Everything Is All White !

Everything has been bursting out so quickly this Spring it's hard to take it all in before it has faded away. I have been looking at white things lately , starting with my magnolia Stelatta

( which as I type has already shed it's starry blossoms and is turning green. ) However this dewy piece of Candy Tuft ( love that name ) is ready to take it's white place in my garden.

Turning my sights in to the house , I have always loved this bone china sugar bowl with it's

cherry blossom pattern.

And this plate whose design is called 'Sweet Nancy', is another Spring delight. This is the only piece I have ever managed to find and as my elder daughter shares this name I would love to find more.

My sellotape man makes me smile every day ...

And this fungal looking photo is actually the top of my flour shaker.

This one's a jug called a 'Glugger' , so called because of the sound it makes when pouring.

Still in the kitchen and this is the sea side cup and saucer I keep my chalk in ( white of course ! )

All this white has gone to my head and here is my latest dolly - the first one with 'real' hair

and rather slimmer round the waist. Think I might call her Alba.

Happy Spring Days !

Paris in the Springtime

Have recently been to Paris for a few days for shopping and inspiration !

Join me as we walk around window shopping ... this was a lovely vintage shop with old dolls and the silk flowers in the foreground are an old hat.

These are some delightful hanging fabric babies on ribbons - the smaller ones are in walnut shells.

Two old signs found in a traditional pharmacy.

This was a great bead shop in the Marais district just behind the Pompidou Centre. They take a long lunch hour so go early morning or after 3 !

Had to buy some patisserie of course ...

Have come back with some great fabrics and habadashery from Entree Des Fournisseurs

which is also in the Marais at 8, Rue des Francs Bourgeois. It is just full of the most beautiful things ; kits, ribbons , off cuts, needlework boxes, scissors and tools and the best selection of buttons I've seen for a long time - take your credit card !

This bundle will be worked into some of my garden embroideries I think ...

These fine trimmings will make some fairy very happy ...

Will be making more of these little ladies with my finds ! If anyone has any interesting cotton reels to give away there is a free fairy to be posted ...

A flock of fairies

This wonderful Spring sunshine has spurred me on to show off some new fairies from the up and coming Spring / Summer collection ( by which I mean my collection in various shoe boxes of fairies I have been stashing away with the sunnier weather in mind ... the snowflake and frosted ones are put on the top shelf to hibernate ! )

Above we have the butterfly girls - they are 2 inches high with a wing span of 2.5 - 3 inches.

They are embroidered and bejewelled and have hand painted silk wings and are £10 each.

Next up ( and I'm really pleased with these ) are my cotton reel fairies. I think they look really cute standing up proud and true on their little wooden plinths. Their little feet hook neatly in to the hole ( and they can be prised out to hang on their silver thread hanger. ) They are embroidered with tulle and metallic lace , their wings are embroidered organza and tulle and they are carrying paper rose wands. They are £20 including the cotton reel. I shall now be raiding boot sales and markets for these obsolete objects ...

Next in line are my sitting fairies ( also on wooden reels. ) These are made with pink and white chiffon and are wired to sit and bend. They have stiff paper wings and a satin pink rose at their waist. All my fairies are made in limited editions and are never exactly the same as I have to get on to the next piece of fabric that inspires me , so there are only 3 pink and two white of these. Priced at £15 with the reel.

Latest fairy fashion is this seasons flower hats ... these girls are 3 inches high, have stiff paper wings, silk fibre hair, and are wearing coloured tights ( not easy to fit on this scale I can assure you ! ) Price £13.



Coming soon to my website bettybibdolls.com are some bigger 9 inch fairies as well as some of the smaller ones featured here.

Happy Spring days and keep on fairy spotting !

A splash of colour

Have just got back from soaking up the colours in Thailand ( and was lucky enough to miss

the big freeze here ! ) I had a go at the incredible Thai art of vegetable carving ... I hasten to add the watermelon below is being carved by the teacher , not me .It's an amazing feat of controlling a very sharp knife and cutting from the right direction and at the right angle. I thought I might be o.k at it as I love to fiddle with small details and am obviously quite dexterous with the models I make - but this is something else and it really is awe inspiring to watch it being done by a master.

Here by contrast is my feeble effort of carving a carrot and cucumber in to a flower and a leaf !
Here's a view of the kind of knife you need to use and some of the mess I made in the process.

After carving the shapes are refreshed in cold water - and here is what they should like !

I have brought back a special serrated peeler and will try and practise in the privacy of my own home . I have dreams of a summers day and making an afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches suitably adorned with carved cucumber leaves ... a nice thought to have in the gloom of February !

Jumping from vegetables to the traffic in Bangkok which is notoriously slow moving , smelly and congested , but just look at the lip stick pink taxis ...

... and with all the other bright colours winking in the sun they somehow manage to look like Dinky cars in a toy shop display. I just love the vibrancy of this city but am now paying for this pleasure with the ensuing jet lag - so I hope this post is making sense !

I was looking forward to coming back to making my spring/ sumer collection of fairies and dolls but I've been offered a try out for a picture book - a re working of Snow White , which could be a great project if it comes to anything ... will let you know !

End of alphabet and new website !

At last I have reached the end of what has been a very long project ! Have really enjoyed painting these plants with their letter frameworks but have had to have a break every now and then as it has been quite intensive ( especially as some letters have been more difficult than others and I've had to do them more than once ! ) 'X' is a depiction of Xanthus ( cocklebur ) and seems to be the only plant that begins with that letter - a bit of a cheat as I have used the common name for all the rest of them.
The above is 'Y' for yarrow and below is 'Z' for zinnia and I don't know if I have mentioned that I have slogged dutifully to the end as they are due to be made into a range of cards for Cherry Picked For You and will be launched in May.

Here are some of the dolls that have already been printed up and will also be officially launched with the alphabet. They are available on my New Website ! bettybibdolls.com it has fairies on it as well ( I shall be updating this part with my new collection in April / May. )

Must away now to try and work out how I put a link between this blog and the web site !

Other New Years Resolutions are to join Face Book and Twitter to get the news out there and try and find like minded doll, teddy and fairy lovers ... please spread the word !