The elderflower story - and a prize

A couple of week ago that I posted a little film about the Maileg bunnies making elderflower cordial, and here is a photo story for the people who weren't able to watch it, plus a bit of an update and some behind the scenes footage!

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Once upon a time a few of the Maileg rabbits decided they wanted to make a delicious cordial and persuaded me to help.

So off we all went to a nearby field.


The bunnies enjoyed their walk in the fresh air and picked plenty of elderflower blossoms.


Upon returning home the we rinsed the flowers ready for steeping...



... and prepared a sugar syrup. Obviously we had to get an adult rabbit to help with this bit as the syrup was VERY hot.


We soaked the rinsed elderflowers in the syrup for 24 hours, along with some sliced lemons.



And the next day we put it into pretty bottles and the cordial was complete.


But the story doesn't end quite there...

A couple of weeks later the bunnies decided to enter their cordial into the Produce and Handicraft Show at Bromyard Gala. (There was some silly clause in the rules preventing fabric rabbits from taking part so we had to put the entry in my name.)

Imagine the excitement when the bunnies discovered that their delicious drink is now an award winner!!




Well done the bunnies!

For anyone who has yet to watch our little video, you can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVPxKoR31lc

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ps I just HAD to share this behind the scenes shot of my other half helping with film production - can't you just SEE the enthusiasm?!

Motorbikes and Maileg bunnies

My other half has recently bought a vintage motorbike which he claims is a thing of beauty. Art, he says. Somehow it has taken up residence in our hall-kitchen area. He says it's nice because 'it matches the cooker'. I question the fact that the motorbike is even anywhere near the cooker.

Anyway, dressed with a Maileg rabbit, it looks better.


Maileg Woodstock girl bunny is available to buy at Cottontails.
Motorbike not for sale. Yet.

Mouse travels globe and builds stylish nest

As the fabric mouse population continues to expand across the globe, news has just come in of a new colony establishing itself in the US...

Showing considerable nest building skills, this little chap has even constructed his own comfortable matchbox bed:


Have a read of this lovely blog for more details or visit Cottontails if you can offer a home to these increasingly industrious creatures...

A matter of trust..

He says he's only here to help and promises not to snaffle any veg...


Hmmm. I'm not sure.

For those who would like to take the risk, we have plenty more gardener rabbits eager to, erm, help...

Mouse problem

Oh dear, we seem to have a bit of a mouse problem in the kitchen this week. I even caught them breakfasting on the quaker oats this morning...

But happily I've managed to catch most of them - humanely of course - and they are now available for re-homing on the Cottontails website. Please visit if you are able to offer a loving home to a Maileg mouse.

Rabbits in the snow

This is completely unrelated to Cottontails really but I just wanted to show you something lovely which I had for Christmas. It is a beautiful limited edition print of a painting called 'Mona' by Kate Wyatt. Isn't it gorgeous? You can see more of her work on her website.


Looking at it in the sitting room last night, it struck me that Mona has similar colouring to Humphrey, and I wondered if I might be able to capture a photo of him in a similar pose, with all this beautiful snow as a naturally plain background. Well I had a go today - and the answer is no, not really! Humphrey simply wouldn't 'play ball' and stand up so this is the best I could do... :-)


He had great fun scooting around and digging in the snow while I tried to get him in position - and I just got very cold wet feet running around after him in a skirt and unsuitable shoes!

To finish off, and to tie this post into the shop a bit, here is one more rabbit - he was designed by Maileg last winter and I immediately called him Snowflake Bunny because of the design on his jumper. He is also wearing cosy mittens and boots, and as such is much better prepared for snowy conditions than I was this afternoon!

Luxury string and the winner is...

I am chuckling to myself at the moment as I can't quite believe I have just listed a ball of string under 'Treats for Grown-Ups' on my website. But is is a very nice ball of string in a gift box from the lovely people at Maileg. But all the same. Can it be considered a treat? Well, there isn't anywhere else for it to go on the website so a treat it is!

In fact I didn't even order the string - Maileg sent six boxes in error and I have had them in my 'must return' pile for ages. Several weeks later I realise I have already paid the invoice, I am never going to get around to sending them back and might as well just put them on the website and see what happens.

Also I have just done the draw for the poorly Maileg mouse (something else I didn't get around to returning!). Sorry the pictures are so rubbish but I did try to capture the 'drawing process'. First I wrote names on little bits of blue tissue paper, then I rolled them into balls and decided to use the Mr String box as the 'hat' as it were.


I asked Sylvain bunny to do the honours...


But had to give him a hand...


And the winner is: Jennifer! (You can just about make out the name in the photo I think!)


Well done Jennifer :-) You can read her diary here: http://theprairiegirl.com/

I have a few more poorly animals around here so think I will do this kind of giveaway again, it's more fun than sending them back for credit notes.

Anyway, it's been another busy weekend sales-wise - as you would expect for December - so I haven't had that much time for working on the website, but a few late nights and a concerted effort mean that I have managed to finish adding some new stock. Have a look at our lovely things from Made in Pixieland, Belle and Boo and Snapdragon. Here are some of the new items:





And finally here are a couple of photos of the product shots ' in the making'. I turned our garden room / building site into a mini photography studio yesterday to make the most of the winter sun...



Right, better get on with packing up some parcels then!

Bunny abroad!

I am so sorry that I've been absent for such a long time again. The past five weeks have flown by and although I thought about writing a post quite often, I haven't had the time to actually do it.

But at least I am catching up today and - as you might expect after five weeks - there is quite a lot to tell.

Firstly remember the name the bunny competition which was won by Katy in Australia who suggested the name 'Bronte' after her local beach? Well I am delighted to report that the the newly christened Bronte has made it to her new home on the other side of the world, and has also enjoyed a day out on the beach which inspired her name. Lucky, lucky bunny! Katy kindly took some photos for us, so here is Bronte bunny enjoying herself on Bronte beach:



Aren't they absolutely beautiful photos? Thank you so much Katy.

Secondly we have some exciting news about a new Moulin Roty range, but I'll put that in a separate post so as not to turn this one into an epic!

So hang on, more in a minute...