Tea Cup Babies

There truly is nothing quite like a good brew is there? Enjoying the ritual of preparing tea and savouring its delicate taste is something that connects people from all over the world, 

and whats more it is good for your health! 

For me, the day really doesn't truly begin until I have a cup of tea in hand, the hazy mist of sleep lifts as I breath in the sweet steam rising from my favorite tortoise mug! 

Afternoon tea has become a very British thing, with careful consideration needed in the selection of teas and cakes; here in the south west of the country the proper way is naturally to have a "cream tea" with warm currant scones, thick homemade strawberry jam ( or raspberry if you are a rebel like me!) and a generous spoonful of clotted cream, all finished off with a fresh pot of delicate Darjeeling. For anyone who has not had this pleasure, I assure you it is simply heavenly - and if you are in the region it would be rude not to try it! There is a little controversy over the correct layering of jam and cream upon your scone - but if you ask me - as long as you have plenty of both, you can't go far wrong!

Anyway - as usual I am rambling! It was daydreaming over a cuppa that I first thought about making a range of tea cup babies, wee babes so small they could nestle inside a teacup, fresh and vibrant with the colours of an English garden in summertime. It's cheery thought kept me warm all through the bleak winter months, and it has been thoroughly enjoyable to have finally found a little time in which to bring these sweet poppets into being!

 Each tea cup baby is around 8 inches tall, sewn from de witte cotton and stuffed firmly with fluffy devonshire lambswool. They have lightly sculpted faces, tiny stitched eyebrows, ears, peachy bottoms and swirly bellybuttons. Their hair is crocheted from various shades of dollymo mohair yarn.

As summer ( as wet as it's been) is still with us, the girls have requested light cotton dress skirts, with slightly cosier wool knit bodices which have a tie fastening to the back, and also wear a matching nappy lined with buttery soft cotton velour, and a tiny brass teacup necklace.

Many hours have been spent exploring the treasure troves of our local antique and collectables shops, the girls were quite particular about what they were looking for, but I think each eventually found something that was just her cup of tea!

Though Tippy has found a new home already with a wishlist family, Camille, Jasmine and Pekoe will be looking for homes this evening at 6pm est ( which is 11pm here in the UK ) in my shop:

http://hyenacart.com/stores/ladybirddollstudio

 Lots of love, Scarlett and the Teacup Babies xx

Alice in the secret garden

Custom dolls are always a intensive labour of love for me, 

I dearly enjoy getting to know the family that my dolls will journey to, and feel honoured that they share their interests and special memories with me in order to bring a new little soul to life. 

Conversations spanning many months, with little parcels of pretty finds exchanged, mood boards of inspiration and no end of tales and anecdotes go into each and every custom doll, and as I give each doll one last squeeze before carefully nestling her into her box to travel, 

I know it could never really be goodby!

Alice is firey. Don't get me wrong, she is a dear sweet thing, adventurous and  inquisitive, but her desire to know and explore is like a burning flame, forever hungry! Her new mama will surely be in for many many questions from this talkative girl!

She is 15 or so inches tall, with green eyes, freckles and golden red hair, she has a peachy plump bottom, little knobbly freckled knees, swirly bellybutton, tiny ears and stitched eyebrows.

Alice's outfit includes a floral dress trimmed with cotton lace,

 hand knit pure wool cardigan with mismatch buttons, moss green velvet bloomers, 

undies, alpaca/wool knit boots with button rose decoration, matching rose hair pin 

and a little brass key necklace - for when she discovers her secret garden!

Agnes

Now you knew I couldn't really stay away didn't you! In all the topsy turvyness of my life right now, there is a still, calm place, a little oasis, in which I dream of dollies! Over the passed few weeks one such little soul kept coming to mind, persistently pulling at my sleave, until I really had no choice but to dig through all my boxes in storage, to find the meens to bring her to life!

Agnes has been patient, and I have enjoyed the freedom to take my time creating her, using a colour palate which has always called to me - I love these warm vintage tones - like an old photograph of happy times gone by! So often I find myself harking back to the colours of my comfort zone, breezy cool blues and mossy greens will never be far from my first choices, but Agnes has encouraged me to be a little bolder, and I dearly love her for that! 

After all, colours have always been of great significance to me, I meen with a name like Scarlett it's hard for it not to feel a big part of who I am, infact a big part of our family - 

as my brother and sisters have colours in their names too, did you know that?

But I digress, I'm sure you are all keen to meet Agnes...

This little girl loves the romance and mystery of days gone by. Take her to the book shop or library and she will spend many a happy hour smoothing the spines of the books with her fingers as she walks along, head tilted reading the titles aloud. She tells me how she loves the smell of the paper, and the old illustrations drawn with ink, especially the old nature journals - how she wishes she had been to the lands afar, discovering exotic birds and butterflies, never before seen!

I tell her there is so much world out there to discover still, and I know this heart strong girl will venture out and find her own lost land.

Agnes has chosen rich vintage tones of dandelion yellow and sky blue which bring to mind all the happiness of chidhood summers. She wears bird print cotton bloomers, a floral mini dress, hand knit linen cardigan, crochet sandals and matching hair tie.

At a mere 11 inchestall , Agnes, though small, assures me this height gives 

her a very unique point of view! ( did I say she was funny too!? ) 

She is sewn from organic cotton interlock in a dreamy chocolate brown tone and her hair is a needle felted crop of natural wensleydale curls. She features all the details you would expect of a larger doll, including ears, stitched eyebrows, a swirly belly button, sculpted bottom and dimpled knees.

Agnes dreams of travel, and would dearly love to find a home where she will get to go on exciting adventures and days out exploring! if you would like to welcome her into your family, please do visit the Enchanted Toybox this friday evening from 7pm est where she will be available comment style.

Simple Beginnings and New Paths

Over the years my dolls have taken me on quite a journey, discovering new techniques and prefered methods over much trial and often even more error!

Drafting patterns is a lengthy and thought consuming process, transposing vision to stitched cloth is something that still sparks magic for me - I will always enjoy those exciting moments when wool starts to fill out the freshly sewn curves of a new patterns rounded tummy, or chubby pinchable knees! 

Like most doll makers, my inspiration was the joy of my own children. To create special unique toys that the would light up their faces with imagination when they held them, and as they grew up would always be looked upon with fondnes - wrapped in happy memories.

And though my dolls have wandered far from those simple floppy first attempts, I watch my two boys tending to their babies and smile knowing that at the heart of what I do, is the magic of childhood.

Styles change, fashions come and go, but the art of a simple kind faced doll will never ever be lost.

And so I was inspired this month to hark back to the core of my craft, to nurture a soul from cotton and wool, with gentle features and simple yarn hair - and baby Whistle was born.

Whistle captures the heart of doll making for me, she is sweet, unassuming and kind. Her face displays only love and tender reassurance. I hope that the warmth with which she was made, her trusting eyes and timid smile will invite true friendship with her new mother.

 Whistle is a little shy of 10 inches tall and made using my traditional sitting baby pattern.

Her creamy pale skin is quality de witte cotton, blushed with a little beeswax in all the right places!

She is filled with sweet devonshire wool ( there is something about this wool that smells so heavenly!) Her hair is crocheted tightly from rich copper mohair yarn finished with a tiny knitted bow headband. Whistle has all the features you would expect of a bigger doll, with stitched eyebrows, the littlest of ears for listening to your stories and a peachy bottom too.

She will come dressed in a lined floral nappy, pale pink bloomers, a dress with embroidered knit bodice and knit wool slippers. Whistle could not be without her pretty comforter, so naturally that will be wrapped to accompany her too. If you should like to adopt Whistle she will be hoping for entrants at the Enchanted Toybox this friday evening here.

Whistle marks an important time in my life and is most likely the last rtg doll I will have for quite some time, today is my last day in this house before we move in with my inlaws while we search for a new family home. It will be a time of disruption and uncertainty, but also of hope and togethernes. It meens that although I may be a little more absent online, and will certainly have less time to devote to creating dolls, I will be able to enjoy some time with my family, preparing for our future and the arrival of our own little baby this November! I thank you all for your enduring kindness and support, it lifts me up and revives my love for doll making on those more difficult days, and for that I will always be grateful. I wish you all a wonderful summer, hopefully with fair a wind and a bright star to sail by I will be back with you all soon!
Love as always, Scarlett xxx

Dreaming in the meadow

 

She takes me by the hand, wading through the tall grass, 

making little trails as we wander through the sunshine. 

We are going to her favorite place, where the aquilegias grow wild 

and the shade dapples the ground with peaceful cool. 

A place to while away the hours, and dream....

 

Her name is Lizzy, a tiny part of myself stitched in cloth, with hazle green eyes and summertime freckles. 

We enjoy the quiet times, with no words spoken, 

simply gazing upon the wonders of nature, knowing we need nothing more. 

 

 Lizzy will fly far, she is packed and ready to journey to a sweet doll maker friend of mine,

 to share stories, tea and biscuits untill someday I take a trip across the big pond  myself.

Love Scarlett xx

Three Beach Babes

The Ladybird family have been giddy with excitement today - with the sun shining and Mr Ladybird with a day off work ( thank you bank holiday! ) we were all up early ready for adventure. 

Well - I say ready - while dollies larked and skipped about - and helped the children to find buckets and spades, I set to making some sandwhiches for our picnic lunch and packing suncream and all the sort of essentials only mums seem to think of!

Through winding Cornish country lanes of cowslip and buttercups, before too long we had reached a pretty little beach with rolling sand dunes and a low tide promising treasures!

Constantine, Harlyn and baby Zennor are all named after Cornish beaches.

Constantine is the eldest, he is confident, with a tall tale or two to tell! He set straight away to conquer the tallest sand dune, with us all scrambling along behind!

Constantine

He has some noticeable changes to my usual dolly style, his body is a plumper pear shape, has a more defined neck and shapely legs. He also has needle felted eyes, which I think gives his face a lovely depth of character! 

Like all of us, he has his own quirks, he has a little trouble with tieing shoe laces, would absolutely rather be running than reading, and has one leg slightly fatter at the top than the other ( this of course - he tells me - is why he is so incredibly fast at running! )

Constantine is Cornish through and through, from his tousled surfer locks to his sandy toes, and we wouldn't have him any other way!

Harlyn,  when her eyes first gazed up at me, I saw a gentle, nervous soul - but I cant help but think that over the passed few weeks that shy little girl has emerged a graceful butterfly.

Harlyn

 

Harlyn has a gently sculpted face and the same new body style as her big brother.

Sadly in these few photos she is a little pouty, It would seem our sunshiney beach trip would not be without some drama!

For a moment or two I had closed my eyes, enjoying the gentle breeze and the sound of the rustling dune grasses when the peace was broken by the sound no mother wishes to hear! A shrill shrieking, of what was unmistakabley

Harlyn in trouble!

I raced down the dunes to the shore line where she had been paddling with her brother and scooped her up. Tears streaming and utterly inconsolable, Constantine running after us, tugging at my sleave, we hurried back to our little camp to calm her down. It was a few moments before I could make out what had happened. They had been watching a pretty creature swimming in the surf as they jumped the waves, and Harlyn had let her curiosity get the better of her! 

My poor darling had been stung by a jellyfish!

Fortunately as most mothers are - I was prepared with a little dolly first aid kit, and wimpering only a little, Harlyn bravely allowed me to tend to her poorly foot. Constantine dutifully inspected the little heart shaped plaster, and kindly sat with his sister untill she felt happy to play again.

Baby Zennor was thankfully quite oblivious to the whole episode, and hapily sat kicking her legs in the sand and watching the gulls flying overhead!

Zennor

With such a busy household, I have been extremely fortunate that Zennor is such a relaxed and easy going baby! She looks very much like her elder sister, with her deep brown eyes and thoughtful expression

Enjoying a little rest after their swim, each wears a baltic amber pendant.

After a long day playing and picnicking we headed home up the winding lanes. There was not a peep from anyone all the way home, for they were all fast asleep!

My three little beach babes will be looking for forever homes on Wednesday 27th of May in my shop

Betinne

Betinne is a girl as gentle as the spring sunshine.

Betinne is 14 inches tall, sewn from pale tan laib yala cotton and stuffed with sweet Devonshire wool.

She has deep brown eyes and her hair is a dainty cap of baby pink brushed mohair.

Like all Ladybird dolls she features embroidered eyebrows, ears, swirly belly button, a little bottom and blushed knee dimples.

This sweet girl will come dressed in the following:

Pointelle cotton undies

Gingam bloomers

Cotton undershirt

Embroidered roses dress with ribbon ties

Pure wool knit slippers with snap fastenings and contrast sole

Well mannered and eager to please, though quite prone to be overwhelmed by her feelings sometimes - Betinne is a delicate natured child who will need a home where she will get lots of cuddles!

Betinne is offered in my shop comment style untill 9am (est) monday.

Please note that due to her buttoned clothing and whispy hair this doll is suited to a child over four years old for gentle play, or to be loved by a dolly mama.

I ship from the UK - priority shipping is for UK residents, please select international shipping if you are outside the UK. All postage options include insurance.
Love Scarlett & Betinne xxx