Let's pretend

Mmmmm.....another fun-filled day
brimming with adventurous play!

Whatever will I wear?

What character will I pretend to be?

Perhaps I’ll be a policeman.

Perhaps I’ll fight a robber....or two!

 Perhaps I’ll don my fireman’s helmet

and bravely climb tall ladders and
swoosh away fires with my fire hose!

  

Perhaps I will be a famous soccer player

and kick the winning goal in the World Cup.

Perhaps I will wear my special outfit

for my friend’s birthday party.....

and eat lots and lots of yummy birthday cake!

 Perhaps I will put on my old blue jeans and

and go to the park, hang out with my friends

and play with my bright, red car!

OR........perhaps I will be a pirate

and hoist the jolly roger and sail the seven seas;
swashbuckling my way through the day!!

But for now, after an exhausting day of ‘let’s pretend’

 I'm a little tired (yawn).
So I'd best put on my jarmies,
climb into bed,

and hugging my teddy ever so tightly;

drift off to faraway lands 
that only exist in the Land of Nod!



I found this wooden doll, hiding in a hidey hole of my home a little while ago, forgetting it's existence! My husband and I made this a few years ago to sell at a market. Pete cut out my designs with a jigsaw and I painted each piece. The doll is made out of 1/2" thick pine and the interchangeable clothes, hair and toys are made from thin MDF. The doll stands about 9" high and the clothes are attached by velcro which have been glued with a super glue. Each article has many, many layers of non toxic, folk art paint, which I sanded after each coat. These dolls take an age to fashion!! Hence, the reason why we haven't made any for a while and perhaps, why  I have filed this idea away in the dark recesses of my brainpan stamped 'file closed'!!

These dolls are reminiscent of the paper dolls that I adored playing with as a wee girl, providing me with many a fun-filled, imaginative day. I loved my paper dolls, styling their homes and playing with them all the time. When out and about shopping with my mum, I was always on the lookout for the next paper doll book that had been published.

The idea for these wooden dolls originated when my daughter was a very little girl, thinking that I would make her a special keepsake for Christmas. I must admit that we have made a few since which have gone to live with other children, hopefully, providing them with many hours of fun-filled play. After the child has finished visiting the land of make believe and playing with their doll, it can then be hung on the wall, sitting ever so attractively in a shadow-like box/frame (which my clever husband fashioned)  becoming a wonderful piece of art! Very versatile if you ask me!!

Here is the girl doll which is very similar to the one that we fashioned for our daughter. Mmmmm....me thinks a very pretty wardrobe, filled with many a delightful outfit, in readiness for a fun-filled hour or two of play in a child's fictive world!

   

A child can have oodles of fun playing with these wooden dolls. They can enter into the land of make believe, dreaming up many an imaginative story; changing the disguises in an instant. 'Tis a wee bit of a shame that we all grow up......one day......is it not??