allsorts

In the English countryside with Phil and Philippa

What do you say to visiting a charming cottage in Derbyshire today? It's a former gamekeeper's residence that has been made into the most cozy and comfortable home by owners Phil and Philippa Heath (I just love their names) and their adorable brood of four. Such a happy group...

This is truly my sort of home... bright, happy and slathered with clean white paint, with splashes of red checks and lots of handmade touches around the place. It looks like such a fun place to live.

See what I mean? How cozy and comfy can you get?

I love that we can peek into open shelves and glass cabinet doors...

Sweet pops of red all over the house... and hearts!

Even the aga is red... I mean really. Could it be any more English?

Those floors are amazing... it's all so perfect! And even the bathroom is perfect!

Feels like we've been on a nice little holiday, doesn't it? All these photos are by Brent Darby... you can read more at Period Living.

Hope you all have a lovely jolly weekend! As for me, I will be dreaming of my own perfect someday cottage in the English countryside.

Cheers,

Jenny

Laura is the winner!

Comments on my previous post are now closed, and so it's time to announce the winner of the Craft Hope book!

Using the always reliable random number generator, the winner is... Laura Jacobsen! Hey, I know her, she's a fabulously talented illustrator, who works amazing magic with pastels. You should check out her beautiful work! Congratulations Laura, your book will be on it's way soon!

And a big thank you to everyone for all the Pupkin love, and for taking the time to visit my blog, and being super nice and all. Hugs to each and every one of you!

Cheers

Jenny

Lemonade, pupkins and a giveaway

ell, hello little pupkins! Remember these guys? They were my contribution to the Craft Hope book that Jade Sims organized. Now Lark Publishing has released it, so I thought a blog post was definitely in order!

I just got my copy, and immediately pored (poured?) over each page. It is packed with beautiful photos and great projects from crafty bloggers we know and love, each paired with a charity. I was thrilled to see my pupkins paired with Alex's Lemonade Stand, an organization inspired by a four year old cancer patient who started a lemonade stand to help in the effort to fight cancer. Check out their site, it's a wonderful group doing great work.

Would you like a little behind the scenes peek? I don't often show much more than the final project, but maybe you'd like to see some of the idea process. This was the initial idea sketch I sent to Lark:

Once they approved the pupkins, I worked out all the patterns, and submitted my fabric choices so they could get an idea how my color scheme would work with the rest of the projects. You can see how the muzzle details changed in this next image I sent to Lark.

I am so grateful that Jade asked me to participate, the book is a beautiful collaboration, and I am honored to be a part of it. In celebration of the release, I've got a copy of the book to give away, and I'll even sign it if you like. Just leave a comment on this post, and I'll draw a name on Friday ...on second thought, let's make it Monday (August 16). Good luck!

Cheers,

Jenny

ps - today is our anniversary! Love ya big guy!

Colorful maids on parade

espite the heat, I found the energy to work on the full color versions of my Pretty Maids dolls! Just finished up and couldn't resist arranging them for a group portrait. Smile girls! Looks like the cast from It's a Small World (sorry, now we'll be humming that the rest of the day) I thought maybe I should get around to making those prints I talked about way back in... um... January?

Also, I've started making a list for the next set of dolls. Now is the time to get in any requests you might have for countries that I haven't covered yet. So far I already have several requests for Germany and Sweden, and I feel like I should represent South America and Africa. Does Australia have a folk costume? Any other suggestions? Also, any help in finding examples of folk/native costumes would be really appreciated. You have no idea how hard that part is. Just try Googling "national costume" or anything similar and you'll get either images from Miss World pageants or cheesy Halloween costumes. Not useful.

Anyway... happy Monday!

Jenny