Friends in the Digital Age

The internet has brought some amazing changes to my life, the ease and wonder of running an online business was something that at one time I could never have imagined, but I have to say that I am most surprised at the wonderful friends that I've managed to find in the online world. Who would have thought you could meet remarkable people from all over the globe and manage to have so much in common?!  I've found folks that I talk and joke with on a daily basis who are fellow doll artists, doll lovers,  photographers, illustrators, scientists, and writers...lots of writers! It really has been one of the most wonderful surprises of doing daily business with the Web.

One of these people is doll artist, Natasha Morgan. I talk to Natasha (and her funny husband Cris...Hi Cris!) who live in Wales, on an almost daily basis through the magic of Twitter... and we have a marvelous time discussing all sorts of things, they are truly kindred spirits. In addition to being fun to talk to, Natasha makes amazing and oh so original dolls. Check out her Hester and Pearl from The Scarlet Letter...

 And here are her Darcy and Elizabeth...

 They are just so fabulous! All of her characters have long, carefully researched back stories and she puts an amazing amount of detail into each doll's costume, everything historically correct right down to the underclothes! Here's her shop...go check it out...I'll wait...

Recently Natasha made some tiny peg dolls for her shop that I fell in love with...you know me, huge fan of all things tiny, especially tiny dolls. You saw the peg dolls in her shop right? No? Go look here.  When I told her how much I liked them...she sent me one!!! I got this lovely package in the mail...

and inside was this wonderful lady...

Isn't she marvelous? I simply love her. Thank you Natasha, you are the best! (I'll have to make a suitably wonderful doll to send back, won't I? ) The internet is truly a fabulous beast.

And what have I been doing with my time, you may ask...it is June already! How the heck did that happen? Here's a few dolls that I've finished lately...

 

Rapunzel

 A Blue Fairy

A Summer Fairy

Speaking of summer it is right around the corner! We have had the most lovely Spring and my garden is full of flowers so I'll leave you with a shot of those...and wish you joy in your friends, wherever you may find them!

Tea Parties

To a long time lover of all things Alice, and the owner of way too many tiny tea sets, the thought of a good dolly tea party has a certain appeal.

And speaking of tea parties, I just sent these two Alice in Wonderland characters off to their new home in Australia...The Mad Hatter and Cheshire kitty. I think they'll be having some wonderful teas with the Alice doll that already lives there!

Alice - Through a Dark Glass

I just realized that I never blogged about my Dark Alice! I know I talked about making her for ages, so not to share her was pretty terrible. So here she is!

She has reams of vintage black lace in her dress, not to mention the underclothes and black silk pinafore...and check out those boots. Red again! I think I must secretly desire some red leather button up boots...well who wouldn't? I spent ages sewing all that lace and ruffles too...but she came out exactly as I pictured in my head, making me very happy! So, what do you think?

Bunnies Large and Small

...also real and pretend! I've been busy getting a few little bunnies finished this week and yesterday I took them outside for a quick group photo.

And look who came to visit!

 Do you think he was giving them a look over for authenticity? He sat there for several minutes, stock still only the nose moving, twitching incessantly.

The bunnies will be loaded into my shop today at noon EST...I hope they passed inspection!

Rapunzel Rapunzel...

I finished up a Rapunzel doll this weekend...Oh my that hair, it took forever to braid!...and I thought I'd share her with you and maybe a few tidbits about her tale.

Rapunzel's story is very much like that of Red Riding Hood's in how it's been changed over the years. The early versions have a couple of especially notable differences. In several Rapunzel relationship with the Prince is discovered by the witch through the tightening of her gown due to pregnancy and not through the slip of the tongue  "why are you so much heavier than the Prince" of the Grimm's version .

 Also in the earlier Italian "Petrosinella" the long haired maiden manages her own escape, not waiting for disaster, because she's a much more intelligent character than Grimm's Rapunzel. It's amazing to me how that seems to happen to many of the famous fairy tale heroines.

If you find the history of fairy tales as fascinating as I do, then I highly recommend the Sur La Lune website. It's my go to source for all things fairy tale!

Hello Strangers

Hi there friends of The Fairies Nest. I know that I've been much absent from the blog of late... I've been spending a LOT of time relearning how to cook after a recent diagnosis of gluten intolerance and I can tell you there has been a pretty sharp learning curve.  It's been particularly difficult for someone who loves to cook as much as I do. But since my health is so much better these days, I really can't complain too much. Besides, learning new things is supposed to help us stay young...right? At this rate I'll be a teenager before long...

But these days I'm back to making dolls again and here are a couple that I recently added to the shop..

a little merchild

and a couple of Flower Pixies

I'm finally making a dark Alice too. I know I've been talking about it for so long that it seemed like I never would, but I promise I started on her just today! Also in the works are several of the larger fairies, a large Rapunzel, and of course a smattering of assorted pixies...oh and since Spring will soon be here...Bunnies will have to be made. Wow that's a long list...I better get busy. So check back because I promise to be updating here on at least a weekly basis...see you soon!

Happy Valentines Day!

I know I haven't been posting on here much lately...something I hope to remedy soon...but in the meantime have a lovely day!