When I was a kid

When I was a kid, I was a tomboy, as my Mom said. I played with my brother and his friends - we climbed trees - I was always up in a tree. We rode bikes. I rode horses and ponies wildly, and when I wasn't on a horse, I was pretending to BE a horse. Dirt and sticks and stones were my friends.

There is one picture of me though, pushing a doll in a baby carriage. Seriously? My hair is even neatly braided. No Way. I need to find that picture and frame it. :)

Sooo - I rarely played with dolls, if at all (unless you believe that one picture, which I don't). Is this why I am now fascinated with dolls of all sorts??

For example, I really really really want this one............

I don't even want to tell you where to find her. (fairiesnest) (there, I put that in there so that if you want to buy her for me for my birthday in November, you can....).

This guy would be awesome to take on adventures! You can find him at Merrydale Dolls, but I'd rather you didn't. :)

This adorable little cutie I managed to snag, from Princess Nimble Thimble. I play with her a lot. When I'm supposed to be workiing, muhahahahah!

And here's one that I yearn for...................from Ruprecht.

And of course it didn't help that I have no girl children. So if you're ever wondering what to get me for a present, now you have some ideas!!

Creative Friday

My sister in law loves Giraffes, and I love my sister in law. I've been branching out into more - unusual stuffed animals - so here's the two newest for this week.

yep, giraffe.

and Mole, like from Wind in the Willows.

You can find both at Woolies. :)

Acorn Pixies!

Quite a few years ago, I used to make Pixies out of bendable wire and felt, and wooden beads for their heads. There are quite a few wonderful shops on Etsy that make these adorable dolls. Including my teammates from the Natural Kids!

Anyway, I decided to try something a little different.

I have had a stash of wooden doll bodies for FOREVER. Finally, recently, I started playing with them. I'm not sure that I've perfected them yet, but I'm really having fun with them.

I have a wooden dollhouse, that sits up on a shelf in our living room. I am sure it is quite dusty. But these are the perfect dolls for that dollhouse.

Just wanted to share some of them with you - they are available in my Woolies shop!

I hope you like them!!

OMIGOSH! A Flying Pixie!!!

She flies! Watch out! I should say, she's learning to fly! She doesn't have anybody here who is a particularly good fly-er, so she has to learn on her own. So she keeps climbing up on tables and chairs and kitchen counters - and jumping! Her little wings go flappity-flappity-flap, and she actually stays up for a little while, then - crash!

I have to say, she is very brave.

Her name is Fiona. She's a hand knitted pixie-fairy. She's knitted from a mix of organic cottons, and wool/cotton blends. She's stuffed with clean carded wool. She has a flower in her hair, with neat and tidy (most of the time) little curls. She has a sweetly embroidered face, so she is safe for all ages - no buttons!

And - best of all - you can purchase her right here at my blog - look over to the right!

Please let me know if you have any questions! I do hope Fiona finds a good home, with lots of supervision while she learns to fly.

:0)

Natural Kids Giveaway - #5 !!!

Another in the series!

The Natural Kids is a team of Etsy shops that create items for Kids using natural materials.

These truly are heirloom pieces that your children will reach for again and again.

This is a bendy doll from Princess Nimble Thimble.


She's 2.5" tall and is a $10 value

Materials: wool felt, cotton threads, wooden bead, stainless steel and cotton chenille stem, nontoxic glue, nontoxic paints, nontoxic sealer, real acorn cap, chiffon fabric.







These are needle felted wool fairies from OritDotanDolls. You can read more about this item here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15323472

In Orit's words:

These needle felted wool fairies, these art dolls are friends to anyone who owns them.They are sitting in a part of dry tree fruit that measures 3in height and 4in width.You can place the tree fruit on a desk or hang it.The two little blessing fairies measured 6in high, made of super fine merino wool that colored with ecological colors [without heavy metals].You can enjoy their gentle and beauty.They decorate and bring good atmosphere.

These are valued at $30.

The Rules:

Visit each shop.

Princess Nimble Thimble

and

Oritdotandolls

Come back here, and leave a post with your favorite item from each shop.

This Giveaway will run for 2 weeks, and end on June 21st.

You MUST leave an email address for me to reach you.

Have fun! Enjoy all the beautiful items that these shops offer!

To search for other amazing Natural Kids items on Etsy - click here:

http://tinyurl.com/oxo4nh

Have a great day!

winner!!!

We have a winner of the latest Natural Kids Giveaway - Jinxyandme!

Congrats to Jinxyandme - and thanks to all who entered! New giveaway will start tomorrow - check back!

Natural Kids Giveaway - #4 !!!!

Natural Kids Giveaway #4 !!!

The Natural Kids is a team of Etsy shops that create items for Kids using natural materials. I'm in love with the items for this next giveaway - can I enter to win???


These truly are heirloom pieces that your children will reach for again and again. Total Prize Value is $65!!!



First we have PolarBear Creations Mini-Baby. I can imagine this baby being toted around all day, everyday.

Next is Pupa's cotton bunny. Safe for young children, as the face is simply embroidered. All natural and so beautiful.

Wee Blossom Babe from FaerieRebecca would bring joy to any young child's playtime.


The Rules:

Visit each of the 3 shops

Polar Bear Creations

Pupa

FaerieRebecca

Come back here, and leave a post with your favorite item from each shop. This Giveaway will run for 2 weeks, and end on May 130th. (Which is when the next one will start).

You MUST leave an email address for me to reach you.

Have fun!

Natural Kids On-Going Giveaway!

OOOOOO you're going to have lots of chances to win absolutely amazing natural children's items !!!!!!!!

The first round of the Natural Kids Giveaway features three shops ~ Nushkie, Natural Star and WrenWillow.

On Etsy, my Woolies shop is a member of The Natural Kids Team. We are a group of shops that make items for kids out of natural materials. You will find some of THE most georgeous, innovative, heirloom quality, imaginative, exciting.....there are not enough superlatives to express my amazement at the work and skill that goes into these toys and items.

So, every two weeks for the next few months, The Natural Kids Team is offering you a chance to win some of these amazing works of art.

The rules are simple.

Each giveaway will consist of 3 (THREE) shops giving away a prize.

You will have to visit each shop.

Then you will have to come back here and post about your favorite item from each shop.

*You can put all your favorites in just one post*

*Please* leave an email address or a link to your blog so I have a way to reach you if you are the grand prize winner.

The first giveaway starts April 1st and will run for 2 weeks - ending on April 14th at midnight.

The second giveaway will start on April 15 and run for 2 weeks - and so on. So if you don't win during the first round - you will have lots of chances.

SO - onto the details of the Natural Kids Giveaway #1!

The Shops to Visit are:

Nushkie

Natural Star

WrenWillow

There will be ONE winner during each giveaway. Each winner will receive all 3 items from the featured shops! Questions? Please let me know.

So head off to find your fav item from each shop; come back to my blog and post about it. Enjoy all the wonderful shops that are part of The Natural Kids Team!

We have a winner - JJ! Thanks to all who entered. Look on my blog for the next giveaway!

Nature's Enchantment Giveaway!

Rainbow Acorns! 6 Large Rainbow Acorns, needle felted wool for nature tables, waldorf inspired

Here are six large "acorns", made with real acorn tops and needle-felted bottoms. They are made using wool roving in the colors of the rainbow.

Haven't you ever seen a purple acorn?!

They each measure about 1-1 1/2" in length and are great for nature tables or seasonal tables.

All of the colors are primary, colors of the rainbow

A wonderful unique treasure!

CONTEST RULES:

1. Please VISIT Nature's Enchantment. (One of my all-time favorite Etsy shops!)

2. Pick your favorite item.

3. Come back to my Woolies blog and leave a comment with your favorite item.

4. NEW RULE: you must leave your email address, or blog address. If you do not want to post it here, you can contact me privately at either of my shops - here are the links to them:Buster and boo, or Woolies.Just because you have registered with blogger does not make your email address visible. If I cannot reach you, you cannot win.

5. Contest will end one week from today, September 7th at 12 midnight.

PS If you LOVE Nature's Enchantment, you will probably love all the other Natural Kids Team shops. You can search for them by going to the search bar on Etsy and typing in NaturalKids Team, or you can see a few of them by going to Natural Kids Store. All the members strive to bring you wonderful toys and children's products made from natural materials. Thank you!

the winner is MOONBEAM! #47 - thanks to all who entered!!

The Art of Needle Felting

I have such admiration for the artists that utilize the technique of needle felting! It is MUCH harder than it looks - I've taken two classes. In the first class, we needle felted a teddy bear. Such a dismal failure, that I didn't even care that our kitten got a hold of the teddy and shredded it.

My second class was much better, I did a bunny that is for sale in my etsy shop.

HOWEVER, check out Cozy Cottage Creations! Now, here is somebody who has truly perfected the fine art of needle felting. Her work is fabulous! The details are astounding. somebody already bit into that apple!

I'm going to go have strawberries for breakfast!!

Natural Kids

There is this awesome Etsy street team (a team of shops that have something in common) called Natural Kids. Many of the members are Moms; many do at-home schooling; many believe in the Waldorf tradition of teaching. Waldorf is a method of teaching - here is an excerpt from Wikepedia:

" Learning is interdisciplinary, integrates practical, artistic, and intellectual elements, and is coordinated with "natural rhythms of everyday life". The Waldorf approach emphasizes the role of the imagination in learning, developing thinking that includes a creative as well as an analytic component." Many of the shops on
Etsy that are members of Natural Kids make toys - all natural toys.
My stuffed animals fulfill the Waldorf principals (except for the
safety eyes - plastic is rather a no-no). Here are just a few -
feast your eyes! The little dolls are done by a wonderful shop
called germandolls She also makes custom, traditional waldorf dolls, like this one - if I only had a daughter.... one day I might need to get one just for me!
I just have to share some of these shops with you, because they amaze me. Let me know what you think, and I'll be featuring more soon!