Miniature David Bowie , KDF and a trip to the V&A to see the Bowie exhibition !

 

Just back from Miniatura in very snowy Birmingham ! Lovely to see friends and old customers and make some new ones there . Now I am busy getting ready for the next of the spring fairs Kensington Dollshouse Festival May 11th and 12th .

 

I'm really looking forward to the weekend , and especially as we are planning a trip to the V & A museum to see the David Bowie exhibition there.

I have been a huge Bowie fan since I was a very young girl and  cant wait to see his costumes and memorabilia.  He has changed his looks like a chameleon over the years but I think the most iconic of his looks was during  his Aladdin Sane phase

 

I really enjoyed creating this miniature Aladdin Sane figure. originally he had bare feet but I felt something wasnt quite right so yesterday spent the day working on some platform boots for him and now he is just as I want him to be !
This figure will be available to purchase on my table at KDF .
I have a feeling after i have visited the exhibition I may well be inspired to make Bowie in a different guise ......watch this space !
julie xxx

Two lovely gossiping ladies and finally something new in my Etsy shop !

Its no secret I have been very busy lately getting ready for Miniatura ( Birmingham NEC March 23rd and 24th ......dont miss it ! )  and as usual when I am busy my Etsy shop is sadly neglected.
Now that I am finally getting some ideas out of my head and into the clay I have my plan for what I want to take with me and have set a couple of new dolls aside for sale in my etsy shop for those that can't make it to the show.
First though, I always get very excited about my latest dolls and I just love these two wonderful cleaning ladies .

Although they are stand alone dolls I think they look rather good together having a bit of a gossip.

They are different as chalk and cheese and both just full of character !

This lovely old toadstool witch and her little elf helper are now in my Etsy shop . Please follow the link in my sidebar if you would like to visit .

The witch is holding a basket of toadstools made by the talented Mags Cassidy and wears a red and white polka dot dress to match her toadstools !
She has a lovely old character face.

The little elf boy is helping to gather toadstools , he has the sweetest face, little pointed ears and a hat made from a real acorn cup.

Both are available now. There are also some smaller items in the shop including this pretty glow in the dark ghost cameo.

This can be displayed as a haunted picture in your dolls house or , as one of my customers has done, can be worn on a chain as a very unusual necklace and conversation piece .
I had better get back to the shed now...... lots to do and only 3 weeks until the show ....
julie x

Not so glorious mud .....

 “But Piglet is so small that he slips into a pocket, where it is very comfortable to feel him when you are not quite sure whether twice seven is twelve or twenty-two.”   A.A.Milne

Having had a week where I wasnt quite sure myself wether seven plus seven was twelve or twenty two it was some comfort to me to sculpt a very tiny piglet !
A real piglet would have been very much at home with me this week as it has been a very muddy week. Yet more snow came and went and after previous weeks of snow and  an excited little dog we are left with a garden that resembles Glastonbury festival after everyone has left.
I dont know where my grass has gone but it is no longer there.
In its place is mud. Lots of mud.
Nancy loves mud. Most dogs do , but  unfortunately nancy can travel at vast speed through our cat flap before anyone has a chance to catch her and wipe her feet.
You would not believe the amount of mud one little dirty dog can spread. There are only so many times you can wash a floor in one day and still keep your sanity,  plus nancy is very agile having been brought up with three cats she actually thinks she is one.
She  likes to sit on windowsills...... and beds.........and tables...... just like the cats.
The cats dont like this at all, they also dont like mud  but find it all over their little paws everytime the pop out to the garden which is often.
Luckily for me  I can escape to the shed  and throw myself into my work and not off  the nearest cliff which is how you feel after stripping the bed for the 3rd time in 3 days after finding 3 muddy pawed cats and a completely mud covered dog all sleeping on it like little angels .....
I have had more than enough and these three little dolls were my therapy in a week of muddy madness !
Good news though, the nights are getting lighter and I am being woke by birds singing in the mornings which can mean only one thing, Spring is actually going to be with us soon and hopefully with it some dryer weather as I dont think I can handle much more mud !
Spring also means  Miniatura  where  I have a table to fill with new dolls.  
I have lots of ideas and am not even sure myself exactly who or what I will be making but Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh and Piglet will definitely be there  .
So for the next few weeks I will mostly be found either in the shed making new characters or out in the garden sorting out the mess left by nancy and what feels like a very  long wet winter.
Wish me luck !
julie xxx

Happy New Year !

It is the last day of 2012 . Tomorrow we will wake to a new year , a fresh start with plans and dreams and maybe some resolutions to keep !
As a child I used to find this time of year sad. Christmas was over after all the excitement of Santas visit  , soon the tree would be taken down and there would be nothing to look forward to until Easter. I used to feel sad that the year had gone and I would have to remember to write a new year in my excercise books when I returned to school, such a bother  !

 These days I relish this time of year. I love the fresh clean slate feeling and am full of optimism for the new year stretching ahead of us and full of possibilities.
2012 was a bittersweet year for me . I lost my younger brother in April and  some of my beautiful old pets crossed the rainbow bridge over the year, then very recently an old friend passed away, so there has been a lot of sadness .
There were also some wonderful moments shared with family and friends, a trip to Disneyland, Paris with my grand daughters and enjoying the wonder on their faces ! simple pleasures like picnics in the woods  , days out with friends, growing things in the garden with my grand daughters ,brightened up the year  .  I visited the SIMP show in Paris with a good friend and it was a treat to see such wonderful miniatures and not be behind the table for once !
Of course I also made dolls ! I  exhibited at fairs in Scotland , Birmingham and London meeting old friends and customers and also making new ones. 
I was invited to exhibit at a fair in germany in 2013... I will tell more about that in the new year
I put together a book to celebrate my first ten years of doll making and was thrilled each time I sold a copy !! 
I was also delighted to have one of my dolls featured on the cover of a magazine as the year drew to a close.
It was a year of real ups and downs and now it is almost over.
 

 

I know like me some of you have also had a bittersweet 2012. Some have had a good year and some have had a bad year, but  however 2012 was for you I would like to wish everyone a wonderful 2013.
May the new year bring you health , happiness,  love and laughter.
May there be more sunshine than rain and a silver lining in every cloud.
Happy New Year !

julie xxx

Wishing you a very Merry Xmas !

 

2012 is almost at an end and I would like to thank you all for folowing my blog this year.

I wish each and every one of you a very merry xmas and hope 2013 is full of wonderful things for us all.

 

                                                                    
                                                                           Julie xxx

Cover Girl !

I was delighted to help when the editor of  The Dolls House Magazine contacted me to ask if I could make an Alice doll to be featured on the cover of the January issue of the magazine.
Alice in Wonderland is one of my favourite books and I have used the characters in it for inspiration many times so it was a real pleasure to make a new Alice doll.
We decided to this Alice would be just a little different from the usual Alice and for once I didnt add a white pinafore to her outfit.
Instead I used striped silk and trimmed it with tiny black buttons and fairy lace which I think looks rather striking ! Her mary jane shoes have a little height from platform soles but in my mind Alice is never complete without striped stockings so of course I couldnt resist adding these !
I was thrilled when the magazine dropped through my letterbox yesterday, it is a wonderful issue.
I think the cover looks just perfect  and Alice pops up a few more times on the inside too !
Julie xxx
 

My new book !

Miniature Dolls by Julie Campbell | Make Your Own Book

I am very excited to show a preview of my new book. I have put this together to celebrate ten years of dollmaking. The book tells a little about the inspiration behind my dolls and shows my journey through dollmaking over the last ten years. I hope my collectors may enjoy learning a little more about my work and who knows, you may own one of the dolls featured there !  Featuring some of my very first dolls it was a real trip down memory lane for me putting it together. Hope you enjoy this small preview.
julie xxx 

October the 1st........must mean time for Autumn Cleaning !

It has been a busy Summer and Cynthia,  my beloved boudoir doll mascot who lives in the shed where I work, seems to be looking a little reproachfully at the mess that is my shed ....
I darent post a photo of the rest of it, at least Cynthia's spot is always pretty and tidy, she demands nothing less !
Some people like Spring cleaning but I have always preferred Autumn cleaning.
The minute there's a sniff of Autumn in the air I seem to get a new lease of life. So its out with the old and in with the new for me as I start to get everything cosy for the colder days to come and make plans for new dolls to celebrate my favourite time of year.
With Hallowe'en on the horizon and Christmas following not too long after I have plenty of inspiration.
The only trouble is the garden is in as much need of an Autumn clean as the rest of the place . There are leaves everywhere and lots of tidying up to do outside.
I also have an Autumn resolution, why save all the resolution making for new year ?
I have promised myself to try to make a weekly blogpost........... I'm not sure how long this resolution will last but I have good intentions !
So now its decision time, do I go get on with that cleaning or do I take advantage of this beautiful autumn day and go kick some piles of leaves ?
julie :0)

Back from Miniatura and Endora a special commission

 Those of you who are of a certain age may have fond memories of the tv show Bewitched. I know I do , so when i was commissioned to make the wonderful mother in law with attitiude, Endora , I jumped at the chance.  My customer wanted her dressed in his favourite outfit from the episode " a nice little diner party " so here she is in my interpretation of the wonderful outfit.

My customer collected Endora at Miniatura so I couldnt show photos of her earlier as I wanted to surprise him !

 I had a wonderful weekend in Birmingham exhibiting at Miniatura. This is  my table before the show opened on the saturday morning.

Here is a closer shot of the table.
I had to laugh when I saw this photo with the sign showing behind my table saying "hungry ? " ...... I was mostly hungry this weekend as the hotel we stayed at had the most awful food ! Luckily the company was good so we made the best of it :0)
It was a good show for me and I sold quite a few dolls . I will be listing a few of the ones who didnt find homes in my Etsy shop later. Please visit my shop ( see the link on the sidebar ) over the next few days if you are interested .
It was lovely as always to catch up with old friends and customers old and new at the show.
Now to start preparing for my next show which will be the Kensington Xmas Festival in November this year, no rest for the wicked as they say !
julie :0)

Autumn Miniatura, table H7

Its that wonderful time again, theres a definite feeling of Autumn in the air, the leaves are beginning to fall and the nights are drawing in . The mornings feel crisp and cool and for a lot of us miniaturists this means the Autumn show season is about to start with Miniatura in Birmingham 22nd and 23rd September !

Alice and the white rabbit have been waiting eagerly for this event, having been made a good few weeks ago now and carefully put away until this weekend.

I hope if you are visiting you will come along to my table, H7 on the floor plan, and see the new dolls I have been busy working on for the last few months.

This will be the first show using my own name and not Bellabelle Dolls, and I am really looking forward to it.

Hope to see you there.......

julie x

Rainy days and paper dolls.....

Well this has to be the wettest summer I remember ! I have never seen so much rain and it looks like July is going to be just as wet.
So I have been spending lots of time indoors, which has been a great excuse to work on my own miniature project, my toy shop.

Some time ago now I designed some paper dolls with a beautiful array of outfits. Now I have the toy shop almost finished I decided to put a few of my paper dolls on the shelves and they looked so perfect I have made some more to sell .

Each little doll is printed on fine card and cut out ready to dress.

The outfits which I designed and coloured in soft watercolours , are printed on lovely silk paper and ready to cut out .

I have hand made boxes in soft colours, green, pink and primrose, and each has a label featuring the tiny paper doll.

They looks so nice in a nursery or toy shop setting .

These are now available in my etsy shop so if you would like to own one please just use the link in the side bar :0)

Welcome new Followers and apologies to old !

First of all welcome to my new followers , hope you will enjoy my blog :0)

There has been some problems for my old follwers so i do apologise ! I thought simply changing the name of the blog would be much easier than deleting the blog and starting a new one. However it has been a bit problematic.

If you have managed to find your way here some other way than through your dashboard , then you need to go into your dashboard, delete the bellabelle blog and then follow the new one. I think it will show in your dashboard but you will need to input it so it shows on your dashboard feed.

Finally thank you to all of those who have been helping me try to sort this out, really appreciate it !

julie xx