lydia

My mother taught me the magic of paper dolls. I've loved them ever since I was little. At one time I had a set of Shirley Temple paper dolls. Oh how I would love to know where they went.

I decided to do a series of my own paper dolls. And I think I will share them here, for those of you out there that love them as well. They make a great quiet activity for a little girl who must occupy herself during church or in a waiting room. Being quiet can be pretty difficult sometimes.

I can't wait until Birdie is old enough to play with paper dolls instead of ripping their heads off and eating their clothes.

I am sending Lydia to my niece with a box of crayons and a pair of child safe scissors.

You will need some good white card stock. I like to copy my dolls off so that they are about four inches tall.

I plan to post a doll every month, but don't hold me to it. Things are a little ify around here lately.

the monster mash

Ahhhhh. Here we are again. Feature Friday. Where yours truly touts the merits of some of my artsy friends and bestows upon lucky people the wears of those artisans free of charge. I think I might have missed my calling in life. I should have been a philanthropist.

First up today we have Cuthbert, who likes baked beans and trampolines but not at the same time. He heralds from the Weebeastie family of Torquay, England. He was made by Kate Dowling who after making a sock monster for her pregnant boss, was overcome with a complete obsession (to make monsters that is) which has lead to a shop and website. She is an interior designer by day, monster maker by night.

Meet Angela. Angela likes putting her head in the fridge and waiting for time to stop. She talks to birds. She was made in Poznan' by an doll artist from Buenos Aires. She is from the KooKoo Doll Family owned and run by Maru.

Maru is a charming Argentinian living in Poland. She describes herself as a traveler, teacher, dancer and artist. Here is a message I got from her:

hi! marla is sold, la llorona (angela) no, so angela will be. i am very sorry for
not giving more info right now, i am going rightaway to berlin, do not want to loose my train. on monday we can talk again.

have a nice weekend!

maru

See, I told you. She's charming.

Last but not least, we have Harold. He enjoys walks in the park and granny smith apples. He's from a monstrous-looking, furred race. They have enormous eyes. They move by dragging themselves along the ground. They are omnivores. They have only one child at a time making Harold a rare breed indeed.

UltraPunch!™ TOY Co. is an independent toy company located in Central Pennsylvania. Dedicated to the idea of handmade and imaginative toys for children and the young at heart.

So there it is. The monster mash. Here's how to play. Leave a comment saying which monster you would like to win. If you would like to be in the drawing for more than one monster you must leave a comment for each monster. I will use my handy dandy random selector thingy on Monday morning and announce the winners.

If you aren't lucky this week, and you don't win a monster, look around these sellers shops. You may just find a buddy that suits you. Oh, and if you had to look up Torquay and Poznan', your not alone.