Changing Seasons

Dolls 4 and 5

We were going to have a relaxing day today, but instead spent the day in the garden. I was busy in the 'wild' garden at the back of our house clearing away piles of dried leaves and twigs to make our house and land fire safe. It's one of the perils of living in the Perth Hills but a small price to pay for living in such a beautiful area. It also gave me lots of time to think; this time of year often makes me think of our family and friends we've left behind in New Zealand and the UK - I really miss them, but know that they love me and I them, we'll always have each other in our hearts and heads ...

As I was putting the twigs into bags, I was saving some that would be suitable for making spirit dolls such as the ones in the picture above. Together they are the four seasons, and I got the idea from my daughter who had made 'spring' at school. You simply bind 2 twigs together with ribbon or thread and wrap some toy stuffing around them. Then you embellish the 'body' with fabrics, wool, beads, you name it. The face is made from air-hardening clay, which is painted with acrylics after it has dried, and stuck onto the twigs with hot glue. My daughter made 'summer' and I made 'autumn' and 'winter' (the two dolls on the right of the picture). I am including these in the 100 dolls challenge, and will be making spring and summer dolls to complete the set. They are great fun to make, and you can use up your stash of materials to finish them as you don't need large amounts of fabric.

It really does seem strange to be in the middle of summer at Christmas, when my family is shivering back home, nights beginning at 4pm! One Christmas I am going back to the UK just to soak up the atmosphere of walking through the shops in the dark winter air, my breath turning to mist in the cold, the mesmerizing fairy lights twinkling in the windows and around trees. I am just a big kid at heart - we have our own fairy lights around our verandah, and it's not by the children's request!