In the beginning....

 I'm going to start my crafty jottings with my reintroduction to dolls.......This is Matilda.....an Australian Girl Doll.  Isn't her wild red hair gorgeous!!

​The year my little granddaughters were turning 8 & 9, I decided to buy them a good quality girl doll each for their birthdays.  My research led me to the Australian Girl dolls.....they are beautiful, sturdy and very well designed and made....and even better, they are designed by an Aussie couple with our Aussie culture in mind.  You can read their story by clicking on the link.....HERE

I bought blonde Emily for my blonde granddaughter, Kate, and brunette Jasmine for my brunette granddaughter, Amy.  Then I proceeded to make both dolls a complete wardrobe.....I was in 7th heaven!   I was so impressed with these dolls that I decided I needed one of my own...as a mannequin for the clothes I'd make in the future (my story and I'm sticking to it lol)....so I just HAD to buy Matilda :)  Red hair and freckles are a bit of a family trait so I'm a bit partial to redheaded dolls.  I just LOVE Matilda's wild red hair!  The Aus Girls have a gap between their big toe & second toe so they can wear thongs (flip flops)....each doll comes with a pair in the box.....soooooo cute :)

While scouring the web for doll clothes patterns and accessories I came across a beautiful blog by a very talented lady called Martha Boers.....her site is called Antique Lilac  Her work is amazing!  I suggest you go and get a cuppa and spend a wonderful hour browsing her creations. Anyhow, while I was browsing the beautiful posts I fell in love with her Kaye Wiggs dolls, which sent me on a search to find them.  I'd never seen BJDs before and they fascinated me.  Dolls that were posable....and could have their whole look changed with different eyes and wigs....WOW!!

To cut a long story short, I eventually found Kaye's dolls and bought SK Layla.  The preorder process was so foreign to me.....and the wait seemed forever for someone who lacks the virtue of patience.....but it is so worth it when that box arrives with a new baby inside!  Of course, I couldn't stop at one lol  In the last few years I've been very lucky to add to my resin family.  I have a range of sizes now and love them all but Kaye's dolls will always be my favourites....her work is beautiful.

Some of my family has been rehomed to make way for new arrivals and I'm always sad to part with one, but  I have to be practical....I can't have them all.....more's the pity lol  My greatest pleasure is to make clothes for them.  It allows me to have a purpose to sew, knit and crochet cute little garments.  And I love to make up stories for them.  I enjoy developing their personalities as I go along and one day hope to do a series of photostories featuring them.  More hours in the day would be handy...I'm still working and at times work overtakes my life to the point where I don't get any time with my dolls for weeks on end....I get withdrawals when this happens!

Enough waffling for now!  Next post I will show some of my resin family and perhaps share a little of their stories...and some of the clothes I've made so far.

Have a wonderful day, wherever you are in the world
Lynne xx