BEAUTIFUL GIVEAWAY

Nancy Malay is having a giveaway on her blog - it's a wonderful Springtime cone. It's the prettiest pink colour, with an antique button on the front, vintage lace, tinsel, a feather and a woderful old image of a little girl in a birds nest. Check out her blog and sign up for the draw at www.nancymalay.blogspot.com

SWANS AND WHALES AND ELEPHANTS, OH MY!

I have a few toys to liston my blog, tonight. As I have tendonitis in my elbow, sewing has been difficult, so I decided to go in another direction. I have made these toys to accompany my bears for sale.  . I have managed to complete 3 wooden reproduction antique rockers, that go well with miniature dolls or bears, in the 3-3/12 inch range.  

First, there is my favourite, the Swan Rocker. This one is old fashioned and elegant and measures 3 1/4" long x 2 3/4" high x 2 1/2" wide. She is painted with vintage white acrylic paints, with a black beak and has german glass eyes.

Second is the whale - he has a normal head on one side and an open mouth on the opposite side. He measures 3 7/8" long x 2 1/8 " high x 2 1/2" wide. He is painted with black and white acrylic paints, with the markings of an Orca

Last is the circus elephant, with a cute smile. He measures 4 1/2" long x 2 3/4" high x 2 1/2" wide. He also is painted with acrylic paints in grey, red, teal and green.

All of these toys are aged and distressed and then finished with a coat of wax. I love antiques and these were made to emulate the toys of yesteryear. They are all designed and made entirely by me, from basswood. They are signed underneath the seat and will come with a signed hang-tag. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to email me and have a great weekend.

MEANT TO BE!

I've collected children's books for many years. I am a huge fan of illustration, and one of my favourite illustrators is Beatrix Potter.  Her rabbits and other animals seem to have a life of their own.

I recently acquired a beautiful German paper mache egg, with a picture of  Mrs. Rabbit and the the Flopsy bunnies and I knew it was meant to have a bunny to go inside.  It was a long process, as I have been dealing with tendonitis in my elbow, which limits my sewing, but I was finally able to finish her today.  I'm so thrilled with the outcome - she turned out just perfectly.  Flopsy is 5 inches tall and made from German Shulte mohair, which has been meticulously hand painted with dozens of layers of fabric paints, to bring her to life.  She has starburst eyes, excelsior and steel shot stuffing and is fully disc jointed, with nylon whiskers.

She will eventually go up for sale, but for right now, I just want to look at her for a few days.  I hope you enjoy her and wishing everyone a joyous Easter weekend, with family and friends.

MATHILDA AND HER EASTER FRIENDS

I must say, I really enjoy making Easter sets. I love this holiday time of year, even more than Christmas. Everything is in a stage of renewal - the sun is shining, the greenery is starting to peek through and the hope of spring is everywhere. I hope you enjoy these new toys and thanks for stopping by!

Mathilda is 4 inches tall and is made from hand-dyed beige German Shulte mohair. The mohair has been gently aged and distressed, leaving a few tiny bare patches. Mathilda has amber German glass eyes, a gently waxed nose, ultrasuede paw pads and has been shaded on the face, ears and paws with permanent heat-set paints. This shading gives Mathilda a lovely vintage look. She is stuffed with traditional excelsior and stainless steel shot for weight and simply decorated with a vintage silk ribbon around her neck, with an old bell.

Mathilda comes with a sweet baby chick. They are the best of friends and Mathilds loves to hop on and go for a ride. The chick 1s 3 ¾ inches tall, has glass eyes and is very realistic - it even cheeps, when the button on the bottom is pushed. I did not make the chick.
Mathilda also comes with a hand-made white beeswax bunny. The beeswax bunny is 2 3/4 inches tall and is made from an antique mold in my collection. The bunny has hand painted eyes and is decorated with a silk ribbon.

Also included in this set, is an Easter ornament - 1 1/2 inches x 2 1/2 inches. The ornament is a vintage reproduction Easter postcard of a bunny head and pussywillows. It is decorated with glass glitter, set between beveled glass and heavy art paper, and sealed with solder with a decorative edge. This set is designed and made by me, and will come with a signed hang-tag. It is an adult collectible and not meant for children.
SOLD

ETSY UPDATE

I finally have some new items for my Etsy shop - a few Easter ornaments and pendants, as well as some new apoxy sculpt, bird pendants. I have enjoyed playing with a new medium and am just beginning to discover how versatile it is. If you would like to check out my shop, just click on the Etsy badge on my blog, or this link: http://www.duffyantiques.etsy.com

Easter is creeping up quickly and I am so disappointed that I haven't been able to do much sewing, due to tendonitis in my right arm. I am desperately trying to finish one last rabbit and will post it here, if I get it finished soon. Thanks for peeking in!

GLOW BUGS!

The other day, our grandson came in with a new candy his mum had bought for him. He was quite excited about his "glowbugs"! They really were very cute - they came with a pair of tweezers with lights on either side of the end. When Corson picked a glow bug out of the package with the tweezers, they lit up and transferred the light to the glow bugs, making them glow. At first, Corson wasn't sure he wanted to eat one. LOL, but he soon got over it and before the long the glow bugs were all gone. Cute though and I wonder how long it took someone to think that up :o)

SWEETEST GIVEAWAY

I stumbled across this giveaway on a friends blog and was entranced. What a darling illustration, done on fabric. If you are interested in entering the giveaway for this charming piece, just hop over to Michelle's blog and sign up. While you are there, you can see all the other wonderful things she makes: www.michellepalmerart.blogspot.com