SALE - Gothic Doll Madness

So I stirred awake this morning feeling particularly lifted and wanted to let that flow over and let you guys have something special.

Yesterday, March 08, I finally took my driving test, something I should have done ten years ago. Six weeks of lessons and several trees of bananas (for their beta blocker aspects), I passed my driving test first time round. Since we have three motorbikes and a 20 month old son, it was important to get ourselves a car as well. It still isn't sinking in that I am now legal to drive on British roads, but as a way to celebrate I am knocking 15% off the Gothic Dolls. 

WAS £34.99 NOW £29.99

This is an example of the Black Widow Gothic Doll

The Gothic Doll is one of the most popular dolls by Binky Roo Designs, often using designer fabric from Alexander Henry or Michael Miller. The have satin and organza skirts and have gothic motifs and embroidery with seed beads and charms.

Alexander Henry Fabric. Red Seed Beads. Bat Charm

Where can you buy?

You can buy from the official store or my Etsy store, links at the top of the page. Frieda is Available Now, Red Satin & Organza, Vampire Doll, named after one of the sisters from the Hammer Horror Films 'Twins of Evil'. The front of her body is made from fabric by Alexander Henry and has a Lily Munster white stripe in her black hair.

Frieda the Vampire Gothic Doll

Or, you can buy a Made to Order doll whereby you can choose the colour and theme of your choice. So don't delay.  

If you want one of these 18" Gothic beauties order now  before the prices rise again. 

Happy Shopping!

Charity News - Wild Futures & Cancer Research *UPDATED

UPDATE: CHARITY AUCTION NOW LIVE

CLICK HERE TO GO TO AUCTION 

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It's been so busy here at Mockingbird's End, that I've barely had time enough to sleep - the fact I look terrible, as my neighbour kindly pointed out today, says that I should probably back off a bit, but I love what I do and I'm just an obsessive kind of person.

Marlene and Pepper holding hands ready for the Charity Auction

So there are some Charity Events coming up that I want to share with you. So the immediate one is the run up to Easter Charity Monkey Auction. I'll be auctioning two monkey plushes for Wild Futures / The Monkey Sanctuary.

This is their mission statement:

At Wild Futures we are all too aware that flora and fauna around the world are becoming more endangered at every moment. For some species, it is too late – they are gone forever. The future of all that remains lies in our hands and the time to act is now.
Every species of plant and animal plays a vital role within our intricate and dynamic ecosystem; the eradication of any one species inevitably impacts on the survival of others. The protection of non-human primates is at the forefront of our work, following almost fifty years of working to protect primates from the abuses they face both in captivity and in the wild. By focusing on primates and their protection, we aim to ensure a wild and safe future for all.

Wild Futures is dedicated to:

• Promoting the welfare and conservation of primates
• Conserving and restoring natural habitats in the UK and abroad through funding support, education and sustainable practices
• Working to end the trade in primates for any purpose and abuse of primates in captivity
• Offering a home for life to primates in need of rescue and rehabilitation 

I have been to The Monkey Sanctuary and it is very clear that every single member of their staff believe in what they are doing. I have long loved monkeys and primates. In the Winter of last year there was a terrible storm that caused damage to The Monkey Sanctuary, and on top of that, baby Pepper passed away. This auction is to help towards their Emergency Winter Appeal. 

The Charity Auction will commence on Ebay on 14 March and will run for 10 days. You will have a chance to bid for two separate monkey plushes. 

16" Pepper

Behind Pepper

PEPPER - The day the storm hit The Monkey Sanctuary, little Pepper fell sick. I was the first adoptee of Pepper and I have to say I was heartbroken. This first plush is dedicated to the Memory of Pepper, complete with monkeys on clouds motifs. He is 16" tall and made from a mottled brown fabric. He is just gorgeous. 

Cute Marlene 18"

Marlene with her bow and flower

MARLENE - I am a lover of old movies and often refer to them when naming the dolls and plushes. This is no exception. Marlene is named after Marlene Dietrich, known Diva. This plush is 18" tall, her body depicts diva monkeys, and she is made from a brown linen look cotton fabric. She comes complete with a flower and bow on the top of her head. 

So write 14 March in your diary and don't forget to bid for Charity. 

Race for Life - Cancer Research UK - May/June 2013

I will be making two dolls to raise money in aid of Race for Life - Cancer Research UK. The dolls will both be 18", baby pink hair, and their body will be made out of fabric displaying the pink ribbon. One will be called Connie and the other Irene. This is in memory of my grandmother and mother in law who both passed away from Cancer. You will be able to bid for one of these dolls in May / June this year. The Wool Felt Company have already donated some of their wonderful baby pink wool blend felt and I'm currently working on getting hold of some beautiful pink ribbon fabric. 
Keep checking in for more details, or you can like my Facebook and twitter pages.  

UPDATE* We have had another donation for the Cancer Research Dolls. Suzie May Ltd have donated the fabric for the skin of the dolls, ribbon for the hair and shoes, and satin and organza for the skirts.  There will be more about our donators in the build up to the auction.

UPDATE (March 7)* We have had another donation for the Cancer Research Dolls. Groves-Banks have donated two bags of toy stuffing. This is really wonderful news. So much generosity. These dolls are going to be gorgeous. One will have pink plaited pigtails and the other will two little pigtails like the Little Red Riding Hood doll I make.

Featured in 'Knits for Kids' - The Daily #Etsy

This was a nice surprise this afternoon after a day in conflict with faux leather - My Gothic Doll was featured as a Top Story by Knits for Kids (Etsy) (Twitter) in their article 'The Daily #Etsy #Doll' - Thank you, Knits for Kids.

So I thought I would take this opportunity to  talk about my Gothic Doll, by far the most popular doll that is available to you good folk.

An example of a Binky Roo Gothic Doll

The pictured Gothic Doll has a Black and Purple colour scheme and the theme is Black Widow. She has web detail on the eyes and a web detail on her upper right part of her body. The body web is also detailed with small beads. To compliment the web on her body there is also a black widow spider embroidered with red seed beads on its back. The body is using a lovely Victorian pattern fabric with black flock. Her skirt is made from purple satin and purple shimmer organza. The bow in her hair is using matching fabric to her body. This doll is more expensive than the others due to the extent of the hand embroidered detail but certainly is beautiful and worth it for a one of a kind doll.

Something a little dark to match the gothic aesthetic, the dolls are all named after gothic icons (some in the murderous sense, Ooooo, Spooky!)

FUTURE GOTH DOLLS:

I have recently purchased some new satin and shimmer organza for the skirts of my goth dolls. I tried not to get too caught up at the fabric shop. I wanted more! I do have to restrain myself! 

What to expect:

Black and Gold - Cross motif (including some lovely Designer, Michael Miller Fabric)

Black and Red - Black Widow and Web

Black and Blue - Vampire Bat

But you don't have to wait until these dolls are made to purchase. Nor do you have to order these specific colours. You choose the colour scheme and if you have a different motif (theme) then feel free to Request a Custom Item from my Etsy store, about half way down on the left side of the page.

Otherwise you can ORDER YOUR GOTHIC DOLL HERE

Every girl needs at least one Gothic Doll in her life. Every Gothic Girl needs more than one!

UPDATE: DIFFERENT FACES

This is the face for the 'Cross Goth Doll'

Here is another example of one of the Gothic Faces available. I am very flexible. If you have an idea of how you want her to look, contact me and we can make your perfect Goth Doll.

Softies - The Owl and The Monkey

I know there was the owl and the pussycat but I never have liked the ordinary, so I choose the owl and the monkey.

You can now order your very own custom owl and/or custom monkey. These are examples of what you can expect. 18" of lovely plushness. Visit my Etsy store!

Handmade Monkey 18" of cuddliness

Handmade 18" Owl using designer fabric

Charity Auction - Why and What?

Most of us are a compassionate lot but we are not necessarily able to donate hundreds of pounds or volunteer time for charity. The double dip recession has hit most of us, and with a 19 month old son, I couldn't give as much as I'd like. But I can give something and I am a firm believer that if everybody gave something then the charities wouldn't suffer to harshly in these horrible economical times.

CHARITIES

If I had been born with a silver spoon in my mouth I wouldn't be a socialite spending Daddy's money on parties and the likes, I'd be helping charities. In my time as an Independence adult I have helped a few charities including Abaana and The Monkey Sanctuary. In 2006 I went to Looe and visited The Monkey Sanctuary where I had adopted a capuchin monkey called Mickey. It was the most wonderful place. The staff were so polite, fun, and informative, and the monkeys were entertaining and fascinating to watch. And on this particular day it rained and that could not have spoiled the day.

Mickey the Capuchin - © Copyright Wild Futures

The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures left an incredible impression on me. Dreams of working with primates still sit inside. Maybe one day. Since that day I adopted Pepper, a baby capuchin. Unfortunately, baby Pepper passed away at the end of last year during the cold snap (2012), I was besides myself. I wanted to do something in his memory. Then the storms came and destruction hit the Sanctuary leaving it with a lot of damage. Thankfully no harm came to the monkeys. Now it became imperative to help raise funds.

Pepper the Baby Capuchin -  © Copyright Wild Futures

I decided to use my skills. I love sewing and crafts, so my initial plan was to make two monkey plushes and auction them to raise some money. But that is not enough and so I have decided ever Monkey plush I sell I will donate 15% to The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures. 

Amy the Capuchin - © Copyright Wild Futures

After Pepper passed away I adopted his sister, Amy. I hope to go and visit this year, to see the lovely staff and the wonderful primates...

CHARITY AUCTION

Available will be one 16" monkey plush in memory of Pepper. Brown mottled cotton fabric and the body is a blue fabric with a monkey on a cloud motif. Apt for little Pepper.

Charity Auction Preview of Pepper (16")

The second plush will be 18" called Marlene (after Marlene Dietrich). A brown linen effect cotton with a pink cotton fabric that has diva monkey motifs.

Marlene Dietrich

 As I mention above, any order for a monkey plush (18"), 15% will go to The Monkey Sanctuary / Wild Futures.

*keep checking my facebook page and twitter for more information as to where and when the auction will be.

UPDATE (Feb 25, 2013):

Marlene and Pepper ready for the Charity Auction

ETSY - Shop Opening

Howdy!

After umming and ahhing whether to open an Etsy store I decided why the hell not?  There are a few things adding already and the photos are just examples of what you could order. The beauty of my handmade items is that you can choose your own colour scheme and theme so no matter what you order it will match the occasion or decor, ooo-err!

So for this weekend only! A 10% off coupon is available for my Etsy store.

Use this code to get your 10% Off

So take advantage and order something special today!

Home Storage - Designer Plastic Carrier Bag Dispenser

The finished designer carrier bag dispenser

This is something I've been intending to make for quite some time. EVERYBODY needs a plastic carrier bag dispenser. For this to look stylish it was important to purchase the right fabric. I didn't do cheap, I went designer!

Three beautiful designer fabrics for the dispenser

The colours compliment each other beautifully. I had originally wanted to make a blue and black one but the red fabric kept leaping out at me when I was in the fabric store.

The top and body ready to be constructed

 There is an opening at the top to put the carrier bags and then it's as simple as pulling one out from the bottom as and when you need one.

The body of the dispenser complete

The top and the body attached together

The detail gets even better with a contrasting colour thread running across the edge of the black/grey fabric, in this case red. The designer of the pattern, Alicia Thommas (s4h), has done a wonderful job.

Want your own designer carrier bag dispenser? For £ 1 9 . 9 9 it could be yours. Contact me with colour/pattern scheme.