With the leaves turning colour and the days getting colder, it was clear that Autumn had arrived. Linde could not wait to go on a toadstool hunt and she had been begging me to take her to the forrest for days. So on a sunny afternoon we dressed her in her warm woolen jumper, strapped her dolly to her waist and we were on our way. Luckily we found a group of beautiful toadstools right at the shore of a magical green lake. Linde very curiously inspected the toadstools to see if there was a door for the gnomes to enter.
Laying on het belly, she stared intently to the base of the toadstool. Since her hair kept falling in her eyes, she used the strap that carried her dolly before and tied it around her head. After a long time she sighed deeply. ‘Maybe you can only see the door at night…’ she said, ‘when the moon shines its light’. ‘That must be it’ I said, ‘Lets walk a little further and see what else we can find’.
When we continued our walk, a small frog hopped in front of us. Linde’s eyes grew large and shiny and softly she whispered in my ear: ‘do you see that little frog ? That must be an enchanted prince !’ Very gently I caught the little frog in my hand to give her a better look.
Linde leaned forward to take a closer look and tried to kiss the little frog on his tiny body. But before she could reach him, the frog jumped from my hand and hopped away. ‘Maybe you need to be a princess to break the spell’ Linde said, and she skipped away looking for something new.
After a long walk we found a beautiful tree trunk to take a break and rest our legs. The sun was already setting and cast long shadows on the yellow leaves. Linde’s hair turned golden in this beautiful light and she took her time telling her dolly a long story. It will not surprise you that it was a story full of gnomes who lived in toadstools, princes that turned into frogs and princesses. Because that are the things she loves and talks about all the time.
We did find some beautiful golden leaves that came to life in the sunlight. It was getting late so it was time to head home where we lit a fire in the fireplace to warm us.
Linde is inspired by the traditional Waldorf Doll but has a more pronounced face and body. This is done by needle felting the face and body, a method that enables me to sculpt the wool and form a nose and chin etc. The traditional Waldorf doll has more simple features and is more suitable for younger children. This doll also known as natural fibre art doll is more suitable for older children or adult collectors. For more info on the doll please visit my Etsy shop: https://www.etsy.com/shop/Poppelien