I'm alive?!

It's been about a year and and a half since I have updated this blog - how embarrassing! I am very glad to see it is as popular as ever and I am now am close to 100,000 visits to this blog?! Wow, thank you so much. I have only just began reading through the hundreds of comments / emails I have received and you have all made me smile so much :)

Thank you all for sticking around - don't worry, I am still very fond of my little furry critters and this blog will be back up in action very soon.

Afternoon Tea With Mrs Renard and Mrs Dappledawn

Roxy Renard the fox stood at the front door of the Grand Mansion, home to the Dappledawn rabbits.

Mrs Dappledawn answered the door.

"Hello Mrs Renard! Do come in, awfully chilly wind outside today," Mrs Dappledawn welcomed Mrs Renard into her home. 

"Autumn has certainly set in," Mrs Renard laughed.

"I've just put the kettle on, tea or coffee Roxy?" Mrs Dappledawn asked her, as Mrs Renard settled herself at the parlour table.

"A tea would be charming thank you, I am here for afternoon tea after all!" Mrs Renard replied.

"I better get brewing the tea then," Mrs Dappledawn said, picking up the kettle off the stove.
"Mmmn...whatever you're cooking smells divine, Theodora!" Mrs Renard commented.
"Goodness me! You just reminded me! I need to take the pie out of the oven to cool," Rushing to the oven, Mrs Dappledawn put on an oven glove.

"It's a blackberry pie for Mr Dappledawn's pudding tonight," Explained Mrs Dappledawn, excitedly.
"I only wish I could stay for dinner!" Mrs Renard smiled.
"Ah, the tea's brewed! I can finally sit down, I haven't stopped all day.." Mrs Dappledawn sat at the parlour table opposite Mrs Renard.

The two ladies talked the afternoon away; gossiping, discussing recipes and beauty products, you couldn't have got a word in edgeways!

When Mrs Renard left, they both promised they wouldn't leave it as long next time before they catch up - but they both have very, very busy lives!

Much like me - I'm afraid Sylvanians have really had to just be on the back burner of my life lately :( I have done a little decorating of houses here and there (like the kitchen in the Grand Mansion in the story), but nothing really post-worthy. I always seem to show a greater interest in my Sylvanians around the Winter period so hopefully I will post again sometime soon.

A Lovely Present From a Wonderful Friend

Yesterday, I received a long-awaited gift from my dearest friend Santie! Santie emailed me a while ago to tell me she had a present for me and since then I've been very excited for it to arrive :)

The moment I saw the stamps on the parcel (all the way from South Africa!), I knew straight away what it was and opened it! 

Here is the contents of the package! Some Rooibos Tea, some sweets (how did you know butterscotch was my favourite, Santie?!), some lovely bracelets, two amazing handmade sheep, the EU Sylvanian Families bakery set and a note from Santie. 

Santie noticed that my bakery looked a little bare, and got Mr Appleblossom, the baker from her village, Rooibosch Hill to bake some goodies for Little Chestnut's bakery!

Marion Brighteyes only recently opened her bakery so she is very thankful to Mr Appleblossom for his help in stocking up the bakery :)

Santie has been a friend for quite a long time now, and she is honestly the kindest person I have ever had the pleasure of knowing, and her loveliness is an inspiration to me! Thank you so much Santie, although I hope one day we will meet and I can thank you in person :)

Here is a link to Santie's own Sylvanian website: Lady Lollipop's Sylvanian Families, which you should definitely visit! 

Vintage Mansion, Nursery & School

Because I haven't posted on my blog in a while, I haven't had the chance to show you my new purchases!

The first thing I got (a couple of months ago), was this Grand Mansion from 2001. It was mint in box, the only things it is missing are the hanging basket in the conservatory part and the shoe-cleaner. Considering the extremely low price I paid for it, I was thrilled.

This is my next project to wallpaper / decorate / furnish so I imagine you'll be seeing it again soon :)

Next, I brought the Vintage Nursery from 1989. Again, mint in box. Not even a single accessory missing, even down to the tiny little bowls and bottles.

I absolutely love the little curtains in this, for me they make the whole building! Although, they are quite yellowed with age, so I am considering unpicking them off the rails, giving them a wash and then sewing them back on.

Finally, the Vintage School from 1988, mint in box, and as far as I can work out, with all the furniture and accessories.

It is actually so tiny and adorable! I love the way it looks like an old church. 

The school even has a little door that opens to the bell tower (the bell can actually be rung by pulling the handle!). 

I only showed the buildings with the original accessories/furniture but I'm sure you will see them in stories when I have put some other things in them too :)

Happy May Day!

It's been a long time (over 5 months!) since I've updated this blog, so firstly I'd like to apologise for that. Life has been very busy. Although I haven't been posting on here or the Sylvanian Families Forum, my collecting has continued and I have made several new additions to Little Chestnut. I will be posting pictures of those very soon (I really do promise this time :P ).

Also, my blog turned 2 years old! And reached 40,000 page views, so thank you very much everyone for your support and kind words :)

For now: Happy Mayday from Lily and all the Sylvanians in Little Chestnut :)

Traditionally in my village in England, girls and boys from the local school display a maypole dance every year on May 1st. It's a pretty big celebration, and most towns/villages have a fair.

Easy Handmade Sylvanian Ribbon Dress (for sister figure)

I created this tutorial myself, based of a picture in a Japanese book scan my kind friend Santie from Lollipop's Sylvanians sent me when I was ill earlier in the year.

I made an adult's version earlier this year (shown above). Once you have made this dress, perhaps you could try making a bigger one for an adult figure as I did. 

This super-simple tutorial will show you how to make a pretty dress for a regular sister figure :) I think that a child could make this with adult supervision and help on a few steps.

You will need:
- 1cm wide ribbon
- Rick-rack (or other similar sized trimming, such a miniature crotchet or lace)
- 1.8/2cm wide ribbon (the colour does not matter - you can't see this when the dress is finished)
- 2-3mm wide elastic
- 3-4mm diameter button
- White cotton and/or clear thread

In the photo above from left to right: 1.8/2 cm ribbon, rick-rack, 1 cm ribbon.

Cut a piece of the 1cm wide ribbon to around 11cm. It should fit loosely around shoulders of the figure the dress is intended for (in my case - Renee Sparkle).

Take the ribbon, and cut this piece in half, making sure one half is slightly longer than the other. Sew the miniature button on the end of the shorter piece, and make a button hole on the end of the longer piece.

Cut a 10cm length of the 1.8/2cm width ribbon, two 10cm lengths of rick-rack (or other trimming), and two 10cm lengths of the 1cm ribbon.

Take one of the pieces of rick-rack and sew it along the very edge of the wide ribbon. You do not need to be really neat as it will not show, however it is important you avoid sewing on the outside edge otherwise it will show.

Take a piece of the thinner ribbon and sew it on, overlapping the rick-rack and covering the previous stitches. Then do the same with the other piece of rick-rack.

Sew on the last piece of the thinner ribbon. It should meet up exactly with the edge of the wider ribbon. For a more professional finish, you may want to use a clear thread, or do a neat backstitch in white cotton.

Turn the ribbon the wrong way up and seam it 2/3 of the way up, then split it into two seams (by folding it back on itself). Sew some elastic onto the top of the skirt to create a "tail hole". You need to measure the figure and try it on to work out how big a seam allowance to leave.

Make sure you regularly check the dress on your figure! 

Take the 'strap' piece you made at the start. Ensuring the button is directly in the middle of the back of their neck, decide how you would like the strap to go and pin it together.

Sew the strap pieces onto the skirt. Again, to make it look neater you could use clear thread.

If you would like to make it a bit more formal, you could sew a bow (made of narrow ribbon) onto the front, or some beads along the edges :)

Finished! I hope you enjoyed this tutorial and found it easy and enjoyable, please do leave a comment or subscribe via email to find out when I make a new post! If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and I will happy to help you :-)

Adorable winter knits from Woolly Woodlanders!

I recently received a package from the lovely Hazel from Woolly Woodlanders, who sells miniature knitting patterns and kits she designs herself for Sylvanian Families (Calico Critters).

Although I can knit, I felt my older sister could do the patterns far more justice than I could, so she kindly volunteered to knit them for me.

It's getting very chilly in Little Chestnut so I had quite a few volunteers to model the new clothes!

Cameron Moss is wearing a snuggly jumper from the 'Playing in the Woods' kit.

The problem with Winter is that as much as you want to wear pretty dresses, it's just far too cold! Maria Buckley can now wear a dress that is not only warm but ornate! ;)

One of my favourite patterns are the trousers! Rupert Buckley finds them suitably insulating when skiing.

Tilly Dappledawn loves her warm hat because it doesn't squash her ears!

Juniper Moss and Abbie Keats love taking winter walks! The spotty jumper has to be my all-time favourite :)

These are just a few of the clothes, I will be sure to show some more over the next few months. There might even be a special Christmas Story up in the next few days featuring some more of these adorable clothes, so keep checking back (or you can subscribe for free to be notified by email when I publish a new post - see the toolbar on the right).

There are several options when buying from Woolly Woodlander's website: patterns, kits (which include the patterns and all of the needles/wool/buttons etc) or if you're not quite confident at knitting yet, ready-made clothes. Hazel is only happy to help, so feel free to send her an email if you have any questions before purchasing.

Woolly Woodlanders website, and Etsy.
My older sister's handmade baby clothing company: Tiny Bluebird on Etsy

Please Note: I have not being paid to make this post, I just feel Hazel is extremely talented and deserves some attention :)