Lazy Summer Days and Mermaids

When I was a girl living on Sunshine Mountain in Shickshinny, Pennsylvania, we had a great watering hole under a bridge where we spent lazy summer days! My cousins and I would take our bikes, but mostly had to walk because the road had a very steep down hill and followed by a steep uphill. Pushing your bike in that midsummer sun would always make you question the logic of bringing the bike, but once you got to ride on the flat part on the way to the bridge you didn't think about it anymore!
The trees over hung on both sides of the creek, and it created this beautiful canopy of leaves that blocked the hot sun and made the light dance on the top of the water. It was pure magic! Most of it was shallow, but under the bridge, the bigger boys had dammed up the water so that they could dive off the bridge.
In the deepest area where we swam there were large rocks we would sit on and pretend we were mermaids. My cousin Christine and I became great swimmers that summer. A customer asked me if I could make some wooden mermaids like my fairies and it took me back to this wonderful memory.

Here is what I came up with...

These wonderful little girls are ready to swim and play. I love the magical feel they have and how the playsets are developing. All sisters and a mama at a size that is just right for little hands and nature table play.
Rhyme and Reason are twins with sisters Story and Verse being the youngest. The lovely mama is Song because she sings sweetly to her girls at night! The stories are developing in my head and over taking my dreams at night, I hope you like them as much as I do! You can find these toys and more at The Enchanted Cupboard.

If you like the little wooden seal check out Armadillos Dream .

I Love Fairytale Stories

To tell the truth these dolls I made for me. I loved fairytale stories! When I was growing up I often recreated them in my playtime. I  did my chores while pretending to be Cinderella. These dolls and playsets are where your child's play can recreate old time fairytale stories and ad to the stories to make them their own.

 I've heard some people say that these stories were not good role models for girls. I feel this is not true and that it depends on how you tell the story. These were tales told in a time when woman were thought of as less, and had no rights. These stories were not really meant for children most were a way for women to talk politics, something they were not allowed to have an opinion about. They gave our fore-mothers the inspiration to bring change to each generation, and helped us get to where we are.

These girls had power in spite of the odds, certain doom, and personal tragedy they suffered. They changed their world in a time when women had no rights. These stories have a powerful message that is still of value to the girls of this and the next generation. These are not just silly stories; they are our past and our future.

These wooden toys and more can be found at http://www.theenchantedcupboard.etsy.com/

The Dollhouse, A New Style of Doll

Not to long ago I started selling in my Etsy shop (The Enchanted Cupboard) Family dolls of a different style, Bendy Dolls. I love getting to custom make them to look like the family members.

While I am creating I wonder about where will the live, what style of doll house they will have. I think about the sweet children who will soon own them, love them.

My new bendy style dolls are more customizable in size so this has made me have to re-look at my dollhouse furniture design. Here is a cozy bedroom. These 2 bendy dolls you will see in a lot of my photos, they are my parents.

here is the same bedroom set but with my peg doll style. As you can see the beds are made so that the dolls will not roll out of bed, important detail when designing for little ones!