That’s the theme for “This Is . . .” this week. So here’s mine:

It’s not the product but the animal the product is meant to catch. Yup, mice FREAK ME OUT. Perhaps it’s those memories of fat mice running rampant over my food and under my legs at the dinner table back in the Philippines when I was a kid, or the huge rats the size of puppies that would be looking for food in the alley next to my Grandma’s house (also in Manila). We had a few mice in our house a couple of months ago (have no idea how they got inside) and I just could not sleep. The only reason we found out that we had some unwanted visitors was waking up in the morning and finding lots of mouse poop all over the kitchen bench. Yechhh. So . . . it’s very unlikely I will be embarking on mouse softies any time soon :-)

Haven’t had a chance to do much crafting this past week. I did get to cut up some pieces for a baby quilt I would like to make for a good friend. She doesn’t know whether they are having a boy or girl so I went with a red/blue/green theme. Her baby shower is next Sunday. I’ve kept the design bright and simple so I am hoping it will all be done by Sunday.

I also finished another bear design - this time merging various bits of the Peg Bears and Doddi Bears together. This is the prototype:

I will be tweaking the pattern a fair bit for the next version, and hope to make a boy-version as well. Aurora has happily claimed the one above as hers :-)

And we had Ava’s 4th Birthday party yesterday. It was a hot day but all the kids had a great (and exhausting!) time, including the birthday girl. I can’t believe my “baby” is now 4!

Thank you for all the lovely comments on the Peg Bears! I’ll be taking a blog break this week just so that I can catch up some gifts that still need to be made. I’ll be back here on Sunday. I hope you have a delightful and delicious week ahead!

Angela has started a fabulous new meme called “This Is . . .” The theme this week is “This Is My Favourite Cup“. So here’s mine:

I have a pair of these and they are handcrafted from Japan, given by a wonderful friend who had lived over there for a few years teaching English. They are not only great for a tea or coffee, but also especially nice for miso soup :-)

More bears have come out of my studio this week. Inspired by the shape of the humble clothes peg, here are some “Peg Bears“:

And a close-up:

These bears are really all about the fabric. I used some vintage fabric and new fabric prints, plus terry fleece on the tummy and ears, and linen for their faces.

The Peg Bears, the Doddi Bears and two Elephant Pillows are now available in my shop.

I had planned to update the shop next month but I glanced over at the softies piling up in a corner of my studio and thought that it would be good to have a few cuddly creatures available in the shop in time for Valentine’s Day :-) More details on each softie here.

I think I have one more bear design I’d like to make into a softie and then it’s time to move onto other things! Have a wonderful week!

Thank you for all the Doddi Bear-love :-)

Softie-making over here has come to an abrupt stop as I have run out of labels! So much for being organised this year :-) Apparently my current order will arrive within the next 38 days. I’m going to start searching for somewhere else that can deliver faster . . .

Anyway, thought I’d share what I’ve been SWOONING over lately:

>> Latest batch of flickr faves:

Credits:
1. Lily and Nickers, 2. Racoon in Daylight, 3. 25 faces, 4. Owl, 5. Gather, 6. Untitled, 7. Dreamscape (Homage to Paul), 8. audrey, 9. Visit the Chan Nursery, 10. fancy, 11. cat, 12. Gota & Gorin Odjur Monster Love=Creature, 13. Thrifted - linen tea towel with robins, 14. cookie jars 2, 15. feeling the change, 16. Twilight Awakening - Painting

>> Loving the artwork of:

1. Meomi
2. Majeak Ann
3. Seaspray Blue
4. Happy Doodle Land

>> Thoroughly enjoying and inspired by the work of Rex Ray found in this book:

It’s been on my Amazon wishlist and I was stoked when I saw it on the shelf at my local Dymocks! One of my goals this year is to get back into creating some mixed media collage. I’ve been flicking through the pages of this book daily and have it open on a different page everyday as it sits by my desk. I love the composition and sense of fluidity but what really gets me are the colours and textures. It’s so difficult to pick my favourite but this one comes pretty close: “Stereoaspicilia”

On my sidebar, you may have noticed a new link to The Needle.org. If you love softies/plush, then this new blog is for you! It is described as “a collaborative website where creators of quality plush can share their work. We straddle that line between art and craft, leaping back and forth willy nilly as it suits us“, and I’m really excited to be a member.

And finally more close to home (and to my heart!), my most recent favourite drawing from Ava, which she has called “My Family . . . and a Duck” :-)

I can’t believe she will be turning 4 in two weeks time! She’s requested a little party in our backyard with a few friends so we’re busily scrambling around trying to make it happen.

I’ve been meaning to work on a new design for a bear. A while ago, I made this one, this one, and this one as gifts.

As a basis for the new design, I started off with Zing the Cat (as I really like her rounded shape) and altered a bit here and there. I wanted to carry across the inspiration from ‘kawaii‘ and Aurora’s usual expression :-) I also wanted to make use of a vibrant blue floral vintage fabric from a 1960’s dress (seen here) and re-purpose a pre-loved baby blanket made of a very soft and thick fleece.

So I started off with this:

And after a few days and a few tweaks made to the original pattern, ended up with 3 more:

Okay, so I must confess that I am having a blast making these bears! It’s a lot of fun working with fleece again (I used both the re-purposed fleece and my favourite grey fleece) and working with fabrics (new and thrifted/vintage) that I haven’t really had a chance to play with before. They are a good size at about 45cm (16 inches) tall. I also like the fact that these bears turned out to be essentially a teddy bear with a doll’s body.

I decided not to individually name each one because I have developed this strange fear that I will soon run out of names (!). I was also at a loss when it came to coming up with a general name for these bears. I asked my little helper, Ava, if she could name them for me. She looked them over. After a thoughtful pause she announced, “I think Tiddy-Toddy“.

Loved it! But then it crossed my mind that the first part of that name could possibly be misheard as a slang word for a part of the female anatomy, which could make it awkward for some and confuse others (yeah, I’m probably over-thinking this naming exercise!). After some further conversation and compromise, we agreed on just “Doddi” - sort of like “Dolly” :-)

So the first Doddi bear will soon be on its way to a sweet little baby girl on the other side of the world, and the other four will part of the February shop update.

And now back to the Owl Pillows that I was working on before being rudely interrupted by Doddi Bear #1, then #2, then #3 and #4 . . .

Aurora and I finally had a chance to pop into Mikes Fitzroy yesterday. It is such a gorgeous shop! Brooke kindly brought out a few toys for Aurora to play with but the little one was more interested in rearranging the stock on the shelves :-)

We came home with a few goodies in hand:

A delicious pack of vintage reproduction fabrics from Edna & Alice May, a cute pencil holder cup that Aurora wouldn’t leave the store without, and an irresistible pack of Paper Dolls & Clothes from Catherine Campbell. The pack contains 3 prints and each print has a doll with their clothes/accessories - which works out rather nicely as each print will be framed with one each for the girls’ rooms and one for me (heehee!).

I also finished off a softie cat for an upcoming yet-unmentionable Group project. Made from re-purposed vintage wool-blend fabric, cotton print from Spotlight, wool felt, wool flannel backing, ric-rac tail, and she wears a little bell on a leather strap around her neck.

Her shape and proportions are very much inspired by the Japanese ‘kawaii’ look and her rather serious expression is very much inspired by the aforementioned Little One:

:-)

Finally have a few completed softies to share.

Three elephant pillows made from wool flannel and assorted cotton prints. One is for an upcoming surprise baby shower and the other two are for the shop update in Feb (trying to start on this early!)

And Woodland-Girl Pippi. Made from wool flannel, assorted cotton prints and linen - and she’s got a half-eaten apple in her front pocket. She’s a thank-you gift for a super-ace gal :-) Her enthusiastic support of One Red Robin over the past year helped to open doors to new and exciting opportunities, and her personal encouragement has been invaluable and I am thankful more than words can express.

I hope she likes Pippi :-) The alphabet poster in the background is actually wrapping paper made by Zetta that I picked up from Dymocks - I thought it was just too lovely to use as wrapping paper!

Next WIPs to complete this week: a cat and a few Owl Pillows. Have a lovely week!

Sorry, a few days late :-) Hope 2008 has started off very well for you!

I’ve been able to start a few projects but none are near completion. The past week has been full of social outings (wedding and birthdays), preparing for Ava’s 4th birthday in a few weeks time, and culling and cleaning out the house in preparation for a much simpler and uncluttered 2008.

I did want to share a few lovely, lovely things with you from very, very talented people.

Ngoc left a comment a few weeks ago and after a few email exchanges, she wanted to send me some of her handmade stationary just as thank you for providing some inspiration. Wow - her generosity and kindness astounded me. And then I was almost knocked off my feet when the package arrived:

Look at it all! The envelope was bursting at the seams. And all of it is just gorgeous - pears, flowers, fruits, owls . . . love, love, love! Thanks so much Ngoc! I really am touched by your generosity and inspired by your talent.

I must admit that one of the most wonderful and pricless things about having a blog is the ability to “meet” people from all over the globe and establish friendships. Last year, I received the sweetest email from a 12 year old named Remi. She and her younger sister owned a few of my dolls. Remi wanted to try her hand at making a few Happy Chibi Girl dolls for her school project. Without any pattern to follow, Remi and her Mum set about making the dolls and here is the first one she made:

Remember - this is from a 12 year old girl! Amazing!! She even made a few more and donated them to Mikes’ Mirabel Appeal (thanks to Angela for the pic). Like I mentioned to Remi’s Mum, at this rate I may be out of business very soon :-)

And speaking of dolls, I’ve been really encouraged by all the Ruby Dolls popping up over at Flickr. Here are just a few from crafters that take the basic pattern and really make it their own - love that Ruby Rabbit!

1. ami’s ruby doll, 2. Fortune, 3. 2007 November 063, 4. My version of the Ruby Doll

More Ruby Dolls here, and don’t forget you can download the free pattern from the link on the sidebar.

And finally, a few wonderful etsy finds:

I bought this clock as a Christmas present for myself :-) I can’t afford a real cuckoo clock but this is the next best thing!

Find it here (available in different colours).

And I’m saving up for one of Christine’s beautiful dolls:

Her shop is here and her blog is here.

Okay, the little ones are waking from their afternoon siestas - have a lovely weekend!

(P.S. I’m having a little sale over at my shop with a few items 15-20% off until the end of January - making way for new stuff in February).