Back To School Girls

It's getting to be that time of year again. 

Are you like me and still get the faintest of knots in your belly when 'Back to School' approaches?

I love school supplies.

In fact, it is a challenge for me to visit a Staples store and leave without a new pen.  And a scribbler.  I'm still waiting for my bouquet of sharpened pencils...  Remember the old Hilroy exercise books - the ones with the big black circle?  Ah, nostalgia.

Why do people always give grading presents?  Shouldn't kids get presents for going back to school? Isn't that the part that should be celebrated and encouraged?

Colleen over at Curtains are Open is having a special Back to School season this year, with her eldest daughter heading off to university.  In an effort to assist her daughters with the impending separation, Colleen asked Sonia and I to make each daughter a doll reflective of their gorgeous images. 

Here are the sweet results, a Big Sister and Little Sister, freckles and all ...

 

I hope these two little sweeties help with the transition happening over at Colleen's.  I'm sure everyone there has bellies that are filled with more than a few knots. 

Good luck!!

... especially to Mom ...

Soakin' Up the Sun

Thanks to Colleen from Curtains are Open, we recently recieved a commission to do two dolls dressed for the beach.  Colleen's good friend Kim was looking for a special surprise for her two little girls upon arrival to their cottage following the end of the school year.

These are the two little beach bum-ettes:

Polka dot bikinis!!!

Complete with hand embroidered bikini straps, anklettes, toe nail polish, and yes ... as promised ... belly buttons!!!

Turquoise and green.

Pink and orange.

I think that Kim's little dolls are going to love their surprises when they get to the cottage this summer.  What lucky girls!!  

We're linking to:

Blue Cricket Design

Joyful Distractions

While dropping by Starbucks yesterday to meet Kim, a lovely gal looking to buy dolls for friends who are moving to Germany, I had the added pleasure of meeting and enjoying Colleen, writer of the Curtains are Open blog I wrote about here.  We owe Colleen's TSH feature post for the sale, plus two additional custom orders for Kim and Colleen that I will tell you about later.  (Teaser - there will be belly buttons!)

As well, I had the delight of finding a new crafty book that I had not previously discovered: Yarn Harlot by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee, a wonderful Canadian blogger you can also enjoy here. 

Anyone read this?  I started it last night and it is pretty captivating and quite funny.  I'm not a knitter but as a sewer I can certainly relate to the trials, infatuations and obsessions associated with craft that Stephanie details. 

The very fact that I've started to read this book is surprising, although it has nothing to do with the book itself.  The surprising part is that I've also recently begun a new Hugh MacLennan book, Voices in Time that has proven very enjoyable.

And you all know how I feel about Hugh MacLennan' s writing, so I will not torment you with yet another diatribe regarding his literary greatness.  And no, I haven't forgotten my promise to share my renewed insights pertaining to The Watch that Ends the Night, reading number... 10?  It's all locked away and will be

 released to you once I relocate it in my memory.   

I've read about half of MacLennan's fictional work but Voices in Time is a virgin experience for me.  This was the last book he published before his death and is claimed by many Canadian literary scholars to be his best work.  If this were a credible blog, I would probably go so far as to offer up citations to that effect, but who are we kidding?  Either way, this book is beyond enticing and I'm so eager to see where it will take me in my mind (what's left of it at the end of the day, anyway). 

Hence, it is considerably surprising that I even allowed myself to look at another book in my present state of joyful distraction. 

I gotta get a hold of myself.  How much intrigue can one simple little mind withstand?? 

Curtains are Open

We were delighted when fellow blogger Colleen, from Curtains are Open, contacted us after discovering our blog at Nova Scotia Bloggers.  Her lovely blog is a lighthearted depiction of her life, impressions and growth as a mother and woman living here in Halifax.  Colleen has a great sense of humor that translates well into her writing - I think you'll enjoy her take. 

Rather taken with our dolls, Colleen was eager to do a feature piece on us and our work as Third Street Handcrafters.  After some correspondence, Colleen's Rags to Riches post went live yesterday.  It was a real "aw shucks" read for me as she was exceedingly kind in her praise.  Thanks Colleen! 

So hope on over to read her lovely post and leave a comment to show her some support.