Meet Cynthia Treen
As I set out to create the characters of Thimbleberry Hollow, the characters that I created never seemed to match the animals I had playing around in my imagination.... no matter how hard I tried! That is, until I first opened the covers to Cynthia Treen's Wind in the Willows Felt Friends book. And that, my friends, changed everything.
I had so much fun stitching Cynthia's projects, that I began to explore her Patreon channel, where I noticed Olivia peeking out at me from behind a video on how to make a rabbit. "Why Olivia!" I exclaimed, "there you are!!!!" And there she was... come to life under Cynthia's amazing design. But it wasn't just Olivia... Willow, Hank, Gracie, and all of the other characters of Thimbleberry Hollow slowly began to peer out at me from behind Cynthia's Etsy photos (visit her shop, SO much to see!), book pages, and videos. These animals... these dolls... they were the characters behind the stories I wanted to tell. And I am so honored that Cynthia has given me permission to use her designs in my stories.
You'll see Cynthia's felt creations show up frequently in all of my stories and storyboxes - and where they appear, I'll include a link to those pages.
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However, I encourage you to hop on over to Cynthia Treen Studio on Patreon and have a wonderful time looking at all of her wonderful projects, creations, and patterns! They inspired me years ago to begin making Thimbleberry Hollow a reality - I know they will inspire you too!
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​​Here are some of my favorite photos from stories that I've told or will be telling in the coming months!
Grass Lake Mice (1:24 scale)
In "Bean's Star," we met PawPaw, Finch, and Bean. It all begins with a tiny, lost, mouse who, while searching for a magical star, finds the most precious treasure of all - family.
This is the first story that features mice made from Cynthia Treen's 1:24 scale DIY Holiday Mouse pattern (free on her Patreon page) but not the last. In 2026 we'll meet Louise, a colorful crafter mouse who holds the secret to a magical quilt, and we'll meet the Reggiano's - Grass Lake's newest inhabitants!
Thimbleberry Hollow (1:12 scale)
Thimbleberry Hollow features a whole cast of 1:12 characters designed by Cynthia. The star of our story is Olivia Rabbit, who makes her debut in "Olivia's Luckiest Day", a story about how a string of unfortunate events can lead to the luckiest day of all. We also have Massimo, a Venice cat who falls in love with his arch rival - Grazia - the owner of a neighboring gelato shop on the Grand Canal. But let's not forget our other characters who are set to make their debut this year! We've got Ziggy (made from Cynthia's Ratty character in Wind in the Willows) and Willow, a delightful racoon who owns the flower shop by the beach. Don't forget about Caleb, a misunderstood mole who isn't the grump everyone thinks he is...they just don't know his secret!
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Here are some of the photos from these stories that I can't wait to share with you this year - along with 1:12 scale miniature storyboxes that you can make along with the stories!
