Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone who visits my blog!  I am sorry that it's been such a long time since I last posted on here, but like a lot of people, I've lost interest in my dolls over the last five months or so and the interest is only really coming back now!  I suspect the virus has got a lot to do with it, l suppose you'd say that 'real life' got in the way.  

I would like to apologise for not commenting on any of the blogs that I follow.  Sadly with the loss of dolly interest, along went any interest in dolly blogs.  I hope to rectify that really soon.

Well a fair amount has happened in the last six months since I posted. First of all we moved home and we are now living just five minutes from where we were before, but we have a lot more space and I have a lovely new doll/sewing room, which unfortunately hasn't seen much action recently, but I do have a lot of things planned for the spring.  The house itself though is lovely, we have beautiful views of the sea and two nice terraces which I need to utilise more for dolly photos.  Having said that, I did take a few photos recently, so I will show them here.

Dolly news, I have received two new dolls recently.  The first to arrive was Nora by Irrealdoll here in Spain, she is very cute but I've not taken any photos of her yet because she is waiting on a wig.  So far I have made the wig cap using white glue but am now waiting on the lambswool to arrive from the UK.  What with the virus and Brexit, I suspect it'll be a while before it arrives, so I will have to be patient and poor Nora will have to stay safely in her box.

The second doll to arrive, who also arrived just before Christmas, is Johanna, who is an Wichtel artist doll by Rosemarie Muller.  She is 32cm tall and all vinyl and such a cutie.  She came in this beautiful smocked dress, lacy socks and pretty sandals, and she even has tiny gold studs in her ears.  You might remember that I had three of the Wichtel dolls before but sold them in 2019, and I missed them so decided to add another to my collection.  I decided on this sweet girl with her small smile....and although I don't usually go for smiley dolls, I'm glad I did on this occasion as she is very pretty. 

Isn't she a cutie!  I can't wait to start sewing for her 😊

In the meantime, I finally got to take some photos of my latest Zwergnase Junior doll, Rixte, who arrived here last October.  She is one of the 45cm girls and has such a cheeky face.  I changed her from her default outfit into this super Brownie dress made by Passion for Sasha on Etsy....she is now looking forward to starting Brownies very soon! 😉 ☺️

Apart from that, all is well here.  My mum and brother came over here to stay with us on the 4th November because I was really worried about how things were going, virus-wise, in their area and they are still here some two months later.  I think it was the best thing for them to do, coming here, because not soon afterwards, their borough, just east of London, had the highest numbers of new virus infections in the whole of England.  Scary stuff.  Thankfully they are safe and well here and long may that continue.

I hope you and your families are staying safe and well and that 2021 will be a good year for us all.

Big hugs and thank you for visiting

Love Sharon xxx

A bit of sewing for Holly....

Holly is my Zwergnase Junior Wentje who came here at Christmastime, a present from my  husband Brian.  Until now the poor girl has stood for ages in her default outfit then she was changed into a 'hand me down' from one of my other dolls, but today, finally, she has an outfit of her own.

I wanted to make her some loose fitting linen overalls and so searched on line for photos of what I had in mind.  So firstly I made a pattern by taking her measurements and drawing it out on a large piece of brown paper.  She's 55cm tall so the usual A4 sheets wouldn't work for her.  I tweaked it a few times and then decided to use an old pair of trousers of mine to cut up for the fabric.  I don't have much linen type fabric here and all that I do have would have been too small.  Plus I didn't really want to use good fabric in case the pattern was not a good fit for her.

I'm really pleased with how they've turned out.  I used some red metal overall clips that are meant for human sized items, and they worked perfectly for her.  I made a simple cap sleeved white tee shirt to finish off the look.

The overalls have large pockets on the sides so that Holly can fill them with her belongings or of course she can fit her hands in them too.

I have tweaked my pattern slightly to make them a little less full under the arms, and next time I think I will make them with short legs for the summer.  

I hope you're all keeping safe and having a nice day.

Big hugs, Sharon xxx

February Already! And finally some dolly time :)

Most people complain that January goes by so slowly after the rush of December and Christmas but I must admit, that having been in the UK from the 3rd to the 11th, the month seemed to whizz by!  I was hardly home when the 31st arrived and brought with it my son Brendan who came over for a week's holiday with us.  He mainly comes to see us on his own as he has more holidays than his wife Virginia, so when she comes to Spain she naturally spends the time with her family.  Anyway, it was a great week, we did lots of chatting and laughing and of course shopping, Brendan always wants to buy things here that are apparently much cheaper than the UK, so he keeps us very busy!!

Lucy loves having Brendan home! 

 

On the dolly front I have sold a couple of dolls and done a bit of sewing as well as have taken some photos of different dolls who've had a change of clothes or wig.  The weather has been lovely, very warm and sunny, perfect weather for taking my girls outside to photograph.....

Here is Holly (formerly Wentje, the doll I showed in my last post), she is a Zwergnase Junior and is 55cm tall.  I changed her into this dress that I made ages ago for another doll that has since left for pastures new.  I then added a 'shirt' underneath so that it looked a bit different from when the last doll wore it. When I first got her I wasn't sure about her but since I got back from the UK and have had a chance to 'play' with her, she's really grown on me. 

 Also today I changed the wig on my Little Cosmos Dolls Robin.  I've always thought of her as a dark haired girl but yesterday I received this wig from a group order I'd participated in back in the autumn.  By the time it arrived, I couldn't remember who I'd ordered it for!!!  So Dylan (Robin) tried it and I really think it suits her so she will keep it.  

Who'd have thought she'd look so angelic as a blond!  Funny how looks can be so deceiving though😉

I also changed my little Sienna (Bastian, also by Little Cosmos Dolls) into this cute outfit by the Gorjuss company.  It seems odd to have a coat with short sleeves but it's not cold here now so little Sienna doesn't mind 😉.  This girl's face so appeals to me, she always looks so worried, like she's scared she's about to be told off!!!

 
I made a couple of outfits for my Kaye Wiggs girls, here is Gracie modelling the outfit I made for her....It wasn't quite finished in this photo, I'd forgotten to put the cord through the bottom of the sleeveless hoodie!!

Here we go, the cord is now done and I made another outfit, this time for Hope. 

I have a third outfit cut out and ready to sew for Layla, I'll get to that soon I'm sure!

In the meantime, I am off to the UK again on Thursday to see my mum and brother.  My mum has been doing very well since her fall and is completely on the mend now, thank goodness.  She was recently discharged by the physiotherapists and is now walking well with the aid of a walking stick or a walking frame.  I'm only going for five days but looking forward to it....apart from the weather!!!

I have some dolly purchases to pick up whilst over there so hopefully will have some new arrivals to show you on my return.

Have a great week ahead, and for those of you being affected by Storm Ciara, keep safe and warm.

Big hugs
Sharon in Spain xxx


 






 

All the best laid plans.....

Firstly I would like to wish everyone who reads my blog, a very Happy New Year!  I hope that 2020 is a great year for all of you.

Secondly I would like to apologise for not wishing you all a wonderful Christmas, but the truth is everything went pear shaped for us here just before the holidays and I never got the chance to post on my blog as planned.

I mentioned in one of my previous posts that I was going to the UK on the 14th December to meet up with my mum and my brother John and travel back with them to Spain on the 15th for them to spend Christmas and the New Year with us.  The journey to the UK was uneventful and although we had a slight delay on the way back to Malaga, all went well and we arrived home to my place at about lunchtime.

We had lunch and chatted for the afternoon, I think, if I remember rightly, my mum started to knit a woolly hat for one of my dolls.  Then my mum went to my friends place (she was away and offered my family her place to stay in as since moving we haven't a lot of room), just a minutes walk away, to unpack.  

A little while later my brother came running back to tell me that my mum had fallen over and he couldn't get her up.  I ran with him back to my mum and she had fallen backwards down a small step......

The ambulance came and took her to hospital, she was in a lot of pain and having a panic attack because of this pain.  

To cut a long story short, my 83 year old mum was hospitalised with a broken hip and was operated on the following day.  Here in Spain, you're more or less expected to stay in the hospital 24/7 with your person, so I slept in the chair next to her bed for four nights.  We went home on the 19th and from that date on I looked after my mum at home, she was encouraged to walk using a walking frame, and has been doing really well, thank goodness.

My mum needed a lot of help at first, especially with her personal care, and I stayed with her at my friends place whilst my brother stayed with Brian and the dogs at ours.  My brother John has learning disabilities so he needs a certain amount of supervision too.

Christmas Day was nice though, if hard work.  We had our dinner outside on our deck as it was such a lovely day.  I didn't get time to wrap the presents until late on Christmas Eve, the Christmas cards remained in the box, the proper linen napkins and table cloth remained elusive and we had to resort to a paper tablecloth and paper napkins....the prawns for my seafood starter were uncooked so we couldn't eat those, and I had to substitute them for some crab sticks that were in my fridge that were barely in date.....and it wasn't until halfway through lunch that I realised I'd forgotten to put glasses on the table and wine in the fridge...but apart from that the food tasted good and there was plenty of it!!!!

After Christmas mum's insurance company sent a nurse from the UK to travel back with her to her home on the 3rd January, I had planned to go with her for a few days but decided to stay for just over a week so that I could help her in her home as well as get a care plan in place for when I came back home to Spain.

I arrived home last Saturday, 11th January, and slept in my own bed, with my husband for the first time in almost a month!  I have never appreciated my own bed so much! 😊

In the meantime my mum has a carer visiting each morning and a physiotherapist has been each day this week to help her to regain a good level of mobility.  She seems to be doing well and hopefully when I return to the UK again next month to visit her, she will be able to go back upstairs in her house as so far she has had to remain downstairs.

So today I got back to my Christmas present doll from my husband Brian.  She is a Zwergnase Junior Wentje and she is 55cm tall.  Wentje is one of a limited edition of 50 dolls worldwide, she is handpainted and has a human hair wig.  I haven't had time to sew her anything yet but hope to do so soon.  

Here are a few photos of her.  I think she is one of those dolls that really benefits from being photographed in natural light as she looked quite plain inside my doll room, but I think she came more alive when I took her outside this evening just as the sun was starting to set.

So there you have our Christmas.  My mum falling was a horrible end to what had already been a really awful year.  I am hoping that 2020 will be better for all of us.  I'm very glad to see the back of 2019 to be honest and am going into this new year with a positive attitude. 

I hope 2020 is great for all of you.  Thank you for continuing to visit my blog, please keep coming and commenting as I really appreciate it.

Big hugs to all of you

Sharon xxx  



 

A Little Bit of Creativity....

The weather here had, until today, been beautiful and it inspired me to get a bit creative....I have so many ideas rolling round inside my head but when I sit down in my doll/sewing room, those ideas just seem to float out of the window...and are lost.  But I've recently had a little spurt of creativity and thought I'd share it with you...

Firstly I decided that Anuschka, my Zwergnase Junior, needed a new wig, as her default one, shown in my last post, was really messy and matted underneath her hat so I looked through my wig box and found this one (below) and thought it made a good replacement for her.....it's a Monique Gold wig, I have no idea of the name, but know that once it was a long one, before I got carried away with the scissors!!!!  I do like her with messy hair.  😊

So then she got a new dress.  I made this using a pattern for Maru & Friends dolls, but the fit is quite good. 

Then yesterday I made a wig for my little Irrealdoll Annic.  I've struggled with finding a good wig for her because she's got such a tiny head that manufactured wigs, even in her size, seem to have too much hair so they overwhelm her face.  I decided to make my own, so I made a head cap with tulle and several layers of white glue, which once hard, makes a close fitting cap.  I then used fake fur from a cushion I bought at Lidl, trimming lines of the fur still attached to the fabric, making 'wefts' and then attaching them to the cap, again with white glue.  And then once it'd dried, I cut it into the only style I can really do, a bob!!!  I'm really quite pleased with how it came out and don't think it overwhelms her at all.

So what do you think?

Apart from that, I have heard that my pre-order dolls will soon be shipping, so that's exciting for me, I hope I'm happy with them both :)

And finally, here is a photo of some poppies that are growing in the dry river bed behind my home.....

I hope you're all having weather to your liking, wherever you may be.....

Have a lovely week!

Big hugs Sharon xx

Spring!

The weather has been beautiful here and I'm hoping that spring really has sprung already.  I went for a walk on the beach with my friend and her dog and decided to bring along a doll to photograph.  My friend Julie isn't a doll collector but she does seem to take an interest in my dolls and often says she'll make some knitted items for them.....I'm still waiting Julie!!! 😉

So it was the turn of Neele, my one remaining Wichtel doll by Rosemarie Muller.  She's a cute little thing and I thought, with her big wide soled sandals, she'd be a good doll to take to the beach as she'd hopefully not fall flat on her face in the sand!!!  

 Neele has her bucket but she doesn't have a spade, so I need to find an icecream place that serves their desserts with those spade shaped plastic spoons because I think it'd be the perfect size for her!  And what a good excuse for an icecream!

My friend Julie then set up this pose with her dog, Louis....I definitely think Julie has an eye for doll photography, I may have to lend her a doll to take out with her when we walk the dogs again next time!!! 😉

And here's the end result, I think you'll agree a cute shot!  It helps that Louis is a very well behaved boy, my dogs would probably have dragged my doll face down through the stones!!!

Apart from that, my selling has continued and several of my dolls have found new homes.  A few are still waiting to be adopted, including two previously brunette bald Sashas,  a bald Gregor and two brunette Gregors, one of which was rerooted by me.  And also my first blond Sasha, Millie, who has beautiful hair and who's eyes were repainted by Shelly of Sasha Dolls UK.  She is actually already on Ebay, if you're interested.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233156482872?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649 

If you look at all my listings you will see the other dolls I currently have listed.  If you're interested in any of them, please contact me and I can sell them off Ebay if you'd prefer it.

Before I go, I thought I'd share a few other photos that I've taken recently of various dolls of mine.  I'm doing a 'doll a day' with a couple of friends via email, I'm enjoying it because it's making me take photos of my dolls when sometimes I just can't be bothered!!!  

Here is Anais (Irrealdoll Annic in Truffle skin) with her new bike which I found on Ebay, it's the perfect scale for her and so nicely detailed.

 

And here is one of my first Blythes, Hershey who is a Simply Chocolate Blythe that I customised some years ago....

And finally, a photo of Anuschka, one of my Zwergnase Juniors.  She is from 2006 and her hair is made of mohair and has got really tangled and messy recently.  But these photos don't show that, so I was really happy with how she looks.  She has such a great grumpy face!! 😊

Well I hope you all have a great week and that the weather is good wherever you are!

Big hugs

Sharon xxx

This and That.....

I've had a busy couple of weeks so my blog has had to take a back seat, but finally I had a little bit of dolly time and took the opportunity to change the clothes on a few girls as well as the wig on another.

Firstly Chloe my tanned Fairyland Mini Fee got a change of clothes and wig.  The great thing with this doll is she fits clothing made for the Ellowyne dolls by Robert Tonner, so here she is wearing the cutest jacket from his company, trousers from Elfdoll and a crop top which I've had for ages.  Her lovely Mary Jane shoes are custom made by a lady here in Spain.

Sam, my tiny Elfdoll Hana Angel with her replacement Jerry Berry body, changed into her torn jeans, a long tee shirt and her special cable knitted beanie....

Gala, my Milky Tan Adori by Harucasting, received a very cute gift of a Chihuahua teeshirt from my dear friend Sue in the UK, and she's been dying to show it off to you!  Unfortunately it was a bit chilly so she had to put her coat on to go outside and have her photos taken but hopefully soon she'll be able to wear it with her shorts and sandals!

Scarlett, my customised Kidz n Cats Alice, got to go out to the Bio Parc in Fuengirola last week, so here are a few photos of her enjoying the aquarium and the sunshine there....although it was quite cold, so she was dressed for the weather!

Leone, my Zwergnase Junior Violet, went for a walk by the lake in La Viñuela, it was a lovely day, one of the first really sunny days we've had recently....the lake is looking a bit fuller after all the rain too, although it's still very low unfortunately.

The lake definitely looks beautiful though.....

In other news, I have continued with my morning walks, although we've had some very changeable weather recently so I've made good use of the treadmill and weights at the gym.  Here are some photos from my walks....despite rain and high winds, we have also had some beautiful sunshine, so there are definite signs of spring around here!!

El Torre de Jarral....is a watch tower which sits high on the cliff overlooking the coastal road and the beach below.  It is believed to be from the  13th to 14th centuries.  I often walk up to the tower and have shown close up photos of it in the past,  but on this occasion I walked inland so that I could get a good view of it from a similar height....according to my fitness watch, the climb up to the base of the tower is the equivalent of walking up about 25+ flights of stairs!

Due to all the rain, one of my routes now has a stream running along the track which me and Lucy, my Miniature Pinscher, have to jump over a few times.....it is quite fast running, crystal clear water and approx one metre wide in places and several centimetres deep!

I spotted this rainbow a few days ago....

And some very threatening looking grey clouds!

Finally some beautiful blue skies!  These two photos were taken in the olive groves high above the coast, it was peaceful and warm, with just the sound of the birds for company.....

The sea is just visible through the olive trees....

Signs of spring!  The first poppies that I've seen this year....

And loads of daisies everywhere!

Well I hope you've enjoyed seeing some of my photos! 

Thank you for visiting!

 I wish you all a very Happy Easter, or  Feliz Pascua as they say here in Spain.  

Big hugs Sharon xx