Sweet Dreams Sale Extended!

The Sweet Dreams Sale will be extended through Friday, December 2nd! Take 25% off of art dolls, Rose Genevieve's floral designs, and other items in the shop.

Use coupon code SWEETDREAMS25 to treat yourself or someone you love to a handmade gift from Bonne Nuit Designs!

Enjoy!

Cyber Monday Sweet Dreams Sale Shop Discount!

It's a Sweet Dreams Sale!

Save 25% on art dolls, books, and other gifts in my Etsy shop today!

Use coupon code SWEETDREAMS25.

Enjoy!

Little Red

In need of kindling for winter fires,

she wandered through woodlands filling her basket with the driest of sticks,

ignoring stories of lurking hungry wolves possessing a knack for charming conversation,

and made her way through the loveliest of first snows

which sent her mind swirling into delightful wintertime faerie tale imaginings...

My Thanksgiving Story

Once upon a time, a holiday girl tied on a favorite apron

and, needing to make something simple for Thanksgiving treats,

beat the most golden of eggs together with sparkling sugar

and turned out the loveliest madeleine cakes brushed with rose water syrup.

Following star/snowflake making on paper

she traveled to a far-off land of ice and real snow and mirror glass water

and golden lights

where she tasted the aromatic madeleine cakes

and a delicious Thanksgiving feast

in good company.

Hooray for cozy homes and glowing lights

and holidays spent in good company!

I hope your day was lovely too!

First Snow

The first snow of the season arrived today,

falling all night long,

and all through the day,

inch after fluffy inch...

It was magical~

So the dolls and I thought...

Flavigny seemed especially at home,

the snowflake dancer...

The Wind in the Willows On Crepes Sunday

Today is Crepes Sunday, because we named it so.

You can do that~make your own holiday. It doesn't even have to fall on the same day every year. In fact, I'm certain that given our penchant for French things, we'll have another Crepes Sunday~or any other day of the week for that matter~ just randomly through the winter, because it's fun and festive!

We happily devoured today's ham and cheese, and lemon crepes with a couple of episodes of Cosgrove Hall's The Wind in the Willows television series from the 1980s, for entertainment. We so love this highly-detailed, incredibly-executed stop motion animation series~especially this time of year when we're trying to cozy ourselves in for the winter. It's a miniature world that's delightful to absorb into, with all its cozy Moley comforts!

I say! Mole is such a delightful character, I just had to design this velvety little fella (work in progress) this week!

He stands about 6" tall~just right for some of the miniature furniture I've collected since childhood. : )

This shadow box will serve as a temporary Mole End, until we can build him a proper home "underground". For now, it'll be the jolly perfect place for Mole to make his highly-desired scones and blackcurrant jelly!

On that note, I think literary connections to food are fun. I would love to recreate Ratty's picnic hamper, or develop a recipe book of food from The Wind in the Willows (Has anyone tried The Wind in the Willows Country Cookbook?). Fancy a cream cake, anyone?

There are other works of fiction, too, that stir the delighted culinary arts enthusiast in me~ Ray Bradbury's Dandelion Wine for example, and Peter Mayle's A Year in Provence, speaking of wine~and truffles~and who could pass up a sensuous meal presented by the likes of Chocolat, or the classic Like Water For Chocolate? What about the lovely cake that Flicka, Ricka and Dicka made with the pink frosting, for their mother for her birthday? Or The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe's Turkish Delight , or descriptions of maple treats and biscuits from the Little House series?

There are others worth mentioning. I have been too far-removed from books in recent times. Preparing food mostly takes place for practical purposes in my third dimensional kitchen lately, rather than in the fantastical kitchens of the literary mind (though movies from time to time provide wonderful fantasies, too! There is even an episode of The Wind in the Willows which is shot in Toad's enormous kitchen, while he is attemping to be a "master chef"!).

How about you? What stories provide rich melt-in-your-mouth food fantasies for your own culinary sensibilities, and leave you feeling a bit peckish?

Illustration by E.H. Shepard

A Nice Moment in the Studio

I had just placed The Moon there, in the basket of art dolls and puppets awaiting my attention.


Then noticed how cozy she looked snuggling up to her friend the ballerina,

as if she has known her for years.

Sometimes I think the dolls MUST have

minds of their own

and that they move about as they wish

when I am not looking ; )

The Moon is such a happy creature!

She must looooove having the night sky full of twinkling stars all to herself.

Wouldn't that be a marvelous place for pondering thoughts and dreams?!

I hope you have a wonderful spot of your own tonight, for pondering thoughts and dreams.

Bonne nuit!

Holiday Art Dolls and Puppets Exhibition Announcement and New Work

As you have seen, the winter/holiday season stirs up magical fantasies here in the studio, of dancing ballerinas.

Soooo magical to me.

I am really loving this one. She will get shoes soon, and perhaps some decorative details.

I have also loved designing this horse puppet, who has strings, but is still unfinished. It's kind of funny, the order of doll making sometimes. This time 'I put the strings before the horse', so to speak ; )

Finally, I'd like to announce the very exciting news that I will be exhibiting my art dolls and puppets in a magical window display at Katie's Jewels in downtown Montpelier, VT in December!

Stop by Katie's Jewels at 4 State Street, Montpelier next month to see some of my work and owner Jeannemarie Schinhofen's beautiful collection of jewelry featuring new and estate pieces in addition to Jeannie's own handcrafted work!

Today is a day off from most studio work, as we are beginning our decorating for Christmas! Tim is the very best Christmas decorator ever, and with our combined fondnesses for miniature worlds (think wee winter villages, etc.) and cozy atmospheres, it should be quite magical~~So much fun!! I'll post some pictures through the holiday time : )

Okay~The day's getting started here! I hope you have a good one there!

~Kim

Rose's Holiday Florals~A Traditional-Style Wreath

Rose has made a Christmas wreath for you dolls and humans who prefer a more traditional style!


Decorated in Christmas colors, the wreath contains pine cones, faux holly berries, and handmade English holly leaves below the hand-lettered "Joyeux Noël" ("Merry Christmas") banner. Rose has also included a handmade velvet bow for an added touch of elegance!
If you're looking for a human-scale tree ornament, a hostess gift, or delightful surprise under the tree for the doll collector, this elegant Rose Genevieve floral design might be just the treat!

For a wreath in creamy shades of white, see this post.

Visit the Bonne Nuit Designs Etsy shop to see more about these wreaths and other gifts. Thank you for shopping Bonne Nuit Designs!
~Kim

Holiday Lovelies (Shop Update)

Art doll Rose Genevieve now has a place in the Bonne Nuit Designs shop to sell her own work!

This elegant Christmas wreath is Rose's latest floral design!

She has decorated the grapevine base (the base is approx. 2.75" in diameter) with wee pine cones and hand-cut and hand-painted paper lilies, and a hand-lettered paper banner which reads, "Joyeux Noël"~ French for "Merry Christmas"~for an added touch of festive elegance!

Perfect as a human size tree ornament or as a 1:6 scale dollhouse door decoration, it comes with a hanging ribbon.

Rose's wreath and other items to come are available here.

Simone is now available in the shop. She is a sophisticated art doll dressed for holiday parties and comes with a faux fur stole for wintertime sleigh rides!

Simone's family is from France. She loves visiting Paris, where she enjoys tasting French wines, reading books in cafes, walking by public fountains, and sitting by the Seine. She currently lives in an old Victorian house where she enjoys painting Impressionist landscapes seen during her day trips to the countryside.

Simone prefers olden environments, and is looking for a nice new home. She is available here.

Simone can be seen in the holiday store window display in Montpelier, VT, at Christmastime. (More will be announced about that.)

Back to my studio work : ) 'Night for now, and sweet dreams!
~Kim

News From the Studio: Rose, Yves and Simone

Simone is one of my newest art dolls.


She and some other special characters are being finished to get ready for a Christmastime exhibition~A holiday store window display!

We're all very excited!

(More about the exhibition to come : )

Simone will be cozy warm in winter wonderland scenes while wrapped in her classy faux fur stole "secured" with a genuine freshwater pearl : )

Rose will be warm this winter in her new vintage wool cape!

Yves' magical antique wood "theatre set"/environment is forming and shaping. Could that be a faerie tale forest behind that door?

Yves now has two puppet strings, which make her appear magically animated, as if she moves on her own!

What a lovely place for her to sit and absorb and imagine!