she gathers....

she spent the daylight hours wisely....

she had many a home fire to keep burning...

her daily task was a simple one - collect kindling from dawn to dusk and carry it the many miles back to home..

pile after pile after pile

long long days

in all weather...

she never once complained

born a gatherer to parents that adored her and her older 19 siblings.....

Abigail Ash Montgomery .... born under the huge Ash tree in the back paddock as her mama pegged out the never ending mountain of washing...

born quickly and efficiently

 kissed, named and swaddled all between the washing of the undergarments and  the tea towels...

nobody knew Abigail was coming

but nobody was surprised..

not after the 19 that came before her....

Abigail Ash Montgomery was happy but wanted more, she had big hopes and dreams that she pondered on daily as she trekked through the forest...

Abigail Ash Montgomery wanted to be a pilot....

paper bird....

a new paper bird ....

a new perch....

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this tiny curious paper bird is made entirely from paper....

he has been shaped by the paper maker on a rainy day from inside the paper makers cosy workshop...

he has been given a pair of carefully hand stitched wings so that he may balance upon his new perch...

they are made from the most stunning and precious scrap of old and worn fabric with a wisp of old lace to complete....

he teeters on wire legs which have been secured in to place upon his perch with magical golden thread... the thread is there not to keep the tiny bird prisoner but to offer him security and safety..

this bird knows he is free to fly.....

the large pine cone was collected by the paper makers own dear mama whilst on a local forest adventure....

pine cone bird is £45 which includes packaging and safe postal travel within the U.K

please message me for overseas quote

thank you xx

fig

fig is a good dog

fig is a dog that is well behaved :: house trained :: and smells good

fig would not eat your cat or pee up your best chair

fig is also a liar....

i say liar but i guess that is not strictly fair, for you see fig IS indeed all of the things stated above now but by golly that has not always been the case...

 

fig has lived a life, seen the world, loved and left many a mongrel,and sailed the high seas

for fig was once a trusty sidekick of the worlds best pick pocket..

fig had two jobs...

#one 

he was often used as the cute distraction, the tiny dog that all those rich ladies in Paris stopped to coo over whilst their belongings were being swiftly removed by figs master...

#two 

he was that slight breeze you felt around your ankles as the master pick pocket quietly dropped the stolen loot  straight into his trusty canines mouth who then took off as fast as those tiny legs would carry him back to the dingy lair...

however today dear fig stands before you with his very best dicky bow on that he swears he did not steal from the gentleman round the corner..

fig swears he did not tap on the front door and sneak in when it was opened by Horatio the butler

fig swears he did not hot foot it up the grand staircase to the gentleman's dressing room and raid the tie cupboard

fig also swears he did not *have* to eat the gentleman's beloved budgie because he was having a low sugar moment...

honest....

{{ the details }}

fig is made entirely from paper

the paper used for the final coat is from Alice in Wonderlands Mad Hatter Tea Party

he has been lovingly shaped by the curious paper maker who has given him a few coats of varnish to protect him from dust and damp

his bow tie is made from velvet ribbon and liberty fabric with a gold coloured button to finish it off

fig will arrive at his new home in a presentation box and promises to put his shady past behind him but to be safe do not leave your best silver out...

fig is £58 which includes post, packing and safe travel

thank you for reading fig's tale......

 

pocket...

if he thinks really hard and really far back he can remember his first home...

it was in a small boys pocket...

it was dark. often smelly and he was frequently jostling for space with many an odd treasure....

on more than one occasion he only narrowly missed the horror of a full wash cycle...

but on one slightly overcast grey day a most marvellous thing happened..

upon this day small boy was to be found desperately trying to fit a paper aeroplane in to rabbits already full pocket

and then it happened...

freedom

a fall to the green green grass below....

for you see the small boy was in a hurry to get back on the bike he had *borrowed* from his friend so he did not notice pockets fate...

he lay fearlessly for many days and long dark nights until he was found....

......and that was how pocket rabbit came to be sat upon a curious paper makers work table

a little broken

a little dented

but happy

the paper maker spent many a day just allowing pocket to rest and observe his surroundings, to take in his freedom, to fully accept that a brand new life was about to start..

and then.....

a waistcoat was fashioned

a jaunty bow was made

and a suitable perch for an extra special fella was found..

pocket was happy

{{ the details }}

pocket is made entirely from paper and is sealed to protect him from damp and dust and the contents of a small persons pocket if this fate is set to fall upon him once more...

his waistcoat is hand stitched from a very old piece of precious cloth and has been finished with a sparkly button that will forever shine as brightly as pockets little rescued paper soul...

his dickie bow is made from liberty fabric..

his perch is a lucky find from one of my treasure hunting adventures...

pocket upon his perch is approx 23cm high

pocket will arrive in a presentation box so would make a rather fine gift for a rabbit fan :)

he is £58 which includes U.K postage

please message me for overseas postage quotes

thank you for reading pockets tale......

on every street...

there is a strange cat lady...

she is a loner but not alone, as she surrounds herself constantly with feline companions...

 they dance around her feet and sit upon her window sills guarding and protecting her.. 

and watching you..

nobody knows when she arrived on your street or when, if ever, she will leave...

folk whisper about her, they guess at her age but nobody knows for sure as she has looked *exactly* the same for what feels like forever..

each day she presents herself to the world just so

neat and tidy and reeking of perfume

there are those that say she tends to be a *little* overdressed

her bouffant is always perfect. and big.

you may not have noticed her on your particular street yet but rest assured the strange cat lady is there and once you see her you will see her
every.single.day...

{{the details}}

strange cat lady is a curious paper soul that has been sealed with varnish to protect her from damp and dust

she is dressed in a quirky hand knitted ensemble

complete with lace cuffs in order to waft away any unwanted cats from other streets

at the back of her cotton jumper she keeps a spare cat bell. just in case.

her large bouffant is tweaked into a style only ever seen on strange cat ladies and drag queens...

on this particular day she is wearing her most favourite cat brooch which shows a picture of her most prized (but sadly long, long deceased) black cat Roy..

she fished Roy out of the filthy canal 

or at least this is what she tells folk..

in reality she pinched him from the posh couple three doors down....

the curious paper cat dancing at her feet  is covered in precious liberty scraps

for the sum of £95 PLUS postage this strange cat lady and liberty puss could be yours :)

they will arrive in suitably glorious packaging

please message me for postage quotes or if you have any further questions

thank you for reading this tale.....

birds.always...

without fail the one creature that gives me such joy when making is a bird..

i love shaping the body, making the tiny delicate wings from the oldest lace and finally supporting that wee body on tricky wire legs..

utterly lovely :)

here is my latest feathered friend..

small paper bird with heart shaped wings carefully hand stitched using beautiful old lace..

perched upon an old wooden cotton reel...

arrives in pretty packaging

available for re homing

£45 which includes postage and lovely packaging

 **RESERVED**

hare....

there is something rather special about hares...

the magic and folklore that surround them is fascinating and if you have not delved in to their secret world then i urge you to do so..

for me they are a welcome sign, a sign of new life, the ongoing of my days so of course they had to appear on my paper making table...

i have made quite a few using various papers as the final coat but this one was a true labour of love - it seemed to take forever and a day to cover!

i have used text from Brer rabbit and added in flashes of bright flowers from a rather lovely but old and battered gardening book that i found at the scout book sale.....

i hope you love this hare and that maybe it will find a home with one of you...

it will be sent on its way with a wisp of good luck magic :)

£45

which includes U.K postage and rather lovely packaging

*please contact me for overseas postage rates*

curious brooches

** when the curious paper maker is not busily making paper folk and creatures she likes to make brooches..

using oddments of this and that and particularly lovely papery images, small, unique brooches appear...

each individual brooch is blessed with magic and is searching for just the right person to wear it with love and pride...

which one would you choose?

or maybe the brooch will choose you.... **

nitty gritty.... each brooch has been carefully covered in three layers of protective varnish but it is not advisable to wear these papery creations on your best coat in bad weather...

each brooch will arrive at your door in lovely packaging and the price shown includes postage

£17.50

the goat herder

** this goat herder is a lonesome paper soul...

she prefers the company of goats rather than anybody or anything else for goats are trustworthy and kind...

she spends her days gathering moss on the hillsides so that she can make soft beds for all her most loved creatures.... **

the goat herder is a papery creation that is dressed in a special sweater that has been hand knitted and paired together with the most glorious scrap of precious fabric..

it has a tiny  magical clover button stitched to it which brings this goat herder much luck and enables her to find her way home each and every night...

her tiny moss gathering bucket is made from an old witney blanket and has been carefully hand embroidered upon...

her beloved goat who is nestled closely to her side is made entirely from paper of which he is most proud....

the goat herder is ready for a new home and will arrive with her bucket and goat carefully boxed

£125

the shepherdess

** the shepherdess and her solitary, much loved tiny lamb...

she moves quietly amongst her flock who all look at her with knowing eyes..

they trust this shepherdess for she is kind... **

a paper soul that is dressed in a patched and darned much loved dress. and a knitted hat and scarf

she carries a tiny, almost lost lamb safely in her paper arms

the lamb has been stitched using tiny scraps of old textiles and lace that found there way to the paper soul makers workshop from beautiful friends...

the shepherdess and her lamb are ready for a new home and will arrive boxed

£125

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