Wow…the last weeks and months have been crazy and just flown by! Moving house and bringing up a toddler have left little time for any real ‘hobbying’ or indeed blogging.

This is why getting to make the trip to Birmingham for Miniatura 2016 was very welcome and really rather exciting!

I thought I’d share the couple of little treats I bought for myself – I’m really rather pleased with them!

FOR THE TUDOR HOUSE

I’d discovered Costume Cavalcade a year or two ago when I purchased a regency doll for my Mum. I’d spotted the Middle Class Tudor couple at the time, but, with no Tudor house for them they stayed where they were.

Since then I’ve made several trips back to the website and debated purchasing them, but for some reason, I never did hit send on the order email. But when I saw them in the flesh (well, you know what I mean), the decision to buy them was easy.

I’ve searched high and low for the right Tudor dolls for the Tudor house but have only ever found peasants or rich courtiers. These little people however, superbly made by Teresa Thompson (who incidentally is a lovely lady), were just right for my setting. Teresa clearly works hard to ensure historical accuracy when making her costume dolls and it truly pays off. They look just perfect in their new home.

I also visited Masters Miniatures again and bought a cute little water carrier and an adorable Tudor rocking cradle, both of which sit beautifully next to the other pieces I have of theirs.

EDWARDIAN HOUSE

A few months ago, I finally decided to order a new Edwardian house, from a company called Cloverley Dollshouses. I’m very pleased to say it has now been built and will be delivered in a couple of weeks (watch this space for a nice long blog post when it arrives!).

So it seemed only right to also begin to buy a couple of little bits and pieces ready to install in the new residence.

One of these was this cute little toy theatre by Jacqueline Crosby. It took sometime to choose between all the exquisite toys on her stand – I think about 3 hours. As well as the theatres there were beautifully detailed teeny tiny circus scenes so it was a difficult choice. I finally settled and look forward to seeing how it looks in the new nursery.

Finally, I fell in love with the dolls of Carol Bull at Bags of Character. The name could not be more accurate! These little people are handmade from top to toe, with not a mold in sight and each one has it’s own little personality.

My heart was stolen by this tiny butler – he has the most expressive face, complete with bushy eyebrows and a look that hints he may have been testing one too many of his master’s vintage bottles! I can’t wait for him to take up residence in his new abode. For now he’s tucked up safely in his box, only coming out briefly for me to admire again!

You can guarantee I’ll be finding time to blog when he finally moves in to the new house!

 

WEB LINKS

Costume Cavalcade – http://www.costumecavalcade.co.uk/

Bags of Character – http://bagsofcharacter.weebly.com/

Miniatura – http://www.miniatura.co.uk/