Friday, February 14, 2020
New Arrivals!!!
So my orders from Japan have arrived. Thankfully my Tanuki girl arrived and now I can say that I got one of my holy grail items! Her clothes are interesting. It’s to the traditional girl outfit and I’ve recently seen some oddly dressed Sylvanans show up on eBay in older looking Japanese packaging. I’m not sure what to name her yet but I want to do something Japanese since Tanuki are so uniquely Japanese. Or I might make a play off to Tom Nook from Animal Crossing and have her last name be Nook and do something.like Tammy Nook because my brother said Tom Nook is a play off of Tanuki and he’s a Tanuki. But we’ll see. I also got my starry sky cats and pandas.. I was hoping to do a valetntine’s scene I had in my head but I didn’t get to it in time. It involved the vintage tree house from the 80s and I am having trouble locating the roof but I will get to it as soon as I am able.
Thursday, January 30, 2020
Almost Tanuki’s
I’ve been pretty quite for a while since I have so many hobbies and interests and I kind of phase through them throughout the year. But I started to get an inkling for Sylvanians recently and it’s perfect timing for the February to April releases as there are many cool new items coming out. I just pre-ordered the Starry Sky Cats and the Pandas on Amazon JP. I usually buy my releases from Amiami.com but I wanted to try out Amazon for that and anything else cool I might be able to find there. It took some coordinating as when my form of payment was authorized it set off a fraud alert. So I switched it to my Paypal debit card and it was fine. I. Am including pictures because some of you might not have seen them. I’m in love with the cats, I love having a family of black cats and the magician theme is interesting. The pandas are great too because they have pastel clothes that will make for a unique Easter scene if I can get that going. I started an Instagram because I thought that would help having followers that maybe would stick with you even if you are hit and miss with posts and I bought a web domain. Probably shouldn’t have but well now I have one LOL. Anyway here are those new families.
Anyway, my biggest reason for posting was to share some super sad news. I thought I had obtained 3 Tanuki Sylvanian. It was a dream come true. It was the mom and dad from one seller and the sister from another selller. But then today the seller sent a message claiming that the parents were missing a tail and that they could not sell them to me. My brother had purchased them for me as a gift and the messages and things about the situation was really suspicious.. Like I would have still wanted them damaged but that wasn’t offered. I’d have taken a discount, one wasn’t offered. So it seems like just a ruse. Someone may have contacted the seller on the side an offered more money. I’ve had similar things happen before when going after rare items the previous time was with some books on a yard sale site on Facebook. I had clearly claimed them first and someone side messaged the seller seeing that I had claimed them and the seller saw the message before she had seen me comment and stake my claim. Anyway you noticed that I said 3 Tanuki well so far nothing weird has happened with the Tanuki sister transaction. So hopefully that will go through without problems and I’ll have at least one Tanuki. I’m pretty devastated though. But hopefully some day I’ll have the whole family.
Happy collecting!
Tuesday, April 17, 2018
New Arrivals
Well I wasn't expecting to post again so soon after my most recent post, but my order from BeHappy arrived today. I found out about this place on the collector's forum and was excited to see that they had all of the easy buy families and that they were on sale. I had only seen a few of them on eBay and they were pretty expensive. Shipping was kind of high but with the discount I got two families for about the price of one family on eBay so it was definitely a fortunate find. The link to BeHappy is this pay very close attention, do not leave off the .my otherwise you are going end up at a website that you absolutely do not want to be at, as I found out when my brother wanted to look at it: http://www.behappy.com.my/store/
Anyway, I picked up the Ocher rabbits and the Maple Dogs and I'm very excited because I will get to name them because I am not aware of any established family names for them.
The ocher rabbits are interesting because I could tell that they were a darker color than the Periwinkle rabbits and I had gotten a Mack Periwinkle that did not match the other Periwinkle family members. It bothered me so much that I ended up buying another Mack Periwinkle but also included the Grandmother this time. It kind of seems like my odd colored Mack Periwinkle is a bit closer in color to the ocher rabbits, so I may make him the Ocher rabbit grandfather. I couldn't really get a good picture of the ocher rabbits compared to Mack where they looked exactly the same but when I look at them they pretty much look like the same shade.
If you had trouble reading my previous post, I did fix the font size on that. I don't know what happened when I posted it and it was quite a headache to fix it but I fixed it and hope no other entries shrink like that. I'm still not organizing my apartment because i am still fighting off a cold but hopefully I will be better by this weekend and can make some progress.
Happy Collectiong!
~Kim~ aka Blossom Timbertop
Anyway, I picked up the Ocher rabbits and the Maple Dogs and I'm very excited because I will get to name them because I am not aware of any established family names for them.
The ocher rabbits are interesting because I could tell that they were a darker color than the Periwinkle rabbits and I had gotten a Mack Periwinkle that did not match the other Periwinkle family members. It bothered me so much that I ended up buying another Mack Periwinkle but also included the Grandmother this time. It kind of seems like my odd colored Mack Periwinkle is a bit closer in color to the ocher rabbits, so I may make him the Ocher rabbit grandfather. I couldn't really get a good picture of the ocher rabbits compared to Mack where they looked exactly the same but when I look at them they pretty much look like the same shade.
Happy Collectiong!
~Kim~ aka Blossom Timbertop
Sunday, April 15, 2018
Still Around
So, I know I hadn't posted on here for several months but I didn't realize it was more than half a year. I haven't done a lot of things to my set up, except make room for a table so I am not having to pull everything out and put everything back. Unfortunately my apartment is in a constant state of chaos and I've been desperately trying to organize it so I can enjoy all my stuff instead of just buying stuff and shoving it all into boxes until I figure things out. I have purchased a lot over the last 6 months and really should have been posting it here to at least keep things going but again, that organization thing. I realize I have a lot of ideas and not a lot of follow through. I hope to change that someday. I will keep trying.
My newest additions to my collection are the Danny Dog family from Maple Town. I always wanted them growing up but only have the Patty Rabbit family, the Bobby Bear Family, and the Fanny Fox family. Growing up they were always part of my adventures in Sylvania, so I will definitely keep them going. I also would like to collect all of the Maple Town figures if I can. Maybe replace some that are missing some items of clothing as well. The Danny Dog family I found in box and never opened and it's crazy thinking that this box is only 5 years younger than me and that it has been sitting unopened for 32 years.
My other latest arrival was the Waddlington Duck family. I am super excited about them because I don't have any of the duck families and I was happy to be able to get them complete, as I have only seen partially completed duck families on eBay. I am unsure about their place in the story though because thinking that I would never get them, my intention with naming my village Lavender Hollow, was to make the Lavender Rabbit father the mayor of the village. So, I have to decide if I want to change that or not since the father Waddlington duck is also know as Mayor Waddlington. I know I can pretty much do whatever I want but sometimes I have trouble making decisions. A couple times I have gone to my friends on Facebook to help me decide which profession each family should have. Like I said, lots of ideas, no organization, and also indecisive. One thought I had was maybe instead of Mayor Waddlington, was to make him Judge Waddlington to deal with disputes. I like the Waddlingtons, I was surprised that their beaks and feet were made of plastic.
I had previously said that I was going to incorporate Lego for making some of my buildings and structures and for some things I still might, but I realized that buying the amount of Lego it would take to make structures of a size that was scale to Sylvanian Families would be a larger investment than buying craft supplies. So, I am probably going to do both. I know I there are vehicles that I would like to make and those would be easier to do in Lego but as far as houses and businesses go, I think it would be less expensive to use boxes and buy decoration. They probably won't look as fabulous and a lot of the stuff I see on the forum but that's ok. I'll hopefully get better with time.
I bought a small sewing kit so I could start trying to practice hand-sewing some clothes. I have plenty of cloth from some old clothes that don't fit anymore so that will save money on the initial fabric expense as I practice I just need to print out some patterns but I think I need new ink for my printer.
Anyway, I hope to keep at least updating when I get some new figures as I do have a few things coming in the mail and I hope I can start working on more family photos, maybe re-doing some that I've done and start building businesses and clothes and customizing furniture. It sounds like a lot but every time I see everyone else's blogs I get super excited and want to do cool stuff myself.
Anyway, Happy Collecting!
~Kim~ aka BlossomTimbertop on the forums.
My newest additions to my collection are the Danny Dog family from Maple Town. I always wanted them growing up but only have the Patty Rabbit family, the Bobby Bear Family, and the Fanny Fox family. Growing up they were always part of my adventures in Sylvania, so I will definitely keep them going. I also would like to collect all of the Maple Town figures if I can. Maybe replace some that are missing some items of clothing as well. The Danny Dog family I found in box and never opened and it's crazy thinking that this box is only 5 years younger than me and that it has been sitting unopened for 32 years.
My other latest arrival was the Waddlington Duck family. I am super excited about them because I don't have any of the duck families and I was happy to be able to get them complete, as I have only seen partially completed duck families on eBay. I am unsure about their place in the story though because thinking that I would never get them, my intention with naming my village Lavender Hollow, was to make the Lavender Rabbit father the mayor of the village. So, I have to decide if I want to change that or not since the father Waddlington duck is also know as Mayor Waddlington. I know I can pretty much do whatever I want but sometimes I have trouble making decisions. A couple times I have gone to my friends on Facebook to help me decide which profession each family should have. Like I said, lots of ideas, no organization, and also indecisive. One thought I had was maybe instead of Mayor Waddlington, was to make him Judge Waddlington to deal with disputes. I like the Waddlingtons, I was surprised that their beaks and feet were made of plastic.
I had previously said that I was going to incorporate Lego for making some of my buildings and structures and for some things I still might, but I realized that buying the amount of Lego it would take to make structures of a size that was scale to Sylvanian Families would be a larger investment than buying craft supplies. So, I am probably going to do both. I know I there are vehicles that I would like to make and those would be easier to do in Lego but as far as houses and businesses go, I think it would be less expensive to use boxes and buy decoration. They probably won't look as fabulous and a lot of the stuff I see on the forum but that's ok. I'll hopefully get better with time.
I bought a small sewing kit so I could start trying to practice hand-sewing some clothes. I have plenty of cloth from some old clothes that don't fit anymore so that will save money on the initial fabric expense as I practice I just need to print out some patterns but I think I need new ink for my printer.
Anyway, I hope to keep at least updating when I get some new figures as I do have a few things coming in the mail and I hope I can start working on more family photos, maybe re-doing some that I've done and start building businesses and clothes and customizing furniture. It sounds like a lot but every time I see everyone else's blogs I get super excited and want to do cool stuff myself.
Anyway, Happy Collecting!
~Kim~ aka BlossomTimbertop on the forums.
Sunday, August 27, 2017
Well, it's been a bit since I posted anything after my initial post, but I got a lot more added to the site than I started out with. I had up 2 of my families, and now I have up 28 of my families. I already have decided I will be re-doing their photos after I came up with an idea for how to proceed with fashioning Lavender Hollow.
After putting together a cart on Amazon for the supplies I would need to make a campfire out of a battery powered tea light and it ending up being $91, I started re-thinking how I wanted to go about creating buildings and items for Lavender Hollow. I'm not even talented at crafting and I already have some pretty expensive hobbies as I am huge into Lego, play video games, and dabble in Playmobil, not to mention time constraints with working, though, I will have a bit more time about mid-October after I am done with the final class of my degree program, that trying to start a crafting hobby might not be the best road to take and that maybe I should chose a way to flesh out my village with something that I am already good at, which is, Lego. I can build with Lego, I have tons of parts and it will allow me to do more than I would be able to do with ordinary crafts. It might also lend a uniqueness to my village and blog not found elsewhere (I am not aware of anyone that incorporates Lego into their SF, if there are, there aren't many). The only con I can really think of is that stuff won't look that realistic, but I will plan on purchasing miniatures and furniture. I will like to grab a good deal on an official house or building but I will be using Lego to supplement. I think it's a good marriage of two big passions that I have. Anyway, I wish I had a sample to show what I can do but I haven't gotten to work on anything yet. I think of one of the big things that I like about using Lego is, the use of stickers and it not having to be permanent. I hesitate putting wallpaper in my houses and etc because it seems mildly permanent. Whereas, with Lego, I can always buy more bricks and something doesn't have to feel ruined.
Anyway, I'm not currently working on anything except sorting all the SF and Lego I have and still purchasing stuff that I want. My newest arrivals from SSK I am actually super excited about. Here are some of them:
Here are some of them, I am super excited about having the Marmalade Bear Grandfather. I never expected to get him because he is an older figure, but they had him in the individual figures section. I am also really excited about having the girl Chestnut baby. I have scoured eBay and always found her either way too expensive or I would get outbid on her. What luck to have found her brand new at SSK to be able to complete my Chestnut family. She was the only one in that family that I didn't get growing up. Now, because of this find, my vintage families from when I was growing up are nearly complete. All I'm missing is a mole family, which sadly, I think will always be out of range for me. My favorite Japanese seller on eBay, Kobejapan, he has a new in box mole family with the baby boy but he wants $125.99 for it and I just can't bring myself to spend that kind of money on a family. Maybe someday I'll break down and do it but for now I just can't. I got some other stuff from SSK aside from what is pictured. I got a tea set and the picture packages and some sleds from their dollhouse miniature shop, and I got the BBQ picnic set, the garden set( I now want 3 more of this one), the country bathroom, the sandwich set and I think that's it. Other things I have acquired recently are Cedar Terrace, the blue woody car, the hammock set, and I'm waiting for Ivy cottage, Applewood Cottage, and a used monkey family to arrive.
Anyway, that is what is up with me. I am really looking forward to getting to work on more stuff again after I get things sorted. I have a few scene ideas but need to grab a few supplies and wait for a few things to come in the mail. I will try to update every time I do something new. I have a plan for a Christmas scene that I'm going to upload to Zazzle so I can send out Christmas cards, but I will upload the photo here to the blog as well.
Anyway, Happy Collecting!
Kim
After putting together a cart on Amazon for the supplies I would need to make a campfire out of a battery powered tea light and it ending up being $91, I started re-thinking how I wanted to go about creating buildings and items for Lavender Hollow. I'm not even talented at crafting and I already have some pretty expensive hobbies as I am huge into Lego, play video games, and dabble in Playmobil, not to mention time constraints with working, though, I will have a bit more time about mid-October after I am done with the final class of my degree program, that trying to start a crafting hobby might not be the best road to take and that maybe I should chose a way to flesh out my village with something that I am already good at, which is, Lego. I can build with Lego, I have tons of parts and it will allow me to do more than I would be able to do with ordinary crafts. It might also lend a uniqueness to my village and blog not found elsewhere (I am not aware of anyone that incorporates Lego into their SF, if there are, there aren't many). The only con I can really think of is that stuff won't look that realistic, but I will plan on purchasing miniatures and furniture. I will like to grab a good deal on an official house or building but I will be using Lego to supplement. I think it's a good marriage of two big passions that I have. Anyway, I wish I had a sample to show what I can do but I haven't gotten to work on anything yet. I think of one of the big things that I like about using Lego is, the use of stickers and it not having to be permanent. I hesitate putting wallpaper in my houses and etc because it seems mildly permanent. Whereas, with Lego, I can always buy more bricks and something doesn't have to feel ruined.
Anyway, I'm not currently working on anything except sorting all the SF and Lego I have and still purchasing stuff that I want. My newest arrivals from SSK I am actually super excited about. Here are some of them:
Anyway, that is what is up with me. I am really looking forward to getting to work on more stuff again after I get things sorted. I have a few scene ideas but need to grab a few supplies and wait for a few things to come in the mail. I will try to update every time I do something new. I have a plan for a Christmas scene that I'm going to upload to Zazzle so I can send out Christmas cards, but I will upload the photo here to the blog as well.
Anyway, Happy Collecting!
Kim
Monday, July 31, 2017
First Post!
Hello! Welcome to my Sylvanian Families / Calico Critters blog, Lavender Hollow. I am very excited to finally start a blog about these cute little critters that I absolutely adored when I was growing up. My brother and I were 80s kids and we loved collecting them and had a lot of fun playing. I had most of the vintage figures released in the U.S. and since about a year ago, I have been getting some of the family members I missed. I stopped collecting in about 1988 or 1989 and then briefly started again in 1999/2000. About 3 years ago my brother took a trip to Japan and brought me back the newest Marlowe cat family, known to me from my brother translating the writing on the box as the Charcoal cat family. I loved them and immediately joined SSK's fan club and got the Dante cat family. Then for some reason I didn't get any more after that (it was probably because I have several hobbies and collections and a limited income.) But finally I made some purchases from SSK and started scouring eBay.
Even though I am from the United States where they are now called Calico Critters, I stick with the original name, Sylvanian Families because that is what I grew up calling them. Also, I will be sticking to the UK character names regardless of where I purchased them for consistency. I don't buy multiple versions of families, I just get what I can, even if the clothes are wrong.
On the pages with some of the vintage families, if I have a story I remember doing with the family when I was a kid, I'll share that story with you. My brother and I had some crazy ideas. I may even incorporate some of those memories into any new stories that I post under the "Tales" section of on the sidebar.
I'm not super crafty and i'm definitely not an interior decorator and I don't have tons of money to spend so I won't always have the fanciest photos or displays, but I'm just going to do my best and some of it will be imperfect.
I hope you can find some enjoyment out of my blog and I hope you'll leave any positive comments or tips you may have as I play around and have fun!
~Kim~
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