The Welcome Party

Note: There wasn't enough space for all my Sylvanians to party so the next photos only feature some of them.

Welcome to our new citizens! (I have yet to name my village). We held a small party to welcome them to our little village.

Party! Party!

The daddies discussing vegetable gardens with Mayor Waddlington.

Clearwater family, reunited at last! Daddy finally came home from the UK.

Kids can't wait for the cake. 

Mr. Cuthbert Marmalade giving Mr. Aristotle Treefellow a tour of the house.

Mrs. Lauren Marmalade sharing recipes with Mrs. Beatrix Spotter

Mrs. Sorrel Cottontail chatting with Mayoress Wanda Waddlington

A view of the kitchen and Mrs. Delia Doughty preparing more treats for the guests.

Now that the mayor is here, the citizens of our village will be gathering for a town hall meeting soon to discuss matters of great importance (i.e. the name of their village) and to have their photo taken. 

More friends!

More of our friends just arrived!

Meet the Persis Persian Cat Family. There is Father Septimus, Mother Salome, Brother Nolly, and Sister Sadie.

Meet the Cottontail Rabbit Family. We have Father Aaron, Mother Sorrel, Brother Gromwell, Sister Willow, Twins Comfrey and Angelica, and an extra baby without a name yet. 

And here we have some school kids. I haven't asked their names yet. But we have 2 Chiffon puppies, and one Silk kitten. 

Time to let them get ready for their welcome party!

(NOTE: the party post will not happen for a few weeks probably... Aaarrrghhh! We have house guests and I can't set up my little houses while they are here).

The British Invasion

They are here!! All the way from the United Kingdom!

Front row: Treefellow Owl family
2nd row: Spotter Meerkat family, Bullrush Frog family, Vandyke Otter family
3rd row: Mr. Clearwater the dentist, DeBurg Penguin family, Waddlington Duck family, Tina Wildwood of the Wildwood Brown Rabbit family
4th Row: (not from the UK but new arrivals just the same) Dale Sheep family, Friesian Cow Family

Last December, I found out that a friend's sister who lives in London is coming home to the Philippines this January to visit. I asked if it's ok for her to bring some stuff home for me and my friend said ok. I was elated! My initial plan was to buy from www.sylvanianfamilies.com whose store is in London. However, each family costs around 16 British Pounds. So I tried scouring ebay.co.uk and found a lot of Sylvanian Families items for sale. I started bidding. 

I was only looking for families which I know are hard to find here in the Philippines. And I scored my first win with the Bullrush Frog Family. Winning that bidding was a turning point. I was a new ebay buyer with no track record. I know some sellers ignore wins by new buyers like me. But thanks to Paypal, I was able to credit payment within a few hours of winning. I got the frogs and that got me started on a bidding spree. 

The items are used... and some are not perfect. Mr. Treefellow has lost his cap and Mrs. Waddlington has lost her bonnet. The Bullrushes are a little faded and there are a couple of discoloration spots on Mrs. Bullrush's face. Mr. Waddlington has a broken and badly glued leg, which the seller "forgot" to mention in his description (deep breaths), but I let it pass and refuse to let that mar my happiness at meeting his family. There were also some GREAT deals. The dentist set with Mr. Clearwater, the Vole, was complete and in excellent condition! I can't wait for him to go home to Mrs. Clearwater and their daughter Stephanie. Both the Spotter and Vandykes are also in excellent condition. I had no plans to bid on the Vandyke family, but I noticed there was little bidding activity so I figured I might get them at a bargain and what do you know... I did! The best deal was with the Treefellows. They were part of a set and they came with the brown rabbit sister and the Maple Town furniture I posted about here. They also came with a small bed and dresser made of wood, and a really nice Barbie-sized, elaborately embellished wood chair. I will feature them soon.

There were a couple of families I was hoping to get but I ran out of time and I hope to get them somewhere else next time. Here are the families that are still on my wish list:

The Bamboo Panda Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Beaufort Polar Bear Family

Photo source: SylavnianFamilies.com

The Bouquet Skunk Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Buckley Deer Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Hamilton Hamster Family (no photo)

The Lopez Chihuahua Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Moss Reindeer Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Neptune Sea Otter Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Nettlefield Goat Family

Photo source: SylvanianFamilies.com

The Tuxedo Cat Family

Photo source: Calico Critters

The Puddleford Duck Family (no photo)

The Plume Owl Family (no photo)

These are my must-haves. The others I don't have, I will probably get, but I don't really like them that much. 

Anyway, the welcome party is happening soon! 

Busy Busy Busy Little Critters

Our little friends are busy preparing for the arrival of our expats. I think they are throwing a welcome party.

Some little kids should stay away from that cake.

Food preparation ongoing!

Note to self: I need a plain green carpet.

Anyway, we can't wait to meet our new friends! Coming soon!

Family Picture!!

One big happy family.

I finally managed to take out most of my Sylvanians out of their boxes to have this group photo taken. I wanted to save this moment because we are saying good-bye to our friends, the Dingles.

Rebecca, Baby Katharina and Dominic Dingle

The Dingles will be joining a new family and they are going on a long journey in their quest for greener pastures (i.e. I am giving them away to a precious little girl whose mom helped me with some new acquisition). We wish them well!

Not to fret though... In a few days, we will be welcoming new members of our growing family. All I can say for now is... the British are coming, soon! 

Pretty Little Crocheted Dresses - Sylvanian Families Edition

Cold weather, like we have been experiencing lately, always inspires me to crochet. Anything made with yarn is usually too hot to wear in weather like ours but it has been unusually cold lately. However, making anything for me takes time... and summer is coming. And I know that when summer comes, all thoughts of crochet usually melts with the heat. So, I focused on making small-scale stuff. And when I say small, I do mean small. 

Rompers for Freya and the Dingles' little girl (does she have a name?)

Dresses for Sybil and daughter Stephanie

I don't like the original dresses that came with Clearwater women. You can check them out in this post. So it was high priority for me to make new ones for them because... well, someone special is coming home soon ;)

A new dress for Delia Doughty

I got Delia Doughty second hand. She came with the Kindergarten Music school that I bought online.When we got her, her original dress, especially the apron part, was looking very worn. Her dress took the longest to make, as it was also my first attempt and I was not using a pattern. I was doing trial-and-error, fitting-fitting-fitting and more fitting, before I managed to complete it. 

The dresses are supposed to go with accessories, but I haven't had time to make the accessories. I hope I find the time soon to make shoes and other accessories to go with their new outfits. 

Back to School

It's back to school for us, and Andi's little friends too.

Andi said that the little bear is her. That's her favorite.

I got the Kindergarten Music School set from sulit.com.ph from a very nice seller, tesl. The set came with the school, the school bus, the Chiffon Dog mother, and 4 babies. Great deal huh? The price wasn't so bad either... just a little over the price of a brand new school bus if you buy it at the mall :) The other babies I bought brand new from the mall.

Now I wish the going back to school part for Andi was just as happy and scenic as it was for her friends but no... she didn't want to go back. She threw a tantrum as I was about to leave her at school... complete with screaming, lying on the floor and kicking. It's the same old scene we go through everytime she has to go back to school after a long vacation. 

Happy New Year!

That's Freya of the Sylvanian Families, holding a trumpet and wearing a polka dot dress for New Year's eve. I have no idea why but it has been a tradition here in the Philippines to wear polka dots for New Year. Red and white polka dots are even better.

Anyway, here's to more posts, crafts, hobbies, travels, and friends (ok fine... and money too to finance those crafts, hobbies, and travels) this coming year!

Toy Store Sales - Part 2

Meet the Barker family (aka the Golden Labrador family).

That's daddy Jerry, brother Tarquin, sister Jocasta, and mommy Margo.*

"Jerry Barker is the tour guide of Sylvania. He takes visitors to all the points of interest around Sylvania and regales them with information about buildings and their origins, historical events and old customs. 

Margo Barker runs the well organised Tourist Information Office. The walls of Margo's office are full of posters and maps and she has leaflets full of details about everything that is happening in Sylvania. 

Brother Tarquin Barker does everything at a sedate pace, he never runs or rushes around. If he could, he would spend all day, every day reading a book in front of the warm open fire in the family front room. 

Sister Jocasta Barker, unlike her brother is full of energy, rushing hither and thither like a mad thing. Give her a ball and she will play for hours in the garden even if there is no one else to play ball with!"

 - from Sylvanian City - 

Mommy Margo and Jocasta are workin' some cool threads don't you think? Among all my Sylvanian characters, I love Jocasta's clothes the most.

Meet more of my friends, the Henry Lloyd family (aka the Chocolate Dalmatian family).

From left: Brother Zac, Daddy Ben, Mommy Pippa, Sister Sarah

"Father Ben Henry-Lloyd is a great sailor and fisherman. He started sailing with his parents when he was a boy and now he has mastered all kinds of watersports. His wife Pippa knows that he will spend morning, noon and night messing about on boats! If he can be persuaded onto dry land then he likes to play cricket!!! 

Mother Pippa Henry-Lloyd also learned how to sail with her parents. She enjoys boating and sailing competitions and has taught her children that teamwork on board is essential so that they will all become very competent sailors. If Pippa has time to relax then she likes to cycle along the riverbank enjoying the views. 

Brother Zac Henry-Lloyd is very enthusiastic about rowing and also about music, as well as being an accomplished sailor. He finds it hard to fit in all the practising required to master all his hobbies, if only he could play a saxophone and row a boat at the same time, now that would be very handy! 

Sister Sarah Henry-Lloyd is very competitive and well organised. She enjoys regattas in the summer, in particular she enjoys the evening parties after the races are finished and the social side takes over. She loves to get dressed up and chat to her friends about the day's events."

- from Sylvanian City - 

And then there are the Clearwaters (aka the Vole family).

Mommy Sybil and daughter Stephanie.

Daddy Spencer is working overseas (i.e. I haven't bought him yet) as a dentist and was not available when we took photos.

"Sybil Clearwater is an expert needlewoman who spends many a happy hour teaching her daughter Stephanie the art of sewing.

Stephanie loves using her mother's sewing machine more than stitching her creations by hand, it's quicker and you don't prick your thumb! Sybil enjoys embroidery as she finds it very relaxing and it can be done whilst listening to the radio."

- from Sylvanian City - 

NOTE: All items are from the Flair items sale at the Sylvanian section of Toys R' Us Rockwell a few weeks ago. All descriptions were copied from the Sylvanian City.

Toy Store Sales - Part 1

Toy store sales never really interested me until a couple of months ago. And the discovery happened accidentally: Toys R' Us set up their toy sale in Trinoma last November right smack in the middle of my route to the MRT. And so that first day of the sale, I went to the sale area... and almost never made it to my office. I wanted to stay all day. A lot of toys were marked down and I mean really, REALLY marked down. 50% of my Christmas list finished in a span of 30 minutes, yeah! The other 50% are adults so...

Anyway, not to ruin the surprise for my daughter and nieces and nephews who have yet to receive their gifts from us for Christmas... I am only posting what I bought for me. Yes, I bought something for me at the toy sale.

The Sylvanian Toy Shop from Flair, The Village Flower Shop, and the Elephant family.

None of which are marked down on the first day I went there, which bugged me initially. But since I will not be able to find these in Manila, I let it pass. 

The Toy Shop and the Flower shop sets are the sets used for display previously by Toys R'Us and the Toy Shop was missing some small pieces (again... which bugged me at first but again, I know I will not find another one in Manila for a while so... *sigh*). I kept asking the sales rep why it was not marked down considering it was a used unit and it was in the sale area but she looked confused and the only answer she could give me was that there was no advise yet if it was included in the sale (um... it's in the sale area, hello?!).

Enough with the rant and on with the fun...

"Hello! Welcome to my Toy Shop!"

I added some other stuff from other Sylvanian sets like the bikes and the shelves, and I used some of my daughter's Squinkies to pose as plushies and dolls.

A closer look at the doll houses and bikes.

Plushies and dolls also available at our toy shop.

Had enough of the Toy Shop? Let's take a quick peek at the Flower Shop.

"Welcome to my Flower Shop!"

There's Mrs. Barker, from the Golden Labrador family, tending the flowers.

A closer look at the Flower Shop.

And that's it for today. Tomorrow, I will introduce the rest of Mrs. Barker's family as well as a couple of other families, scored from another toy store sale. See you!

The Journey to Sylvania

"Hello there!"

It all started innocently enough... one little girl celebrated her 4th birthday a couple of months ago and asked for a doll house. I'm sure she meant a Barbie doll house but daddy and I found some toy figures and generic furniture that resembled those from Sylvanian Families (i.e. Calico Critters) at way lower prices and decided to buy those. We couldn't find a cheap doll house to match so we decided to get her the "My First Sylvanian House" to go with the furniture. 

The humble beginnings.

As you can see, very small house, few furniture and just a couple of figures that were not part of the Sylvanian Family. She loved the house and loved playing with it. What we didn't count on was that mommy would love the house and the concept of decorating and personalizing the little space, more. Much, much more.

The small home turned out to be a disappointment after only a few days... it was simply too small to fit the basic furniture a home needs. I needed a bigger house so I started to do some research about the types of homes available. During my search for information I joined a few groups on Facebook and imagine my excitement when I saw an ad selling a used Beechwood Hall/City House with Lights for only P1500 (approx $35). A brand new one would have cost me more than twice as much. The ad was a few months old, and I new there was little chance the house was still available but I tried contacting the seller anyway, and what do you know... it was still available. We decided to meet at a local mall the next day and I am now the proud owner of a "new" and bigger house. And my journey began.

Since then, I discovered that there is a trade niche for used toys and miniatures online, and toy shop sales began to take more significance in my life. And several shopping trips later...

The commercial center for my small village.

I have yet to come up with a name for my village. And after 2 months of collecting and collecting, I was only able to find the time to set this up earlier today... and I only had an hour before I had to get ready for work so there are still a couple of stalls and one more building I was not able to set up. Plus the houses... and the creatures. Most are still in their boxes. 

Notice the small boutique in the middle? That was the project I previewed on my last post more than a month ago. It's definitely taking me more than a couple of weeks :( I had a plain wood box from one of Andrea's toys and initially wanted to turn it into a shoe store after I bought the Village Shoe Store set. And then I planned to put some railing to make the top look like a balcony, and maybe set up a small cafe. But now, I think I'll just turn the building into a boutique since I have a lot of spare accessories to make one. 

A closer look.

I printed some brick pattern I downloaded online and used that to wallpaper the outside of the box (seen on the third photo I posted). Then I used papers from "When I was Young" digital scrapbooking kit by Valentina's Creations, and "Renewal" kit by FranB to wallpaper the ground floor. I'm so glad I kept most of my digital scrapbooking files!

I used craft sticks to create the bottom molding and some built-in shelves.

Built-in shelves using craft sticks.

A view of the unfinished top floor.

And there is another view of the unfinished top floor.

Oh... and closer look at the backdrop too... which happens to be our table placemats *wink*. I have yet to find something else to use as backdrop.

That's it for now. I hope I can find the time soon to photograph the rest of the village and her citizens.