor cold but somewhere in the middle with a small breeze.

So the above girl arrived at the start of this heatwave, so only a couple of quick photo's were taken once I'd dressed her, due to just how hot it is outside !

Just after I bought her, this dress, which I'd previously owned, came up for sale, so I snapped it up for her and it gave me her name , Poppy.

So Poppy, another unexpected purchase, a 1969 lass , arrived and is settling in as best she can in this heat ! 

I'd like to say she was or will be the last but we all know that's very unlikely. I think we have another day of hot temperatures before some rain arrives and the normal June weather totals arrive.

I may have to move further north to escape the heat , if this is going to carry on each year !!  

ANOTHER SUNNY SUNDAY !!

 

So yes it's another sunny Sunday in the UK, I know almost unheard of for a British summer ! Plus they are saying it will continue to be HOT and sunny for the coming week ! 

Since we are opening the garden along with others in the village next Sunday I am hoping that the temperature will at least have dropped quite a bit by then ! 

The week has whizzed past and not much apart from pulling up weeds here and there and talking garden as been happening. The socks are still waiting to be made but I did finally buy the correct needle for the stretchy fabric, so maybe , just maybe, some could get made this week while I hid from the sun!

I have to make a cushion cover for one of the bench cushions in the garden, so the sewing machine will be in place, so there is every chance something sock could happen !!

Now I cannot remember just how much I confessed to over the last week but here goes. .  .

Today's headliner is Linnet. A pretty brunette button who was on a short layaway and who arrived Saturday.

Reba, the redheaded button , was an unexpected buy between me finishing Linnet and her arriving . 

Which means the button nosed children have grown by three since the end of May ! All totally unexpected but wonderful additions none the less.

I have to confess I love seeing Steve , at Gregoropolis's , two brunette buttons, Lottie and Lulu when they appear, so now unexpectedly having two myself , I'm so happy. The first girl I called Calico Cate but now I am going to rename her as she's got her twin Linnet, so will try and find a name to suit.

Now on the doll front, well you can see the selling of dols and bits and piece's as gone right off the scale, no buying wagon, no longer has any wheel's and is on the way to the junkyard ! 

What's that I hear you say  ? There are four wheels on a wagon. . . . . that is true. . . So there was Heidi Hybrid , the baby who arrived and then Reba  the re rooted button redhead and now Linnet, the brunette button , m m mm m m mm that's three , oh yes and then there is Poppy . . . . . . . but she's not arriving until Monday. . . .. . So as I said no wheels left on that wagon !   

I have sold a few items of clothes etc , so as much as the dolls seem to be multiplying  ! Their available clothing and other items are going down ! 

Oh! Do wagon's have spare wheels?  Just asking for a friend. . . . .

And on that note I will wish you all a very happy healthy week ahead 

Dee 

SLIDING IN ON A WING AND A PRAYER. . . .

 Now I was truly minding my own business and scrolling through ebay, which I don't actually do that often these days, when up popped a face I could not just scroll past !! 

Gorgeous check, red head check, would vanish quickly check ! So I thought long and hard for , well ages ! At least two minutes!!! Then it was press that bin button and commit!

Now I was actually raising funds for another doll at the time, so really should have resisted this young lady but honestly I just could not let her pass by 

Yes, It's a button nosed miss, with re-rooted red hair , who just needed to come live here in the village ! 

Not only was she up for adoption but there was also a blonde ! That paused me for a moment while I decided which one I just had to have but naturally the red head won out.

And I have to confess I did spend a few minutes working out if I could some how afford the blonde, after I'd got the redhead  but fortunately the discission was taken away from me, when she sold a while later.

So a totally unexpected purchase , just like the layaway I have , which is now paid off and winging her way to be as I type ! So for someone who was NOT buying anything during June that wagon is not only wheel less but on it's side in the ditch ! 

Now this young lady is being a little cagey with her name, it may be Marnie but she's not sure! Because she quite likes the name I was intending to call her sibling that's on the way . . .  ..

SUNDAY DAYS

 

Well weather wise it's not been too bad a week, sunshine and showers , and now finally dry ! The week has passed with just the usual things garden and house. However I decided I needed to make the dolls some socks.  Gill kindly sent me some stretch jersey fabric and then that was as far as I got, after getting Petrana's sock and pants pattern. Finally after a persistent voice asking have I made any yet, I cut the fabric out to the correct size to make socks from.

So now I just need to start making them! I just they are not too hard to make ! 

The end of the month is now a busy time, with the garden open for the village open gardens and now our little Adam will finally having his open heart surgery the day after. which is naturally a worry but once it's done and he is recovering we will all be happy.

Now you would have read that I'm on the no doll buying wagon but had lost a wheel ! Well my wagon is now down to just one wheel ! and very nearly was down to none! But I may and probably will have to go on a three month no buying ban from July to September at this rate ! 

Today's headliners are three of the No Navels , Sienna , Martha and Ashley wearing the same style of dress by Ginny of A Passion for Sasha. 

On the sales front, things have changed because of the doll buying. So I have had to search for a few things to sell to pay for the dolls I have bought , so a couple of Sasha dolls have had to go because a couple of others are arriving.

I fell off the wagon the second time for a Button nosed girl , only to fall off again for another one !! These days the button girls rarely come up for sale especially the ones with decent eyes.  So this has meant not only dolls are up for sale but also some shoes and clothing.

Luckily I have had a few sales , including my lovely 68 Gregor Scott , who I had hoped to keep but if I spend I have to deal with the results, So he's gone to a new home and a few pairs of my Rosie blooms and some clothing. Which as been very helpful. I had been hoping to go quiet on the selling front for the summer and I am hoping it can still happen, even if it has to be slightly later.

So wishing you all a happy healthy week ahead 

Dee

A TRIO OF LATER BRUNETTE'S

 

A couple of weeks back I redressed most of the girls and the 2nd series brunette girl's decided they all wanted to wear the Petrana playsuits, luckily there were three of them so no one had to miss out ! 

Luisa is wearing a lovely dark blue with reds and yellows.

Luisa is a brown eyed girl.

Annette is wearing a lovely pale blue with red berries playsuit.

Her eyes are blue.

Last but by no means least, is the sweet Anika, wearing a deep blue playsuit with a nautical theme of red and white anchors.

Anika's eyes are a lavender colour and her skin is the palest of the Sasha's.

I'm enjoying having these later Gotz dolls , I may need to go and read the Three Ann's book and see if there are any other's that should be on my radar for the future! 

HEIDI H ARRIVES

 

Today Heidi H arrived in the village.

I've called this baby Heidi H because she is made up of the head of an Ester toddler and on a body of a Gotz baby limited edition, so signed on the body.

So she's Heidi Hybrid , but Heidi H for short. Obviously her hair's been dyed and I do love a red head.

SUNDAY SUMMERY

 

So this Sunday has arrived on the back of a week of heavy rain showers, with a splash of thunder included. However when the sun as managed to break through, it's been hot. Which means that when they start talking about a hot summer is on the way, they are probably correct!

This means I'll be hiding indoors if that happens! Between showers we have been continuing the garden tidy up.

Paul finished off replacing some old paving with some old bricks to the path on the right in the above photo, it runs along the side of the doll studio , so now it matches the brick area in front of the studio.

These two new brick paved area's have really tidied up this part of the garden. Bringing the troughs round from the front garden to here , have helped them have better sunlight and are not overshadowed by other plants. 

This year all the Magnolia's seem to have put on a spurt and are also full of lovely green leaves, like the magnolia behind the troughs above.

Our eldest daughter's partner is going to come round sometime in the next couple of weeks and using his drone take some footage of the garden , which we are really looking forward to seeing, especially the aerial views. We will share it where we can.

This week one of the dogs, probably Rufus, whose tail could be used as a lethal weapon, knocked my laptop onto the floor, it seemed fine until a day later when it would not open ! one of the hinges is broken , so after a lot of careful handling , we managed to get it open almost but not quite to having an upright screen ! I gave instructions that no one was to close it , only to on the second time of using I shut the lid !!!!!!! Managed to get it part way back up, left it overnight , then managed to get it open once again ! It's not perfect, I have to put something under the keyboard in order to get the screen straight but I will need to see if I can get it repaired while I wait ! Cannot hand it over and be without for days !!!! So another expense !

Meanwhile my faffing about continues ! Takes me at least half the day, before I'm even thinking of starting on all the things I need to be doing and then I only need to be side tracked and nothing gets done! So I must avoid this happening next week, so I can get more things sorted along with some sewing.

Today's headliner was my Gotz Luisa, who I thought looked great amongst the flowers, so used her photo. 

On the sales front, a few more little bits and pieces and a bear went off to new homes, so little by little, things are slowly moving.

I did however slip of the wagon yesterday and bought a small non Sasha doll , which meant I had to sell on a couple of pairs of shoes towards her cost but my own fault for falling off that no dolls month wagon, so only three wheels left but I can make it to the end of the month. . . . .

On that note I will wish you all a happy healthy week ahead , filled with doll and family fun.

Dee

IT'S THE FIFTH, SO IT'S DOLL PHOTO DAY

Yes, it's that great time of the month doll day photo time!. So let's get started

First in is Gill's two dungaree girls , who are ready and waiting to get off on their holidays! It's a shame the weather's changed from hot to not! But they tell me, they can wait and once that temperature starts rising they'll be off to the seaside.

Here in the village, Hettie spent some time outside with some of the bears enjoying the sunshine between the showers ! 

Here we have Holly, from RoRoPo checking on the Elder flowers since she is this years Miss Elder. She has been busy helping her mum make lots of lovely jam, so now we all know where to go for a nice afternoon tea of scones with homemade Jam.

From across the pond , at Gregoropolis, we have Lulu and Lottie ready for some gardening or possibly mischief , they have not quite decided which they are in the mood for. . .. . . those boys best watchout if gardening loses the vote !

Meanwhile looking handsome, in their new shirts, Sasha and Miquel are intending to find a nice spot to sit out in the garden and enjoy some quiet time away from the others. I do hope the spot they choose is well hidden from a pair of buttons with a mischievous streak ! Or there could be chaos ! 

Meanwhile up north these two attractive young ladies, are trying to decide what to do with their mum, who seams incapable of taking a decent photo and even resorted to asking Norm, who is a very clever and willing but a DOG! Luckily for them and us, Merrick saved the day ;)

Norm's try was good but still needs some work before he tries doll photos but probably better than his mums. . . . just saying . . . . 

Luisa is out in the garden , enjoying a nice walk, while the weather is dry for a moment. She's planning on changing into some jeans and a big woolly if the sun doesn't come back soon.

Many thanks to everyone who has sent in some photos for doll day, still time to have your added.

Dee