Bye to 2012 and hello to 2013

Well despite this year being one of the wettest years on record (thank you rain - for washing away the dreaded hosepipe ban!), I'm sorry to see the back of 2012.

Its been a great year and one in which I have celebrated a special birthday in Finland closely followed by the country coming together for the whole Summer in celebration of the Queens Jubilee and the Olympics. In the middle of the Summer, Malcolm and I were lucky enough to be picked as finalists for the BBC TV show,  Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution which was broadcast in October. We were also lucky enough to visit Philadelphia and Pennsylvania, which were part of America which we had not been to previously (both of which are recommended).

Anyway, as 2012 bows out, I look forward to welcoming 2013 and all it brings and I would like to express my best wishes to everyone a peaceful and happy New Year.

I will leave you with a couple of my favorite photos from my trip to Finland.

The circus elephants have arrived in town.....................

Well it was a bit of a wait, but finally the circus elephants have arrived.

After many evenings and weekends of staining material, stitching and stuffing, I have a few little circus elephants available for sale just in time for Christmas. These will be the only circus elephants available before Christmas so if you see something that you like please contact me as soon as possible at  ellen.johns@blueyonder.co.uk

Sales will be on a first come first served basis. Prices include postage and packing in mainland UK using 1st class Royal Mail. If you require any other type of delivery e.g. next day delivery, then this will be an additional £6. For countries outside of mainland UK please contact me for prices.

Paypal is preferred method of payment although a cheque is acceptable. However if paying by cheque the  elephant will be posted once the cheque has cleared through the bank.

Please note - my circus elephants are not toys and are therefore not suitable for children under the age of 14.

Anyway, here they are..................

Below is Holly and she is 10 inches tall. She has green ears with chocolate polka dots and wears a sea green tutu.

Below is Pandora and she is 10 inches tall. She has pink ears with creamy polka dots and she wears a pink tutu.

Below is Molly and she is 8 inches tall. Molly has red and white patterned ears (which are very Christmassy) and she wears a pink tutu.

Below is Flora and she is 8 inches tall. Flora has floral pattered ears and wears a sea green tutu.
SORRY I HAVE BEEN ADOPTED.

Below is Rosie and she is 8 inches tall. Rosie has red ears with small white polka dots and wears a pink tutu.

Below is Eliza and she is 8 inches tall. Eliza's ears are pink with creamy polka dots and she wears a pink tutu.

Time to update the blog

Hi everyone

Sorry I have been away from my blog for too long.

Since returning from holiday in October I have had a busy few weeks. The appearance of my little circus elephant on Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution on BBC2 in mid October and a craft fair on 29 November (which I was also organising!) has meant that the last few weeks have gone crazy. Anyway, I've been busy sewing and, as a result, have a handful of circus elephants available for sale. I plan to put photos on my blog this weekend. I will post an update on twitter when they have been loaded on the blog and, if you have emailed me enquiring about my elephants I will also contact you by email.

Watch this space.

Dressing the house for halloween

Just waiting for the chimney sweep to arrive. Once he's been we'll be getting all our halloween and fall decorations out and dressing the house for the season.

I love this time of year when all the leaves are turning reds, oranges and purple and the shops are full of squashes and pumpkins and all the delights of the harvest season. I also love the fact that you can cosy up in front of a crackling fire in the evenings. It's still a bit too warm here for a log fire, but it won't be long before the cold nights begin to draw in.

Some Pumpkins and squashes from a recent trip to Pennsylvania

BBC2 Handmade Revolution.....at last its aired

At last - I can talk and write about it as the show went on air on BBC2 at 3.45pm this afternoon.

Firstly, I must say a big thank you to Paul Martin and the judges at the show, especially Mary Jane for making me feel so at ease when being interviewed, you don't realise just how nerve racking it is being interviewed for TV, especially when the Amberley Museum train goes past and toots to say hello and you have to repeat bits to be recorded again.

The crew worked very hard and you can probably tell from my interview that we laughed a lot. Knowing what went into the filming and recording, they have done a wonderful job to make the programme look smooth and seamless.

I also must also say a big thank you to Jessamy and the team who kindly looked after us during the 2 days of filming and kept us fed and watered throughout the day.

Lastly, a big thank you to all the other talented crafters that Malcolm and I met at Amberley, many of whom we are still in contact with and, congratulations to Sue who won the show today. (I would also like to thank Sue for inviting me to join the Maidstone Visual Arts Network).

And now onto my primitive folk art elephant who was the real  TV star.

What can I say other than here is another photo of her. If you would like more information on my elephants or wish to see any of my other work, please don't hesitate to contact me at  ellen.johns@blueyonder.co.uk

BBC2 Handmade Revolution

Oh no!

Only 2 more days to go until I appear on national TV with my little circus elephant.

Getting nervous now. Will I make a fool of myself? Did I babble on endlessly when asked a question? Will the judges dismiss my art form because its primitive?

I will just have to wait and see.

BBC2 Handmade Revolution - sneak preview

Well I promised you all a sneak preview of my primitive circus elephant this weekend and here she is.............

Not able to release any other information, other than she will be appearing on Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution at 3.45pm on BBC2 on Wednesday 17 October.

Handmade Revolution

Hi all

Are you following Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution on BBC2 (3.45pm each weekday).

I'm so proud of my husband Malcolm, who appeared with his handmade guitar on 11 October. Malcolm uses all sorts of materials for his guitars ranging from boxes to old Oxo tins and even car hub caps. It is truly amazing how a cast off bit of junk can be turned into a musical instrument.

Malcolm does not yet sell his guitars (but may do in the future) but he take great pleasure in teaching people this craft and is in the process of setting up a website.

If you want further information in the meantime contact me via email.

Sneak preview of my primitive circus elephant coming soon

Hi Everyone

Hope you al all enjoying the BBC2 programme Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution.

My husband Malcolm will be appearing on the show at 3.45pm tomorrow with his handmade guitar (website to follow soon - so if you love his work - keep in touch and I'll let you have details).

At the weekend I will be posting a sneak preview on my blog of my primitive circus elephant which will be appearing in the show on Wednesday 17 October.

Please come back and take a peek.

P.s. Helen's paper flower bouquet was even more beautiful in 'real life'. See her work at francesandfrancis.com

BBC 2 Handmade Revolution

Well its nearly time........

In the summer, along with one of my circus elephants I was filmed by the BBC for a new BBC2 production called Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution.

The series kicked off today at 3.45pm where you can see some wonderful crafts including a beautiful glass orchid, a copper sculpture of a horse, a rag rug, felt trolls and some intricate silver rings. My favourite was the copper sculpture as I feel that it really captured the movement of the horse. I would love to own it.  If you missed the show - get it on catch up TV.

There are more shows each day this week.

My elephant will be appearing on the show to be broadcast on 17 October. Not sure if I'm excited or scared to see just how much I babbled on when asked questions. I might hide behind a cushion when watching it!

BBC Antiques Roadshow - I stumped the expert

I recently went to the filming of the BBC Antiques Roadshow and took along 3 antique dolls that I've picked up along the way over the past few years as you do. Now let me explain, I do not collect dolls and what I know about them you could write on the back of a postage stamp. I find many dolls too cute for their own good, some are way overdressed and fancy and some are just damn scary. My main attraction to these 3 dolls were that they were somewhat chipped and broken. (Actually quite a bit chipped and broken in places)

Anyway, I was curious to learn more about them so hence my trip to AR.

Now I've watched AR for many years and if I'm ever going to fall in love with anything on the show then its usually being reviewed by Hilary Kay, so imagine my delight when I managed to see Hilary with my dolls. (There were 5 - 6 experts dealing with the 'miscellaneous' category so it really was pot luck as to who you got to see).

The first doll I showed Hilary was the one in best condition and one that I thought was made by Deans. Hilary confirmed that she is a Dean's Rag doll from around 1930.

My next doll, which is the scary one, was a Trego doll made in USA. Now I only know that she is a Trego doll as the name is on her back and I have managed to find out that this company were based in New York but only made dolls for about 4 years. They do not feature in any doll book that I have seen and Hilary could not find any reference to this company in her books either. Hilary was able to give me details of another American Doll Book which is considered to be 'the doll bible', so hopefully I can track her down a bit more at a future date. Hilary thinks she was made around 1910 and gave me advice on how to have her eyes reset as they have sort of sunken into her head. But you know what, I sort of like them that way as she has a wonderful haunted look.

And finally, my third doll, this time a little boy. Hilary was impressed with this doll's smashed head, which had been carefully glued back together again and joined up at the rear with a hand painted plaster of paris type material. Hilary was unable to identify the maker of this doll but thought that he was European and made around 1940. I wouldn't normally subject any doll to being stripped and having their bare bits displayed for all to see but undressing this doll, does provide an interesting sight as he has been constructed using a mish mash of hard parts and a painted material body. All very odd. No wonder someone made him a nice knitted bodysuit, material dungarees and a cardigan.

Hilary felt that she had not been much help to me as she had not been able to tell me much about 2 of the dolls that I had taken to her, but I don't mind really. It all adds to their mystique. Like they have a secret history that only they will reveal when they choose to.

As to value, well I knew that in their condition they would not be worth anything much and I was right. I will not be retiring anytime soon.

Sadly, these little treasures were not picked for broadcasting on the show, so I thought I'd share them with you.

Once upon a time there were three bears..............

So there we were in Sussex after a weekend filming with the BBC for a new TV Show Paul Martin's Handmade Revolution (due to air sometime in October) and we decided to have a night away in nearby Arundel.

It was late afternoon and we decided to call into an Antique and Collector's Fair. The Fair was due to close in just over an hour, but our passion is rummaging through antiques and collectables and we thought we'd have a quick look.

Imagine my surprise when I found these 3 bears still sitting there waiting for new homes. As it was the end of the day, the guy selling them really just wanted to go home and therefore I managed to get these little fellas for a good price, especially as they all had very wet bottoms where they had sat on damp grass since early morning.

All three of them need some TLC as they have been well loved and have various ailments to their limbs and heads, without even mentioning partial blindness.

Anyway I love them and they have now found a good loving home where they can recuperate.

Filming with the BBC

Exciting news.

Grange Hollow Primitives will soon be featured on BBC2 following a weekend of filming with the BBC at Amberley Heritage Museum.

Cannot release much info at the moment as its all a bit of a secret, but stay tuned for more info.

Back from Finland

This time last week I was in the North of Finland on a week long celebration for my 50th birthday. If you have never been - GO! It is a wonderfully serene place where the only sounds were the squeeking of our snow boots as we walked through the snow. In Finland they have proper snow, not like the wet mush we get here in England and, Finland does not grind to a halt just because its snowing.

Much love and appreciation to the staff at the Jeris Hotel and Activities Abroad and my wonderful husband Malcolm who made this trip so special. Have taken so many photos, I cannot promise that there will not be the odd husky or reindeer photo posted in the near future (as well as more snow shots!).