Softies Central

Happy Handmade Fourth of July

Happy Handmade Fourth of July!

Macy's Fireworks - paper cut collage by Jo Lynn Alcorn

Cups by Circa Ceramics

 

Flag in hand, ready for the 4th! by All Good Wishes

Trim from my personal collection.

 

Needlepointed flag by pompomrouge

Barcelona event

If you're going to be in Barcelona this weekend, do stop by for a softie-making class by Gina Thorstensen.

Another softie of hers:

And Gina also made this incredible edible book

 

Paper cuts

All by paper artist Jo Lynn Alcorn

An installation in the Kips Bay Decorator Show House in NYC

Macy's Flower Show flowers above and below.

 

 

Tokyo edition

Detail from a Suede Magazine spread called Mumbai Dreams

Store in Bejing

 

Audobon Society

 

More magazine fashion spread

Dessert

My favorite part of dinner is DESSERT.

Cupcakes by DaisyDaydreams

Well, not really dessert but the colors of these flower trimmings looked so nice with the cupcakes above. from jocankit1

 

Custard cream biscuits from England by britishcreamtea

 

Rocket pops by cutsypoo

White flowers

Pretty white flowers....

Snowdrops by reyaveltman

White poppies by lupin

Crocheted flowers by knitalatte

Chyrsanthamum by mollyjey.

Yellow

Sunny yellow. happy yellow. mellow yellow.

Spun cotton mouse by mrcrowsgarden

 

Beautiful pincushion by Thedailypincushion

 

Pom pom Chick craft from dorathy

 

Chick by Fernanimals

Multiples

Repeated images, shapes, patterns and colors draw me in. How 'bout YOU?

Trees today or maybe ice cream cones with sprinkles? by thelindentree

 

ABC's of birds print by Geninne.

Soap robots standing guard by LoveLeeSoaps

 

Multiple mustaches by jpolka.

Ceramic pieces by Art Mind

Summer is here!!!

It's the official beginning of summer now in the US. Looking forward to recapturing those balmy easy days of sitting on a blanket in the grass and doing not much of anything.

Happy Summer everyone!

Ready for a clambake? softies by GoBuggyGo

 

Summer tote for taking your stuff to the beach! by tamptation

 

Slate tablet for your lemonade stand or pointing out who your friends are....made by lamarquisedesanges

 

And don't forget to bring your camera with you everywhere you go to take snaps of your whole summer whether you're far away or just around the corner. This beauty by sewnbyblythe of course!

Pom Poms are so cool

These dolls by Quinn 68 are WIP - you can see the one on the right is missing a face, but notice the *very* nice hats with pom poms!

And here are pom poms as trim on a lampshade (it's in my bedroom)

 

Beautiful earrings by Kjoo.

 

Just pretty handmade pom poms by O!Rachew!

 

A Japanese craft book for making pom pom animals.

Lunch box Central today!

Starting with this post, I'm going to include zakka pieces in a post or two each week. Softies will continue to make appearances too, but I'm just as interested in handmade items for your home and after spending so much time making the Zakka Sewing book, I thought it was time to combine my two loves into this blog.

So today we're starting with lunch boxes. There is a wonderful Japanese bento box in Zakka Sewing - very simple to make and gives you a great platform for embroidery.

Bento Lunchboxes are a great idea for these slow economic times. And don't forget about the Slow Food movement that wants you to enjoy your food more. Let's say NO to scarfing down a sandwich at your desk any more!!! :-)

Here's also some info about vintage USA lunchboxes.
And here's an inspiring look at real bento boxes stuffed with food from a flickr search.

And finally, a vintage book caled The Lunchbox Cookbook from Doe-c-doe's blog.

Bento lunchbox from my Zakka Sewing  book

Felted lunchbox with cupcake by Odd & Woolly

Apple bag for lunches and snacks by evelynfield

Lunchbox for kids with thermos by Coozyco

L-O-V-E

Love comes in many shapes.

Adorable set of bunnies with big hearts by urastarhouse

 

A brooch in the shape of an old fashioned tatoo by covetedcreations.

Je t'aime bird by crystalistic

Couple in love by Quinn 68

Button love collage by hen's teeth

Laundry Day

Laundry day, clotheslines in a summer breeze, and washing up all evoke memories of a simpler time.

Clothesline by CowBird

Clothespin dolls by samandviolet

 

Lingerie laundry bag from sewthatsit

 

Twine keeper clothespin doll by myfriendamy

 

Dryer balls by thebashefulsheep

 

Clothespin doll from The Small Object

Under the sea

Fun pufferfish by Zooguu

asjssdlkjf by The Daily Pincushion

Koi by bubbletime

 

Ship in a bottle by prettylilthings

How to be cute

One might say that all softies can be cute and that's true. But often what makes a softie stand out at *totally cute*, especially in a Japanese cute way, are a few tried and true elements - size, eye placement, head attitude, size of ears, things that make it more human and hats....most always, softies who wear hats are def cute!

Cute factor: BIG ears, sleepy eyes, soft & fuzzy, wearing a hat

Bunny by Makitawesome

 

Cute factor: multiples in a photo makes them all look cute, great colors mixed together on each softie, big eyes set wide apart and each sweater is unique.

Designer: softies by Dimitri Piccinino

Cute factor: pink is pretty cute and girly and these sweeties have a great vintage feel to them. They're also wearing hats and are sitting on a cute object.

Designer: softies by sugarelf

 

Cute factor: big eyes set wide apart, head cocked to the side

Designer: softie by Wawaya

Cute factor: small fuzzy animal with her head cocked to one side, sitting on something cute and holding flowers - makes her more human than animal - like Beatrix Potter creatures.

Designer: softie by mykobocek

Houses

There seems to be a big uptake in people making houses lately. The first one I saw years ago was from Bella Dia. The pattern and instructions for making a similar one - a gingerbread house (!)  is available in my Softies Kit (see link on left nav). Those below are recent finds.

See more little houses from Bella Dia here.

House bracelet cuff by ShoozieShoe's

 

House by wunderlust

Applique and embroidered design by LIttlePinkHouse

House and leaves pendant by Kup,Kup

Horses, a fawn, a zebra and a giraffe

 For all you girls who collected horses when you were little.

 

Are they wounded?! Wonderful horses by astulabee

Fawn with flower garland by fernanimals

wool horses by penguinandfish

Baby zebra by skunkboycreatures

 

Oh dear...the is a headless giraffe, 'recently decapitated' as the designer describes him. by everyeskimo

Story characters

There are tons of commercial toys based on books, film, and video games. These plush stand apart for their originality and charm.

Mary Poppins by nichol-b

The Three Little Pigs by dianedundee

Doraemon (Japanese anime) by EnglishGirlAbroad

Boy wizard looking a lot like the famous Harry Potter by GirlCalledRic

Hobgoblin by Spooky Daddy - he's not from an actual children's book but looks to me like he belongs in lots of Grimm's Fairy Tales.

Dogs

I love dogs.

 

What a sweet face! Dog hat by hatz4brats

Dog by Leafpeople

 Adorable dog named Eva wearing beautiful necklaces by Maria-kjoo

Dachshund by SaraCarr66

Needlefelted Bichon Frise by KaysK9s

Not your usual softie

More from my occasional series: Not Your Usual Softie

Pillow by Lizette Greco - part of a gallery exhibit in Buenos Aires called "This is Not a Pillow". Lizette's design is based on drawings by her son of his DS game, Animal Crossing

Boxing gloves by t0fygurl

 Guitar by TheGreatestEscapist

Vices by woowork

A softie with a job! Photographer by beruta

Food

 

Eggs in a nest by paola+titi

Tea pot by KTBdesigns

 

Felted sushi by FeltedChicken

 

Cupcake bear by casscette

 

Banana pancakes by Yummy Pancake