As many moods as the weather

 

Being very weather sensitive, my moods change following the weather conditions. While I feel an irrational happiness in the sunny days, there's almost nothing that could enhance my good moods when outside rain. And often, people do not understand me my changing behaviours... so I wondered, why to not make something to alert all around about my weather-changing moods?

And, looking to the Gemma and to the way in which she's able to change expressions, I had a lot of fun when I recognise that her moods too can be compared to the weather conditions! While sometimes she smiles like the sun, in other cases she is a pensive as a cloudy sky, fickle as a variable weather and even "thunderous"  in certain (few) occasions, when she cry inconsolably!!

For that, inspired to these considerations, I have produced a wide range of felt brooches and hand carved rubber stamps inspired to the weather conditions. The brooches can be used to show to the world our feeling/moods. While the stamps can be used to track on our agenda the record of our humour, day by day! You can find both on my etsy shop, hope you like them.

Cute and warm mascot creations

While the cold and the rain persist outside, I feel like to make some cute mascots to warm up this winter weather. Thanks to a cute white fluffy fabric, I have produced some new characters that I hope you like. They are Mr and Mrs Cloud, Madame and Monsieur Lapin, Francis the Llama, Henri the Bear, and Judith the Seal. I am sure that their cuteness will be able to bring a lot of smiles with them!

I also sewed a pin on their back, these cute characters can be used as a brooch to embellish your cloths. My daughter Gemma served as model in these photos... seeing her happiness while wearing them, I suppose that she likes them very much!!! And I have also made some hand carved rubber stamps inspired to these characters, which you find - also with the brooches - on my etsy shop. I hope you like them!!

 

Happy birthday Fifi!!! Cake for dogs recipe

Today Fifi turns two years old and, because she is a special member of our little family, we have organised a little party to wish her a happy brithday all togheter! The main surprise for her was to find a special cake espacially made for her, which I have made myself with genuin and fresh products. And which I would like to share with this delicious recipe for dogs, just to try it out for the happiness of your little fluffly friends. Here's the ingredients and the recipe.

Ingredients:
100 g of rice
100 g of fish (for instance, of cod)
1 tablespoon of fresh cheese (for instance, of Philadelphia)
1 tablespoon of olive oil
About 20 cookies with the shape of a bone. For the recipe, see here.

 
Instructions: 

Boil the rice for about 25-30 minutes. Drain and swill it in order to remove any residual starch. At the same time, boil also the fish in another pan for 15 minute and, after having drained it, complete the cooking with some freash cheese stiring it up. Once done, add also the rice til aving an homogeneus compound. Smear a small bowl with some olive oil and then pour the compound into the bowl. Stuff and press it with the help of a tablespoon to umiform its surface. Then put the bowl into some warm water for 10 minuts, this serves to made the compound stick to the shape of the bowl. Afterward, turn it over a plates, shake to help the compound to drop from the bowl, and embellish the board of the cake with the bone-shaped cookies, as shown in the photo. Finished! (The cookies that I made have been customisez with the Fifi's name, thanks to a tool bought here).

And here Fifi struggling with her birthday cake, happy birthday!!!

Vintage toys melancholy

The staying again in the place in where I am birth and raised up ended up with switching on in me a certain feeling of sweet melancholia. Actually, few days ago, entered into my old room at my parents' house, I was surprised by finding out some of the toys that I loved very much during my childhood. I have decided to gather all of them into a cute box, with the aim to preserve them at safe for Gemma. I am sure that they will became very good play fellows for her, as good as they have been for me!

These toys inspired me to make a new bulk of stamps. First of all, a special place goes to first stamps that I ever owned, the ones of Poochie - a cute little dog with pink ears and classes on her head. I believed that Poochie enhanced my real love for stamps! Here below, you can find also a promotional page from 1980s, showing the whole collection of Poochie's stamps! They were an addiction for me, and a nightmare for my mother, because I wanted to spread this cute characters everywhere, stamping Poochie not only on the paper, but also on the wall, cloths etc...

Foraging into the drawers, I have also found out some very perfumed Charmkins, i.e. some smallest dolls, the favourite of which have been turned into a stamp. I have also created a stamp with a Monchichi, one with Koeda Chan, and another one with Kiwpie, all which are still loved today by the babies of all the world. You can find all these stamps on my etsy, check them out, I hope you like them!!!

Last custom stamps

As in other occasions, I would like to show a summary of my latest custom stamps. Many people often ask me to make special stamps for them, for instance with the shape of their logo, of their favorite character, of their children, and many other cute ideas... it is always a pleasure for me to help in carving these stamps! Here's some of my last realisations...

Such in the case of Laetitia, who committed me a trio of clouds and a bunch of moustaches with which to decorate her stuff; and Laura, who committed me the stamp with the cute logo of her amazing shop, maisonbee ...

... or the case of Elisa, the daughter of a good friend of mine, who received a "stamp-portrait with cat", which has been done starting form a cute photo; Christel, who committed this funny a panda stamp; and Muriel, who asked me to carve for her a complete series of stamps inspired to the amazing characters of Roger Hargreaves...

... or Kasia, who asked me for a stamp set inspired to the Petit Prince, which she aimed to use on cloths and decorations to welcome her new-born baby... All my stamps can be used to customise everything you want... you need only to use the right ink and the game is done! Would you like your own special custom stamp? Fill this form and send me a mail explaining your project!

Sweet Xmas!

My personal tradition for Christmas is to make my special cookies for my family and my friends. Every year, about a couple of days before Xmas, my kitchen is turned into a kind of chaotic pastry shop that churns out hundreds of sweet and colourful cookies!!

The aspect that changes in this personal tradition of mine is the decoration for cookies and this year I have find out a pattern to make cute paper bags. Of course, I had also decorated them with some special Xmas stamps, which I made for this occasion. Then, also little felt handmade mascots have been added to each bag, just in order to give a last kawaii touch!

And, my little Xmas gift for you is to provide the pattern of these paper bags: you can download it and use for your personal uses. The tip is also to print it out and use directly to make the paper bag, you can also photocopy it in bigger size in order to have a larger bag (in case of very greedy friends!). I wish you a Merry Xmas!