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Take A Cup!

February 19, 2013, 2:29 am
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Dear reader,

There are days like today, where I wish I had huge stocks of giggle tea in the pantry.
There are days like today, where I would definately need more than just one cup...
When I opened the door to my little studio this morning, pestilential vapours welcomed me.
Like old rubber boots. To be more correct - like a dead mouse in old rubber boots.

We tried to locate where that malodour came from, and it is certainly a dead mouse somewhere behind wooden wainscotings of the ceiling. Guess who was hysterically moving out everything within a few seconds, still in her nightgown!

Fortunately, I store everything in boxes, so yarn and fabrics are safe. But no way I could work in there! The guy from the local pest control tried to calm me down. One week, he said, and the smell will be gone in the room. A 130 years old cottage has certainly more than just one dead mouse behind wooden panels and wainscotings, he said. Open the window and put vinegar in bowls. 
(Well, thanks for the encouragement!)

Some people think that working in crammed living rooms is cozy, especially with a crackling fireplace. Especially with lots of boxes with pretty yarns and fabrics. 

I count my bruises. 
I try to calm myself. 
One week and the smell will be gone in my workspace. 
We are moving house very soon anyway. To a place that is more than 170 years old. 
Which makes an age difference of 40 years and probably a few more mummified mice, frogs and other creatures to deal with...

I am going to have a cup of giggle tea now. And then another, probably. If I can make it to the kitchen through the floor-to-ceiling high stacks of boxes ;-)

Warmly,

Juliane
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All Those Small Things

February 20, 2013, 3:43 am
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Dear reader,

I love to find things rather than to have things. I love the tingling feeling of excitement when I have spent half an hour at a thrift store and then, just when I am about to leave, I find a teeny tiny something.

I am preparing for a bigger project (some of you have been knowing about it for quite some time, others have an inkling of it, I am sure). For this project I have been keeping my eyes open quite a lot. Usually I do not buy new things, instead I found small dishes, vintage doilies, doll candles, basket at flea markets and charity shops.
I know that most people think that doll makers usually hoard a lot of stuff (not only dolls). My fabric stash fits in two boxes, I have a chest of drawers for ribbons, buttons and the like, and I am quite good at only buying new supplies if I really need something. With craft books, vintage wallpaper on rolls, with several sewing machine and boxes with wool batts for dolls, I do dream of a larger workspace though. A creative mind can never have enough space...

Fortunately, most of my projects require rather small things. For Kiki´s Smultron Cottage, I store everything in boxes. Like in a props storage room, I like to sort those things, baskets here, all the different bed linen there, one box for kitchen things, another one for her Christmas decorations. 
All these props are neatly sorted and labelled to make it easier to work with. For those of you who were wondering, I do not have a fully equipped oversized cottage standing around, I put it up when I work, equip and decorate it, just like I would if I was working in theatre.  
For you who worry that I pay the thrift stores a visit far too often (because I mention it every now and then), I do not always buy something. Like that tingling feeling when I find something, I love to watch others who find something pretty. The other day, three ladies rejoiced at vintage lace collars at the charity shop. I would have liked to take them home (the lace collars, notabene, not the ladies ;-) but oh! how I love the feeling when someone else is the lucky finder and I am happy for them! 

Warmly,

Juliane

P.S. Funny enough, when I looked up the English term for props storage room for this post, from thousands of theatres the English Wikipedia had chosen a photo of the props storage room at Nationaltheatre in Mannheim, Germany. I have been working there as an actress and puppeteer in 2005/ 2006 and did the puppet design for a large Christmas performance, I know these rooms very well ;-)




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Dutch Love

February 26, 2013, 3:17 am
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Dear readers,

those of you who have been following this blog for a little while, do certainly know that I like quite a few Dutch specialities. Tulips, Fiep Westendorp, river Amstel, Hagelslag, gouda cheese, just to name a few...
Just recently, a new series of beautiful fabrics took it into my heart - Dutch Love by Hamburger Liebe (with Hilco as manufacturer). I love the tulip and heart patterns, they add a nostalgic touch to the fabrics. I am always on the hunt for EN-71-certified materials (those toy safety regulations that cause me and my fellow doll makers quite a few sleepless nights) and wish that fabric manufacturers would make it easier for their customers and provide us with the certificates we need for our files. Guess how big my smile was when I found these fabrics!

The Dutch Love series comes with several pretty patterns, both as (cotton) poplin and jersey and looks pretty on children clothes, swinging summer skirts and flowery dresses.
I have added four Little Mi sets to my webshop today - with a lot of Dutch Love (and a Swedish winter breeze)

Warmly,

Juliane

Update: All four sets have found a new home. Thank you!
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DIY - Sunday Collar for your doll

March 12, 2013, 9:34 am
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Dear reader,

as promised some time ago, a DIY on how to make a pretty detachable collar for your doll.

You can download the pattern and instruction here (as a pdf). 
The collar is super easy to make and fits Fröken Skicklig dolls size 45cm-60cm.
The collar pretties up your doll´s Sunday best
and looks gorgeous together with a simple t-shirt or blouse.
It would make a cute little gift for a doll tea party or Spring picnic.
You can easily enlarge or reduce this pattern and adjust the size for any doll. 
Just make sure that the neckline is wide enough.

The collar looks pretty with satin and lace, wool felt, vintage linen or even paper doilies (as a super quick-fix) - it is a lot of fun to experiment! Download the pattern here.

Warmly,

Juliane

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Far from eye, far from heart

March 14, 2013, 7:15 am
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Dear reader,

Do you have an annual spring cleaning routine?
Do you sort out craft books, air fabrics, count skeins of wool?

I have a monthly studio cleaning routine (not only in Spring). Whenever I find something that I am certainly never going use for a craft project, I give it to the charity shop or the local school (they are always happy to receive a bag with colourful fabric scraps and yarn leftovers). This monthly routine is very important to me as it is one of my personal secrets to maintain my creativity.

I love textures, colours, scents and sounds (yes, each fabric does have a specific sound).
But I can only love all those buttons, laces, fabrics in my stash tough if I know where I have them. That they exist and are part of my stash. And how much of all those buttons, laces, fabrics I have.


 I can´t love the fabric that has been hiding at the very bottom of a moving box for years, or the vintage button card that is one out of many in a big plastic bag because I don´t know that they exist, that they are part of my stash. They wouldn´t inspire me, I would have forgotten where I bought them, which story they have, if they were a gift or a lucky find at a summery flea market.
I know that there are people who work best with a huge stash, with lots of dusty boxes and brimful drawers. My creativity doesn´t work that way though.

All those buttons, laces, fabrics in my stash are like the characters in a theatre play. They sit behind curtains, in the wings of the stage, and wait for their entry. Some play a bigger role, others have a minor part. But each of them has been chosen with an eye for the detail, with a lot of love. 
 As the writer of the play, I see my cast waiting in those wings, and the scenery changes, but all of them fit in, they know their entry and so do I.

Far from eye, far from heart.
 
I would be a bad director if I wouldn´t know my cast. If everything was in plastic bags and dusty boxes. I also know that there is limited space behind the scenery, and I want every button, lace and fabric to enjoy the show. This is why there are never too many of them. This is why I don´t have drawers with stuff that I keep just in case. This is why I make sure that each part of my stash has a role, small or big, that each button, lace or fabric has been selected with my play in mind.

I like to keep the materials I use for my dolls close to my heart. It is one of the reasons why it is a bittersweet feeling to wave goodbye to a doll - and at the same time to wave goodbye to buttons, lace and fabrics that I have kept for years. Like small treasures, each of them telling a story that is part of a play. 

To love my stash is something I need to maintain my creativity.

Warmly,

Juliane

P.S. Thank you for your nice emails (and Facebook comments) on tuesday´s post!
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Oh! The Snow!

March 16, 2013, 6:54 am
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If it continues snowing
Like this, says Kiki
I might no longer make it
Through the front door

Due to all the snow?
I ask, nibbling a cookie
Pish posh, says Kiki
Because of my tummy
Because when it snows
I will spend the next weeks
By the crackling fireside, and my tummy 
Will get bigger than big

From all the cookies
And all those apple cakes
The cinnamon buns 
And the hot cocoa

And in the end
Says Kiki (with a sigh)
I will no longer make it 
Through the front door
In a way, I say
This is quite a nice image
Sounds cozy,
If you ask me

I could bring you
All the things you need
If you no longer would fit
Through the front door

Dried apples 
And cake crumbs
A piece of chocolate
Or something to read

Hmmm, says Kiki
What a generous offer
But let´s hope that winter 
won´t last forever

Would be nice 
To be able to make it
Through the front door
For a sunny walk in Spring

Then Kiki puts another
Log on the fire
While the tea kettle whistles 
A merry melody

***
We are expecting a heavy snowstorm in the coming days, and like Kiki, I sit by the fireplace with hot cocoa (and my yarn basket). Winter is wonderful, no question, but it would be nice if Spring would be here before I do no longer can make it through the front door due to too much cake ;-)

Have a sunny weekend everyone! 

Juliane
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Fröken Skicklig´s photos...

March 18, 2013, 3:26 am
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Dear reader,

due to several requests I have made some of my Kiki in the Meadow photographs available as prints on RedBubble (more photos coming soon). So from now on, you can order these photos as greeting cards, posters or framed prints - just click on your favourite image in the shop and choose the product.

My work as a doll maker usually keeps me pretty busy and instead of having all those posters and cards printed myself, and instead of then writing all those envelopes, packing small postcards and prints and bringing them to the post office, I´d rather spend my time on sewing and on new ideas to share with you on my blog. 
RedBubble is a good option for all of you who´d like to buy one of my photos as a print. Their team makes sure that your order gets printed and shipped as soon as possible - and I have time to sew a doll dress or two, stuff limbs and write blog posts. A win-win for both you and me!

Click here for more info.

Warmly,

Juliane

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Believe it or not

March 22, 2013, 4:24 am
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Believe it or not, dear reader,
Despite snow drifts and chilly winds,
The first harbingers of Mister Spring
Tell us that he is just a little late this year
But he will come, that´s for sure!







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Flowerbeds

March 23, 2013, 4:54 am
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Goodness, Kiki, I say
You are in full spate!
Full spade it is, Kiki replies
And takes a deep breath
Have you really taken leave 
Of your senses, my dear?
Look at all the soil! The dirty bed!
And your wet cushions!
Steady on, says Kiki, I just
Have made a nice flowerbed!
If you would be so kind
And reach me another thimble?
And why on earth is it as hot
As in a saucepan in here? I ask
Why not? says Kiki with a grin
Nice and warm for the sprouts!
I was also thinking, says Kiki
I might grow a cherry tree in here
I saved three cherry stones
From yesterday´s pudding
 
 And then? I ask, aghast
Then I could pick cherries
From the edge of my bed
Says Kiki, with a chuckle

I see, Spring has come
Always a bee in your bonnet...
I say, and fill another thimble
With soil and four pumpkin seeds

***

Dear reader, 

I wish you a sunny and springlike weekend - why not start planting a bit indoors?
My gardening book says "Prepare the flowerbeds at the end of March". 
Kiki has taken it a bit too literally, who could blame her?
Looks as if I will have to do a serious cleaning at Smultron Cottage though ;-)

Warmly,

Juliane

P.S. You can find some of my images at Redbubble where you can order your own Kiki in the Meadow greeting cards, posters and framed prints. As a postcard, today´s photos would make a nice little gift together with a package of flower seeds or tulip bulbs for someone you´d like to surprise with a Spring breeze...
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Wake up with the Birds

March 26, 2013, 1:03 am
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To wake up with the birds, 
to enjoy the soft morning light and the crispy air, 
is one of life´s most simple pleasures.

Every spring I remind myself to gather more of these magic mornings.
When everyone else is still asleep. When I stand in the garden, with my pajama pants tucked into my winter boots and with the soft March sunlight on my nose. When a morning chill is crawling under my (always to thin) coat...
I hold my breath. I listen to the little bird in the blackthorn thicket. And I smile.

Whenever I have a lot to do on my work table and very little time for myself, these spring mornings give me a creative boost. Even if it is only a few moments, like a few drops of a magic remedy, I feel refreshed and full of energy...

I wish you a beautiful day, dear reader -  do not forget to gather a few moments like these. 
It is spring ;-)

Juliane
A Little Mi hot-water bottle and doll set that I recently made for someone who loves birds...
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Happy Easter

March 31, 2013, 6:47 am
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Happy Easter! 
...and happy spring days - enjoy the sun and the twittering of the birds

Warmly,

Juliane

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Initials

April 4, 2013, 5:31 am
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Dear reader,

Do you remember thisblog post? 
Look what I found in the mail:
"(...) we have a very special cupboard with a lots of drawers filled with these cotton tapes with intials. Except from mine, of course (...)"  

These vintage cotton tapes with my initials were a little gift from a dear reader. And as you could read, somewhere in Haarlem, Netherlands, there is a magic cupboard filled with lots of precious things such as woven initials. I am afraid, there is something like a law of nature though (or a secret law of sewing boxes) saying that you will never be able to find your own initials but the ones of someone else. Someone who would appreciate such treasures pretty much.

Thank you, dear Reina ♥

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Work Table Details: Soft Spot

April 7, 2013, 7:14 am
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I have a soft spot
for soft spots 
♡
Work table detail: doll bum


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Six Swans

April 12, 2013, 5:51 am
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It has been rainy all day
From my window I can see
Six swans on the field
Soon, soon
Spring will come!
The feathery visitors keep telling me
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Save those Scraps

April 13, 2013, 12:54 am
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Dear reader,

Call me stingy, parsimonious, call me a penny pincher, I don´t mind.
When it comes to my consumption of fabric, haberdashery and the like, thriftiness rules. 
(Which, I think, is one of the doll maker´s sublime virtues).

I have a box where I keep leftovers from sewing projects. Tiny bits and pieces of fabric, soft jersey, wool, dotted cotton prints. Bits of yarn, the ribbon a birthday gift was wrapped with, a single button.
I keep such things. Just in case. 
 
A twinge of stinginess can be quite healthy. If I would count together the amount of fabric scraps that I else would throw away, it would add up to several meters per year. I usually buy a lot of organic fabrics and it would feel particularly wrongheaded to invest in good materials for the sake of the environment - and wasting twenty percent of it.  

I do not believe that creativity coupled with parsimony works very well. You won´t find me winding thread remnants on a spool and keeping every teeny tiny snippet of fabrics for more frugal times when we have to tighten our belts. But if fabric scraps are large enough to be used for a little appliqué, to cover buttons or to be used as trimmings on a small doll dress, they end up in my remnant box, neatly sorted by colour. 

While I would always be hesitant to cut a piece for a small dolly dress sleeve from a large roll of cloth, I feel much more creative if I can rummage through fabric leftovers and find the perfect scrap for a trimming. And I do love the sweet sound of tinkling vintage buttons in a jar...
The other day, a customer expressly asked for that stripey red-white jersey above for their custom-made Kiki in the Meadow doll. I was in a real fix, my usual fabric stash is not very big, and there was no time to order a few meters of new fabric. 

In the end, a few stripey scraps reappeared in my remnant box. I had to fiddle a bit, but together with pink trimmings, the dress turned out nicely, and I even found some other matching jersey to make undies from. Good for the doll - it would seem rather rude to go regimental when visiting your new home for the first time. No doll leaves this house without undies, just for the record ;-)

Have a sunny weekend!

Juliane

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DIY Doll Panties (free pattern)

April 14, 2013, 4:43 am
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Dear readers,

remember what our grandmas told us?  
Wear fresh undies every day, you just don´t know what might happen. With bad luck, you´ll end up at the hospital with a broken leg - and in all that misery you should at least be wearing nice panties! 

With this in mind, my dolls never travel without underwear to their new homes (you just don´t know what might happen on such a long journey in a cardboard box). Because of that and because it is fun to make pretty panties for dolls, I thought I´d share a little DIY with you on how to sew doll undies.

You can download the free pattern and instructionshere.
The panties will fit a Fröken Skicklig doll size 45-50cm. My dolls have large hands and feet, this is why these undies have comfy leg openings, but they should fit a lot of other cloth dolls of the same size as well.

You can easily adjust the size by printing the pattern larger or smaller. Please make sure your printer is set to A4 as a paper format (and not to U.S. letter).
The fabric has to be elastic (or else the panties won´t fit) and you have to use a ballpoint sewing machine needle. I have used elastic picot trimmings, but it works pretty well with a stripe of jersey, too, especially if you want to make knickers for dolly boys.

You do not necessarily have to sew these panties on an overlock. Most modern sewing machines have an elastic stitch, both a kind of overlock stitch (without the sharp knife) as well as a triple elastic straight stitch. I usually use both my overlock machine and the normal sewing machine because it can get a bit fiddly with the elastic trimmings. If your machine is a bit older, an ordinary zig-zag stitch will do as well (also for the top stitching). Try on a piece of jersey first to make sure the seams are elastic enough and adjust tension/ stitch width and length if needed.

Please note that the pattern itself is for personal, non-commercial use only. 
You are welcome to spread the word and link back to this tutorial though ;-)

Happy sewing!

Juliane


P.S. Thank you, Saskia, for having taken a look at my instructions written in English :-)

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Al Fresco Sewing

April 16, 2013, 8:17 am
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 Dear reader,

my favourite work environment is a table under the apple tree
bumblebees in the flowerbeds
lots of sunshine and a warm spring breeze
a purring cat and bird twitter in my ear 
(note: cat is friendly, birds high up in the trees and sky, there´s no danger)
the scent of warm soil and fresh laundry

 
After almost half a year, I could open the door to my second workspace, our garden.
I truly missed it to sit outside, in the sunshine, and work al fresco. 
I am quite convinced that the red on doll cheeks looks much fresher when they have been sewn together on a sunny spring day! 

Note to self: 
Never put coffee glasses on your work table. Especially not next to a pile of fabrics.
Doll makers rule #34

Have a sunny afternoon!

Juliane

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Morning Treasures

April 17, 2013, 1:02 am
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two wrens in the blackthorn thicket
five new crocuses
seven lady´s mantle leaves, pleated like my Sunday dress
thirteen sparkling beads of dew
(I might have lost count with the latter)
  
morning treasures




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I'll count till three...

April 18, 2013, 11:15 am
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I´ll count till three...

and if you haven´t 
put on your pyjamas
brushed your teeth
and combed your hair
...

Now get under those covers right now or there won't be any bedtime story tonight!

 ***

I am sorry, dear reader, I do have to count till three sometimes. It can be way too noisy before bedtime here. 
These three giggly girls can be found in mywebshop.
 (Update: All sets sold immediately. Thank you)
I promise, they usually behave. It is just today that they are a bit wild, I am afraid. 

;-) 
 


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My Little Blue Lion

April 20, 2013, 1:35 pm
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You know what? I say, and nibble on an apple, while Bo is clipping the hedge. 
I could play anywhere but in the forest behind the house! 
Why's that? Bo says.
And I take a deep breath: 
Cos it's dangerous to play all alone in the forest!

Dangerous? Bo says. It's just a sunny little grove between your house and mine.
Takes thirtyfourandahalf steps from my fence to your garden gate!

But, I say, quite insistent, dangers are all around! 
Dangers? Bo replies, while clipping a bush.
I take another deep breath and whisper:
The other day, a squirrel nearly bit my finger! 
And on my way home, the fox tried to drag me into his den!
No way!! Bo says.

Oh, yes! I reply. And my voice is shaking as I say:
The nasty magpie pinched me in the bum and as if that weren't enough, a greedy toad tried to devour me when I hopped over the streamlet...

My goodness! says Bo, and raises an eyebrow. Then you definitely shouldn't play all alone in the forest! Far too dangerous for a little girl like you! 
And he adds: When I was young, about your age, I never, never went into the forest without my lion!

 A lion? I echo. You mean, a real lion??
Bo nods his head. 
A lion, he says. Only lions can scare away nasty magpies and hungry foxes.

And robbers? I say.
Yes, robbers too.
And ghosts? I say.
Yes, ghosts as well.
And mosquitos? I say.
No mosquitos, Bo replies, I am afraid. But other than that, lions protect you from pretty much everything.
 
That's good to know, I say. So, how could I get a lion?
It can´t be just any lion, Bo says, it has to be a special one. A blue one. Very small. So it could hide under your skirt. 
 I see, I say. (Although I do not really understand)

Would you be so kind and reach me the thimble? Bo says. 
And while I watch him sewing, and while I nibble on a cookie, and while Bo smokes a pipe, clips another bush and while five clouds look like a unicorn in the blue sky, it all of the sudden is time to go home.

Thirtyfourandahalf steps from Bo´s fence to our garden gate. Down the path. Across the brooklet.
Through the forest. 

Bye bye, I say.  
See you tomorrow, Bo says.

And then I walk across the meadow. Climb over Bo´s fence. Down the path. Across the streamlet. And then I am all of the sudden in the deep deep forest.
Twenty-four, twenty-five, twenty-six I count.

And I try to take as large steps as possiblewhen I all of the sudden hear a
 toc-toc-toccock-toc.
and again:
 toc-toc-toccock-toc.

The woodpecker. Up in the pine tree.
And between the branches I can see the blue evening sky, and I can spot another cloudy unicorn.
The moss is soft and warm, only the fir needles tickle a bit.
 Another unicorn, high up in the sky.
toc-toc-toccock-toc.
There we sit, my little blue lion and I. 
No nasty magpie. No hungry fox. Not even a rabbit.

Just us. 
And the sun. 
In the forest.

And then I went home, just in time for dinner.

For Eliza. 

A 50cm doll with very red hair (as requested ;-) 
Eliza likes the colour red and she very much loves her new baby brother.
He has a beautiful name, which in English it means 'Lion'.

Eliza´s brother is still too tiny to play all alone in the forest with his older sister, but I am sure that his sister whispers him stories about magpies, foxes, rabbits - and lions.

♥

Juliane 

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