Before I reveal our winner...

...here are some of our favourite photos of the party.

You still have a chance to win a doll that will be made especially for you by answering the question you will find at the end of the post HERE.


Deadline for an answer will be the 5th of June 2010.
Good luck!

Aliénore's Birthday A Story in Two Acts

Psssssssssst!

Are you here? please tip toe in and make sure you whisper...shhhhhhhHHhhhh...

Make yourself at home, take a seat, have a cup of tea and a slice of cake. ShhHhhh...

Here she comes!

Hide!!!

We don't want to spoil the surprise...

Are you still with us?

Ok, while she is on her way back from the shop let me show you what the children have prepared for this lovely doll ( if you click on the children's names you will discover who has been kind to tell them about the surprise party):

By Clara( who has her own blog)

By Liberty

This one is by "Omé"

by Emily


by Valerie

by Andy

by Hannah

By Nicholas

I am very impressed! you've all done a fabulous job and I will make sure that Aliénore sends you all a Thank You card.

Shhhhhhhh...I can here her in the lane.

She is getting closer... And closer...

ARE YOU READY?

1, 2, 3!!!

Oh! what a party! hope you've all had fun!

Aliénore is in bed now but if you don't feel like going to bed yet, you can continue to party over there with all the other guests.

Thank you! thank you! THANK YOU!

A Pink Dreamer

My Enchanted Home

Carousel Dreams



OooooooOooooooooooOOOOoooh there is another party here at The Quintessential Magpie!

just for Aliénore!

NANNYKIM has also prepared a special surprise for Aliénore. SO ADORABLE !

FLOWERS and ART (my dear friend KIM)

NOW TIME FOR A LITTLE GAME:

Question:

I initially used to sell my dolls on craft fairs,but do you know why Aliénore was never sold to the market?
If you find the answer to this question, I will be more than pleased to prepare a personalised doll for you.

Ready?

I cannot wait to read your answers.

Time for me to go to bed. I will come and pay a little visit to everybody tomorrow.

Good luck!

Keep on dreaming my dear friends!

INVITATION to a BIRTHDAY PARTY

Dear blog friends,

on the

21st of this month

will be Aliénore's first birthday.

With the toys of the house we have planned a very special day for this sweet little doll whose adventures you've been following for almost 365 days!

I have asked Aliénore what would please her for her birthday and she said she would love to see some

children's drawings of her.

How sweet!

So, if you have children, grandchildren , nephews, nieces... well, tell them about little Aliénore who would love to have a portrait of her.

There will be prizes to win!

Send me the drawings via e-mail before th 20th and don't forget to specify your name and age. I will publish the drawings here on the blog.

SO, 1,2,3, GRAB YOUR PAPER, COLORING PENCILS OR PAINT OR...ANYTHING AND... GO!

The doll has got absolutely no idea of what has been organised for her on this very special occasion .

There will be many surprises for the adorable Aliénore.

Everything will be revealed on the 21st.

If you are no longer a child but still young at heart, you are more than welcome to prepare something for her. A photo, a poem, ANYTHING you want to surprise Aliénore.

Will you join in?

Feel free to grab the picture below to announce the event on your blog and let me know you are participating by leaving a comment here so I can get the link to your blog and add you as a special birthday guest on the 21st.

Things to share with you

There are universes here on blogland that are so enchanting that you just don't want to share them. You just want to keep them just for yourself like a child who doesn't want to share a new toy.

There is one I would like to share with you dear blog friends. Enough of childish selfishness.

Let me introduce you to ARTFUL FAIRYTALES .It is a blog that will make your imagination wander with its delightful and colourful pictures and enchanting words.

There is also a giveaway that will end on 29th May.

So, if you feel lucky, just stop and grab a bit of fairy dust.

Click on the pic to visit.

On another note, if you have enjoyed Alice in Wonderland, I highly recommend the absolutely fabulous book by Nancy Wiley. For those who love fairytales and Art dolls.

Click on the photo below to fly to her universe.

A Frog Story or The Wind of Change

Dear blog friends,

I told you I would explain a bit more about why I hadn't been so present here on Blogland lately and there is a very good reason. Let's call it, the "wind of change".

I never thought that one day, I would find a universe out there in the jungle ( =real world) where my dreams could have a "normal" place.

I have started a brand new life where Papillon Bleu can spread her wings and feel herself.

It is a place where dreams are possible, it is a place where children are mini Kings and mini Queens. It is a place full of toys, full of beautiful clothes for mini Princesses and mini Lords.

It is a place where you see mothers bursting with love for their children. It is a place where even fathers and grandfathers return to their very own childhood. Yes, I've seen this very special sparkle of love and happiness in their eyes each time they enter the shop.

Yes...it is a shop I am talking about but not just any shop.

A shop called CHILDRENSALON. This is where I have been these last weeks.

I am surrounded by magical toys and the most beautiful clothes one could ever dream of for a child.

On 2nd March 2010 Papillon Bleu UK universe entered the universe of CHILDRENSALON ( amazing website too!).

And you know what?

I am happy.

And this is my first story for Childrensalon.

Hope you will enjoy it.

All the best to you all.

( please don't forget to pause the blog's music in the side bar)

Little film to say "Merci Liberty, Mercedes AND Sylvie!"

Things are changing here on my little planet and I have got to say that I truly apologise if I didn't take time to reply to all your lovely comments lately.
The changes are very positive and I will be more than happy to tell you more about it later but first, I have three special thanks to make.

I am always amazed by the generosity of you all here on Blogland.There are so many people out there gifted with such talent that I feel very priviledged to have encountered them.

There is a special little girl named Liberty who has recently sent me a letter and a lovely box in which was something she made all by herself. I was very impressed and Aliénore truly enjoyed the special present.
As you know, an apple doesn't fall far from the tree and her mother, Mercedes, has also added to the parcel several handmade miniatures that I will let you discover in the little film.It is always such a moving moment to discover miniaturists work in real. It is here, in your hand and once again, the Gulliver effect lets you speechless.

The third person is a remarkable artist who makes fascinating dolls and for whom Fimo has absolutely no more secrets. Her name is Sylvie, she is a Fairy...yes, a real one! She is Fée des Choses . You can vist her HERE.She is French but understands English, so go visit her and congratulate her on her wonderful work.

Thank you! thank you! thank you again!

I feel honoured to be able to share all those dreams with you all.

Aliénore goes to Angers

Last week I had to go to France to sort out boring adult stuff. I asked Aliénore if she wanted to travel with me.

"Angers? Angers? Is this a place full of angry people?"she asked.

So I explained that this was the name of my home town that I hadn't seen for a whole year . "You don't pronounce Angers as in angry but as in angel (Angers=anjé)"I corrected.

So Aliénore decided she would travel with me and was very excited to go to France for the very first time.

She was so excited to go on the Eurostar.

And 2 hours later we were in Paris in a taxi going to another station where we had to catch another train.

We drove past the Louvres and the glass Pyramid. Aliénore insisted that I took this picture to show you because she loves art so much.

Once at Montparnasse, Aliénore had been such a good doll that she was rewarded with a little ride on a carousel.

Then we jumped on the train and 1 hour and 30 minutes later we were in my beloved town.

An exhibition of Nikki de Saint Phalle at the Museum of Arts.

Something weird in the window of an art gallery.

Here is the gigantic medieval chateau of Angers ( built in 1230).

This is La Maison d'Adam( built circa 1500), and on the other picture you can see a very naughty detail that made Aliénore laugh a lot."Take a picture!" she said.She still can't stop giggling when she looks at this photo...naughty Aliénore!


Well, we just stayed 2 days, but it was the best 2 days I had in a loooooong time!How good it was to see my beautiful town again.But even good things have to end sometimes and we had to go back to England where my new life is.

Then, once back in England, there were 2 surprises waiting for me, a bad one and a good one:

1)-My adorable cat had decided it was time to fall asleep and never wake up again.Maybe she knew we were in Angers and wanted to be part of the angel town.She was going to be 18.The greatest cat in the world! (won't talk too much about her...)

2)-Edward ( thanks for the name KIM!) couldn't wait to show us what he discovered in the garden:

DAFFODILS!

Life goes on...