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

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

Adventures of a plushie

I would be so curious to know about the life of the stuffed creatures I have made so far! Are they loved, are they played with, do the kids sleep with their soft toys or are they neglected after a while...?

Anyway, there is a plush cat I have info about: Marcell, my elder nephew's drawing sewn into a stripey softie. The life of Rainbow Cat II (you know, there is a Rainbow Cat I, the drawing was also made by Marcell) is pretty exciting, as you can see ;-)

First chapter from the adventures of a plush cat

A cat's dreams come true: first time on the beach

Getting across Oresund bridge

Brave guy

Training for a circus show in Vaxholm

Rainbow Cats

And last but not least, it seems Marcell created this toy not only for himself but for his mom, too... :-)

Flower Power Plush Cat

Have you got photos of a custom plushie I made for you? Why don't you send them to me? We would be so happy to see them here! Come on, don't be shy! :-)

Post-Easter Plushie Post

Quite frankly, it happened all by accident I was sewing a bunny right before Easter: March 25th was the 19th birthday of a boy, whose mom I love very much. We haven't known each other for a long time but I was so grateful to her that I wanted to give her a special gift. And what am I good at? Well, yes, turning kids' drawings into stuffed animals. I was a bit excited when she showed me her son's drawing - what if I didn't like it...? But tell me, is there anyone, who could not love this bunny?! (By the way, this toy & drawing won the Bunny World Beauty Contest on my Facebook page - nobody's surprised, I suppose.)

I received some photos of Krisztina's son when opening his birthday present - the smile on his face is priceless. He had no idea it was possible to make your drawings come alive, and even if you're a 19-year-old boy, you're touched by seeing the bunny drawn at the age of 6 turned into a plushie.

I am pretty sure when kids draw something, they are copying something that exist in 3D in their mind. They create their own toys in their mind, and all I have to do is to translate their ideas into 3D - to create custom stuffed animals and dolls tailored as close to dreams as possible. An important job, I think...

Next year I'll try to create a pre-Easter post with bunnies, I promise!

when your childhood drawing is made into your own stuffed bunny

Olyan régóta nem írtam már a posztok végére magyarul, de ezentúl igyekszem :-)

A foltos nyulat egy fantasztikus masszőrnő fiának varrtam, és imádtam. Gondosan kipöttyöztem mindkét oldalát, bár a 19 éves gazdája valószínűleg nem játszani fog vele, hanem csak álldogál majd a nyúl egy polcon. De pöttyök kellenek akkor is mindenhova, anélkül felemás lenne szegény jószág! És tessék egy bónusz kép a karcsú nyusziról:

stuffed bunny plushie with spots on both side - she deserves them!

Softie siblings

A Canadian monster and his best dino friend - soft toys for a little boy and his sister.

Brilliant drawings turned into colorful plushies

One by...

One of my favourite custom stuffed monsters :-)

... one

Smile on just one side - the way my co-artist dreamed it

Yorkie softie

Eirik from Norway with his beloved doggie's plushie version.

Eirik, the original drawing, and the plush adaptation

A cat again

I should make a survey to find out what the most popular animal is - not impossible that it is cats...

This time 5-year-old Miya's drawing, the multibrown cat turned into a stuffed, chubby kitty- special edition/addition: a birthday certificate!

Hi everyone, I'm a new-born soft kitty toy!

Stuffed animals with and without wings

How to classify a big bunch of soft toys? Well, check whether they can fly or not!

First the ones that can fly. Or at least they have wings...:)

Greg's green goose

Christa's graceful ostrich drawing turned into a soft version

A penguin in pink - adults can create their own toys, too ;)

Another playful adult's cuddly toy

He has wings, doesn't he?!:)

Mousebro plush, the mixture of a Wyvern and a mouse, of course

Finally a kid's drawing, and a classic one: Rainbow Pegasus Unicorn

And the plushies that still wait for their wings:

Ellie's pandas, big and small custom stuffed cuties

Cherie's reborn squid toy

Platybunny plush for Sara's "other half"

Anniversary stuffed toy crab for Mauro's girlfriend

Michael's caterpillar - cuddly toys for adult, too!:)

Daniel's mammoth softie

Ethan's plush dino and the happy designer

And two very clever sisters, who can read my mind - so one of them drew a bird, the other one a unicorn :-)

Two kids' drawings to choose a detail from - hard job, isn't it?