it's peg doll time...

It's no secret... I love my peg dolls.

For those of you new to my blog, they are something of an obsession!

I love the idea of taking something as simple as a plain wooden peg, and with a little imagination, some glue, and a few scraps of fabric, ribbon and paper, suddenly you have this little doll with personality.

My girls and I have made them together since the girls were small.

Then, a couple of years ago, it struck me that if we loved peg dolls, then surely other kids would love making them too. And so the Small Acorns peg doll competition was born.

And, just like Topsy, since then, the idea has sprouted.

That first year, we had to explain what a peg doll was to so many. Now they all know.

That in itself is reward in this tech-savvy world of toys that we now have.

Last year, sensing that not just the kids wanted to have a go, we introduced a 'grown-up' category to the competition, and wow, that was amazing too.

The youngest entrant was 2 years and 3 months old. The oldest 64 and counting.

Simple and naive or detailed and ornate, all the dolls were special in their own way.

Our window had over 300 peg dolls decorating it.

More than anything else, almost everyone told us how much fun they had had making their little dolls, and that's what makes me smile the most.

And now, it's time for this year's competition.

Can you tell I'm excited!

I'm like a clucky mother hen when it comes to these peg dolls.

I take them all under my wing while they're instore.

(And give them a home if they're unclaimed after the competition. The dolls in the image above are all adopted.)

The amazing dolls above were all entered in last year's competition.

Miss Stella (top right) was selected as the overall winner. Her creator was age 5.

The beautiful rosy creation (bottom centre) was our 'grown-up' winner.

Te Papa, the Museum of New Zealand, selected 14 of our entries last year to go in to their permanent collection. How incredible is that! They have recently gone on display in their very own display case for a year, and online they are here.

So, are you, or your little ones, going to enter this year?

You can find out everything you need to know about this year's competition here.

And we'll accept entries from near and far.

I know that so many of my blog friends are so very creative.

I'd love you to enter!!

And you'd have so much fun - I promise.

Amanda xx

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