Happy New Year 2024!

Hello all, and Happy New Year!

As you can probably tell, last year was a busy year for our family, and therefore not one in which I had much time for my Sylvanians, I'm afraid.  They have definitely not been forgotten though!  I have lots of new critters to introduce to you, and so many ideas and projects I want to do with them!

To start with, I'd like to show you some of my Christmas presents (just the Sylvanian ones!)  I was lucky enough to be given several new families:

(The penguins simply could not wait to get out of their box!)

I am so pleased to be welcoming all these new critters, but must give a special mention (VERY excitedly) to the delightful mole family, which was sent to me by my lovely forum friend Terra!

More details will come about these new additions, but I also want to share with you my very first Sylvanian project of the year - just a little one, but definitely a step in the right direction:

Meet Lolly Chocolate!  She is the youngest child of a family of Chocolate rabbits who live in our seaside area, Starlight Cape.  Soon I will update our Meet The Families page with their names and pictures, but first I had to make Lolly a dress (couldn't have her being mistaken for Freya Chocolat, now could we?)  lol

Here is the back:

I wanted a nice bright Summery feel for Lolly's dress, as not only does she live at the beach, but she is a bright, bouncy sort of bunny, who definitely needed colourful clothes.  I am quite pleased with the result.

So from everyone in Macadamia Grove, Starlight Cape, Town and beyond, as well as from Caitlyn Hazelnut and myself, welcome to 2024 - a much more Sylvanian year!

Christmas Presents!

I have waited a shamefully long time to post this, but better late than never, and I would like to share some of the wonderful gifts I received for Christmas (the Sylvanian ones, that is!)

The very first gift I got for Christmas was this special parcel from one of the members of the Sylvanian Families collectors forum, HThistlethorn.  She was my partner in an organised Christmas gift exchange that some of us do each year.  Look what she sent!

So many sweet little cross-stitched works of art!

She put an incredible amount of work into these, and many little families have been very excited to receive beautiful rugs, wall hangings and table mats to grace their homes.  

My next surprise was from Jackson Butterglove, another forum member, as part of our annual Christmas card exchange.  With my card, Jackson sent a tiny book of real sheet music - songs from the musical two of his critters wrote (this was part of a series of his stories).  He included a note saying that the little book was a gift for Hugh Grunt, who as you may remember is very keen on musicals!  Here he is, showing off his new prized possession:

On Christmas Day, there were more gifts!  I was very excited to receive a family of giraffes from my Dad and his wife - I was very much hoping for these!  They also gave me a cute storybook.  :)

I also waited for Christmas Day to open an amazing package from my forum friend Terra.  She sent me a family of sloths, which is wonderful as we do not get the sloth family in Australia.  They have such cute little friendly faces!  There was also a special Park baby (which are sold in the Sylvanian Families theme park in Japan) - she very fittingly chose a grey rabbit baby for me  :)  But perhaps most exciting of all were the family of Yule Rabbits!  These rabbits are green-accented Christmas customs that Terra made herself using spare Chocolate Rabbit figures.  She sent them naked, as she knows I like making clothes for my figures.  They are very very special, and I will have to put my best crafting brain on to come up with some fitting outfits for them!

Not to be outdone, my daughter Caitlyn Hazelnut presented me with the most beautiful dress and bonnet she had made herself:

Here it is being modelled by a Chocolate Rabbit Town girl - doesn't she look special?

Clearly I will have to get to work on my (much-neglected) next instalment of Sylvanian Pride & Prejudice!

And finally, just last week my holiday card from another forum member, Florence, made it here.  In it, she had included the most beautiful tiny handmade shawl...

I am just in AWE of the work in this.  It's amazing.  Here it is being modelled by Madison Hamilton, although I'm not sure yet which critter will get to keep it...

So many talented people on the Sylvanian forum!

I feel very humbled to have received such beautiful gifts from so many lovely people!  Thank you all very very much.  I look forward to many more years of sharing this delightful hobby with you all.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Meet the Coldfoots

Today I would like to introduce you to a new family.  This family came to me in an unusual way.  Some time ago, there was a competition on the Sylvanian Families Collectors Forum.  I didn't win, but a few days later I received a message from one of the people who did.  Tenchibaka (who is a fantastic miniature-food maker by the way, in addition to being one of the most active forum members) said that instead of ordering something with the prize (a Sylvanian Storekeepers voucher), they had decided to give it to me.  What a lovely thing to do!  I was very surprised, and grateful.

Once I had established that Tenchibaka was really, really sure about this, I ordered myself a lovely little family of huskies - and here they are!

I decided to rename everyone in this family, starting with the surname - the offical surname for this family is just "Husky", which I thought a bit odd.  Kind of like a person's last name being "Human".  Then I happened to discover that there is a tiny town in Alaska named Coldfoot.  Well that sounded perfect for these little fuzzies!

The Coldfoot family live in a comfortable log cabin in the foothills of the mountains, a little way out of Macadamia Grove.  Whilst their home is not technically in the village, the Coldfoots are considered by everyone to be very much part of the community.  

Together, Wolfgang and Juneau Coldfoot run a business supplying ice to the local villagers - both in edible form for drinks etc, and in large blocks for food storage (most homes in Macadamia Grove do not have electricity, so iceboxes are much in use, rather than the more modern refrigerators commonly seen in Town).  

Wolfgang is the one who cuts and collects the ice from higher up the mountain, and he enjoys his job immensely.  The ice is stored in a special coldroom until it is needed, at which point it is transported down to the village by sled.  Juneau's job is to take the orders, and make sure the correct products are delivered to the customers.

The most important things in their lives though, are not cold at all - they are very warm and furry and wriggly!  The baby triplets - Katya, Luka, and Echo - were very excited today to be taken for a ride in their very own brand new sled!

"Over the hill we go!" shouted Wolfgang happily, and Juneau laughed as the babies yipped excitedly.

The babies had not seen such thick snow before, as they had never travelled this far up the mountain.  It was only early Autumn in Macadamia Grove, and also at their home, so there was no snow there.  Further around the mountain, outside the strange seasonal anomaly that existed in this part of Sylvania, Spring was beginning.  Soon it would be time for one final delivery from the Summer coldstore there, and to begin storing ice at the main coldstore closer to home.  Juneau was glad, as it meant Wolfgang would be able to spend more time with the baby puppies.

After she took a turn pulling the puppies around in their sled, Juneau heard a sneaking sort of noise behind her...

"Snowball fight!" cried Wolfgang.  Juneau let out a little shriek, and immediately returned fire with a snowball of her own.  The babies watched, wide-eyed and giggling.

"Won't it be fun when they're old enough to join in?" Juneau laughed.  

"Yes - but it's pretty fun now, too," said Wolfgang with a smile, and gathered them all in a big family hug.

Thank you again Tenchibaka for enabling the Coldfoots to move to Macadamia Grove!  They can also be found on our Meet The Families page now.  :)

New Year, New Beginnings

Well, this is rather late, isn't it?  I had planned to write this post in January, as my response to the Sylvanian Families Forum's Creative Challenge theme, but with one thing and another, I never got around to it then.  So, whilst I realise the year isn't exactly brand spanking new anymore, I figure better late than never, right?

It's quite an appropriate theme for us, really.  There have been a lot of changes over the last few months in our corner of Sylvania.  Caitlyn Hazelnut (my daughter and fellow collector) has taken a bit of a step back from her Sylvanians.  She still likes them, and has kept most of her figures (in fact there are a few new families she has her eye on as well), but she has decided to sell most of her buildings, furniture etc.  So some buildings (and a couple of families) have moved away to new owners, and I must admit that I decided to buy the larger part of her buildings etc from her myself.  

Obviously this has had an impact on Macadamia Grove, Starlight Cape, and Town.  The figures Caitlyn owns are now displayed on shelves in her bedroom.  She says some of them still "live in" Macadamia Grove, while others have "moved away to other villages".  Therefore, they may still appear in photos from time to time, but obviously we can't have them running physical buildings in our permanent setup if they aren't really there.  The Courtyard Restaurant for example is no longer owned by the Trunk family (Caitlyn tells me that they still live in Macadamia Grove, but have opened a second-hand clothing and haberdashery shop, almost certainly so that Savannah can reroute any hats that come along into her own collection!)  :)

Anyway, this very long introduction (well done if you're still with me), explains why Caitlyn's Walnut Squirrel family no longer owns the Supermarket.  The Walnuts have moved away from Macadamia Grove (although Caitlyn still has them).  This little story introduces the new owners. Thanks for reading!  

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The Supermarket in Macadamia Grove was a popular place to shop.  Indeed it was the only place to shop for some items.  So it was quite an inconvenience when it closed.  The Walnut family, who ran the Supermarket, had decided to move away from Macadamia Grove to be closer to Katerica's parents.  The children were sad to leave their friends behind, but they were excited by the prospect of spending more time with their grandparents.   The Walnuts were a popular family, and would be missed by all of the villagers.  But there it was - and what to do about the Supermarket?

Luckily, one of the newer families to the village was able to step in to the breach!  

The Cottontail family had moved to Macadamia Grove a few weeks prior to the Walnuts announcing their departure, and when the Supermarket was put up for sale, Mr Rupert Cottontail immediately suggested to his wife  that they buy it.  She agreed, and so it was all settled.  The Town council was thrilled, as it meant only one short week of inconvenience to the village, whilst the new owners familiarised themselves.

Some items needed restocking, so Rupert spent much of that week placing orders, and restocking the shelves.  

Meanwhile, his wife Sorrel made sure everything was priced correctly, and generally familiarised herself with the day-to-day process of running the shop.  She had never worked in a shop before, and was a little nervous!

Even the children tried to be... er, helpful...

"Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Finally, it was opening day.  The Cottontails opened up bright and early, wondering nervously how the villagers would react to the new ownership.  Would people miss the Walnuts too much to even visit straight away?  They needn't have worried - the villagers were a curious lot, and many were quite eager to visit the shop, especially as not everyone had met the Cottontails yet.

The very first customer was Mrs Kristy Honeycrackle, who had brought her little boy, Toby, along.  She picked a few things from the shelves, then hurried to the counter.

"Good morning, I don't believe we've met.  I'm Kristy Honeycrackle, how are you?"

"Very well, thank you!  Lovely to meet you, I am Sorrel Cottontail.  Thank you for shopping with us - you are our very first customer!"

"Oh, you won't have any shortage of those," Kristy laughed.  "Everyone is dying to come in and see what you've done with the place!  I only needed a few little things today, but I simply had to pick up this delicious looking cheese!"

Sorrel smiled.  "That is my husband's favourite cheese, so we decided we really must stock it.  I'm glad someone else likes it too!"

"Mama!" cried Toby Honeycrackle suddenly.  "Mama!  Cookies!"

"Oh dear," sighed Kristy.  "He really does have such a dreadful sweet tooth.  I mean honestly, the child lives in a donut shop.  Not today, Toby honey, we don't need any cookies.  You can have a nice apple when we get home, how about that?"

Toby did not seem convinced that this was a good substitute.

"I'd better go," Kristy grinned at Sorrel.  "But you must stop by Donut when you have some time off, and have a cup of tea and a chat!"

Outside, Rupert Cottontail was greeting customers, when he heard someone calling, "Hello there, neighbour!"  He turned around to see Christopher Appleblossom approaching from the bakery next door.

He had met Christopher briefly before, when organising to sell a few of his more basic baked goods in the Supermarket (this was a good arrangement all around, as it allowed Christopher to take a day off each week).  They hadn't had a chance to spend much time chatting though, as Rupert had had rather a busy week!

"How's it going?" Christopher asked.  "Looks like you have a few customers already.  I must stop by later, I need some tea, and some jam."

"Yes, it seems to be going well so far.  I guess you'll be missing the previous owners, won't you?  I hear you and Mr Walnut were friends," said Rupert.

"Still are," said Christopher with an easy smile.  "I'll definitely miss having him next door, but we'll keep in touch.  And now I have a chance to meet you and your family as well.  Listen, a few of us are going for a drink this evening at the Courtyard Restaurant - around six - why don't you and the wife join us, and get to know a few people?  You can bring your kids along - there's a grassy area they can play."  

"Right then, that sounds good.  I'll have to check with Sorrel of course, but I think she'll be keen."

"Great - see you there then.  Better get back - I've got customers, and I guess you have too!"

The two men shook hands, and turned back to their own shops.

As he walked, and saw another group of customers entering the Supermarket, Rupert felt a glow of happiness.  This was going to work.  It was a new beginning indeed for his family, and it looked like the beginning of some new friendships as well.

A Rose By Any Other Name...

Jane Appleblossom sat down at the table with a relieved sigh.  It had been a long train journey to Macadamia Grove, and she was pleased to have had no trouble finding the house.  Of course, it helped that the Walnuts’ home was above the Supermarket, and Mrs Katerica Walnut had been very kind and welcoming.  Katerica had been a friend of Jane’s aunt at school, and when she heard that Jane had taken it into her head to do a bit of travelling in the countryside, she had insisted that the younger woman stay with her at her family’s home.

When Jane arrived, it was a busy time.  Mr Walnut was getting ready to go and open the shop downstairs, and there seemed to be children everywhere!

“Would you like some walnut slice before you go?”  Katerica asked her husband.  He looked interested, and approached the table.

“Mrs Babblebrook brought it over,” warned Saffron, with a pointed look at her father.  He hesitated.

“Isabella?  Or… er… the elder Mrs Babblebrook?”  he asked.

“The elder Mrs Babblebrook,” Saffron grinned.

“Ah… well… perhaps I won’t,” Cedric mumbled.  “Probably should be getting downstairs anyway…”  Suddenly he seemed to be in a hurry;  his voice trailed off as his bushy tail disappeared down the stairs.

“I’m off too, Mum,” said Saffon.  “I’m meeting Honey at the donut shop, remember?”  And with a last distrustful look at the walnut slice, she also departed.

Jane was surprised at this reaction from Cedric and Saffron, until she suddenly made the connection – Mrs Babblebrook – “the elder Mrs Babblebrook”…  Why, surely they must mean Pearl Babblebrook!  Of course Jane had heard the stories.  She had even seen a photograph of Pearl Babblebrook, proudly holding aloft a cake she had baked for the christening of Jane’s second cousin.  The story went that half the party had had food poisoning for a week, although Jane suspected that that story had gained strength and embellishments over the years.  At any rate, the general consensus was that anything baked by Pearl was guaranteed to be dreadful, and that Pearl herself remained completely oblivious to the fact.  No wonder Cedric and Saffron had left in a hurry!  But Jane had never actually met Pearl herself – and she certainly had had no idea that Pearl lived in Macadamia Grove!  What a small world it was, she mused.

She was startled from her thoughts by the Walnuts’ son Twig, who announced, “I’ll have some.”

Sure enough, he took a large piece of slice and began to eat it, quite unconcerned.

“Jane?” Katerica offered, her knife hovering over the slice.

“Oh… no thank you,” Jane faltered.  “I – I ate something on the train!”

“And I expect you’d like to freshen up after your journey, of course – silly me!” exclaimed Katerica.  “Your room is just through there.”

As Jane gratefully left the room, she couldn’t help noticing Twig still munching absently on the walnut slice, his attention mostly taken up by his comic book.  Oh well, she thought.  I suppose it’s true what my mother used to say – teenage boys really will eat anything!

***********************************************************************************

Later that day, Katerica took Jane to an afternoon tea party to meet some of the local ladies.

“It’s just a small gathering of friends,” she said.  “We like to get together when we can to have a cup of tea and a gossip.  You’ll be very welcome – we love meeting new people!”

As luck would have it, on this occasion tea was to be held at the Babblebrooks’ cottage.  Jane found herself feeling very interested to meet this infamous Sylvanian!

They were greeted warmly, and as Katerica had assured her, Jane was made to feel very welcome.  The ladies chatted happily, and cups of tea were served. 

Jane was just in the middle of a interesting conversation with Mrs Ariane Woolly, when suddenly a plate of cupcakes appeared in front of her.  It was being offered by a beaming Mrs Babblebrook.

“Would you like one, dear?  They’re orange!” she said sweetly. 

“I’m fine, thank you,” Jane replied politely.

“Oh, please help yourself!”  Mrs Babblebrook urged.  “As our newest guest, I thought you should do the honours!” she added.

Jane didn’t know what to say.

“Oh… er… in that case… thank you,” she murmured, and gingerly took a cupcake.  To her horror, Mrs Babblebrook didn’t go away, but instead remained eagerly waiting for her to take a bite.

“Do try it!” she urged.  “I’d be interested to know what you think – I’ve tried something different this time!”

“Have you?” Jane managed.  “Well.  How… er... clever of you.”  Still she hesitated, staring down at the cupcake.  It looked like a cupcake.  It was certainly orange.

By this time, Jane realised she had gathered a bit of an audience.  Several of the ladies were looking curiously at her.  Finally her good manners couldn’t take it any longer.  She closed her eyes, and took a tiny nibble at the cake…

… and opened her eyes, startled.

“But – but Pearl, this is delicious!” she exclaimed.  She took a bigger bite.  It was in fact one of the nicest cakes she had ever eaten!  What on earth was all the fuss about, she wondered.

Then she realised several of the ladies were staring at her – Katerica and the two Mrs Babblebrooks in particular.  Oh dear, she thought, blushing – did I say “but” out loud?

“Er… Jane dear, did you call her… Pearl?” Katerica asked quietly.  Oh dear, thought Jane – and now I’ve called an older lady by her first name when it’s not how she was introduced to me.  Perhaps now they will think I am terribly rude… 

The younger Mrs Babblebrook’s mouth twitched.

And suddenly the elder Mrs Babblebrook went into peals of laughter. 

“Pearl?” she cried.  “Oh goodness child, no wonder you didn’t want to eat one!”  Wiping tears from her eye, she patted Jane’s paw reassuringly.

“My name is Rose, dear,” she said kindly.  “Pearl Babblebrook is a relative of mine.  Quite a distant relative actually, although we do look an awful lot alike.”

Jane was very embarrassed, but the rest of the ladies seemed to think it a great joke – Rose most of all.  When quizzed about her family’s reaction to the walnut slice, Katerica explained that Rose was known for putting a lot of cinnamon into her walnut slice.  Whilst this was delicious for many critters, cinnamon was a flavour that Cedric and Saffron simply could not abide. 

“Oh dear,” said Jane.  “I have been awfully silly.”

“Nonsense child,” said Rose stoutly, handing her another cup of tea.  “It was very understandable you would mistake me for Pearl.  And for what it’s worth dear, I wouldn’t eat anything she’d cooked, either!”

Family Updates

Hello there!  I have a few ideas for posts that I would like to share soon (some of them inspired by creative challenges on the forum), but for now, I would like to draw your attention to a number of updates I have made to our Meet The Families page in the last month or so.

I am pleased to introduce the Dale family of sheep, the Fletcher family of border collies, the Pennypress family of red pandas, and Mrs Roxy Renard.

If you have not yet read their bios, and would like to, they can all be found on our Meet The Families - Macadamia Grove page, as they are all residents of the village (you will need to scoll down to find them - the families are listed alphabetically by surname).

I have also added a picture of my Slydale fox family, with their names, but I have not yet included their bios - they will come soon!

I am also looking forward to adding some other new additions to the Town page, but it is always the same old problem, isn't it? - so many projects, and so little time...  In the meantime, I hope you enjoy reading about these families., and that you are having some time to work on your own pet projects, whatever they may be!

Caitlyn Hazelnut's Christmas Presents

 Hello everyone! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas this year.

Today I'd like to show you some of the presents I received this year:

I was also very lucky to receive an Applewood Department store:

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas, and best of luck for the New Year!

GreyRabbit's Christmas Presents

Hello to all our Sylvanian friends!  I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

I was very happy to find some Sylvanians in my presents this year - it's quite a modest collection compared with last year's Sylvanian-fest, but that's because I received lovely non-Sylvanian gifts this year, too (thank you, family!)

I was especially excited to see the Border Collie family!  They are one of the families released for Sylvanian Families' 35th anniversary year, and they are very lovely.  They have very friendly faces.  I hope to introduce them to you properly soon (complete with names etc).

Also my Grunt pig family is waiting impatiently to receive this Fruit Wagon - they will now be able to sell some of the produce they grow straight from the farm.

Rounding things off is some bathroom gear which will come in very handy, and the makings of a takeaway pizza shop which will be based in Town (I wouldn't like to step on Caitlyn's Fielding family's toes by opening another pizza place in Macadamia Grove!).  Not sure who will run the new pizza shop yet;  I shall have to think about it.

Finally, one last special present:  a gorgeous little Christmas dress, made for me by Caitlyn Hazelnut!  Here it is being modelled by Isla Slydale:

She is going to get to keep it, too (much to Priscilla Thistlethorn's disappointment.  Priscilla needs to learn though that not all new dresses are automatically for her!)  

I hope everyone was able to have a lovely Christmas (even though it may have looked a bit different than usual for some people).  I'd love to hear about any Sylvanian gifts you may have received!

New Families!

Happy New Year!

We are on holidays at the moment, and have had the luxury of spending some time "Sylvanian-ing"!  Mostly we have been moving new items and families into the village (and Town), and wallpapering some of our new houses. 

We have also updated our Meet The Families pages with some of our new (and not-so-new) families.  You might notice that not everyone is there yet, and of those who are, not all have full biographies - these will no doubt be added eventually, but we wanted to get started by adding some names and photos first.  There's a lot to do, and we don't want it to become too much like work, so for quite a while it'll be a bit of a work in progress...

For now though, if you would like to meet my new Periwinkle family, or Caitlyn's Fielding and Trunk families, head to the Macadamia Grove Meet The Families page.  The Rivertail beavers have also had an updated photo taken in front of their new house!  If you'd like to see my Spotter family, you will need to head to the Town page.   They are all looking forward to meeting you!

Christmas Presents!... and Changes...

Hello all - GreyRabbit here!  As 2019 comes to an end, there are a couple of things I would like to say...

Firstly, I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas!

As far as presents are concerned, I was very spoiled this year - and my family certainly enthusiastically embraced the idea of buying me toys for Christmas!  Would you like to see what I got?

I am very excited to have received a Field View Mill - it is such a pretty building!  Also a Log Cabin, and not one but TWO Cedar Terraces!  This is fantastic as now all my Sylvanians have somewhere to live - even the new ones!

Speaking of which, I also received the Periwinkle rabbit family and Spotter meerkat family - both second hand, but in lovely condition - as well as a lovely selection of furniture.  Here is a more detailed picture of the smaller items:

The dress on the right was made by my lovely daughter Caitlyn, and is intended for Joy Woolly.  Here she is modelling it:

Joy is very pleased with her new dress!

But wait - there's more!  My husband also had an extra special present for Caitlyn and myself to share - a beautiful House on the Hill!  This is our favourite house, and we never thought we would get it.  It's retired now, and due to its size, the shipping cost on second hand ones usually puts them well out of our price range...

The cute cushion in this picture is from my mum (it is a shared present too), and the table they are both sitting on is another of my presents from Caitlyn and Husband - it will form a new part of Macadamia Grove.

The second thing I wanted to mention is that a bit of a change has occurred here at Sylvanian Sunshine - you may have already noticed.  My daughter, known as Caitlyn Hazelnut here and on the SF Forum, has decided not to continue her own separate blog, but to share mine instead.  This makes sense, as all our critters share the same neighbourhoods, so it seems sensible to keep all their stories together too!  So a big "Welcome!" to Caitlyn as a new author on OUR blog!  :o)

Speaking of which...

Hi, I'm Caitlyn Hazelnut, GreyRabbit's daughter. I am excited to become part of Sylvanian Sunshine, and would like to share with you the Christmas presents that I got this year:

This year I received the Fielding mouse and Cottontail rabbit families, the Baby Tree House, two baby blind bags (baby band series), a second-hand Li'l Woodzeez bakery and quite a lot of furniture. I also received the Farthing dogs and and lovely Mcburrows mole (second-hand). 

I feel very lucky to have gotten so many lovely Sylvanians this year!