Empress Wu Designs with Wilma

from http://www.godecookery.com/cookies/mocohist.html  In our family,gingerbread especially in the form of figures, is popular but we didn't know we were following a royal tradition. I had always associated gingerbread men with children, but the tradition of dunking gingerbread men in port wine doesn't quite match the image of the treacle cookies decorated with sweets and icing today. The first gingerbread men are said to have been created for the amusement of Queen Elizabeth I. They were moulded into the image of her favourite suitors and courtiers, decorated with gold leaf then devoured at royal feasts.  Read more:  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-18365/The-gingerbread-man-ages.html#ixzz3MikwIxb0     from taste.com.au  Just like the gingerbread men, the houses have a certain magical quality which appeals to children and the young at  heart. Our grandchildren love a gingerbread house - often made today or tomorrow, Christm...

Tilda "bugs" /Christmas beetles from Spring Ideas book   Many of you know that I spent some time in Finland in 2001 and recently returned for a visit and also renewed my love of Scandinavian fabric design.  I have always loved  Marimekko , so it didn' t take much for me to develop a liking for  Tilda  - the clean, crisp, softer and appealing designs by Tone Finnanger from Norway.  My local doll supply shop,  Anne's Glory Box , has recently stocked the delightful Tilda fabrics. books and accessories, so of course I really couldn't resist... And the laces have been hand dyed at Anne's Glory Box to match the Tilda fabrics. The bugs from the Spring Ideas book are my favourites ( image above) and they will be  great gifts for my daughter and daughter-in-law, as I give them a handmade ornament for their Christmas trees each year . Tilda  has also become a bit of a craze with some of the cloth doll  makers in my Hello D...