One Year Blog Anniversary!

I must admit I am a couple of days late with this, because, as usual, life got in the way! But let's just pretend it's the 10th of November, shall we? Because on this day a year ago, I started this blog!

Today is a special day in Bluebell Oaks. All around the village celebrations and parties are being held, and later this evening, all the villagers will gather together for one big celebration! It's their one year blog anniversary!

Seven years ago, my collection began when I had some pocket money to spend and walked into a toy store and bought this:

My collection began with the Sweet Dreams Bed. I had never seen Sylvanians before that moment but I instantly loved the tiny detail and intricacy.
My interest for Sylvanian Families really began a couple of months later when my Nana and Poppa gave me my first family for my birthday, the Buckleys.

Things jsut grew from one bed and one family to having a whole village's worth of Sylvanians!

Everyone in Bluebell Oaks got together on my desk to have their photo taken. (Let me tell you, this was no easy feat!)
Please excuse all the stuff in the background!

I just want to say a huge thank you to everyone who reads, visits and comments on my blog. You make my collection feel so much more special that I am able to share it, and it's an honour to know that people from all round the world are interested in Bluebell Oaks. The villagers are delighted to be able to share abit about their peaceful little lives.

THANK YOU!

A Day with the Honeyfurs

It has been quite awhile since my last post!  I had mock exams at the end of last term, and now school has started back up again, with real exams happening over the next few weeks. Term four is always hectic but has an air of excitement with the wind down for the summer holidays and Christmas!

I've had the idea for this post for awhile but only just got around to writing it and taking pictures. Hope you enjoy!

For the past year, the Honeyfur family has been living in a gypsy caravan and travelling the woods. Up until awhile ago, they were just normal village folk who were happily settled in their little cottage in Bluebell Oaks.
What changed, you may ask? They decided that they wanted to be different, to live an adventure, and just have a challenge. So they sold their cottage and bought an old gypsy caravan. They now live in it with their pony Bramble, travelling the woods, only heading back home to Bluebell Oaks for more food or to visit friends and family. Velvette tells me they are quite happy, even more so than when they were living in the village.

"Come in, come in! Welcome to our humble home!" The bluebells are in full swing, and the woods are a beautiful place at the moment.

Velvette is just getting a freshly baked loaf of bread out of the oven. She has to work quite hard to feed her ravenous family, which she doesn't mind because baking is her number one favourite pastime.

Hopefully that should feed her husband and children sufficiently for lunch.

While we wait for it to cool, why doesn't she show you her little garden out on the back deck? She is quite proud of it.

Although it does not outweigh her love for baking, Velvette has always loved gardening. When they lived in the village, she used to have a very sucessful garden at home, and would often win prizes in the village show for her flowers. When they first moved into the caravan, she was upset to realise that she would no longer be able to continue her passion. However, she soon realised that she could make use of the small space she had to grow her own flowers.
Velvette is an expert on small spaces.

She loves waking up every morning to the sweet fragrance of her own flowers growing right outside.

Another project that she and her daughter Juniper did was making this floral Spring wreath. It adds a nice touch to the plain back door, don't you think?

When they left Bluebell Oaks, Glen quit his job as an electrician and now studies the woods. During their time travelling he has actually discovered two new species of fungi and one different type of wildflower.
Glen probably knows more about the woods than anyone else in Bluebell Oaks. He studies the seasons, weather, plants, trees and soil. He is more learned than some may think by looking at him.
Recently, Glen has discovered another passion of his: writing. Not long ago he published his second book about wildflowers and plants and now, with his wife's encouragement, has begun writing his first novel.
He can spend hours just wandering about in the woodland, collecting wild pumpkins, mushrooms, and berries, or leaning on tree trunks dreaming up ideas for his books, without a care in the world.

Where do the children go to school, you may be wondering? They used to attend Country Tree School, and baby Pumpkin went to the Forest Nursery, but now, Velvette home-schools them. They do their schoolwork at the little kitchen table, often outside the caravan in the clearing they are camping in at that point in time.

Juniper loves the adventurous lifestyle. She loves being immersed in the natural world, and learning about all the different wildflowers and plants from her mother. The only thing she does miss is her friends, although she has her brothers for company. It's not quite the same though, and she looks forward to visiting the village so she can see her friends.
Where is Barley anyway? He should be doing his schoolwork like Juniper too, only he is nowhere to be seen...

I'm afraid Velvette and Glen's oldest son is abit of a handful. It's not that he is purposefully naughty, he just is a little bit too adventurous for his own good. He claims he wants to be an intrepid explorer and leave school the moment he turns fifteen, which doesn't really sit well with Velvette. She wants her son to have a good, complete education and get a well-paying job like a doctor. She knows he is smart enough to do it. He just finds it hard to sit still, and has no more interest in medical science than he does in plants.
Ahh, there he is, crawling around under a bush!
"Barley, what on earth are you doing! Come out of there right now!"

"Aww, come on Mum, I was just exploring! It's much better than doing boring old maths! When am I ever gonna need to know how to do long division when I'm an explorer anyway?"
"No more of this nonsense please," Velvette said firmly, taking him by the arm, "You're falling behind in your schoolwork already; you can explore around here as much as you like as soon as you've done your work."
Poor Barley can't understand why the rest of his family take such an interest in boring old plants. Wouldn't they rather be climbing a tree or exploring the riverbank?

Saturday morning in the caravan is always chore time. The children complain, but Velvette is firm: the caravan won't keep itself spick and span!
In fact, Glen is just the tiniest bit afraid of her when she is in a 'cleaning mood'. It's no wonder though that she has to be firm with three children!

As she was assigning jobs, Barley piped up, "Mum, can I go up on the roof with Dad to check that the chimney isn't blocked?"
"You most certainly cannot!" Velvette was horrified. She doesn't even like Glen doing that job. "Take Pumpkin and mop the back deck, would you darling? But be careful of my plants!"

Barley sighed, vowing to himself that when he grows up he will never own a house that needs constant cleaning. He will sleep in a tent under the stars!

Juniper had the job of waxing the front deck. She doesn't mind it really, as long as the wax doesn't make her fur sticky.

Glen headed up the ladder to check the chimney.

It's just as well he has abit of experience of climbing things from his days as an electrician. All the same, it still makes Velvette nervous to watch him up there.
"Nope, it's not blocked at all!"

Velvette got to work cleaning the stove as soon as her family left the kitchen.

 There, much better!

Next, she needs to clean the sink. Pumpkin spilt blackberry juice down there last night, and it stains oh so terribly!

Of course, Bramble the pony is a major part of cleaning. It is Juniper's job to brush him and comb his mane and tail.

Usually she sings to him as she does it. She thinks he enjoys the sound of her voice because he always puts an ear back to listen to her.

Juniper has always loved ponies and was over the moon when she was finally able to have her very own when they adopted Bramble. He is an adored part of the family now.
She will just put on a touch of hoof oil to blacken his hooves and then she will be finished!

Glen and Velvette are sure that taking their children travelling and living in the caravan was the best decision they have ever made, even if it was rather sudden and challenging. Velvette says that she is so accustomed to life on the road that she finds it hard to remember what it was like to live a settled life in a house, and that she would find it terribly boring to have to live in a house again!

As usual, I got some inspiration for this story from my own life. Velvette kind of reminds me of my  grandma, and the Saturday morning chore idea came from her. When my dad was a kid he and his brothers had to work and do chores on Saturday morning too. Years later, now, my grandma claims that 'the boys' enjoyed working on Saturday morning and that 'they loved it!', although my dad tells us this is a different story! I wonder if this is the case for the Honeyfur children?  ( ;
Have a great week!

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day and first day of September! Everyone in Bluebell Oaks is delighted that it is finally Spring!

First of all, a quick update on the Buckleys: they are moving into their new home, although I'll be honest and admit I haven't finished decorating the house yet! Stay tuned for part two of the story though; hopefully I'll post it in the next few weeks.

I don't know about other parts of the world, but today in New Zealand and in Bluebell Oaks it is Father's Day! The villagers are each celebrating their dads, (and children!) on this day. I want to dedicate this story to my own dad, who always cares about me and works hard for my family. He is very wise and always takes me places and does stuff with me. I'm grateful to have a good father.

Whenever I have a sylvanian-based disaster (like when I leaned back one day and accidentally snapped the top side platform off my windmill, or the time the Buckleys' telephone snapped in half) it is always my dad that rescues the situation with glue and calm words. I'm sure my sylvanians are grateful too! : )

 Ruby and Amber Robinson adore their dad, Wilbur.

He can always be relied on for lots of fun.
Daddy is not always competent, however, as the girls have discovered. Once, he even managed to dress Ruby with her clothes inside out!

Florence was away for the morning, and Ruby went the whole morning wearing her clothes inside out, till her mother got home and realised her husband's mistake.

The three of them often get up to lots of mischief together. More often than not, Florence will arrive home in despair to find her usually so tidy kitchen a mess.
I'm sure you can guess who the culprits were.

Although, as Amber has discovered, her dad is not always completely trustworthy, especially when it comes to muddy puddles.
"Just jump, sweetheart, I'll catch you!"

"Hmm..."

"Dad!! You said you'd catch me!"
"Oops..."
(based on my own experience!)

Amber and Ruby know that dads are often easier to con into things than mums...
"Look, Dad, the toy store! Can we look inside?"
"Sure!"

"Wow Dad look at all the toys!"

"Can we get this Daddy?"
"And this?"
"Well..."
"Pleeaase?"
"Well," Wilbur said grudgingly. He knew he was in between a rock and a hard place, "I don't see why not."

"Oh boy, what will Florence say?"

Happy Father's Day!

A New Home for the Buckleys

One fine Saturday morning, Mrs Buckley was catching up with her good friend Mrs Hawthorn, walking in a peaceful, secluded part of the forest not far from the village. She had left her husband at home on 'twin watch'. Maria and Freddy were at a friend's house, and Meadow had taken the oppurtunity to have some quality time with little Oscar.

The ladies were just gossiping about the price of perfume at a local shop when Mrs Buckley caught sight of something over a particularly bushy hedge.

"Blossom," she said, "Have you ever noticed that house?"
"What house? Oh, you mean the one over there? Why it's been empty for years. No one lives there... Although I think Bob Blackberry owns it..." Mrs Hawthorn said, knowing everyone's gossip.

"See, here's the garden gate. Bob obviosly forgot he owns the old place or isn't too keen on being a tidy gardener!"

Sure enough, Mrs Hawthorn led her along the hedge to a very overgrown garden gate. The whole place certainly seemed deserted. You couldn't even see the lawn!

"I can't believe I never noticed it before..." Mrs Buckley said. She'd lived in Bluebell Oaks a long time, but had never encountered this house.
At that moment, who should come clip clopping down the road but Bob Blackberry and his horse Blacksocks, on their way to the Saturday Farmer's Market.

"Good morning ladies! Everything alright?" He called cheerily.
"Splendid, thank you Bob," Mrs Hawthorn said, "We were just talking about you. You own this old house in here, don't you?"

"Aaah, yes," Bob jumped off the cart. "I haven't been in here for a long time... Inherited the place from some great uncle or rather..." He mused, "Although we've got the farm so we could never live there."

He leaned on the garden gate."Yes, perhaps I did let it get abit overgrown... I've been trying to get rid of the place for years-I've got enough on my paws looking after Blackberry Farm!"

"Anyway, I must be on my way. See you around!" He jumped on the cart and trotted away.
They continued on their walk, but Mrs Buckley couldn't stop thinking about the secluded house and its overgrown garden. There was something about the place that seemed to draw her in, she just couldn't quite put her finger on what it was...

Later that evening in her own home, Meadow told her husband about her discovery that morning.
"Do you mean that old overgrown place?" Heath asked, "What's so special about it?"

"We could live there Heath!" Meadow said excitedly, "You said yourself just last week that this house is too small for us. We've got five children, and the babies can't go on using the attic as a nursery!"
"I don't know darling," he said, "It would be alot of work!"
"I'm not scared of hard work." Meadow said defiantly.
"Alright," Heath smiled, "Give Bob a call to arrange a day to check it out."

A few days later, the entire (almost) Buckley family headed out to meet Bob and look at the house. Meadow had left the twins at a friend's house, knowing that they wouldn't be easy to cart around, especially if the garden was as overgrown as it looked.
Bob greeted them cheerfully. "Come in, come in. I'll get this gate open and we'll try and find our way through this jungle, shall we?" He winked at the children.

Bob gave the gate a jiggle. Nothing happened. He tugged it a little harder. "It's just a little stiff," he said to them. Bob pulled and pulled, but still the gate stood fast.

Then he stood back to scratch his head. "Perhaps the latch was on the other side,"he said thoughtfully, pulling on it. The gate swung open.
"Aaah, here we are."

There was nothing else for it but to bash their way through the bushes. The children were obviously finding it a great adventure, but Mrs Buckley was a little more reluctant. She tried her hardest to put her lady likeness aside as she scrambled rather un-daintily through the bushes.

At last, when they emerged from the undergrowth, the family found themselves in a large but very overgrown garden, with a pretty blue roofed house in front of them.

"Come on inside," Bob was already up at the house, holding the door open for them and smiling.

"Oh!" Mrs Buckley exclaimed when she stepped inside, "It's beautiful!"
"A little dusty," Bob said, "But yes, it is quite a nice house."

Mr Buckley especially liked the big opening doors at the front of the house that opened to the veranda.
"This would be perfect for dining in summer evenings." he said.

Upstairs was just as nice, and much more spacious than their current home.

Maria likes the views from upstairs. This would be a lovely place to put a bed... She thought.

"Look Mummy and Daddy!" It seems that Oscar has found the nursery.

He's overjoyed to have his very own baby-sized balcony to look at the pretty views!

This house was obviously built for a family with babies, having such a large nursery. The walls of it are also adorned with pretty pictures.

Meadow loved everything about the house until she found a little gate in the nursery that opened straight into mid-air!
"Oh my goodness Heath! Look how dangerous this is! Whatever could it be for?!"
"Don't worry love, I can board it up." He soothed.

(I actually have no idea what this little gate is for! It literally just swings open to nothing! Seems very dangerous!)

Mr and Mrs Buckley decided to look out the proper balcony.
"Oh Heath, isn't this amazing? I've always dreamed of living in a house with a balcony!"

They listened to the children laughing inside.
"What do you think?" Meadow said softly.
Heath was silent for a long time. "I think the children sound happy and they really like it. This house is way more spacious than our own one, and I think I like it too. Sure, the garden will need abit of work, but it might be fun, doing it as a family."
"So?"
"I think we should buy the place!"
They found Bob down in the garden. After a short discussion and negotiation (Bob wanted to rip himself off and sell it to them far too cheap!) the deal was sealed.
"Congratulations! I'll send you the paperwork tomorrow."

And that is how the Buckleys came to be the proud owners of this pretty little blue roofed house. They can't wait to move in!

To be continued...

Apologies for not posting in a long time!
Hillcrest Home (although I'm going to rename it) is the result of my recent birthday, where I got some lovely presents as well as some money, which I used to buy the adorable Splashy Otters-they're just so cute!
When this house was first released in New Zealand early this year, I wasn't very fond of it. Now, however, I love it! It's got so many cute details and I'm happy to give it to the Buckleys, who were actually my first family, and have been without their very own home for seven years, the poor things!
The only thing I don't really like about this hosue is the name, but I have another one up my sleeve, although it's a suprise!
I hope you are having a wonderful and joyful July!