Let's have a stroll together at Covent Garden

Welcome to London!

Let's jump out of the taxi.

I am pleased to have you by my side to spend some time here in Covent Garden.

Come on! let's hurry! I think it is about to rain, so we'd better rush under the big arcade.Shall we do some shopping together?

Let's have a look at the windows.

Would you like some perfume maybe?

Or...

... something unusual , colourful and absolutely useless ?

Hhmmm...

I think I could definitely take one of those hot air balloons at home.

Oh! LOOK!!

Strawberries dipped in white chocolate!!!

That would be a bit naughty!

In fact, I am starting to be a little hungry. Aren't you?

Where shall we eat?

Lets'a have a look around.

Oh! I love it here!!! The crowd, a big paëlla and someone is playing the violin in the corner.

I simply love the atmosphere.

Don't you?
...

After a lovely break, I think we ought to move on.

We have some dolls to deliver.

Let's pop to the shop!

My oh my! Are these giant dollies?

Bree and Louisa are sweet, funny and ever so creative young ladies.

I am in love with their Lolita looks.

If you ever want to adopt this style, Louisa makes incredible dresses and jewels right here!

Chit chat and giggles, the shop is crowded and everyone has a smile and is so friendly.

Time to play one last time with the dolls.

It is always a bit difficult to say goodbye.

I know the dolls are in good hands though.

Let's tiptoe out and let the dolls know a little bit more about the lovely store.

Soon they will be going to a loving family.

***

Back to the massive Victorian shopping mall.

You can learn a lot about the fascinating background of the place here.

Let's wander a bit in the past...

... and gently step back into the present..Modern or past, I do love the spirit of Covent Garden.

Time flies, it is time to part my dear friends.

I hope you've enjoyed the little tour.

There is soooooooooooooooooooo much to say about this place.

Maybe one day, if you have the chance to visit London, just give me a call and I will be more than happy to take you there as I once did with a dear blog friend and artist Deidra Doan. But this is another story...

4 sisters

Once upon a time there were 4 sisters who loved toy theatres.

Their names were Natasha, Louise, Claire and Kim.

Kim and Natsha were twins.

They decided to go for a trip to London as they heard there was a lovely shop where they could find their favourite toys. The shop was called Benjamin Pollocks Toyshop and was located in Covent Garden.

They wore their favourite dresses for the special occasion and also their favourite bonnets.
Natasha never wore hats as she found them itchy and thought it would hide her beautiful fair hair.

After a wonderful day spent in London, the 4 sisters had all come back with a treasure.

Louise, who was the eldest, chose a lovely toy thatre so she could play and tell stories to her younger sisters.

Claire, chose a treasure box decorated with her favourite puppet show "Punch and Judy".

Natasha, who loved bright colours, bought an Harlequin puppet. She would play with it and hang it in her bedroom.

Kim, who was only 12 minutes younger than Natasha, chose a carousel.

She just loved it so much!

But started having second thoughts when she looked at her twin's lovely puppet.

"Will you let me play with your puppet Natasha?"

"Of course Kim, we can share because that's what sisters are for."

***

Aaaaaaaaaah if only the whole world could get on as well as dolls do!

I am happy to present you these 4 new dolls initially made for a challenge on ADO .

Claire, Natasha and Louise will be exclusively found at Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop ( link in sidebar).

Little Kim will stay in my house. She just made my heart melt.

It was a real pleasure to make their little toys.

I hadn't made a mini theatre for so long!

The mini carousel comes from a lovely ETSY store called Open House Miniatures. I just fell in love wit the lovely creations there.

The dolls will be at Benjamin's Pollock Toyshop next week. I will share photos with you! Cannot wait to take photos there. The place is so inspiring!

*****

Much love to you all my dear friends!

Thanks and welcome to all the new followers.

It is a pleasure to have you here. I hope you will like it in my dolly universe.

*****

The Special Marionette Collection and Hermeline

Dear friends,

before I start, I would like to thank you all for your kind words, wonderful support and Rafael's special bear hug that I really enjoyed!

It means the world to me to know there are so many extraordinary people out there!

I am still on my giant life roller coster at the moment and am not sure am enjoying the ride so much...

Anyway, am still holding tight to my happy thoughts such as this one:

We are working on a great challenge with the members of ADO, the theme is "Marionettes".

As you know, I love toy theatres and anything that evolves around this universe so, I have decided to prepare not 1 but 4 dolls for this special event.
I know, it is rather ambitious but...am I so looking forward to presenting you this new collection.

In fact, 3 of the dolls are especially designed for one of my favourite shops in London:

Benjamin Pollock's Toyshop!

Here on the photo above, you can see my work in progress .

Below is a video I made a long time ago about the shop.

Also, I have now finished my sweet Hermeline and she is now looking for a home.

I really hesitated to add her to the shop as she looks so cute on the shelf with my little mice.

Moreover, I have chosen to use 2 of my favourite colours on this doll: red and green.

I think it works perfectly together!

It is a bit tricky to choose the right combination of colours sometimes but I find that children's books, museums or Nature itself can be great sources of inspiration.

And you? How do you make your colour choices?