A green leafman, woodsman or Robin Hood-esque gift for 7 year old 'E'

I absolutely love giving hand-made.

You may have gathered that by now.

And there are some projects, usually those for our young friends,

that I particularly enjoy creating.

This strong woodland fellow, was a gift I made

for our friend 'E' who recently turned 7.

A wood and wire doll dressed in wool felt,

with tools of the trade made from our garden.

I had a feeling that the extra time I took to create him, would be appreciated by this nature loving, Waldorf schooled, boy who's imagination lives in a fantasy world of castles, forests, knights, faeries and fairy tales.

I only unveiled this gift to my children, the day we were going to present it.

I was fairly sure they would whisk him away outside

to play in the wilds around our home.

* Yes, they most certainly tried! *

What I didn't expect, was Mr Turtle's decision that an arrow pouch needed to be created before we could give this gift. Which he set to making immediately!