Henry Makes Herself at Home

Henry has been with us a couple of weeks and is starting to make herself at home.  I knit her a cozy sweater and she has started to put up some posters and unpack her National Geographic collection.  I think my favourite think about collecting dolls is figuring out their personalities and making all their stuff.

Djeco Dollhouse Families and Furniture (Review)

Jaybird has a Lundby dollhouse that she really loves, but we don't have any of the Lundby furniture or doll sets to go with it. It is mostly furnished with Calico Critters furniture, which is a bit off-scale, but it's not too bad.  Jaybird is not really a fan of the Lundby people, so I was very excited to find these Djeco dollhouse families, which are basically the same scale as Lundby (in the 1:16 to 1:18 range).  We purchased 2 of the families for her birthday in November.

The "Milo et Lila" family is definitely our favourite:

But I was so taken by the hipster-looking dad of the "Gaspard et Romy" family that I got them too.  Unfortunately, the daughter looks a bit mean and the mother looks like a Stepford wife.  She actually spends most of her time lying down under one of the beds in the Lundby, as Jaybird thinks she looks like she is about to crack under the pressures of modern life.  The little boy is quite cute.

It is actually nice having the two families, as they can be mixed together.  Here is a photo in the Lundby house.  The table and chair set is also from the Djeco dollhouse range and I love the modern look.  The dolls are jointed at the knees, which is great for posing.  The fridge and counter in this scene are Calico Critters (Sylvania Families), and you can see they are a bit small, but not horrible.

I wasn't able to find the Djeco dollhouse families or furniture in North America, so I ordered from "Avenue des Jeux" in France.  The order came quite quickly.

If you are bothered by the cartoony look of the Gaspard et Romy family, Djeco also has the "Tomas et Marion" family, which is done in a style similar to the Milo et Lila family.

Here are a couple more photos of the Djeco dolls.  The motorcycle/sidecar and bicycle are both Calico Critters.  I am very happy we found these little dolls for our Lundby!

Meet the Manta Ray Family - New Knitting Pattern!

Every year I make Christmas Eve gifts for my 2 kids.  This year, Jaybird's gift included a cute little manta ray pencil topper.

What started out as one manta ray quickly turned into several, and now there is a whole family:  Charles, Martha, and Little Sunny Ray.

They work as finger puppets (they don't bite too hard), pencil/marker toppers and desk buddies.

If you are looking for a quick, quirky knit, the pattern for the Manta Ray Family is available on Ravelry, Craftsy and Etsy.

A New Year

Well, my poor blog, for which I had such good intentions, has been sorely neglected. I intend to get back on track. Lottie and Riley's adventures can be found on my Flickr stream, and Jones got a new puppy! "Spock" is from Iplehouse. Hopefully Jones managed to track down a tennis ball.





A new girl has also moved in! She is a Secretdoll Person #21 and her name is Henry (short for Henrietta, but she's says don't even go there).  I love how quirky Secretdoll Persons are. Henry was a Christmas gift from my family.  I don't know a lot about her yet, but she is 13 years old and loves mysteries.  She sat right down at the desk to write her New Year's resolutions. Resolutions are always best with milk and cookies!


 


I resolve to be better at updating my blog! I am now reaching for a cookie.

Lottie Makes a Friend. Sort of.

Lottie:  Hi, I'm Lottie Crew!  Who are you?   Dorothy?

Riley:  My name is not Dorothy.  It is Riley O'Reilly.

Lottie:  You know, your dog looks like a slinky.

Riley:  You know, your chicken looks dead.

Lottie:  (long pause) Riley O'Reilly is kind of a weird name.

Riley:  At least is doesn't rhyme with "snotty".





Lottie Crew may enjoy Trix and a good mystery story, but Riley O'Reilly prefers historical fiction and Puffed Wheat.





Lottie Plans Her Next Move:

OK, Wubba.  She has been sitting there all day reading "Little House in the Prairie" and eating Puffed Wheat.  I think we should go ask her if she wants to play.





Lottie Tries Again:

Lottie:  Hi Riley O'Reilly.  Want some Trix?

Riley:  I don't eat sugary cereal.  That stuff will kill you.

Lottie:  Oh.  Want to play "Spy Girl"?

Riley:  I'm not really into "Spy Girl".  I'm more into "Pioneer Girl".

Lottie:  Oh.  Well, you could go fetch water from the river and I could keep watch from the tree with my binoculars!

Riley:  OK.  But Lottie, don't get eaten by a mountain lion before I get back.

Meet Riley.

It quickly became obvious that Lottie needed a friend.  So, enter Zinochika!

A bit strange looking out of the box, but I got to work and a few days later she became Riley!




The question is, will she get along with Lottie?

Lottie Gets Into Trouble.

She is a bit impulsive.  I have to keep my eye on her.

OK Wubba, if we poke small holes in the wall with the screwdriver, Mom won't even notice.  And then we will find the Hidden Staircase!




You know what Wubba?  I think Mom's gonna notice these holes.  Nancy never had problems like this.  We'd better eat some Trix while we figure out what to do.