Sophie and Lili Dolls

I have just discovered the new range of Sophie and Lili dolls, in the LMNOP magazine. Each doll is designed based on an outfit by children's wear designers Stun, Bobo Choses, 4FunkyFlavours, Lucky Wang and Olive's Friend Pop. The original dolls were auctioned with proceeds going to the Make-a-Wish Foundation. I am hoping in the new year I too will be able to supply such gorgeous stock.

Sassilu Eco Range available through Cloth Fabric

Sassilu eco range dolls can now be purchased through Cloth Fabric website. All toys are pre washed 100% organic cotton with natural corn filling. Too good to be true!

My Child Magazine

I am very excited to announce the Holly and Mat dollies will be featured in the early childhood shopping page in the Summer edition of My Child Magazine. Please check them out, and once again a huge thank you to Cath Leo for your stunning photos.

it is starting to feel a lot like....

How cute are these new lavendar Christmas paper dolls!? On sale at the Lollipop Markets, Nov 14th.

crack open your wallets for crackers

As you may be aware on Sunday 7th November there will be a fundraiser, recovery, get well party for Michaela Cantwell, affectionally known as Crackers from 1pm-6pm (auction at 4pm). It will be held at the STHC rehearsal room one and the workshop. (enter through stage door).

There will be fabulous talent, bar, food and of course my special crackers dolls being raffled. I made crackers a doll to keep her company especially whilst she was in ICU, and on many occasion whilst visiting her, she would be longingly clutching it. Forever her strength and courage will be admired.
I and my sister, Kell, hope to see you there!

Bowerbird bazaar starts tomorrow!

If you have a spare couple of hours, I highly recommend you wander around Bowerbird Bazaar... ideally without children in tow! A glass of wine, divine products to buy and funky stallholders to chat with... agh my ideal night out! Please also check out the gorgeous Cloth Fabric stall run by the very talented Martine, you never know you may see a Sassilu eco range doll or two there aswell!

All the info is below.

where Bowerbird Bazaar, will be held at Queen's Theatre in Playhouse Lane, Adelaide (off Light Square). Public and Trade are welcome to attend all 3 days of the event: October 2010 Friday 8th October 2pm – 4pm (Trade/Media) Friday 8th October 4pm – 9pm Saturday 9th October 10am – 5pm Sunday 10th October 10am – 4pm May 2011 Friday 6th – Sunday 8th November 2011 Friday 25th – Sunday 27th Please register your interest if you are attending as Trade/Media. parking available directly opposite venue

Twig Naturals

A new stunning website has been launched by Adelaide sisters Beth and Kaye, please check it out when you next need a gift box, flowers or a special gift. My Sassilu eco toy range is available indiviually and within their gift box range. Below is Kaye and Beth's explanation of Twig Naturals.

At twig we aim to make beautiful flowers and gifts, with the least possible harm to the environment.

Our first choice for flowers is seasonal, locally sourced and, where possible, organically grown so you can be assured that they haven't travelled many miles or spent long hours in refrigeration. A lot of the foliage and grasses we use are picked from our very own garden. Choosing local, means fresher, more sweet smelling flowers and selecting them with the season means a better choice for the environment.

At twig we don't use floral foam or chemical preservatives, both of these traditional florist products are harmful to us and to the environment. All of our off-cuts and plant waste are composted and any other waste products we produce are recycled as much as possible.

All of our twig gift boxes contain products that come from within Australia and are environmentally conscious. Please see our product information page for details.

Gifts and flowers are presented with recycled wrapping paper and cardboard boxes, natural hessian and/or biodegradable cellophane. We also make our own special TWIG cards using recycled paper products.

We try to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions as much as we can. To help with those we can't avoid twig makes an annual contribution to Greenfleet where any remaining emissions are offset by planting native forests.

perfume

I discovered an adorable gift today from Morrison. It is perfume in the shape of a fob watch. It initially looks like lip balm, and if you are having a crazy Friday like myself you may in fact be stopped by a gorgeous shop assistant as you are applying it to your lips!I was wondering why it tasted a tad odd! Anyway, you simply run your finger across the perfumed (lip balm) substance and apply to your neck or wherever.

Due to the fact my niece is turning one on Sunday, yes, it was an entire year ago since that crazy phone call watching the Crows that she had arrived a month early... I bought my sister a 'Lily' perfume. As mums we tend to miss out on a gift to mark the occasion we have made it... yeah!

Lollipop Markets

Lollipop Markets is a brand new and exciting market for Adelaide. We showcase unique, boutique and handmade items or of limited supply for expecting parents, babies, children, Mums and Dads. Our markets will be held regularly in Adelaide and our stall holders come from all over Australia. Each stall holder is handpicked by the Lollipop Markets team of work at home Mums.

Lollipop Markets Christmas Launch
Sunday 14th November 2010, 10am - 3pm
The Shores Function Complex

Corner Hamra and Military Roads, West Beach

See you there! x

Life Instyle Trade Show

After a frantic day of catching the red eye to Melbourne to check out Life Instyle, I discovered a lovely old friend of mine and her heavenly business. Miller&Harry is the brainchild of Annabel Campbell, her beautiful quality baby clothes using all organic and natural fibres are deliciously soft and perfect for baby's skin. The soybean protein fibre blend is the silkiest texture I have ever felt! The cardigans with the cashmere silky soft touch and sequins are a must have. Please check out Miller&Harry website for stockists.

Tiddles and Chich

Tiddles and Chich have opened their divine doors at 151A King William Road, Hyde Park. Pop in and say hi to Freyr and check out the Walnut shoes, Tiddles and Chich Winter stock, Sassilu dolls and many more funky accessories and toys. I have made two dolls exclusively for Tiddles and Chich with cute navy spotty dresses. The fabric is from Frehr's Spring/Summer range so make sure you keep a close eye out on what she has created with it.

Handmade Living- designer collective is a stunning collection of ideas and projects from craftspeople, designers, artists and me! The book will be on sale from December 4th at Handmade Market Canberra and Handmade shop and Australian wide as of December 6th. So ask at your local bookstore! You can also pre-order your copy by going to... Handmade Living. I can not wait to see the finished copy, Tania is a superstar!

Tiddles and Chich

Tiddles and Chich will be opening a new shop on King William Road in early August. Make sure you check out the Holly dollies, Soldiers, Sailors, wings and Tiddles and Chich dolls that I have made exclusively for Tiddles and Chich. Will keep you posted on opening hours, shop address and must haves!!

New Liberty Fabric

The latest Tana Lawn Liberty fabric collection is amazing. I am desperate to sew new dresses and dolls with it! Mental note, start saving big style, at $55m, there will be very small dolls being created!! You can check the range out at Patchwork on Central Park

Cath Kidston Ballerinas

After a very kind friend of mine in London sent copious amounts of Cath Kidston fabrics, I decided to make the Ballerina doll. Little Voice in the QVB in Sydney has purchased several, as has Dulwitches. The days of blisters, sore feet and ballet exams is finally starting to pay off!

latest goodies

Whilst browsing through the antique shops in Strathalbyn I came across this gorgeous tin and chair. My son desperately wanted the 'Murray'one (red chair), but I managed to convince him the turquoise one was far more pratical (and was also not a Wiggle skivvy colour!). I hope your Queen's Birthday long weekend has been as relaxing as mine...

decisions decisions...

As a family, we have been trying to decide on where we should go for a holiday and I stumbled across this cute little number! It is the Teardrop Trailer and is so easy to handle you can pull it along with a mini Cooper!!! (A shame we don't have one) It has a pop up kitchen, with espresso machine and dishwasher! Don't get me wrong I am not actually suggesting it would work for the three of us, plus the cats, however Kell Kitching, I am thinking next outdoor market!??!?

Fabulous Friday Finds

Please check out both mine and Kell Kitching's (Little Boombalada) Fabulous Friday Finds on Handmade Kids... http://www.handmadekids.com.au/ It is always very exciting to see your stock displayed on the net on a different website!! I know, small things entertain small minds....

By the way the random picture above was taken at Mardi's house, I love it and wanted to display it! She too might get a buzz out of it...

Photoshoot with the talented Cath Leo

I never thought my dolls would look so cute! Cath's ability to capture every doll's personality was a pleasure to witness. Several pictures to follow have been taken by Cath and myself... don't be concerned if you find it difficult to differientate between the two! However, just incase you are confused, mine are the out of focus, over exposed, fuzzy ones!!!
Classic quote from Cath, they are easy to photograph... they don't move!

Bentley- my new best friend

After catching up with a lovely friend on the weekend and meeting his strong, robust, Black Lab my desire for a doggie around the house intensified once again... even Bentley's obsession with star fish and marking his territory on EVERY sandcastle he spotted has not deterred me. In the meantime, watch this space for the next doggie soft toy, the Bentley.

Handmade Kids

If you have five minutes please check out Handmade Kids. It is incredibly informative, visually satisfying and has awesome sponsors!!!!

Calling all princesses and princes

I suddenly realised that I haven't actually posted my crowns onto the blog, nor the website for that matter!! If you feel the need to spoil your prince or princess this weekend, please come to the Unley Kindergym Market. Saturday 15th May, 10-3pm. There will be lots of lovely stalls I will be attending (!) along with Tiddles and Chich and Wooly Wugs.

Style, Inspiration, Simplicity and Whimsy

Please meet my latest doll collection. They are Inspirational (soldier), Whimsical (Sailor), Simplicity (Red head Holly Dolly) and Style (Yellow Holly Dolly). I still need to work on the boy dolls slightly, but they are all quite happy to hang out with one another!!!

The Holy Grail

A comprehensive visual reference for all home sewers and crafters! I was thrilled to receive it from my parents for my Mother's Day gift. Now all I need is an hour or ten to mull over every inch of it!!! Holly!??!?!?

Those fateful words...

"Mummy, I am just giving the dolls a hair cut..."
How can such damage be done by one toddler, one pair of scissors, a couple of minutes and four dolls! This is the before photo... I could not bring myself to photograph the end result!!! Anyone up for some unpicking??? Aunty Margaret?

New Liza Emanuele Winter Doll Collection

After much deliberation I decided to go with the black, white and red theme for the latest collection for Liza Emanuele's shop. Liza kindly gave me the fabric, which was exquisite to work with... (clearly not from Spotlight!), I only hope the colour scheme is and my designs are up to her standard. Please feel free to pop into Liza's shop on King William Road (next door to Gary Castles and Assagio) and check out her winter range and the dolls!

snug as a bug in a woollen collar!?

My latest purchase... a stunning collar from Klei
I bough an emerald green/turquoise colour which will look stunning with all of the grey and black I wear in winter. Can't wait for it to get really cold now so I can wear it!

PS I finally remembered to upload image first!!!

I Made It!!!

After several intensive hours of tutoring by the gorgeous Kelly Kitching from Little Boombalada (hyperlink tutorial accomplished- tick!) I have finally Made It! Not only on the Made It website, but also in the land of Face book. I have been a tad reluctant to embrace the phenomena that the rest of the world is giddy over... but I can now safely say, I have turned the corner. My very lame Face book fan page, Sassilu Adelaide, is up and running and it was very sweet of all of my loyal friends to hit the 'like' button... although there are a couple of you out there.... I am still waiting!!! kidding.

On a very different note, I bought a gorgeous woollen beanie from Nature's Cradle for my niece. The country air will never give you another earache babe!!! Ok, clearly I forgot the section on add picture first if you want it at the bottom of the blog... I will get there Kelly, I promise!!!

My ideal heaven...

My favourite blog, the purl bee, and its corresponding shop in New York have moved to a new location. The Purl Soho has to be any crafter's idea of heaven and the opportunity for cross-craft projects are endless! Cross-craft meaning an embroidered sewn dress, or a scarf with crocheted flowers on it... not in the respect of craft being in a bad mood!!!

I would do anything to be able to attend the Customer Appreciation Day, just imagine what their goodies bags would contain!!!

ST Peter's Fair

Holly Auld from the Nanny Webb and Lysia. Holly chatted with several desperate mums and dads in need of a decent nanny/babysitter!

Mat and Holly dollies with crowns

Holly Pirate dolly

Well, Kelly Kitching from Little Boombalada would be very proud of me... not only have I a) taken some pics at the fair today b) uploaded them, but c) I am actually posting them on the same day!!! unheard of for me. I promise I will in time become more savvy with all of the different portals out there. (Kell are you free for tutorials on a daily basis!?)
Anyway, today was loads of fun meeting new customers, chatting with the bubbas, and explaining two new fabric ranges that I am currently using. The gorgeous Sproutdesign fabric, which is based in Croydon, was a huge hit with many customers. Not only is the fabric funky and vibrant, but local as well. Always a good thing. I have also started making organic cotton toys from Cloth fabrics,and bamboo twill toys from Hempco. Unfortunately, both of those are interstate, but at least the stockist for Cloth Fabric is local.

The other exciting piece of info is that I have started a new range of dolls... the Holly Dollies. The doll is based on a pattern from Bit of Whimsy, however I have modified it (they can now sit down! and tinkered with the facial features etc. The other new editions are a lion and a bumble bee.

Going National!

I have managed to get my Sassilu dolls, Ragdolls and crowns into a gorgeous, magical children's shop in Sydney called Little Voice. It is in the Queen Victoria Building and I can't wait to go and visit the shop and see my dolls in there! It is all so exciting! Nastassia is passionate about empowering all children and their 'little voices' especially those displaced by war, attrition and deprivation. The shop is exquisitely designed to capture the magical aspects of childhood through furniture, fabrics, jewellry, accessories and art. If in Sydney please pop in and see my toys and the wonderful Nastassia!
www.lilyproductionanddesign.com.au

Bowerbird Bazaar

I had a wonderful morning cruising around the Bowerbird Bazaar with my gorgeous friend Connie. I bought divine organic cotton and hemp from Cloth and Sprout Designs for my new Sassilu eco range. I hope to make toys by Easter with them and will take pics to show you all.
I hope the Easter Bunny finds all of you and delivers lots of chocolate, fruit, wine, whatever it is that takes your fancy! SLEEP!

www.bowerbirdbazaar.com.au

PS I am secretly hoping I might be apart of the Oct Bowerbird Bazaar... must get cracking on being far more creative!

Mathilda's Market

After a final dash to the finish line and masses of help from my mother and sister I made it to Mathilda's Market. The day was a great experience and I met lots of lovely stallholders and customers. Thank you to all of the toy loving people out their who bought my hand made toys, all one off, unique, hand made creations.
Also check out Mathilda's Markets blog, there are some great pictures of several stallholders.

mathildasmarkets.blogspot.com

Lily the bunny felt hat wearing model!

Gorgeous Leah modelling one of my felt crowns.

Also check out the St Peter's Fair on 10th April, 10am-3pm at Joslin Reserve, Joslin.

I look forward to seeing you there!