I’ve decided to make another giveaway. This time I chose one of my Mamitu dolls… well, actually two.
To accompany the Ethiopian characters, I’ve been developing props and other dolls, like animals. Last week I’ve been working in perfecting a donkey that could go along with a doll. For the next drawing then, I will  give away a Mamitu doll and his donkey. The character is a young shepherd boy simply dressed and wrapped in a gabi, carrying a staff in his hand but instead of herding goats, this boy is taking his donkey to the market. The donkey is carrying three bags. I thought: “What could the donkey be taking on her back?” Besides coffee another thing that represents Ethiopia is the grain teff, so, that’s what I put inside the bags… Well, it’s just “pretending” teff but at least I labeled the bags with the word teff in Amharic

The boy doll is very small, just 3 1/2 inches tall and is totally handmade. Both boy and donkey are made with part wool felt, and yarn for hair/mane. The gabi is made with linen type fabric. I don’t recommend these dolls for children under three years old since rough handling can damage them and there is always a chance that small parts get loose and a little kid can swallow them. I like to think about these dolls more as collectable items for older children or adults. I don’t recommend washing them either. The dolls come with a muslin bag to protect them from dust and dirt.

My daughter Feven however has been playing with four Mamitu dolls for several weeks, and so far they have “survived”. One of them has lost a bit of hair and a bead but she still has all of his limbs, clothes, and eyes in place… The other three are enduring the rough play with stoicism. 
I can’t stop thinking about the movie Toy Story 3. These dolls must be hating me!!!

You already know how to enter the giveaway:
”Leave a comment with your first name on it on this post and you will be automatically entered in the drawing, only one comment/entry per person. The email address you provide with your comment will be kept private. This give away will be limited to residents of the USA, Canada and Europe. Once the winner provides me (again privately) with the shipping address the dolls will be sent by standard US mail shipping at no cost. You are responsible for any custom charges in your country. The package will be labeled as a “gift”. Be aware that there is always the chance the doll gets lost or stolen in the mail, specially outside the US.
The winner will be chosen randomly from the comments on this post using a free online software. You have one week to enter the drawing.”

The winner will be announced on Sunday May 1st 2011 after 12 PM PDT.

AliciA