CONGRATULATIONS MELI (Jam Clothing Co)

Looks like Iris is all yours :o)  Sent you a message thru etsy

Iris - a DFH Critter :o)

Yep, decided to call these Critters...why not? lol

This here is Iris.

She is 8 inches tall by 10 inches from nose to backend :o)

Her body is cotton velour, super soft.  She is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool.  Her hair is a mix of hand dyed and bulky weight yarn

Her face is hand embroidered.

Her horn is made from brocade fabric.

Yep, she has a DFH tag :o)

She is $60.00 USD plus shipping and taxes if you live in the state of Texas. 

If you would like to buy her, comment under this post.  

Only once please.

I will leave the comments open until 12:00 pm central 7/21 (decided to go with this time to allow our overseas folks to have a chance)  A name will be drawn from the posts here and a message will be sent requesting pp email and address.  If your name is chosen, you will have until 5:00 pm to pay in full.

If by 5:00 pm the invoice is not paid, she will be put back into the upload group and uploaded at 9:00 pm central time with the rest of the dolls this week.

Good Luck everyone!

Amberwings

If you look up what they are, you will find that they are a small, thin dragonfly.  Kind of fitting don't you suppose?  

A few months ago I was chatting with a sweet friend and she gave the name Amberwings.  

From the moment she said the word I knew the name was special and it would only be fitting for a very unique little creature.  

Thanks so much for the inspiration Jams.

I would like for you all to meet the 

Amberwings. 

These sweet creatures stand at 12 inches and are thinner than our usual 12 inch cuties.  They have long legs and slender, longer arms.  Their hair, aside from being very colorful, is made in the style of our all over hair.  Each strand of hair is pulled out loop by loop, one by one as the cap is being made.  The result is hair that is mutli-stylable and one piece.

They are all wearing adorable fairy petal dresses made using fabrics that highlight the colors of their hair.  Their wings are dragonfly shaped and made out of shimmery brocade fabric.  Each little creature has a small bottle of pixie dust that they wear around their necks by a thin leather cord. 

Let's meet them one by one, shall we?

First up...

Allura Moonglow

Allura is a very timid fairy. 

Sweet and delicate, she has a way about her that makes you want to pick her up and hold her which is just fine with her as she loves to hug and snuggle.

Her hair is a gorgeous mix of all the colors of a wildflower garden. 

She adores wildflowers and has been known to wander and lose all track of time when she comes across a field full of gorgeous springtime colors. So she needs care and monitoring to make sure she doesn't wander too far.

Amber Jewelstar

Amber is very much the big sister.  

She goes about caring for the other fairies around her, tending to scratches, sneezes and all manner of questions that the younger fairies will bring to her.  

She loves to draw and paint.  She could spend all day creating new works of art to hang on the walls.

She spends the evening watching over her friends, always there to help calm a bad dream or snuggle closer when needed.  She has the ability to hug away the pain of cuts and scrapes.  

Nixie Timbersprite

Nixie is a friendly outgoing girl.

She's easy to get along with and can bring out a smile on anyone's face.  She loves being by water of any type but her absolute favorite body of water are waterfalls.  The sound of the steady flow of the water falling can lull her into a quiet calm mood.  She has been known to sit for hours by a waterfall and daze off into the mist.

Nixie is a wonderful story teller.  At night, after the sun has set, she will sit with her friends and tell them stories of far away places and marvelous journeys.

Ember Rainflower

Witty and outgoing, this little girl is always doing something.  

She has a wonderful sense of humor and can be quite mischievous at times.  She loves to make her friends giggle so much that their tummy muscles start to ache a bit.  

She is always climbing up into trees or playing in the garden.  She loves to play hide and go seek as she is an expert at finding wonderful hiding places.

Though she is very active most of the time,  she does have her very sweet side.  At night when the sun is low, she loves to snuggle up close and listen to a story as she drifts off to sleep to dream of the many adventures she will have the next day.

Amberwings are very special little fairies.  

Each one is unique and full of their own special characteristics.  They love making new friends and are particularly loyal to them.  

Each one has a small jar of fairy dust.  They use this to help make tears turn into laughter, boo boos hurt a whole lot less and of course to chase away bad dreams.

Travels with Lunette

This is Lunette

A sweet doll making friend of mine made an adorable doll.  She has decided to share her with many of her fellow doll making friends :o) myself included

So this sweetie was packed up and sent off to her first destination...in Alaska.  She will slowly make her way around the globe from the US, to Europe and Canada and finally Australia.

Each of us will have a period of time to enjoy her and will add something of our own unique making to her.

So fun!

We are tracking her progress on a special blog that was created for her.  Here is a link  http://travelswithlunette.blogspot.com/

Drop by occasionally and follow along :o)

DIBS!

“I call dibs!” 

Remember that one?

We wanted to do something that would both be fun and rewarding for you guys as well as help us to grow.  So this is what we decided to do.

“DIBS!” 

Yep, it means what you think it does.  One person will be given the right to call dibs on their dream doll out of one upload.  This means that that doll is theirs alone for purchase.  We will send you a paypal invoice to pay…no upload angst or stress. 

Here is how we will do it:

“DIBS!” every 100 – every time we reach another 100 followers on fb, we will draw a new name and mail out the card.

“DIBS +10!” every 500 – this drawing will have a twist.  The dibs winner will also get a discount of 10% off of that very doll…uh huh

The drawing winners will receive a Dibs card in the mail.  The card will have their name on it as well as their one of a kind, one time use code. You will have 12 months to use your dibs code. 

Each dibs winner is allowed to purchase ONE doll of their choosing ONE time from any upload. It is not transferable.  It is only valid for the original winner.

To Enter:

Send an email to 

dibs@dragonflyshollow.com

In it be sure to include:

Your full name and complete mailing address.  Make sure this info is correct.

We will have our first drawing when we reach 2100 followers

To Redeem:

Every Wednesday we post preview pics on our page of the dolls to be uploaded the following Thursday evening.  If you are a dibs holder and your dream doll is in that upload, you simply send us an email with your name, shipping address, Paypal email address and dibs code along with which doll it is you wish to call dibs on. Shipping info and dibs code must match our entry records. 

We will pull that doll from the upload and send you a Paypal invoice for that doll. If you are Dibs +10 holder, the price will reflect the discount.   

You must notify us by 9 am central time on the day of the upload if there is a doll you wish to call dibs on.  This way we can be fair to everyone else and let them know that a particular doll will not be available that day.

You will have 24 hours to complete the transaction.  If after 24 hours, the transaction has not been completed, the doll will be released for sale to anyone else.

Stoney & Kit

Introducing Stoney and Kit.

Stoney is a cave dwelling faerie and Kit is his best friend. 

We first spied them last fall when our family took a trip to New Mexico and visited Carlsbad Caverns.  

Impish and playful, they love to flit about peeking in and out of the formations, playing with children who visit the cave.  Of course, this gets them into trouble with the elders...as everyone knows, faeries must stay out of sight of human eyes.  Stoney and Kit could care less about all that, they only know it is fun to fly around...sometimes if you sit very still and listen closely and quietly, you can hear them giggle.  But you have to be very quiet in order to hear them.

During the daytime hours, they spend their time in the cave snuggled up together napping and entertaining themselves with games and mischievous stunts.

In the early evening right around dusk,  as the bats take flight into the darkening sky, you just might be able to spy Stoney as he peeks out of the mouth of the cave, Kit is usually nearby flitting in and out all around the area her pal is hiding in.  Since Kit is a bat, she can come and go in front of humans as much as she likes,  Stoney has to wait till it is too dark for human eyes to discern the difference between a bat or faerie.  Once it is completely dark, he leaps into the sky and the duo spend the evening frolicking and flying about.  They love the feeling of the cool night air on their skin as well as the crystal clear desert night sky full of shimmering stars.  

So, how does one go about spotting faeries or their homes?  

Well, the simplest way is to view the world thru the eyes of a child :o)  It is difficult to see these magical things with adult eyes but a child's eye can see them everywhere.  With very little effort, they are capable of spotting the mystical and magical that is all around us all the time.  So my suggestion would be to have your young ones search for it first and then show you where it is :o)  Once they point it out to you, it becomes clear as crystal.

When we go out into natural areas, our younger kiddos have always made it a sport to try and find faerie hollows everywhere we go.  They search the base of trees and hillsides.  They know that a faerie hollow can be anywhere and they are usually very cleverly disguised

....some day I will tell you all the story of the faerie apartment tree we found in a giant redwood tree just south of San Francisco :o)  That will have to be another time....  

CONGRATULATIONS ANNEDVD!

Congratualations go out to Annedvd who posted this on April 15 at 8:55 am...

I just showed her to my daughter and she said her name should be Sparklelized Since that is not a real word, I did the best I could on the spelling.

Annedvd@hotmail.com

April 15, 2011 8:55 AM 

The random number generator pulled number 47

Our giveaway Little will be heading home to live with you guys...

Thanks so much to everyone for entering.  This was fun...we will be doing it again really soon

DFH 2000 Facebook Fans Giveaway!

Its time to have some fun!

We reached 2000 fans (well 2000+)  on facebook.  In order to celebrate and say THANK YOU!  We designed this cutie together.  

She is going go home for free to one of you.  If you want to be in the running for her here is what you have to do :o)

Post a comment right here under this post.  Be sure to leave a way for us to contact you (email addy is good)  because we cannot give a cutie away to someone we cannot contact :o)  

She doesn't have a name yet so if you have one for her, go ahead and put that into your post

The giveaway will be open for the next 24 hours so tomorrow (Saturday 4/16) at 10:30 am central US time,  we will tally the comments and use a random number generator to pull a number and that lucky person is her new mama.

It is open to everyone everywhere

Only ONE entry per household...Please do NOT have other folks post for you either.  We want to keep this fair for everyone.

Good luck everyone!  Thanks so much to all of you!

Congrats to Jaime!

The number generator chose number 4...molly will be listed in the shop as reserved just for you.

Molly 15 inch tall Dragonfly's Hollow Girl

Molly 15 inch tall Dragonfly's Hollow Girl

$180.00 USD plus ship

If you would like to purchase her, post a comment. At 10 am central Friday 4/15 we will choose her new mama using a random number generator.  You will then have 24 hours to complete the transaction.

Molly is a 15 inch tall girl by Dragonfly's Hollow.

Her skin is cotton interlock knit and she is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool. Her hair is a mix of hand dyed boucle yarn. It is all natural 100% wool of course. Her eyes and mouth are hand embroidered with cotton floss.

She is wearing an adorable dress made by Molly's Playground and panties. Her shoes are hand crocheted with some wonderful yarn.

Like all our toys, she is made exceptionally sturdy to last a lifetime of play.

Small parts, not intended for small children under 3 years of age.

To Grow or not To Grow...

This has been the huge question on my mind for months now.

Its been a few years since I set up my tiny shop on Etsy (September 2008 to be exact).  Things were way different back then.  I would post a doll or an outfit or whatever I felt like making and sometimes it would sell by the end of the day and other times the item would be around for several days until their new mama would come by.

(Feb '09 rainbow gnomes with bag)  :o)

It was pretty calm and each sale resulted in a new friend.  Back then I would chat via convo with anyone who popped by.  I got to know some really neat folks that way...many of you are still around to this day.  I love that :o)

The dolls have changed a bit over the years..they became more refined as my technique improved.

(March '09 Mia)

(June '09 Cordelia)

Over time, things got a bit more hectic :o)  I began listing more dolls and they began selling out sooner.  All of a sudden we were selling out instantly.   I learned new terms like RTG, Angel-ing and rehome.

To say I was caught off guard by the whole thing would be a major understatement.  I was still in old school mode...I would chat with everyone over days thru one message after another.  In this new realm,  there was no time for that any more.

I would get convos all the time from folks seeking a doll.  Many folks turned to customs as their only avenue of obtaining a doll since they were simply not fast enough to go thru an RTG upload.  If you wished to have a custom,  you merely sent me a note and we would work out the details together.  It took some time before I was able to admit that I was simply unable to do that any longer.

Through it all, I would on occasion, think about what direction we were heading in and if we wanted to go there or not.  Yeah, I foolishly thought I could control that back then :o)

This little shop was growing.  Word of mouth was spreading and new folks were finding us every day. There was a lot more pressure to make more dolls.  So, I got a little help from family members and an odd friend here and there and we upped the amount of dolls each upload.  The demand grew even more and the dolls continued to sell out in seconds.

I started to feel stress...lots of stress.  I would wake up early and start working away and literally collapse in the evening exhausted.  I had way too many customs to work on and new requests kept coming in.  I really hated saying no, it really did break my heart to read some of the stories folks sent me about why they needed their special doll.  Most of the time I would squeeze them in...which only added even more stress and work. My hands were scarred, callused and swollen regularly.  My wrists would hurt and ache every day.  OK my whining session is over :o)

Around late October of last year, I decided that I was in desperate need of a break so the decision was made to close up shop at the end of November for the entire month of December.  The plan was that this period of not working so hard will give me a break and allow me to jump back in again in January.  It would give my hands and wrists the needed time to heal and allow me precious time with my family.

We closed up shop on Dec 1st and took a vacation.  Yes I did do some work during that time,  I made dolls for friends and family.  I stayed in contact with folks and got some really awesome notes from you guys.  All in all, the break was a great thing to do, it gave me time to think about where we were and where we were heading.

Hubby and I sat down and talked about this.  We got more organized and had our website set up.

In January we opened shop again.  I have to admit, I was a bit nervous as to how it all would go down...we had been out of the loop for a month.  How will this first upload go?  I know, silly.  The dolls sold out instantly and it seemed as though we had never taken a break at all.  We settled in and got to work.

Now thru this all the question of how we wish to grow has always been there.  Do we want to grow to the point where lots of other folks were making the dolls?  Do we want to keep it small and only make what I can physically make each week.  If we bring more folks on, what work would they do?  What steps am I personally willing to hand over to someone else?  (hehe, that's actually the biggest question here)  How would we go about training them so that the quality does not drop and I am comfortable with what they are doing?  And more importantly...Would I be able to step back a bit and give other folks the space to actually do the work for me?

These questions have caused lots more questions and every time I would think about them it would get too complicated so I would stop and move on to something else :o)  I would go back and forth in my head to slow things down or to pick things up...I know crazy.

Meanwhile,  without any real help at all, this little business was growing...way beyond what I first imagined possible and far into a realm where I was even able to imagine.  It seemed that the decision was already made as to our growth, I was just one of the last folks to know about it :o)  Our little shop had taken on a life of its own and like a child, was growing healthy and strong all on its own.  Like a child though, it needed some guidance and assistance.

This all leads me to where we are today.  We have decided that we will go ahead and help this little business grow into whatever it wishes to become.

I sat down and figured out a way to train new folks for a more permanent help crew.  Taking little steps, over a period of time, they will be able to assume a more regular role.

I have an awesome gal (Kristen) helping me out crocheting the caps for the hair now.  She is wonderful...she picks up new yarn every week and drops off a bunch of caps at the same time :o) Soon I will sit with her and show her how to make the boy hair (something I am sure she will pick right up and be a pro at in no time).  

As for the bodies...for a person to be able to make a doll body that is quality enough for us to sell, they must first sew a minimum of 20 - 30 dolls.  For some folks its more and for a very, very tiny group of people, its less.  They need time to learn this skill...and I know that me being the perfectionist that I am,  its no easy task for them.  They will spend weeks working side by side with me as they learn to hand sew and properly stuff the bodies before any of their tiny creations are up to par enough to be integrated into our uploads. The heads will always be done by us (this part will never change) ...this way we will be able to guarantee that we will maintain the DFH look you all love.  As each person reaches the point where their bodies are being used, I will introduce you to them one by one :o)

Now for clothes...this seems to be the tricky part for us right now.  I also have not done much searching as I am busy training every Saturday.  For now,  we will continue with help from clothing makers and we will have a clothing upload of our own once a month...this way we can sew mermaid sets, fairy wings and footies and various other items in groups so that more folks can get them at a time.  At some point, I am sure an awesome clothing sewer will fall into my lap...I'll stumble into her somewhere odd I have no doubt... and then we can have her take over much of that work and be able to have regular clothing uploads each week.  We'll get there :o)

What will I be doing?  Well, each and every face of course...and hair...lots of hair...and everything else :o)  I will have more time to play with dying yarn for more awesome hair.  I also hope to have more time to actually be able to get around to designing new cuties for you all.  I have so many ideas running around in my head of neat creations,  it will be great to be able to make them finally.

Yep guys,  we're growing :o)  We have finally come around.  For me,  I feel excited about this.   I know when I first listed that very first dolly to sell on etsy, I never imagined it would become what it has become.  For that I have to say, THANK YOU to all of you.  Seriously,  you all have been the driving force behind this growth. Without your encouragement and support we would not be at this point today.

We are so glad you all are along for the ride.

18 years... :oP

This Sunday (April 10th)  hubby and I will be celebrating our 18th year being married.  Wow!  I know its cliche but it really does not seem that long.  

We have been a part of each other's lives for over 20 years.  We met in Japan as very young Marines...yep I was in too :o)  How else would a girl from the northeast meet up with a guy from So Cal while in Japan? :o)  We were about 19 and 20 years old...mere babies.  Did I just age myself? lol

Its funny, we started out as friends hanging out, then as orders moved us to separate coasts, we were mail buddies.  This morphed into a trip to visit and eventually to us getting married.  Robert has been a friend in my life for so long now,  he is still my best friend.  

I wish I had pictures to show you,  all the images we have need scanned and I just do not have it in me right this moment to go find some and scan them then resize and upload lol  I will leave that for another day.

Its been a wild ride for sure.  We've lived all over the US.  Starting out in Southern California and moving thru South Florida, Massachusetts, Northern California, Tennessee and Texas.  Six awesome kiddos, multiple pets both tiny and large, and a whole lot of adventures and new friends along the way.  Its been pretty eventful and I would not change any of it.  

If anyone would have asked me years ago how I saw myself being today, I would certainly not say celebrating my 18 anniversary :o)  but then again, I would not have said I would be a dollmaker either...life has a way of making things happen.  So when asked where do I see us in another 20 years?  hmmm   not really sure.  Our ultimate goal...to be the retiree couple sitting on the shore at the beach with our feet in the water watching the waves crash to shore and other folks children play all around them.   How it will eventually play out is anyone's guess :o)

So how are we celebrating this year?  We're heading out today for a weekend trip.  We will do some camping and of course go to the opening weekend of the Scarborough Renfaire.  What better way to celebrate than to be with our awesome kiddos and each other just having a fun time.

Have a great weekend,  we'll see you all when we get back :o)

Riley's New Mama is Jennifer Bohlen

The random number generator chose post number 5.

Congrat's lady!  You are going to love her.

Riley - 15 inch tall Dragonfly's Hollow Girl

Riley - 15 inch tall Dragonfly's Hollow Girl 

$180.00 USD + ship

This is Riley. She is a 15 inch tall Girl by dragonfly's Hollow.

Her skin is cotton interlock knit and she is stuffed with pure cleaned, carded wool.

Her hair is made from a mix of mohair and hand dyed dread style yarn.

She is wearing a sun dress, coordinating pants, panties and a pair of coordinating shoes.

Like all our dolls, she is sturdy and exceptionally made. Ready for all adventures.

Small parts, not recommended for children under 3 years of age.

She will be posted here for the next 24 hours for a comment style upload.  If you are interested in buying her,  simply comment here under this post.  At 10:00 am Saturday 19, we will use a random number generator to choose her new mama.  At that time she will be listed in our Big Cartel shop as reserved for her new family.  You will then have 24 hours to complete the transaction.

Good luck,

CONGRATULATIONS KAILA!

The random number generator chose the number 56!  Congratulations!

Giveaway

Our giveaway is officially closed.  We will now go thru the process of choosing the winner from the 287 entrants...good luck

Dragonfly's Hollow CUSTOM GIVEAWAY!

Due to unforeseen circumstances, our original giveaway has been cancelled.  We are sooo sorry to all of you who entered.  We did however promise a free custom doll so we have decided that in keeping with our word, we will still do a giveaway...however, we have decided it is only fair to alter the original guidelines and open this up to everyone. So...
TO ENTER...simply comment under this post. Be sure we have a way to contact you. 

Tomorrow March 1st 2011 at 12:00 pm (noon central), we will compile the names into a numbered list and run it thru the good ole random number generator.  We will then notify our winner.

Rules and guidelines...

ONE ENTRY PER HOUSEHOLD

PLEASE NO ANONYMOUS ENTRIES  we cannot give a dolly away to someone who we cannot contact, so please be sure to post in a way that will allow us to contact you.

THIS CONTEST IS OPEN TO EVERYONE EVERYWHERE overseas folks, this includes you too :o)  Dragonfly's Hollow will pay for shipping


THE CUSTOM DOLL will be either a 15 inch, 12 inch or Little
THE CUSTOM DOLL is subject to basic guidelines for customs.  The doll will come wearing one outfit consisting of top, bottom and shoes.  Outfit will be of our choosing.  Hair yarn is to be chosen based on available materials (we have a pretty extensive amount of artsy as well as to be dyed yarns on hand) 


Good luck everyone!

Thyme - Cait Paige

Anise - Hanna

Rue - Jennison-bec