How to make a Plush Bunny and coordinating pendant

Here's a fun class I'll be teaching on Easter Sunday if you're looking for something creative to do with your child.

Click here for a template Silly Wabbit 

We'll be sewing up a plush bunny (completely machine washable)

and making a coordinating charm necklace.

Click here for a  template: Carrot Charm

Paper Zone Portland

www.paperzone.com

1136 Southeast Grand Avenue
Portland, OR 97214
(503) 233-2933

F.A.B.s (Fuzzy Alien Buddies)

These are my newest creations and were designed to share with children and families at Legacy Emanuel Hospital.

Fuzzy Alien Buddies

 F.A.B.'s for short.

Franky 

Inspired by my son's collection of Ugly Dolls, these lovable cuddly creatures are my own designs.

The shapes are simple — no complicated arms, legs or other appendages so that kids of all ages and skill level can hand stitch one for themselves within a 2 hour time frame.

Tictacto (a cross between an X and an O).

Standing 11" high,  F.A.B.'s are cut from pill-free polar fleece then stitched together with cotton embroidery floss. Any stitch will work. I used a simple over and under stitch. My daughter gets fancy and uses a blanket stitch. For a totally professional finish, one could even pull out the sewing machine...

Pinkbari  (has a brother named Bloobari).

For those who don't want to sew at all, FabriTac glue is a quick and easy alternative too. Once it has dried, it is completely machine washable.

Silly Wabbit

Mr. Cheezit
(The design idea came from a young patient at the hospital).

I've posted my template for "Franky" that you can download.  Click here. Enjoy and let me know how it goes ;)

If you like this template and want to make a donation, please click the button below. Any amount is acceptable!

Push Pin Mosaic

Eric Daigh of northern Michigan USA holds the Guiness World Record for the biggest push pin mosaics.

At fist glance, his pictures appear to be low-resolution images. But look closer and you can see that each portrait is made of thousands of coloured push pins.

Each of Eric's portraits are almost 6 feet high and use more than 20,000 pins. They can take around eight months to complete.

Daigh begins his artworks with a digital photograph of his subject. Then he uses a computer to create a low-res five-colour image using the primary colours of red, blue and yellow, plus black and white. From that, he produces a grid map showing him where to stick the pins, row by row. Daigh feels success when he can push "1,000 pins a day."

To view more work by Eric Daigh, click here:

Constantly on the prowl for projects elementary-school-age children could do for auction fund raisers, I think Push-pin mosaics might be a great idea if simplified.

ALSO FYI: If you have an introvert in the family that's sometimes hard to connect with or just need a great coffee table book to have on hand during parties and family-get-togethers, "The Guiness World Records" and "Ripley's Believe It or Not" books are the perfect solution. Fascinating to look through, these books never fail to provide interest and conversation starters. The things people do in this world are simply amazing.

Pop Bottle Chandelier

I've said it before that I love chandeliers. But this takes the word "chandelier" to a whole new level.

Made from recycled plastic soda (PET) bottles, and posted on Flicker by Piemouth. It's CRAZY, WACKY and it's BRILLIANT. Try one of those in your high ceiling home!

While on the subject of plastic (PET) soda bottles, you might recall when I first posted (here) about this cute little zippered coin purse designed by Zitta Schnitt of Austria.  Made from the bottom of two plastic soda (PET) bottles and a zipper. Zitta has graciously provided a design template for these little containers and asked that I share it with all of you. How cool is that?  Here it is: Click here for the link.

"The transformed item of daily use allocates a new place in its usage. It becomes a little companion from everyday life — for everyday life."

To learn more about Zitta and her design company, Design Students for Rent: Click here for the link.

Thank you Zitta. You are a jewel.