HOLLYHOCKS AND CHILDHOOD

Hollyhock Fairies

I don't know how many of you did this as a child, but we'd pick the head of the hollyhock, leaving a little stub sticking up at the top, then get a bud, and squish it down over the stub, and it looked like a fairy with a beautiful dress. Then my friend and I would line up the different pretty colours and the fairies we made to became our beautiful dancing ladies.

A fun summer craft to teach your Granddaughters

Nip off one fully-opened hollyhock blossom at the bud. Invert it to form the doll's skirt. (Note - only the old-fashioned single hollyhocks work.)Use a couple of closed buds to form the doll's head and the ballgown bodice. (Some people peel of the green wrapping on the bud they are using for the head, but stop when you get to the petals.)
Use broken toothpicks to link the buds and the skirt. Some doll makers simplify by using just one bud for the head and skipping the bodice bud. (That's what my friends and I did.)
Optional: Spear a toothpick horizontally through the bodice to serve as the doll's arms.
Use a single petal or small blossom for the doll's hat. I preferred to use a bell- or flare-shape for my dolls' hats, rather than the turban effect shown above.

Modern touch: Use a small-point marker to draw eyes and a smile on the doll's face.
Make many dolls with a wardrobe of glorious colors, then find a comfortable shady spot in your garden and stage a hollyhock doll ballroom dance. (Or float your dolls in water to see them bob and sway.) I prefer the one-bud dolls myself, and they float better. The two-bud dolls are top heavy, but they are good if you want to "dance" the dolls with your hands. We had so much imagination back then (still do). Do kids today do things like this?

Well, I see a couple of my friends where kind enough to sign the guestbook, and I do thank them very much. As for the rest of you stinkers......

I guess nobody wants the clues to the little frog game in the last blog either. Oh well....I tried to entertain you!

Today, I went with my friend Irma, who lives across the road, to IKEA, and also the Sears outlet store. I enjoyed BOTH store's and bought home bargains! Ohhhh, to be rich and have a big house!! So many things I would love at IKEA. What a big store and only my second time in one and the prices are reasonable too! Has anyone seen the commercial of the girl in IKEA, after she reads the balance on her cash register receipt, and gets all excited and runs to the car, hollering "Start the car, start the car!" Tom laughs at that one everytime, so he asked me if I did the same thing. I honestly didn't think of it, or I would have done it and given Irma a good laugh!