Oops.

I have definitely been falling behind in the blogging world. Sorry! Life is crazy and hectic, and I'm doing my best just to stay on top of things, and above all to hang out with, and really appreciate my littles. Sweet Pea has just 5 days of school left this year. It's so hard to believe! She's very nearly reading, she can ALMOST tie her shoes, and (worst of all!!) she has four loose teeth!! She'll be five years old in just under a month. She is astonishing, and beautiful, and capable, and so very tall! Boober is 2.5. He is toilet trained (well, day trained, anyway), he makes sentences with lots of words, he tries very hard to do 24 piece puzzles but can't quite get there, and is convinced that he is a big boy, and can do everything his own self!! He is determined, so skinny his pants won't stay up (no matter what size I try!), fearless, and his smile is the brightest thing I've ever seen. I love knowing these little individuals.

 But we're not here to catch up on my littles, now are we? No. We are here to prepare for the third annual Making Friends giveaway!
I haven't made any final decisions just yet.
I was thinking perhaps a doll? But then maybe a dragon? Or the sheep are pretty cute too . . . . Maybe some doll clothes? Or a gift certificate for the shop?

What do you think? What would you like to see for the giveaway this year?

More Dolls!

Check this pretty lady out!

A 14" custom order - mixed rainbow hair which looks awesome with her sunshine-themed top!

This was my 62nd Waldorf doll. Every so often I count them all up. She's arrived at her new home, and is hanging out, waiting for a birthday.

And then this little one happened -- a 10" custom order.

Her pink and purple outfit is just adorable!

I'm just about done with the queued dolls for the spring -- soon I'm hoping to put some lambs, monkeys and mermaids in the shop!

Sisters!

Have I ever told you how much I love my work? Sure it can be demanding and challenging, but that's a great big part of the fun. The best part, though, is working closely with some really awesome people to bring dream dolls to life. I recently had the opportunity to work very closely with an Alaskan mom to bring her two daughters some really fantastic dolls.

First, we came up with Milly.

Milly's dress just slays me. The bugs! So cute! Milly has (I believe) just met her little girl this week. I hope they're fast friends!

After Milly, we turned our collective attention to doll #2 -- Teagan.

Teagan is going to a bigger girl, so she's actually got TWO outfits. One is her rainbow dress,

and the other . . . .

. . . is this great mermaid costume! I think there will be many happy hours of play ahead for Teagan and Milly and their girls.

Things kind of blew up there!

Mid-January, something very exciting happened. Making Friends was mentioned, and linked in an online article about natural toys. 

Super! It took less than three days for my queue to fill to mid-April. I actually had to suspend custom orders of 10" jointed dolls, because the wait was getting out of hand. I like to aim for 8 weeks of waiting, maximum.

With these orders, there has been a touch of drama (why is all the red hair coloured yarn in the world suddenly synthetic? I shouldn't have to look so long and hard for this!), and a whole lot of fun and excitement. Just last night, I finished a really adorable little girl doll. I think she's absolutely perfect. This is Bea:

Bea is short for Beatrix. It means bringer of happiness. I couldn't imagine a better name!

Bea will be joining her new family soon. I'm sure she and her little girl will be great friends. And I bet Bea gets to have the most exciting adventures ever!

Heading out with Bea is this little baby dragon.

He's stuffed with wool, making him an all-natural playmate for a very special little boy. And there's something special about this dragon, too! He has a heart.
Little C has a heart murmur. His dragon has a heart in his chest too. They are both brave and strong fellows with big hearts. I've been really honoured to make these 2 incredibly personal, meaningful toys for 2 really amazing littles. Thanks for making me part of that, K! 

A comparison.

I now have 3 similar-ish skin tones in my repertoire. There's fair, which you can see in the left column. Sunny is in the middle. Peachy is on the right.

So now I'm faced with a decision - do I keep peachy, or cut it from the roster? I think having choice is great -- but peachy skin can look orange if it's not paired with exactly the right hair and eyes. It's a bit of a delicate balance, and can be a real challenge.

Sunny Skye

Last Wednesday was a big, exciting day around here. It had the potential to be a sad, stressful day - Thursday was my return to (corporate) work date - but instead . . . THINGS happened!
First, Making Friends got a mention in an article. Amazing! Then, my long-awaited new skin tones arrived in the mail! I was so excited to see them that I pulled a muscle in my neck craning to see the postal van in my driveway.

As a testament to my excitement, I couldn't even wait to get started on a new, sunny-skinned doll. And so Sunny Skye came to be.

I've been aching to make a striped rainbow doll for quite a while now. I love doing custom work - I really do. Bringing a customer's vision to life, delighting children and their parents. It's really rewarding - but there's something to be said for having the space to be creative and just do whatever I want, too.

I love the way Sunny turned out so much that her photo shoot took extra long. I had to stop and play with her between shots. HAD to.

Seriously. The pig-tails had to happen.
I love the buttons on the back of the shirt. They are purely decorative, but they really up the cuteness factor of the shirt, I think.

Sunny is available for purchase on Etsy.  She's going to make a great best friend for someone lucky!

2 more pretty ladies!

The first Waldorf dolls of 2013!

First there was Mandy.

She's just adorable. I really love the strawberry blonde colour of her hair, and her starry shirt.
Here's what her new bff/momma thinks of her:

"She is in serious dolly adoration mode but so far, Mandy is her current favorite. I always ask her who she wants to take to bed with her and she’s taken her new doll both nights."

 Awww! That's so awesome to hear!

Next there was Katy:

Katy is still in transit, so I can't tell you how she went over just yet . . . but the colours on this girl . . . DANG! She's so fun and cheerful! I can't, for even one minute, imagine that she won't be hit.

Sadly, I didn't get to see many pics of kids enjoying their new dolls and toys - but I DID get lots of messages telling me how they were well-received, well-loved, and about the bonds they are forming with their children. Thanks to those of you who took the time to write. You make me smile!