birthday fun!

Guess who had a birthday?

Yep, my number one baby :) She was full of excitement on her birthday morning -- I'd organised a little party for her at Build-A-Bear (more on this later)!

Satisfied customers! See more here :)

That evening, she opened all her presents. That one there was from a friend who had been invited, but couldn't show up because she'd fallen sick; another friend had brought the gift along with her. See that wrapping paper? It's Japanese, covered in bears and cats. I was struck by how sweet it was, and decided I'd make something out of it for the girl who had missed out on the party.

There wasn't a lot of it that wasn't folded or crumpled, but I decided to milk it for all it was worth -- hey, Earth Day should be every day right?

So I cut out what I could. And mounted them on thick reclaimed board. 

I embellished them with shiny stars, and made them into pins.

And since I'd gotten started, I made some more.

These ones got bought as party favours.

But I still have these, and I've decided to pop them into the shop. The Panda one has been sold, but the one in the top left corner -- with the (to me) intriguing phrase "days marked with a white stone" -- will go to the first reader who expresses an interest in having it (teeny giveaway here hee hee!).

Then I felt inspired to make these lol. They're crazy collages of multicoloured goodies, little OOAK pieces that could you could wear, or hang, or prop up on a shelf or door. I'll be getting them listed in the shop soon -- happy Wednesday everyone :)

Guppies!

I made a whole school of these sweet little fish for a lovely lady in Derbyshire, and decided I really had to add them to the shop!

Batik Guppy...

... and Sun Guppy are two of the fishies in the shop at present (the rosy turquoise one is a third). 

The Guppies were inspired by Ro's drawing of a flying fish (maybe I'll add wings at some point!).

I think they have such friendly smiles. 

These sweet, happy fish would look lovely in a nursery, or on a shelf or sofa -- anywhere really! They would love to listen to you ramble or watch you try to figure out how your computer works.

Guppy photo shoot outtake haha :)

Monogram bracelets!

I made a whole bunch of these for an order of party favours, and decided to add them to the shop. They're Monogram friendship bracelets!

Each bracelet is one-of-a-kind, and can have an initial or 3-letter monogram spelt out in silver alphabet cubes.

They're a slightly different take on my Name Day bracelets -- sort of petite-r and more delicate. They're sweet little things, perfect as goody bag stuffers, and look lovely stacked! Find them here.

* Psst -- don't miss out on this giveaway, ending April 16th!

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monogram Tabby!

I was so happy with how this Tabby satchel turned out. It's for a little girl all the way in Zambia, and it has something extra special -- a monogram!

The lady who requested it asked that it be all in lower case letters, and I chose to embroider this sweet, playful font. It was rather a laborious job, and I was petrified that I'd mess it up, which would mean starting all over again -- repainting Tabby and everything. I can't tell you the number of times I kept checking the spelling lol! Thankfully, God blessed my efforts :)

I got to choose the inner lining, and I picked this adorable monkey fabric...

... and vintage school book print for the pocket :) Yay for vibrant colours and happy endings!

bird thing

My attempt at mid-century modern art. 

Ok, no. In line with recycling and making stuff Kip might actually use, I decided to make what the household now calls Kip's milkstick bird. Milk sticks are those twisted rawhide things you see there; many people give their dogs rawhide to keep the teeth clean and the jaw strong, as well as satisfy the dog's natural instinct to chew. Chewing provides stimulation and can relieve anxiety too.

There are some risks associated with giving dogs rawhide though, in particular digestive problems, and choking and blockage hazards. Some dogs are allergic to rawhide or the other ingredients that go into the treat, and pieces of rawhide can get stuck in the dog's digestive tract. Plus -- and I know this is not very medical-sounding -- rawhide just gets plain gross after a bout of chewing and salivating.

Well, you might recall my post on Kip care; Westies are one of those breeds that are susceptible to food allergies. Thankfully, Kip has not given me any trouble in this area, and to avoid starting anything, I just avoid giving her edible treats in general. However, I do recall how my old Lab used to love chewing those huge rawhide bones, and I know Kip loves chewing things that have a certain smell and texture, so I decided to give her the rawhide twists, but in a form she could neither break down nor swallow. Hence the milkstick bird.

I chose the milk sticks because they have, to me, a stronger scent than plain rawhide, which I felt would be better once they were wrapped up. I chose to make the bird a longish shape so the milk sticks would fit, and Kip would have the satisfaction of carrying it around like those big hunting dogs with the ducks (I chose a black bird because Kip has been having this long-standing feud with the black mynahs living in our neighbourhood).

After sewing the bird shape with canvas and reinforced stitching, I filled a second canvas "envelope" with four milk sticks and aniseed. If you didn't know, aniseed works on some dogs in the same way catnip works on some cats! Then I sewed up the envelope and inserted it into the bird. Easy!

This picture kind of says it all.

Fearsome hunting dog.

Fearsome hunting dog later in the day.

And, toward evening, fearsome hunting dog looking particularly demented. All in all a success I think -- the rawhide is safely chewed, and the canvas dries fast, making it distinctly less gross than exposed rawhide. An unexpected bonus? Chewed aniseed leaves behind a lovely spicy fragrance! Yay for homemade treats!

if thou wilt

Poor Becky was grief-stricken when she found two of her mealworms dead, and asked that I help her memorialise them. While it was indeed a sad event, I am glad that she has a heart even for God's littlest creatures.

grown-up Tabby!

A custom Tabby satchel for a lovely lady who said she wanted "an elegant, refined Tabby". She chose the simple woody fabric for both the bag exterior and strap.

But I gave her the pop of colour inside haha! She requested a pocket sized to fit her phone, so I gave her a double pocket to fit in her pencils and tissues as well.

I think Tabby is perfectly at home with monochrome too, don't you?

A daring new indie film about young love and life in all its poignant, moving rawness.

(Well, a little educational filmlet I made for Becky about her mealworms. Still, it was moving, no?)

Sailor Tabby!

Mrrrow! It's Tabby Cat in huggable form -- wearing his sailor jumper and a natty red collar! Sailor Tabby is sewn and handpainted on cream linen and cotton, and measures about 11 3/4" from his umber-tipped ears to his feety-paws. A lovely lady in Portland ordered a pair of Tabby dollies and this Tabby was a prototype, so he's specially priced, and OOAK :)

Lookie -- Sailor Tabby's jumper has a neat sailor flap in the back. 

He makes a most unusual, natty accessory on the arm of any chic little person, or on the dresser top or bookshelf of any room. Available here.

boxer thing

I know, you're thinking you're really glad you don't see a body in this thing. Yes, it is a gigantic pair of boxer shorts. In point of fact, they were boxer shorts I'd used when I was pregnant with Ro. I dug them up in the hopes of wearing them again, only to find that the elastic was all brittle and decomposed, which accounts for that huge, weird shapelessness (they're a size M, which shows how five years can change one!). However, recycler that I am, I decided to make something useful with them -- hence, a boxer thing for Kip!

Kip never took to the fancy dog bed things which I'd gotten her when she was younger, preferring to just sleep or lounge about on the bare floor. But for some time now, I'd catch her sleeping on an odd bit of laundry, or the very edge of the comforter which would sometimes slip down during the night. I concluded that she liked cotton, with a bit of airy padding, and the boxer thing is just that! It's filled (not too compactly) with fibrefill, and every opening has been sewn tightly shut. Here are a few pictures from the past week!

Success! 

The perfect size for lounging...

... or moping...

... or crashing.

Yay for recycling!

Ghostlets!

A handful of Ghostlet pins from a custom order for party favours! These sweet little fellows fit snugly in one's palm, and, without pinbacks, make happy companions who fit perfectly in a pocket, or propped up on a bookshelf. They're pudgy too, and it's sometimes quite tempting to treat them like those squishy stress balls!

The backs of these pins have an unexpected pop of colour and pattern, making each of them OOAK -- this one, for instance, shows Humpty Dumpty sitting on a wall!

Don't they have the kindest faces? They'd look so sweet pinned to a satchel or peacoat collar. I'm thinking I shall list them in the shop on a made-to-order basis, but that will have to wait till next week -- I'm off on a little holiday, yay! Have a super lovely weekend, dear friends; see you soon!

paw thing

I know; you're thinking, "Okaaayy...". Or, "Hm, the latest Bikbik & Roro creation for... um... babies?" Or maybe even, "Back-scratcher?" Well yeah, it could be I suppose, but it's really my attempt at making a dog toy -- an economical one that's also hardy and enjoyable (by the dog, silly).

I'd been observing Kip's play habits for years, and taking note of her preferences when it comes to playing -- both with her own toys, and things which are perhaps most concisely defined as, well, trash. I would say she really prefers the latter category of items, which seem to be far more attractive to her in terms of texture, sound and maybe even looks. Those expensive Kong things can't hold a candle to crumpled balls of paper, flyaway bits of stuffing, or even some clumsy careless dodo's person's eraser.

After finding her yet again hiding under the bed for chewing some plastic packaging she found in the bin -- while her fancy dog toys lay untouched just a few feet away -- I decided to try devising something of my own for her. That red thing above is it.

For want of a better name, I've taken to calling it what the kids do -- "Kip's paw thing". It's made of a durable canvas, but the fun part is inside -- all the crap Kip's ever enjoyed chewing (well, minus cat kibble and dubious dingy-coloured things) -- all encased in another canvas tube for safety. So the thing has different sounds and textures all along its length, made from such items as crumpled paper, fibrefill and, yes, erasers. I included a bell too because I noticed that she was attracted to tinkly noises, and made it just the right size and floppiness for her to carry around if she wanted. The one end of the paw is pointy-tassley because I've also noticed she likes things with little pokey bits sticking out.

I used some leftover red canvas, but am thinking that when I do make more for the friends who asked, I shall use blue, yellow or grey (dogs see the world in these colours). Of course, the real test came when I finally presented the paw to Kip; these are just a few of the pictures I took over the past couple of weeks!

Success!

All through the day...

And into the night, under the bed...

Wonderful for tug-of-war...

Or entertainment on muggy afternoons...

Or maybe even just as a friend.

I'm happy to report that Kip's paw thing is still intact and un-destroyed despite the daily assaults of biting and slobbering -- way better than rawhide! What crap does your dog like chewing on? Turn it into a safe toy for Fido and maybe he'll stay out of the dustbin for awhile :)