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Baron and Rex were out on their annual winter patrol.....    Every winter the King sent them out to check on the conditions in the outlying farms and villages, to check on his subjects and see how they were doing in the bitter cold. Did they have enough food? Did they have enough firewood to keep warm?       
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The four newcomers finally arrived at the party...  "Welcome to our home..."  "May I take your hats and scarves?"  Everyone had been very curious about the four newcomers to the Forest....  ...and were very eager to welcome them....  "Hello, I'm Manny." "I'm Chip. So nice to meet you!"  Melody gave Maisie a welcoming hug....   Mr. Ropuha introduced himself to Max...."Welcome to our Forest."  The newcomers quickly felt very welcome, like they were among old friends....  Ginger was a bit shy, and stayed back...   Muffy and Jo got acquainted...  "Well, I better go bring these away...."  Max & Maisie Mouse were already waiting outside when Snowball arrived....  "Hello there!"   "Come on in...."  Chip leaned over to offer Maisie his hand...  "Here, let me help you..."   Then, with everyone nicely seated....Chip hung out the bells....  ....and Snowball headed off to the Foxes...  Meanwhile, Chip and Joanne (Jo for short), who were new to the Forest....  ...were waiting for Snowball and his U-bear sleigh to arrive, to take them to the Foxes'.....  Jo got in the sleigh right away....  She was super excited to go to the party and meet everyone...  "Hurry up, and get in!"  "We need to stop by Max and Maisie's first, and pick them up too...."  ...and he got in the sleigh....  ...and off they went...  Ever the good hostess, Kitty offered her guests a glass of wine, and some delicious treats....  Rhett made sure that no one's glasses ran empty....  Kitty had made some delicious cupcakes...  Everyone was having a good time....  ...as they waited for the last guests - some newcomers to the village - to arrive.....   "More wine?"  Rhett led everyone into the house....  "I'd like to welcome all of you to our home..."  "I'm so glad you could come..."  The Toads had brought gifts...   "Please, make yourselves at home..."   Kitty and Rhett took everyone's coats, hats and scarves....  ...while some of the guests warmed themselves by the fire...  "With all the snow out there it's amazing they could all even make it..."  Rhett and Kitty Fox were relaxing in front of the fire, waiting for their guests to start arriving...  "Sounds like someone is at the gate..."  "Well, I better go let them in..."  Sure enough, the first set of guests had arrived and were ringing the bell outside the gate....  "Hold on....I'm coming!"  I had planned on shooting the next segment of my Forest Dweller's Christmas story today.....but....it took me all day yesterday to create the set. it was the most challenging one ever, mostly due to the problems with scale. The Forest Dwellers range in size from Very Small to Tiny, and It's not exactly a size I have much in the way of furniture and props for. The Tiny Mice and Chipmunks might be totally at home in a 1/12th scale dollhouse, but the Toads, Raccoons and Foxes would be way too big for that, and the festivities were going to take place in the Foxes' home, so it had to fit them first and foremost. I spent hours reorganizing the basic layout, changing the walls, changing the furniture, and moving stuff around, to create a comfortable looking, open concept home for the Foxes....  The focal point of their living room is the fireplace. The seating is a bit oversize, but it was the smallest I had, and that just makes it more cozy.....  After finally getting a good kitchen layout that I was happy with, I started adding the props. I wanted baskets of fruits and vegetables, including my tiny gourds. However, I'd photographed those same gourds twice on Saturday for another project and was fed up with constantly having to PhotoShop the white spots on all of them. When I bought them years ago, they came strung as a garland, with the thread going right through their styrofoam interiors, so when I removed them, each and every gourd had two big white holes. I was fed up with trying to hide the holes, and decided to fix them once and for all. So yesterday I filled all the holes with drywall compound, and first thing this morning I covered all the drywall compound-filled 'holes' with matching coloured paint. Then after varnishing them all, I took a photo....  Once they were dry, some could be put into baskets in the Foxes' kitchen....along with other fruits and veggies....  So...here's hoping to continue the story tomorrow.....assuming I don't end up going down another rabbit hole. Come to think of it..Kitty Fox could use an apron.....
Every Holiday season Rhett and Kitty Fox invited everyone to their home for a special get-together and dinner. The Raccoons, Toads and Mice were all going together. They had ordered a Polar Bear Taxi, and were almost ready to head out...  All the ladies had made themselves comfortable in the main sleigh...   While the guys loaded up the last gifts....   'We are almost ready to go..."  "I just hope there's still enough room in there for us guys..."  I was getting lots of photos of Lawrence in Facebook Memories, from when he got his first faceup four years ago. He and Miho were my first two FIDs. Miho was first - one of the first three FID ladies Iplehouse released. Then a few months later they offered three guys, and I chose Lawrence. Both were ordered blank, and were painted by my friend Charie. They were originally intended to be a couple...  But I really didn't like Lawrence's faceup. It just made me cringe...so he went back for a repaint. But things happened, and after he was wiped he stayed blank for over a year. in the fall of 2019 he was finally repainted, and he looked so much better. At that point I had several more FIDs, and decided to make Medieval Fantasy costumes for them all, and Lawrence was first....  He then fell in love, and started a family.....  While everyone else was going Medieval Fantasy, Miho stayed the lone woman out...always still wearing the beautiful green gown I had made specially for her - although she did rise to become a Fairy Queen after I made her some wings....and she was good friends with Winston....  Finally, a year ago, I decided she needed a whole new look, befitting her position as a powerful Sorceress and Queen of the Fairies. She was still best friends with Winston, but a new friend had arrived....the Mysterious Raven....  So at some point this year the Raven will reveal who he really is, and Miho will have a partner. Anyways, I thought it was interesting how the two characters had evolved over the years. From back then....when it was clear from the start that they were never meant for each other...  ...to now....where they are both rulers, in their own separate realms...  |
AuthorMartha Boers is an award-winning Canadian doll maker and costumer specializing in fantasy and historical-style costumes. Archives
December 2023
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