since i last posted oh here for my daughters bedroom she has since been diagnosed with autism and adhd. i have always known she was a little bit different to other children but always embraced her differences. for years i had an idea of making her her own elf for Christmas. being an 80s child i was bought up with what is debatably the best era of films like labyrinth, gremlins, goonies, never ending story, honey i shrunk the kids. just a few of amazing films that came out of the 80s. i believe these types of films helped mould my ideas. i knew i wanted an elf but i wanted an elf the way i believe an elf would look in real life. i wanted him to look realistic making him more believable, making it so my daughter will believe longer. i sculpted lots of different designs but i was never happy until i finally came up with the elf we have today. while sculpting i was about to round his head off on top after adding some clay but it just didn’t look right. so by accident i realised his head looked a bit like a tree stump. straight away a brand new story came to life in my head. i knew he needed to be a tree elf. i then came up with the idea that he lived in the north pole, this is where he looks after all the Christmas trees and gives them their magic. i also knew i wanted him to be a stop motion puppet. this way i can animate him to bring him to life even more. although i loved his cute features, i was a little worried that my daughter wouldn’t. but like characters such as Hoggle in the labyrinth, Dobby in Harry Potter, Sloth in the goonies and smeagol in the lord of the rings. you learn to love them with their infectious personalities. i knew he needed to be called marmite. because of the famous slogan from the spread(you either love or hate it) but i didn’t need to worry. a message was sent to chloe with a photo once he was made asking if he could stay. she looked at the photo in excitement, jumped up and said yes! not once did she ever question the way he looked. she fell in love with him straight away. she loved his cute little face the same as i did. when he arrived i started joining a few elf groups to get some ideas on how to set him up each night. straight away Marmite blew up on these sites. true to his name people either loved or hated him. luckily there was more love for him. but the mean comments were constantly coming. saying how ugly he is, Why would i make him look like that. i have only sculpted him like this for attention, he is the thing of nightmares, he needs to go on the fire. although i understood he isn’t to everyones taste i didn’t understand how a group that is aimed at making our children happy was being so mean and teacing children it is ok to fal, out on people for their differences. i had someone saying how i should get off of my high horse trying to teach people how to be kind when he is only a toy. the thing is to her marmite is a toy but in our house he is so much more than that. he is the joy of Christmas. he is real in every single way in my daughters mind as she is a true believer. the fun atics he gets up to every night sends a magic of mystery into my daughters dreams and imagination. i beleive this is important to keep the belief for as long as i can. because once you don’t believe. Christmas will never be the same again. not until you see it through your childrens eyes. when i explained to my daughter how there are people that don’t like marmite she couldn’t understand why. especially from such an innocent mind that sees beauty in everything around her. so together we made a book. i wrote it and i got chloe to illustrate it. for a 10 year old she is such an amazing artist. although i have illustrated books before i knew she had to do the pictures. with unigue drawing style that she has won awards for in the past. the book is all about acceptance. for chloe she struggles to be accepted into certain friend groups because of her social skills. but like marmite they are both loved and accepted for who they are. this book is aimed at anyone that feels different in any way and helps them to understand how much they are loved.it also introduces our new mini marmites. for years now i have had people asking me to make them a marmite. but the puppet i made i always explain that it isnt viable enough. he is made in the same way that they are made in films such as fantastic mr fox. this is one of the first films that i worked on and learnt my skills. if people are wanting a professional stop motion puppet then there is usually a big budget. but for an elf on a shelf I’m sure people wouldn’t usually want to fork out the money that he is worth. also i like the fact that there is only one. so i decided to make some mini marmites that coincide with the book. at the end of the book he grows his little sprites to appear in homes around the world. he has had so much interest in the mini marmite and i have been amazed at how many people have been asking to buy one. since we have had Marmite in the house i have had another daughter. i never used to understand why people started the elves so young for children because they wouldn’t understand. this couldn’t be any further than the truth. our 2 year old Bobbi, her first Christmas with marmite she totally understood, she would be excited to see him every morning . shouting out to chloe that its marmite. she remembers him all year round and is often the topc of discussion with both bobbi and chloe. so before people want to comment how ugly or creepy he is and how your children would be terrified. just remember you are born to stand out, you dont need to fit in

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