Matryoshka Dolls

I thought it’s high time I paint a traditional matryoshka doll set.

It didn’t exactly work out that way.

Some details:

A Christmas Miracle

With talks of the Australian Post going on strike so close to Christmas and the international shipping ordeal, I can only decree this as a Christmas miracle when my brother received his daughter Leah’s dollies in the mail right on time!

Hope everybody enjoyed their holiday celebrations!

Here’s Wishing You…

Leah’s First Christmas

My niece Leah is celebrating her first Christmas with her doggie brothers. Jiro is the main dog and Yama is the back up auxiliary.

In the past Yama has been featured in a set of dolls as a sidekick. Now he’s his own man. I envy Leah for growing up around two such awesome bullies.

If I knit (and if bullies can stand to wear jumpers), these would be the ones they’ll receive for Christmas.

Photos: Jerry and Eric

The Kitty Kat Triathletes

One thing about being with an adventurer is that his friends and acquaintances all tend to do impressive things as well. I haven’t met any friends of Anthony’s who didn’t participate in one kind of expedition or another. This set is for a good friend of ours who once, memorably, brought a pair of high heels with her on an kayaking expedition. When she’s out of the water, she’s teamed up with two of her gal pals and participated in various triathlons.

This is for the Kitty Kat Triathletes. God speed to your future endeavors.

Christmas Luncheon

The Stiggs are celebrating Christmas with a sumptuous Christmas luncheon. Baked ham, lobsters, homemade bread, eggnog, and even a holiday fruit cake are all on the menu.

Bon appetit!

Practical Magic

Ever feel like you need a little magical help? The Good Luck Faeries might just be the charm you need!

These single babushka faery dollies are all about practical magic. You won’t catch them spreading that pesky faery dust around!

Need some help in the garden? Maybe the Green Thumb Faery can help! She got her wand and her trusty garden gnome and she’s ready to help make that sulky little plant grow!

Wish it would snow already? The Let It Snow Faery might just conjure up some flakes…that is, if you promise to leave a couple of chocolate chips on your window sill for her snow man pal.

The Good Grades Faery will not help you cheat on a test. Oh no. Her task is to help you focus and keep you motivated so you can get through the study sessions without incident.

The Bake Good Faery won’t make a cake for you, of course. But she will hover around as you bake and keep you from mixing salt up with sugar or help your icing from mottling.

Wicked thoughts are creeping up again? When you need special help to be good as pie, the Bee Good Faery will come to your aid! She will give you a jar of honey to keep your thoughts sweet and your dispositions even sweeter!

The faeries will be sold separately in my etsy shop soon! (Pixie dust not included)

On a very happy note, Amy of Pikaland has featured BoBo Babushka in her outrageously fascinating blog about illustrators from around the world. Without people like Amy, we won’t have a clue  as to what kind of creative people are out there, making beautiful things. (Click on “Featured on Pikaland” on my sidebar to get yourself to Pikaland!) Thank you Amy! You totally rock!

Winter Carnival

I was at a ripe old age of 7 before I got my first taste of snow. We went up to Lake Tahoe some time in May and I was besotted with visions of a pure white landscape. Up until that point I’d only known about snow through a storybook featuring 3-D illustrations where everything was made out of felt. My brother and I dove into the crunchy icy tundra, inadequately clad in sweater and jeans.

“Hey, this stuff isn’t soft at all!” I revealed to my brother, shocked by the icy hard substance.

He hurled a snowball at me and it hurt. It was nothing like I expected. I screamed and proceeded to give chase but quickly gave up when I discovered that each step brought me closer to frostbites. We looked up to see children wearing snow suits and hats and mittens and reality hit me right then and there. Snow wasn’t made of marshmallowy fabric. And it’s cold.

Nevertheless, I always find that there’s something magical about snowfall and it makes a perfect background for lively winter carnivals.

The kids are gearing up to participate in the annual winter festivities.

Some details…

Cory doesn’t realize there’s a bird still hanging out in the tree he bought. Darby is certain she’s going to be crowned the ice skating champ for the third year in a row. Little Stevie hopes the peppermint hot cocoa will warm him up.

Christmas Crafts

I don’t know about anyone else, but it’s a bit hard to feel Christmassy and egg noggy when it’s summer outside. The one amazing thing about New York is that Christmas time there is truly magical, and 50% of that magic easily has to do with the cold and the snow. It makes you want to pull out your woolly socks and bread pans and get some serious baking going on. Here in Oz, I’m planning meals that doesn’t involve the oven and airing out my swim suit. It’ll be years before I can get used to a summertime Christmas. If half the people in the world can do it, so can I.

Olivia, Jack, and their bulldog Bo are getting ready for the holidays.

Shop News

Here are the new additions into the shop!

One of my favorite sets: “The Gingerbread House” and “Lil’Red.”

“Classic Lolita” and “Maid Cafe”