How to train your plushie dragon?

If this dragon plushie is not scary enough from the outside, it's high time to see its inside!

Don't come any closer!

No matter how scary the dragon is, I loved making it - I felt like an architect or engineer while creating the sewing pattern: which part should go under the other, what to sew first and next, how much to add to the tummy and so on.

First a drawing turned into another drawing, I mean into a sewing pattern

Layers of felt: this is how you can create your own dragon toy

Pretty complicated inside, outside

Ever wanted to turn drawings into soft toys? Think twice :-)

And the result: a tamed custom stuffed dragon

Hippo plushie remade

Though most of my plushies are custom made animals or dolls, I sometimes get requests to replace a lost soft toy. And I sometimes say yes. This is what happened when I read Arnna's letter: even if I hadn't liked the original hippo, I couldn't have refused to sew this hippo softie because Arnna's email was so heartfelt:)

A lost hippo plushie reborn

Arnna allowed me to quote from her letter (the original hippo was bought from a small back street store in a small town in New Zealand, and the family have searched the world for a replacement...)

"My son was three months old and eldest sister bought him his first Christmas present (all of the age of four).  Hippo was born.  He has painted the fence, been to kindergarten, ridden bikes and never been far from our son.  Hippo left the shores of New Zealand and travelled to the Middle East two years ago.  On a weekend to Dubai, Hippo went on his own adventure and we haven’t been able to find him.  Our son has cried for months and months since.  We have been back to the hotel, every stop we visited at and offered a reward wherever we can think.   He has not been found.  We are one year and two months since Hippo took his own OE and we still have tears.  He is a link to our home country.  We haven’t visited for over two years.  Our son is nine, growing up but a real softie at heart."

Is there anyone among you who would have been able to say no...? ;-)

My studio, where the softies are born

You know I started workshopping with kids in my studio, and they keep asking me questions about the things they see on my shelves, in the drawers or on my desk. You can't visit me to see the place where my custom plushies are made, but what about some pics of the studio, where your kids' drawings are turned into soft toys? ;-)

On the wall: a mini quilt with fish by me and my nephews' welcome poster among others

Oh yeah, that's me - just making a custom stuffed reindeer

The only plushie I've made for myself - it's not a drawing turned into a soft toy... I just followed my imagination when my favourite cardigan was washed in too hot water... :-)

The yellow-headed mouse relaxing on the top of my beads was sewn by my elder nephew and me

See you soon!

The shoo-in of soft toy markets

What do you think the most popular custom stuffed animal has been during my softiemaker career? Sorry, just a single guess, trust me, that's enough ;-) Yes, the correct answer is CATS!

Cory's Magical Cat softie - Cory is 7, the cat has is eternal

But why do so many kids draw cats, why are cat pics and videos so popular, why do people love the idea of going to a café where they can spend time surrounded by cats? Why...?

All cat owners know the answer: cats are cute, funny, beautiful and it feels so good to stroke their velvety fur... So why should kids resist their cuteness? :-)

There's a café in my street - you can see the big cat in the shopwindow :-)

Well, I admit this cat looks not so cute at first sight... but what if you have one more look at it? :-)

Custom plushies' hard life... not very happy about the photo shooting... luckily Keira, the designer was much more pleased with her drawing turned into a 3D toy

Karina's plushie in a much, much softer mood :-)

FirkaBaba Workshop

A post in Hungarian - still kids' drawings, but something new! I've started workshopping with children: we turn their drawings on textile into soft toys. It's so much fun... :-)

Turning kids' drawings into soft toys at my workshop

2011 óta fordítom le gyerekek rajzait 3D-re. Szeretem. Izgalmas a gyerekrajzokkal dolgozni, annyira különlegesek, színesek, tele vannak ötlettel - néha törhetem is a fejem, hogy megoldást találjak egy-egy részletre.

De szeretem a gyerekrajzokat úgy is, ahogy vannak, és nem akarom "elrontani" a műveket azzal, hogy 3D-ben tökéletesre varrom őket. Egyszercsak jött az ötlet, hogy kipróbáljak valami újat: egy workshopot, ahol a gyerekek egyből textilre rajzolják a művüket, én meg hátlapot varrok hozzá, kitömjük, bevarrjuk, és vihetik is haza a saját firkababájukat, firkaszívüket, firkacicájukat!

A firkababák születése is rajzolással kezdődik

A firkababa mellé mindenki kap egy névcímkét is, amit belevarrunk a firkababa oldalába:

A megfelelő névcímke megtalálása időt igényel:)

Konzultálunk

Akinek kedve tartja, dekorálhatja a rajzát színes, vasalható strasszal, pici pompommal, masnival, de vasalhatunk a jószágoknak csillogó fekete szemeket is!

Válogatunk, vágunk, varrunk - készülnek a firkababák

A végeredmény egy puha firkababa, amivel már aznap lehet játszani, vagy este aludni! :-)

Jönnél te is? Ezen az email címen érdeklődhetsz a workshopok időpontjairól: firkababa@gmail.com

Egy boldog firkababa tulajdonos

Indulás haza a művekkel - viszlát legközelebb! :-)

Hard as snails

"What rhymes with snail?"

First steps first

Yes, you can find an answer to this question on the web... carefully listed words with one, two or three syllables or even rhyming phrases for snail! These are my favourite ones, but it would take time for me to write a poem using them:

Still a drawing - but not for long

snail - like a beached whale

snail - coffin nail

Snail longing for spring

But let's get back to my snail, drawn by Daniella - the most colourful snail I've ever been mailed (did you notice the rhyme...?):

Slim soft snail sitting on a sofa