Christmas is coming…

I first started making pictures with toys for a Facebook advent calendar to amuse my friends. Various toys from around the house took part, including figures from Doctor Who and the Moomins, and British classics like Bagpuss and the Clangers. I wrote the captions in the body of the Facebook post, numbered down to the 24th of December.

A couple of examples:

Original caption: When Tom Smith invented Christmas crackers, he didn’t anticipate the difficulties they would pose for the creatures of Hogwarts.

Original caption: Bagpuss and Mr Benn went for a bracing walk. “Isn’t the frost beautiful, Bagpuss?” “Lovely, Benn old friend, but it’s a long way back to the house. Yaaawwn.”

Eventually, of course, the Sherlock toys wanted to join in, and my first Sherlock posts were very simple:

Original caption: “Why has Mrs Hudson left a tree in the middle of the room, John?”
“It’s a Christmas tree, Sherlock. And frankly you’re an idiot!”
“I’m not an idiot, I’m a high-functioning sociopath”.

Eventually, of course, the Sherlock pictures took over and I started the Toylocked page. Christmas still provided opportunities for some enjoyable picture-making. So did the snow. Although I have used a number of different sizes of Sherlock toys for making pictures, this is the only time I have played on the memes of Benedict Cumberbatch’s resemblance to an otter and Martin Freeman’s to a hedgehog:

I wanted to make a Christmas picture using Furlock, the official Sherlock teddy bear (about whom there will be more in a future blog post).  This would be an imaginary scene from Sherlock’s home life. While the Funko toys are compatible with 1:12 dollshouse furniture, a stately Furlock bear requires bigger props. I took off his coat and made him an apron:

I bought tiny whisks, cake tins, mixing bowls and measuring jugs in kitchen shops, I filled little jars with sugar and sprinkles. I even cut down the handle of a small wooden spoon to make it proportionate.  Furlock was ready to bake…

Shortly afterwards, we saw Furlock and John sitting down to enjoy the results (John wearing a special teddy-sized Christmas sweater bought on eBay). All the food in this picture is real – tiny pies, iced biscuits, even real tea in the cups!

But of course, the Funko toys had to have a Christmas scene too.  In A Scandal in Belgravia, Sherlock and John’s flat looks very cosy and colourful when they host drinks for their friends. I used a large number of tiny props to create the same feel: the cake, the mince pies, the gifts, the stocking-shaped selection pack of sweets (we used to be given these when I was little!), the gift on the mantelpiece, the crockery, the bottle and glasses, the wreath in the fireplace. All were from dollshouse suppliers online, as were the tiny working fairy lights wrapped round a tree from a bargain shop in town.  The books on the floor are an English dictionary and a copy of the memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

My tiniest Sherlock toys (made by the talented Carolina Alkstal) included a tiny Molly figure. This meant I was able to create a scene earlier during the same drinks evening, when Sherlock upset Molly and had to apologise. I used some of the same props, but had to put them in the background because they were too big for the toys. I used a smaller tree and a tiny carrier bag full of gifts. Sadly, I haven’t managed to find a Lestrade figure to show him looking on in horror at Sherlock’s lack of tact!