From Imagination and Creativity

I bring you my wee peg people swap gifts ~

Firstly from Ms Bloom herself, whose imagination sent us all into a crative flurry of paint, felt and other crafty bits when she announced a wee peg person exchange

White coral bells upon a slender stalk

Lilies of the Valley deck my garden walk.

Oh, don't you wish that you could hear them ring?

That will only happen when the faries sing. 

and then in roughly the order they arrived...

From fellow Australian, Natalie who blogs at the Little Gnomes Home, a breathtakingly beautiful butterfly maiden and her chrystalid

 

....."the butterfly maidens watch 

over the chrysalids as they play

 and tell them about the plants

 and pretty, brightly-coloured flowers. 

How wonderful they smell!"....

Sybille von Olfers - The Story of the Butterfly Children

  

Alison, another Australian, who has the most stunning online shop Rumpelfeltskin, sent this grand gnome whose cap is filled with lavender from the Yarramalong Valley in Victoria. I slept with him under my pillow on the first night so heady was his perfume.

 

 Julie, from This Cosy Life, knitted the most delightful little fairy doll costumes; they even have underskirts and little knitted wings!

 Flower fairies love flowers so much that some of them find their way into our gardens.  In fact, the more flowers you plant, the more likely it is that the fairies will find you, especially if you plant flowers they can sit or sleep in.  Their favorite is the tulip because in the spring, when their babies are born, they can lay them down inside the petals and rock them to sleep.

-- Lisa Lunge-Larson (The Hidden Folk)

 

Nicole of One Hook Wonder sent this fabulous clown which the big girl siezed at once and declared it as her own - I let her think that for a bit, but he is now back in my space, making me smile. I love his nose best of all.

 

K, who doesn't have a blog, sent a me stunning Hinamatsuri doll. She needle felted a peach flower, petals, and a butterfly for the spring onto each. The Japanese Hinamatsuri doll festival is held on the 3rd of March each year and K made and sent the dolls in celebration of being a girl.

Maureen from Twig and Toadstool was dreaming of spring while she made this sweet little Daisy doll and her leaf sleeping bag. It was still quite warm when she arrived so she felt quite at home.

 

"And Spring arose on the garden fair,

Like the Spirit of Love felt everywhere;

And each flower and herb on Earth's dark breast

rose from the dreams of its wintry rest."

-Percy Bysshe Shelley

 

Next a Wolf Kin arrived, with his own cave, from Melissa of Wild Farier Caps. Melissa made the Kin and then knitted and felted their caves; this is their story

 

The Wolf Kin live in the far, dark reaches of Faerie where the nights
are cold and the days short, but brilliant. Dwelling deep in caves,
the Kin keep watch over the four-legged creatures of our world. They
welcome fox kits into the world and play tag with the wolf pups. On
very special occasions, the Kin will visit the homes of humans to
bless and care for their beloved pets. Tiny toadstools are a delicacy
to these wee folk. During
of beautiful fungi and bring them back to their moss-lined homes. The
young Kin study painting and the ways of the beasts while the older
Kin spend their hours in quiet contemplation and meditative work.
Squirrels and magpies often visit to exchange gifts of berries and
shiny trinkets. In return, the Kin gather their soft moss to line the
dens and nests of their friends.

It just so happened that Alison sent a tiny toadstool with her lavender gnome, so I had something wonderful to offer him to eat after his extraordinarily long journey.

 

 

The last to arrive was this little root child from Rae of Morning Sun Rae all wrapped up in its woolen cloak.

Magically (with a press stud and a swirl) she transforms into a daffodil when Mother Earth calls her ready for spring.

 The sun is now shining,

Thy sky blue and clear,

The birds are all calling,

And so Spring is here.

The children are ready,

And up, up they go ~

All the beauty they've made

They are longing to show.

~Sybille von Olfers, The Story of the Root Children

 

Thank you to each of my swap partners. It has been so much fun waiting for the post man, marvelling at the postmarks and carefully unwrapping each gift. Thank you to We Bloom Here for a wonderfully idea and for inviting me to join in the fun. If you want to see more dolls from around the world the full gallery is here.

 

For a bit more fun We Bloom Here is hosting a generous giveaway from Marie of Softearth's World who works her own kind of  magic with New Zealand wool roving and a barbed needle... Have a look and enter here.