Georgie and Ralphie are two beautiful RSPCA rescue dogs that we got when they were just pups. Now 3 and 2 years of age respectively, they were found badly mistreated and lucky to survive, to be able to provide them with a safe and loving environment was the least I could do but more because of my love for animals. Georgie came home with me after hopping into my handbag, she was then and is still today overly affectionate and demands her daily cuddles. It was her decision to choose me and so it was decided that at 8 weeks of age she was now part of the family. Ralphie on the other hand was very shy and it took some time to get him to accept us; I think he wanted to stay where he was. The RSPCA staff surely were happy for him to stay as they had grown quite an attachment to him, but after Ralphie was introduced to Georgie the deal was sealed. I don’t know if it was a romantic encounter between them or more like a bond found between a brother and sister, but Georgie and Ralphie hit it off and are now virtually inseparable. If we ever have to go to the vet, they both go along to keep one another company, it is always interesting to see how they react when one is being treated by the vet – they show real concern. The pair can however be separated by Raphie’s love of the ball, stick, knotted rope, or bone. He will often break play with Georgie to present me with any of his many play items, no matter what time of the day; it is quite hypnotic for him. There is really only one thing that can break this pattern of behaviour between the two dogs; and Raphie’s insatiable appetite for the ball – a little cat named Alphie.

The saying ‘… the eyes are the windows to the soul’ refers to the hidden personality traits that we don’t or can’t convey in our facial expressions. There is a lot more to it than that but this is my interpretation, so if you have expressive eyes then best not to tell lies. Science is now suggesting that this saying holds true; if we are to accept some of the latest research findings into childhood development. This week I read an article that featured Prince William discussing how he talks to his 4 year old son; Prince George, by looking into his eyes. The purpose of doing this was to approach his son on the same level which gave the young prince a sense of confidence and helps to build his self-esteem. At ‘Little Miss K’ we have always tried to capture something special in the eyes of our dolls, some hidden personality in each doll making it unique to the owner. This detail in the eyes is captured in our latest doll range which has a multi-coloured embroider eye design, a technique that allows the observer to look deeper into the eye, rather than looking at a flat opaque surface. My partner often tells me when he was a small boy he had a toy bear and he swears the bear’s facial expressions changed depending on what was happening on that day. Now that may sound a bit far-fetched and probably nothing more than a child’s over imaginative mind, but he says that the bear had a definite change of expression which he could observe just by looking into his eyes. I can’t say the same thing will happen with our new range of dolls, what I can say is we have given them as much personality that can be given to a toy with the aim to give the owner as much joy and opportunity to develop a real bond with their new doll.

My new baby Annie is growing so fast, it wasn’t that long ago that she wore a baggy triple zero. Now in her 4^th month, baby is now busting out of her double zeros and sporting a very comfortable size zero, it doesn’t take long before her clothes become obsolete. This of cause means having to replace her outfits on a far too regular basis, sure she has her favourites and they have been worn to excess, but others seem to have hardly been worn at all. Thank goodness for family and friends, especially to Annie’s aunt who is constantly on the lookout to keep Annie’s wardrobe up to date and fashionable. Although there are many fashions for babies; and how cute does a baby look in a little hoody or better still a fashionable winter jacket, winter months are a dreary time where bright colours are abandoned for neutral colours and shades. So I am looking forward to the florals of spring, the bright colours of a new beginning, the warmth of longer days leaving the cold winter months far behind. These floral patterns are a feature of ‘Little Miss K’ designs that are displayed on many of the dolls that now appear on the ‘Little Miss K’ website; www.littlemissk.com.au After being inspired by shabby chic designs, we now have our new 16” doll; vintage inspired cloth rag doll, introducing a long flowing romantic peasant dress with a floral garland headband. This year’s collections are focusing on spring inspired colours such as pinks, blues, purples and yellows. All our favourite spring colours are featured on the ‘Little Miss K’ doll to warm up any cold winter’s day. Spring is truly my favourite time of the year, spring to me means walking the dogs along the beach and enjoying the warmer days with that slight chill in the air – invigorating.

Meet Annie

It is hard to imagine that Annabelle; my daughter, is now 4 months old and a very happy little soul who likes to talk constantly. To think that she became my reality after a very difficult pregnancy and an unpleasant birth, to say that I was well and truly over it is an understatement but after seeing her I would not have it any other way. Nine months went very quickly but it wasn’t without its finger biting moments. While many people say they enjoyed their experience of pregnancy, my experience was anything but joyful having undergone many examinations and making many visits to the clinic. But in the end it was worth it. After she was born a whole new set of circumstances arose ensuring me that parenthood was not going to be all sunshine and happiness. No sleep, constant feeds and dirty nappies was something others had talked about but they seemed unaffected by it all, they had somehow managed without flipping out, so surely it would be the same for me. All I can say is I don’t know how single parents do it, I had a partner who was very hands on when it came to baby and still those first few weeks were the hardest. Sleeping was always the hardest thing to get used to, but when those feeds went from 4 hourly feeds to 2 hourly feeds; and sometimes hourly feeds, I knew my life would never be the same again. It is these desperate moments where we seek out answers to our problems, and I found my solution in a book called Baby Whispering by Sharlene Poole. By following the advice written in this book I was able to get baby to sleep throughout the night giving me a good 7 – 8 hours uninterrupted sleep. Best read ever, I highly recommend it. As Annie has grown so too has her personality slowly developed. She now recognises me and smiles at me which makes my day no matter what events are going on in my life. She is also starting to giggle and I am sure she has it all worked out – she can really do no wrong.

These super cute little Georgie Girl dolls were inspired by the Arora Borealis. During our research of this topic in order to make our little poppets, we have discovered that the Arora Borealis; also known as the Northern Lights, is truly beauty in nature. This beautiful display of colours is a phenomenon which scientists suggest is solar radiation emitted from our sun and is the cause of many dead planets. The colours that we see are in fact solar radiation striking the atmosphere of the earth, pretty cool when you think about it. Unlike many plants in our solar system the Earth’s atmosphere acts as a barrier to this devastating power thus protecting us and allowing us to make more little dollies.

Interesting facts about the Northern Lights:

        

      Caused by collisions between gaseous particles in the Earth's atmosphere with charged particles released from the sun's atmosphere. The change in colour is determined by the type of gas particle e.g. oxygen displays a red colour

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            Gas particles (electrons and protons) from the sun are blown towards the earth on the 'solar wind'.

-          These particles are thrown from the sun's atmosphere by the rotation of the sun and escape through holes in the sun’s magnetic field.

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             Largely deflected by the earth's magnetic field, this magnetic field however is weaker at either pole and therefore some particles enter the earth's atmosphere. This is the reason why the lights are only seen over the poles: Arora Borealis at the North Pole and Arora Australis’ at the South Pole.

Source: Northern Lights Centre, http://www.northernlightscentre.ca/northernlights.html sited 20th June 2015

So what does all of this have to do with Little Miss K? I don’t know but check out our cute little dollies inspired by this very cool phenomenon.