To give you an idea, below is what the original photo looks like. Photography apps are incredibly easy to use and add fun perspectives to original photos.
I was playing around with photography apps and decided to give a magazine look for one of my Sylvanian set-up. The building is JP Country Flower Shop, and it is one of my all-time favorite shop buildings. It has a classic florist shop look, with the ornate glass window and the big glass cabinet to store the buckets of flowers. A wooden rack is next to the window, filled with assortment of ribbons and wrapping papers. Too adorable!
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I would love to simplify my life and live with less clutter in a pretty and cosy caravan like this. It would be a great vehicle to travel and see the world, and I would always have a companion in the trusty pony that pulls the caravan. This Sylvanian Dream Issue was released in 1989. The JP set includes a pink caravan and an adorable winged grey pony. The caravan looks to be the same as the Original Sylvanian Families Caravan by Tomy, which was produced in the same year 1989, except for the color theme of the carriage and the nature of the pony. The Original Sylvanian Families Caravan is pulled by Bramble the grey pony. This winged pony pulls the pink caravan and takes off into the sky (as per the promo picture on the box of the set). Who wants to travel in an airplane when one can fly off in such a classy caravan. My winged pony is missing its original accessories so I have made my own. The side of the caravan opens up, and the roof can be removed: Most of the original accessories are shown in the photo, but I have taken the liberty to add other items to make the caravan look more lived-in. Below is some detail of the back of the caravan. I like that you can hang any number of things you might need for a particular adventure at the back....such as a pail, a kerosene lamp, a washing tub, a rope etc. There is also space to hang a bucket at the bottom side of the carriage (the original bucket that comes with the set is beside Miss Ivory Rabbit). Looks like our pony has discovered where its treats are stored in the caravan. The ladder, when not used, can be stored away neatly underneath the caravan: Once you are inside the caravan, you can do a number of things: eat, sleep, wash up, and store your valuables. The little table lifts up and becomes a vanity, complete with mirror. So delightful! Hope you enjoyed the review. It was a little more detailed than usual, because I had so much fun playing with this set.
This is a cute set called "Himitsu no o-Niwa", meaning the secret of the garden. It is indeed that. This accessory set seems to be meant for use as a garden extension to the Sylvanian homes. It comes with three fences, two of which are to be fixed onto the holes of the garden base, and two felts (one green color and one brown). There are other extras, which will help to transform this garden base into several uses. The big 8-shaped hole that is on the base can be used as a water scenery. One of the extras is a set of plastic logs that becomes a bridge: Or the logs can be used a raft: The 8-shaped hole can also be used to grow real plant seedlings: Included in the set is a packet of real seeds (!) and a couple of plant labels for you to write down what it is that you are growing. The packet of seeds has remained unopened since 1987. I have not tried to see whether any plants can still grow from them. So that is why this set is called the secret of the garden. Pretty neat isn't it ?!
This is one of my favorite buildings. I love the elegant look of the building, the color is such a sweet and gentle pink, and I like to visit coffee shops! The Cafe Terrace was released in 1988, and the shop serves refreshments such as coffee, pastries, pancakes, sandwiches, burgers and some sort of soda drinks in yellow and red bottles. Yummy. Here are more close-up photos of the building: A separate accessory set was also available to complement the Cafe Terrace. It was called "Osharena Master" set (literal English translation is "stylish/smart" master). I like to think that the accessory set is for the urbane owner/barista of the Cafe Terrace, Master Cream Cat! Inside the box there is a background insert of the Cafe Terrace. Very cute. Here is my Urban Life Cream Cat wearing the smart outfit. He is busy measuring the coffee beans to make fresh coffee for his customers. The promo picture on the box of the Cafe Terrace also showed a cafeteria waitress in a pink pin-striped uniform but I'm not sure whether a separate accessory set for the waitress exists. Mama Cream Cat was the waitress of course. The Cafe Terrace supposedly fits underneath the green Urban Mansion, released in the same year. As I do not have the Urban Mansion, Tomy's Country Manor house stacks on top of the Cafe Terrace just as perfectly: I thought the color scheme of the cream Country Manor suits the pink of the Cafe Terrace rather well.
I love all the figures, buildings and accessories that were released under the Urban Life Series. You can check out photo of the Urban Life Telephone Box in the Gallery section. There will be more photos of Urban Life series to come later. Today I am posting about a set called "Forest Concert". It was released in 1987 and seemed to be a special packaging for a "Love's Gift Set" (literal translation) series. The box say that the set is series number 7, and unfortunately I have no idea what other series of Love's Gift Set were released around the period. If you have any additional information about this series, I would love to hear from you. I was happy to discover that the item I got was in near mint condition. The box was not damaged despite its age. The accessories were complete and the figures were in excellent condition. The previous owner must have taken very good care of his/her collection. The figures, as you can see, are the gray rabbit, the brown rabbit and the ivory rabbit. Here are some photos of them with their musical instruments. My favorite figure is the brown rabbit. He looks like a really cool musician. The Forest Concert set comes with two pairs of staircases for the concert stage (I call them "stage staircases") which can be re-arranged in a number of different ways: I really like these staircases as they are so well-made. Some of the railings can be taken off and when I put them back on, they fit just right into the crevices. As for the rabbit figures, they are the same as the early 1980s brown, grey, and ivory rabbits. I took some photos for comparison. The musical instruments in the set are the same ones that were sold separately during the 1980s. They feel solid and are finely made, which explains why these instruments always fetch a high price in auctions. I have also seen the staircase sold separately as an accessory. It is used as decorative addition to some of the early-released houses, although it is quite hard to come by it nowadays.
Hope you enjoyed this mini concert in the woods. I have been looking for this JP Cotton Rabbit figure ever since I saw a photo of the figure at a Japanese collector's website. I am sooo excited (!!) to be able to track one down and add her to my own collection. The special figure is an adult size and came with her own Crepe shop. Isn't she simply adorable? I love the details of her dress and the little triangular bandana thing on her head. Mother Rabbit does look like she sells waffles and crepes in that outfit. The Crepe House in my photo above is the UK Flair version (I was lazy as I had it unboxed and displayed already) with the roof/awnings of the shop in the colors yellow and green. The Crepe House set that comes with the figure have blue and white awnings/roof, matching the colors of the Cotton Rabbit's outfit. Below is the promo picture on the box of the special Crepe House set: The special Crepe shop and Cottontail Rabbit set was released in 2001. Other accessories included with the set is a bench and a waste bin with umbrella stand. For further comparison, the JP Crepe House which was released in 1999 has pink and white awnings/roof. This JP Crepe House does not come with a figure, or the bench and umbrella stand: Apart from the color theme of the awnings/roof and the little Crepe House signage, all the little accessories that come with the Crepe shop such as the crepes, pancake-maker, tongs etc are exactly the same.
I guess it's good news for the Sylvanian critters to have so many different Crepe shops they can visit. Maybe sometimes they feel like buying waffles from the Pink Crepe House, and other times they like the taste of the crepes from the Blue Crepe House. Mother Rabbit has settled down quickly in my Sylvanian Village and waste no time in setting up her Crepe shop: |
About MeI like to experiment with photography and dabble in crafty things. I started collecting Sylvanian Families in 2009 and hope that someday my little daughter will enjoy playing and collecting Sylvanian Families as much as I do. Archives
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