The things we love...

Say hi to my brother's Ben's teddy, Teddy. Don't ask me why he lives with me, somehow I became his surrogate carer. I'm happy I am because he is so gorgeous and he reminds me of my brother who lives a long way away. Teddy was loved so passionately by Ben that he had to have surgery to remove his foot. Ben would 'foof' it so much that it pretty much disintegrated.  All around his little face too are signs of that long ago 'foofing', when Ben was a boy.

This is Little Ted. He belonged to my first boyfriend, Ant ( Antony).

When Ant died at 19 I was lucky enough to adopt Little Ted. He is a daily reminder of a beautiful person who died too early, who remains forever in my heart. I know that he loved this little bear,

when he was little and somehow that is a comfort to me, and brings me closer to someone I will always miss.

When I was a little girl my greatest love was Floppy. She is still with me and when I found her yesterday in the Trunk of Memories, she still made my heart skip a beat. She is a funny looking old thing, very low on stuffing and wonky of eye, but boy is she adorable.

She has the cutest little pink swan hair clip, a jumpsuit with animals on it and a fabulous dressing gown with a tiny pocket. I used to tear up tissues to make her own mini tissue and pop it in that pocket. I cuddled her at night, talked to her, told her all my secrets. She loved me back and kept me safe. Oh....Floppy.

There was also a lovely little doggie who I adored. Snowball, see above. She has really dynamic personality and we went on many adventures together. Floppy stayed home and minded the fort. I've always been partial to dogs with whiskers..I have Snowball to thank for that.

When Sunday was a baby we gave her a green teddy from the Poppy Shop, in Carlton. She grabbed that Teddy and never let him go. She cuddled him so much his fur all rubbed off.

So we bought another, and another. This was also helpful as there were a few occasions when she misplaced him and oh boy, the night is long when a teddy is missing.

She also had her own branded of 'foofing', a kind of sucking the thumb and twiddling arrangement that created holes in her teddy's ears. Teddy No.1 became Hole Ted.

When Lucy was about one we went to Kmart for some pre Christmas shopping. On the way out she grabbed a teddy that was in a big box of mixed toys. Being the total sucker I am we took the teddy along to the check out where the assistant told us she wasn't on the stock list. Someone had left her behind. Teddy was put in a brown paper bag and sent away to wait for a month to see if she was claimed. During that time I forgot all about her until I got a call from the shop.

"Your teddy is waiting for you"

Excitement! Lucy opened up her present on Christmas day and there she was. Her pre loved, forgotten teddy.And he's been with us ever since. Even I like to have a cuddle of Teddy, she is pretty special.

And they all are. All the toys that our family have loved over the years. Char had a Panda with one eye, Bill had a Captain Feathersword, I'm sure Mark had a beloved bear too. And Rosie has Lucky, the op shopped hound dog from Woodend.

I love the way these creatures of comfort are so meaningful, the way they bring us happiness, memories, friendship and love. Do you have someone special in your life? I know some of you do as you told me in my giveaway post. I had so much fun reading about the dolls and toys of your childhood.

That's all from me today folks,

time to skedaddle out the door for school pick up.

Hope your week is travelling along happily,

see you soon, lovely ones xo

Giveway winner!!

Hello lovely ones..thank you so much for your patience with me, finally today I am happy to tell you we have a winner of my bunny giveaway!!

But firstly I must just say how fun it was to read about everyone's childhood toys. So many people spoke with such affection of these long time friends. It's nice to know that we can carry these often furry and sometimes falling apart loved ones from childhood into our adult life. I remember as a little girl we often visited Mirka Mora in her studio that was always filled to the brim with toys, dolls of all shapes and sizes.  Many of her own creations but there were also old prams, china dolls, rag dolls,it was heaven. It showed me that even grown ups like to play, to dream, to be surrounded & inspired by toys. That childhood is an important part of who we are as adults.

Thank you for sharing little snippets from your own life..here are a few for you to enjoy.

Lara Motta wrote:
My favourite childhood toy is actually a little blue bunny funnily enough. I got it for Easter the year my baby brother was born and he still sleeps with me (the bunny that is). He's been to 11 countries in Europe, NZ and all over Australia. Very well travelled and loved!


Grace said:
My favorite toy as a child was an orange and brown (it was the 70s!) dog called Monty. He was very dear, and fell apart with too much love.


andymona wrote:
I still have my teddy bear. He's tucked away, but occasionally when l come across him l give him a little hug. He was velveteen, but that's all worn of now.


and gardenglut said:


My favourite toy when I was a young one was Scotty. Scotty was a georgeous dark grey West Highland Terrier or 'Scotty dog' toy. Scotty had a wonderful woolen tartan dog coat. He was tuff and texturerd and was great to snuggle your face in! Thanks for making me think of Scotty!  

and lastly from waverider,

My favourite toy from childhood is a baby doll called Susie who i still have. To make her even more special, she is dressed in a gorgeous pink layette that my beloved Nan knitted for her. Whenever I look at her I can see my Nan sitting on the couch in her lounge room knitting away, lovely memories!


What a beautiful memory..thanks waverider.

Sadly there can only be one winner, but you are all winners to me! Congratulations to lovely Alma who left the very first entry. I'm so excited that Bluebell will be flying over to live with Alma and her family in Brooklyn, New York!! What a thrill for a little bunny from country Victoria. I'm sure she will get lots of love and cuddles. Alma if you could email me your details I will pop Bluebell in the mail for you asap.

So that's it from me today. I'm busy in the kitchen making cake and apple & rose hip jelly, thinking too of other ways to use up the huge amount of apples we have this year. Happy days! Hope yours is a happy one too, see you soon xo

hello

  

What happens when you don't blog for almost two weeks?

Lots of stuff happens. School holidays happen..leaves fall...nights grow colder..days get shorter..

and giveaways don't get given away.

I'm so sorry to all those who entered my little bunny giveaway..I haven't forgotten you!

 I so loved reading every single one of your comments, hearing about your childhood toys was music to my ears. The common threads of comfort, company, memories and love ran through each one. It's so sweet how we can all be linked by our childhood toys, they are such treasures to us all, whether they still exist or remain forever in our hearts.

Although mine is a teeny tiny business, producing only a few bunnies in the scheme of things,

even if only one of those bunnies became someones special childhood toy, it would be the most wonderful thing. I remember once I ran into a child holding a Dandelion bunny, all fluffed up and worn, and it was such a magical feeling. I guess toys, especially handmade ones, really represent that precious part of our lives, when we were young.

Anyway, I will draw out a winner, but not tonight. Keep an eye out though as it will be one day this week, and again, I'm sorry I have taken so long.

I've been caught up with sick kids too, who still aren't quite better. And holidays, and a job application that lead to an interview that lead to some part time work! Which is a bit exciting, I'm really happy about it. I'll be working as a Teacher's Aide and start tomorrow. I've also been caught up with birthdays, Lucy turned 12 & also found out she got into her school of choice for high school, she is over the moon.

and our beautiful Sunday turned nine! 

Wow, these kids of ours are really growing up. 

And we somehow got a new bunny, gave our neighbours two of our ducks, had our gorgeous Charlotte home for a long stay (yay!!), did some camping (them not me), and a zillion other things. So if it seems I've been missing in action..it's true!

Sometimes life is for living and not for worrying about blogging. 

Anyway, it's nice to have broken the ice, to have shared some of our days, to be back in a place I love.

See you shortly for a giveaway announcement..take care lovely ones and have a wonderful week xo

Giveaway Thursday!

Katie

Hello! How are you today?

I'm a bit excited today, the sun is shining and I'm happy because my little online

store is finally updated and looking snazzy!

I hope to keep it looking this way with lots of new bits & pieces,

including of course..

lots of bunnies!

These are some of the bunnies you will find in my store today..

I do hope you will pop/hop over and have a look.

You will also find this rainbow quilt cover, the first of many I hope!

To celebrate the shop reopening I am happy to say I am having a giveaway!

 This little blue bunny is looking for a new home..

Her name is Bluebell, of course. She has been lovingly made with beautiful soft alpaca wool and she is wearing a dear little blue woollen cardigan and a pretty laced edged flowery skirt. Did I mention she is super cuddly? Oh yes she is!

There are several ways to win this little bunny....

*  if you follow my blog you will have one chance,  

                  *  if you 'like' the Dandelion Facebook page you will have two 

           *  and if you are a follower on Instagram you'll have three!!

 Please leave me a comment so that I know. And if you feel like it tell me the name of your most loved childhood toy. This giveaway is open to all, Australia & O/S so please spread the word! I do hope you win!

Thanks to all my friends out there, I really love all your comments and thoughts, some of you I have known for a long time now and some are new friends which is lovely too. So good luck, and

see you soon! xo

Things that make me smile...

It's been a hell of a week & like many other people I haven't felt much like blogging. This week I am trying to get back on track & I'm really enjoying, and am grateful for, simple things and things that make me smile. One of those is my brother's teddy, above. When my brother was a little boy he loved his teddy so much - you can see from the picture that this is one much loved bear. Ben had a way of sucking his thumb and sort of twiddling Teddy at the same time (technical term 'foofing). Such a lot of foofing went on that in the end mum had to amputate Teddy's foot. I'm not sure how I ended up with this lovely bear but he sits on my shelf and makes me smile.



While we're on beloved toys here is a group of my favourites. Big Ted was found in a op shop and begged me to take him home. How could I resist? On his lap is Little Ted who belonged to a lovely boyfriend of mine who died at nineteen. He is very special. Next is Helen Holiday who was given to me by my nan when I was seven. She was simply the best present ever. Nan made a wardrobe of gorgeous outfits, underwear, nightie, a ski suit and a beautiful fur lined cape with a hood -all in a little suitcase. I can still remember my excitement. As you can see she has lost her clothes along the way... I really should find something for her to wear! Sitting next to her is Charlotte (I've always liked the name!) who I have had forever. This little group sit and take in the world out my window, they do make me smile.



During the week I lashed out a bought a few books. One is this gorgeous book, Material Obsession. Will I ever make a quilt? Hmmmm....I can dream.

On Valentine's Day I set off with Sunday to go to the Kyneton Farmer's market. We had booked a chook, well actually two, and went to pick them up. While we were there we fell in love with two little budgies who were canoodling and smooching. We decided we would buy them as a family present, oh how cute they are. Of course they have been named Romeo & Juliet - lets hope they have a brighter future than their namesakes!

Speaking of smooching...(apologies for the blurry photo but the photographer was overcome by emotion!) Hope you all enjoyed some love on the weekend too. x