Street Art brightens up the day!

I can't believe I haven't blogged since March! Well, I have a kind of excuse - I've been very busy running this street art project for young people. The project had it's grand finale on Sunday when all the art work was displayed on the street. Here's a video so you can see some of the highlights of the day. And here's a facebook link so you can see the photos. Hopefully I'll have a bit more time now to get back into blogging! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy the video.

Introducing my Mardi Gras Dragon

 On the morning of 12th February I went to the Post Office to check our PO Box and in it I found what I had been hoping for! A yellow piece of paper - which could only mean one thing; there was a parcel waiting for me! And I was pretty sure I knew what kind of parcel it would be.

I picked the parcel up and took it with me to work. I knew from the label on the box that it was from Zooguu and I was excited to see what kind of plush creation was inside...

I opened the box, and when I saw that little tail poking out of the packaging I had a good guess at what it could be - a dinosaur or a dragon.

It was a purple and gold dragon! So cute and beautifully made.

 I love his little arms and his shiny gold wings.

And his little white teeth :)

As well as the dragon there was a lovely note from Jen and her bright and happy business card. Thank you so much Jen :) It made my day to receive this. If any of you readers are jealous of my lovely dragon, make sure you check out Zooguu's etsy shop or her website where you will find lots more lovely creations and perhaps be tempted to get yourself one!

Cactus Love

If you're looking for an original, cute valentine's gift for that special someone, look no further! There are now plenty of cute little cacti available in my Etsy store. You can find this little on by clicking here!

Meet Judith, your perfect desktop companion, guaranteed to bring a smile to your face even on the most difficult of days. Give her to someone special in your life so that they remember you every time they see her cute face! She is a great gift for those plant lovers who just can't keep a plant alive, but need a little life and light brought into their office or study. She would also be happy to be an ornament on your bookshelf or mantelpiece. 

Sandy is a plant who will never die! Perfect for those of us who don't have green fingers, and those who do! She would be a lovely gift for that special someone. Or, if you want to keep her for yourself she would very happily be an ornament on your bookshelf, desk or mantelpiece. 

New adventures with socks

Last year I taught a lot of people how to make sock monkeys! It seemed to be very popular and as I'm planning art club activities for this term I've been thinking about variations on that theme. After looking at pictures on google images I decided to go for an elephant. I found a tutorial on Fretta and Friend's blog and I mixed that with how I make the monkeys and this is what I came up with!

I added the scarf as his neck was a bit scrawny looking. I'm not totally happy with the dimensions of it. I think the arms and trunk are too fat and the head is a bit too small but for a first go it's ok. I'm looking forward to seeing what the young people at Novi Most Jajce come up with when we make them at art club.

Introducing my Book Fairy

So much has happened since I last blogged. I've been in 8 countries in 3 continents for a start! Once life gets back to normal I will post more photos and blog a bit more about what we did and saw, but for now here's a picture of my lovely book fairy which I bought at the opening of the Plush You! show at Schmancy Toys in Seattle. This amazing doll caught my eye when Kristen posted a picture of her on instagram when it arrived at the shop for the show, and then when I saw it in real life I knew she had to be mine! She is made by Pheleon Creations. I have lots of photos from the opening of the show and will blog about it in a few days time.

Posting Parcels

I seem to have got out of the habit of blogging - I guess life has been busy and I haven't had much time for making and baking. But in the time I have had, I have been getting things ready to post. This is my first parcel I sent off to PlushYou containing 2 lovely amigurumi dolls. Yesterday I sent a parcel to my Plush Team swap partner and hopefully today I'll send another parcel to PlushYou - just need to make time to put the finishing touches to that doll... And talking of PlushYou, there's an interview with me which went up on their blog last week. You can see it here.

Amigurumi Beach Friends

As a kid, a lot of my summer holidays were spent on the beach in France. As a tribute to those days and as my entry to the Plush Team Beach Challenge I present to you Monsieur Le Starfish and Monsieur Le Sandcastle! If you would like them to brighten up your day and bring back happy childhood memories of summers on the beach, they are available to buy from the Plush Team Shop.

Summer fun continued...

Some of the finished articles from this week's creative workshops at Novi Most Jajce.

Sweet and Sour - a Scrumptious Delight?

 Plush Banana Split by Scrumptious Delight

Plush Pickle by Scrumptious Delight

Do you like the sweet and sour combination? I do! I love sweet and sour chicken, sweet chilli sauce and Hawaiian pizza. And I like the combination of sweet and savoury - french fries with chocolate sauce :) In our town there is an amazing pizza restaurant where they make the best Hawaiian pizza ever, but it's not very popular as people here don't get the sweet and savoury thing. I have been trying hard to convert my friends to it and I'm succeeding slowly! 

Even if you don't like sweet and sour food, you must like this sweet and sour plush combination! Both of these plush are made by Scrumptious Delight. Go and check out her Etsy shop for more sweet and savoury delights - marshmallows, cotton candy and more!

Another happy customer!

 This little bunny found it's way to it's owner today. It's always nice to receive positive feedback from customers.

 He always travels prepared, with a carrot in his bag. If you'd like to have a go at making a little carrot yourself then click here to go to my tutorial.

Blanket Stitch and Monsters

We're having another Craft Party on Monday night and one of the things available to make will be Felt Mistress's Monster from Issue 7 of Mollie Makes. I made this one as an example for people to see. People always compliment me on how neat and intricate my amigurumi dolls are - and I guess they are! But when it comes to sewing and cutting material my ability to be neat and intricate just goes out the window! Straight lines are not my thing. I like how this guy turned out, but if you could see him in real life you would see how inaccurately I cut the shapes and how wonky my sewing is! And for those of you who are into sewing I have a question... How do you start off the first stitch when you are going to use blanket stitch? When I do it the first stitch always comes out wonky. Answers gratefully received!

Making hamsters

Some of the Hamsters we made last night at Novi Most Jajce. The pattern can be found in MollieMakes magazine issue 5 or here on the MollieMakes website.

Giant Amigurumi Owl

My friend asked me to make an amigurumi owl for her daugther's 1st birthday. She said she wanted it to be quite big - so I thought, the easiest way to make something big would be to use thick yarn. It's very big - just over 9inches/23cm tall already and it's not yet finished. Hopefully it isn't so big that the little girl will be scared of it!

The leaves on the trees are turning

It's September tomorrow and the leaves on the trees are starting to turn. So I've been stocking up on Autumn/Fall themed amigurumi in my shop.

Amigurumi - work in progress

This is what I'm working on at the moment - for a certain little nephew of mine :)

Maisy

This is Maisy. She is studying literature and art history at university. To help pay for her studies she works part time in a cupcake cafe. On summer evenings she loves taking a stroll in the park or through town with her friends and on winter evenings you will find her be snuggled up on the sofa with a cup of hot chocolate and a good book. She is available in my Etsy Shop.

Orange and Blue

Or is it yellow and blue? Anyway, this is the doll I'm working on at the moment.

The black cat holds the key

New in my Etsy Shop, this cat holds the key that you are looking for. The key to your heart or maybe someone else's. The key to your future. The key to understanding things that can't be understood... or the key to the cupboard that you know is full of chocolate and other lovely things.

what do you think?

This is the first amigurumi doll I've finished in ages! I've been so busy that I haven't had time to make any. Maybe it's because I'm a bit out of practice, or because it took me so long to finish her, but somehow she didn't turn out quite like I wanted. I haven't decided yet if I will put her in my shop, and if I do I need to think of a name and a story for her and some kind of accessory.... What do you think?

Happy Campers!

I haven't blogged in ages. What have I been doing? Camping mostly! Or preparing for camps.



Yesterday we got back from the teenagers camp at Emek Beraka campsite on Boracko Jezero. We had a great time. Everyday was packed with activities including sports, group work, adventure challenge, learning about Jesus and making sock monkeys!