Believe it or not our high school marching band marches in wooden shoes!! It is so fun to hear the wooden shoes coming down the street.  And we have dutch dancing in wooden shoes - we always wore several pair of socks and extra foam padding to protect from blisters.Of course!!! My grandmother taught me how to make them so I bake them myself. I also make Poffertjes quite frequently.  I was raise eating saucijtes (I know the spelling is wrong) and balkenbrai (spelling also wrong) but my husband does not like either of those.
Our children always put their wooden shoes out the night before Sinterklaas day and then we open gifts on Sinterklaas day after having poffertjes for breakfast. The community celebration includes games, songs, a puppet show with Jan Klaassen and Katrijn and a visit from Sinterklaas and Piet. It is a fun day!

Amazing that's so cool!!! you're celebrating exactly the way we used to when i was little! hartwarming to hear! my dad used to play the accordeon in the evening then, and we would drink hot chocolate with whipped cream on top!And then we were supposed to believe that Zwarte Piet knocked on the door and threw hands full of candy trough the hallway, but when we came to collect he was always gone, magic for a lot of years until my mom hit her hand so hard against the door knob that her hand turned blue and her eyes filled up, that was when we knew hihihihi! I Love poffertjes to hihi! Now i live on my own and have no kids regretfully, but we do the pepernoten en hot chocolate thing anyway, just for the good old time hihi! and always a little present preferably handmade just so you know you thought about each other wile making it )
I looked at you're album by the way , great pictures, i hope i can grow out to be just such a success!

Popping you puppet hugs x Joyce {p.s. don't worry about the spelling, i perfectly understand what you mean hihi xx}

Joyce, if you ever want to visit America please let me know 'cause we would love to have you visit our little town - By the way all the buildings on our main street have Dutch architecture in order to preserve the heritage and we have a Windmill "museum" in the park.  There used to be a wooden shoe maker who made all the wooden shoes by hand but when he died the city started importing them from Holland.

hope i can grow out to be just such a success

You will be just fine!! You have the best place here to learn all you need!!

Joyce, if you ever want to visit America please let me know 'cause we would love to have you visit our little town - By the way all the buildings on our main street have Dutch architecture in order to preserve the heritage and we have a Windmill "museum" in the park.  There used to be a wooden shoe maker who made all the wooden shoes by hand but when he died the city started importing them from Holland. You will be just fine!! You have the best place here to learn all you need!!

That is so sweet thank you!It will take some time till I'll be able to visit you live, but I visited you're site and its great so beautifully made and I fell in love with Jemima instantly!! sooooooo cute!!!!! and they all have a very lovely mama to hihi!
You're very gifted! I hope i will be able to do ventriloquism to, for now I'm just puppeteering because there is nothing to find yet about the art here in Holland, and the sounds that you replace the letters with are different from our language, but eventually I'll find out hihi! If I'll ever be lucky enough to be able to visit you're country I'll be sure to contact you though, i believe I'd feel right at home in you're Dutch-feely village, and of course with you sweet people!

Popping you puppet hugs x Joyce

Hee LJ and Joyce two month to go and Sinterklaas is allready there. My kids are allready eating their pepernoten because they are in stock in the shops (MMMMM) In six weeks Sinterklaasjournaal (news) is starting again.....
When you are going to Orange city Joyce tell me we are going together.. maybe we can sail in a wooden shoes to Amerika.
Joyce if you have questions about something for patterns or what ever.
For Material go to the market in Utrecht om Saterday (not to often you by to many) Den Haag, Hobbemaplein on Monday and in Amsterdam will be a great market too, never bin there. And rommelmarkten for clothes I often use clothes of the kids that is to small for them, great stuff.

Joyce I saw your pictures, you allready found out how it works !!!!!
I like your rat, what pattern did you used? You have a talent for puppetmaking!!!!

Joyce I saw your pictures, you allready found out how it works !!!!!
I like your rat, what pattern did you used? You have a talent for puppetmaking!!!!

Hi Gompie! thanks for the compliments! if you read further up you can also find more details of what I'm making my puppets of but yesterday I re-found my old furry jacket, i thought i had thrown it away because my dad thinks i look like a plucked chicken in it hahaha, but gladly I had put it in a bag in my closet, so yesterday evening i made a dog head out of the collar, and a body from the sleeve hihi it still needs some legs though but its already cute hihi! I'll be posting the picture's soon, first i will try to make my parents believe i went to the pound hihihi!
Thanks for Al the market tips to, its good the winter is coming, so they'll be selling fur, and nice thick body fabricks again! maybe I can find something to make nice big cushions from, for in our sailing wooden shoe hihi to prevent touchy blisters hihi!

popping you puppet hugs x Joyce

Oh yeah I forgot, I made the foam pattern for the rat myself, I'll be making him a friend soon, and I'll try to make pictures of the process for you all to see in my album, you might like one to, this is a rat nobody should {or even can } be afraid off , don't you think?

Joyce I agree with Gompie - the pictures of all your puppets are GREAT!! Your picture of you and Poppy in your fantasy dress prompted me to wonder what types of venues you work? Was it a fair of some type?

Joyce I agree with Gompie - the pictures of all your puppets are GREAT!! Your picture of you and Poppy in your fantasy dress prompted me to wonder what types of venues you work? Was it a fair of some type?

Hi LJ
Thank you so much for the compliments!!! {blush blush hihi}
The picture was taken at Castle Fest Lisse, its a fantasy fair, it was my second time at such an event, and the first time I took a puppet with me { for I have been busy with this hobby for only a few months yet} It was like a tryout, just to see how people would react to Poppy. And what a reactions I got! everybody adored Poppy and wanted a hug from her!, that's also when I decided I wanted to do more with puppetry, I believe I found my passion that day!

popping you puppet hugs xxx Joyce

I believe I found my passion that day!

Puppetry is a wonderful passion!!  Some people have tried to tell me it is a disease but I don't believe them!! Besides even if it were a disease it would actually be a HEALTHY disease!!

Puppetry is a wonderful passion!!  Some people have tried to tell me it is a disease but I don't believe them!! Besides even if it were a disease it would actually be a HEALTHY disease!!

absolutely!!! one off the most healthyest! I do Dollhouses to , also very addicting but more of a thing for you're self, because only when people visit you can show them and although that to seems to amaze many people, with puppetry you can go outside and make everyone laugh!
Something I also like about it is {although I like to be complimentary to} for instance my Poppy has this childlike innocents, and compliments everyone Al the day, she is full of wonder for the people around her, and when you compliment someone yourself the reactions are very differend  from when Poppy compliments some one, I guess I'm just not that cute hahaha! And baby's, oh I love the reaction from the baby's when she approaches, from just awakening to a big toothless smile just for seeing her, that's priceless!! Also very amusing  I think, are men, preferably at a fantasy fair, where there dressed up as there fantasy, cave men, monsters , knights, all big and tough on the outside, but when they see poppy they just melt and asked me if they can have a hug from her, and then talking to her in tiny voices as the would to an infant, that's so cute! And the contrast is so big then , hartwarming hihi.Now I just have to find out what I have to do to get a hug to hahaha!
xxxx Joyce