Toy Drop: Mama Bear

I dropped Mama Bear last weekend, at the Pinehurst Playfield in North Seattle. I got a kick out of dropping her there, because this playground was a huge part of my childhood. It's about 3 blocks from my elementary/middle school, so we went on walking field trips there all the time.



There's this apple tree in the playfield that I used to just love. I'd lay under it and stare up at the branches and pretend that I was Anne of Green Gables on a school picnic with Gilbert Blythe. I wanted to put Mama Bear under that tree, since it's all blooming and pretty right now. There were a lot of people there though, and I lost my nerve. As you can see, I just kind of snuck up and stuck her at the entrance to the park, then ran back to my car and made my getaway. :)

Well that's it- the three bears are all dropped! I'll be posting a tutorial-ish thing soon if you want to make your own happy little square bears.

Toy Drop: Baby Bear

I dropped Baby Bear off at Maple Leaf Park last weekend. I love the little guy, but I will say this...



...I hope his new family has a soft spot for wall-eyed bears.

Toy Drop: Papa Bear

I dropped Papa Bear yesterday.

It looks like I dropped him in a nice park somewhere, doesn't it?

I dropped him in the parking lot of a Safeway.

Pros: lots of traffic, families, potential for a prospective rescue.

Cons: it's the parking lot of a Safeway.

Sigh... oh well, fingers crossed!

...And Murika

Last night I finished Murika, a little friend for Claire. I didn't quite have the right amount of brown felt for Murika's hair, so she ended up with shorter bangs which I thought looked a little wonky. So Murika got a fun little Hawaiian flower for her hair!

These dolls are so unbelievably cute, cuddly, and easy to make. I'm wanting to make more already!

Meet Claire

Oh my, I just finished little Claire here, and she is my favorite toy to date. I made her using Emily Martin's (of Black Apple) pattern and tutorial.

Black Apple is the top selling store on Etsy, and it's not hard to see why! Claire is adorable, was super easy to make, and is surprisingly huggable. She turned out larger than I expected, and she is just the perfect size for a little girl (or an almost-28-year-old girl) to cradle and love.

I'm working on a little friend for Claire as we speak. Her face and hair are done and the pieces are cut, so hopefully she'll be assembled and stuffed soon.

**I'm tagging this post toy society, but I can't promise I'll be able to give Claire away. I just can't stop squeezing her!!

3 Little Bears

Once upon a time, there were three little bears who lived together in a cozy little cottage in the middle of a lush forest.





Papa Bear was kind and strong, and had once bowled a 280.





Mama Bear was full of energy and ideas, and made delicious risotto.





And Baby Bear looked slightly demented, because the person who created him ran out of stuffing before she could finish.

Also, those creepy green eyes aren't helping matters any.

Anyway, these three little bears are all about 2 days old. I'll post pictures and links for their creation soon.

On another note, guess what's this weekend? Sew Expo!! YAY!! More on that soon...

Toy Drop #4

Wednesday afternoon I dropped my swan/goose/whatever stuffie at a park in Issaquah near where I work.

What a gorgeous day it ended up being! It had been drizzling off and on all day, so I was worried about leaving her out in the rain, but I'm reasonably confident she would have been rescued before sunset.

Duck? Duck? Goose?

No, swan! Mine definitely looks less-than-swanlike, due to the crazy colors I picked, but it is supposed to be a swan. I've gotta tell you, this was probably the most challenging stuffie I've made so far - more difficult than even Ellie! First of all, there was a lot of weird, convoluted sewing involved. The body and the neck/head were composed sepearately, then attached with a ladder stitch. I'm not really an expert with the ladder stitch yet, and joining what was essentially two pieces that were perpendicular was tricky, but I think it looks reasonably good. I did tie a bow on there for good measure.



The wings were a big old headache for me, mostly because I couldn't figure out the tutorial directions. I'm sure they would be perfectly clear to someone with more know-how than I have, but I got really lost in all of the directions about crinkling the fabric, and putting the second piece right-side down, etc. If anyone out there could break this down for me, I would so appreciate it!! I ended up just kind of winging it. (rim shot)



I really do love the way my little swgoosuck turned out. I used soft flannel for her body, so she is super cuddly. I'm hoping to drop her tonight for Toy Society!

You can make your own by following the tutorial on small dreamfactory, here.

Toy Drop #3

Okay, so I did end up dropping Petra II after all. She had been sitting next to my sewing machine for a few weeks, and I realized that the thrill of getting to leave her as a toy drop was too much to resist.

I left her in a new park this time - Veteran's Memorial Field in Issaquah. There is an adorable little playground there, tucked between City Hall, a senior center, and a play field. My little hedgehog looked almost at home there - she'll be 100% at home when she goes home with a new family. :)

Sweater Owls

Yesterday I posted the adorable oilcloth lunch sacks that Chelsea and I made on our Monday off. Here's another project we completed that day.

The idea actually came from a gift that a co-worker's wife made for Chelsea - a stuffed owl to help out with her class' "Owl-oween" celebration in October. It was so darn cute that we decided we had to learn how. I found a fantastic tutorial on Make It and Love It (really, is there anything that Ashley makes that doesn't inspire me??) for a similar owl stuffie. Chelsea found a great sweater at Goodwill with enough fabric for each of us to make one, we both pulled out our felt stashes, and we got down to business.

Here are some reflections for the next one I make:

-We sewed the wings on last. Really, I think they should be the first thing to be sewed on, before the two sweater body pieces are joined. That way the edges get tucked and sewn into the seams nicely.

-The backs of these are a little plain. It would be cute to sew a panel of the wing felt across the back (again, before the two body pieces are sewn together), to make it look like the wings extend all the way around.

-Chelsea had the cute idea to sew a little heart on. I also think that some rick-rack "breast feathers" would add cool texture.



I haven't decided yet whether this will be a Toy Drop. I'll let you know! :)

Toy Drop #2

This afternoon I dropped my second toy for Toy Society, my hermaphroditic* Potato Head doll. I left it at Maple Leaf Park again, because I know there are always so many young kids there, and I was worried that if it stayed out too long it would start to rain.

People have asked me why I'm doing the Toy Society drops - they wonder if it's charity. The answer is no, not really. I mean, maybe if I was giving free toys to kids in a needy area it would be, but Maple Leaf is pretty middle-class. The truth is that I just always see toys I want to try making, but having no kids of my own, it always seemed kind of pointless before. I guess I could make toys and then give them to Goodwill, but this is just a little more fun.

I know that other Toy Society droppers have been dropping by my blog (ha! get it?), so I wonder... other Toy Societiers, why do you drop?

*It's a hermaphrodite because it has both guy and gal parts. Sidenote: I couldn't remember that word, so I asked my husband. His answer? "Um... androgenous? Ambidextrous? Amphibian?" Sigh...

Potato Head

Here's the toy for my second toy drop. I got the idea from Make It and Love It, and just love the way it turned out (hmm... I guess I made it and love it).

It was a relatively quick project - the little pieces required a lot of patience because my sewing machine skills aren't quite there yet, but I really like the way things turned out. Plus, I got to use up a lot of my scrips and scraps of felt that I had left over from other projects.

The idea is that Mr. Potato Head can provide hours of entertainment, but the plastic pieces are bulky and noisy, so this is a softer, gentler, quieter alternative for those times when parents need a silent activity for the kiddos.

I'll drop this toy as soon as it stops raining, and post the pictures.


^The lovely lady in her Sunday best.


^Excited after a trip to the dentist!

^I call this look, "Randy the pawnbroker."

^Like all true divas, your potato friend comes with plenty of accessories.

^ When ol' Potato Head is done for the day, everything tucks into this pocket on the back.

Toy Drop

This morning I dropped Ellie at a park near my house where I thought there would be no shortage of families with kids to find her. It was pretty exciting - I felt very stealthy but also like I was doing a good deed for the day. As I was leaving the park a family with a toddler was coming in, and as I pulled away in my car I could see them stop to inspect my drop. I don't know whether they left with Ellie or not, but I'm hopeful!

Update: Here's my drop on the toysociety site.

Ellie the Elephant

This is Ellie. I finished Ellie late last night, and I'm planning for her to be my first toy drop for Toy Society. I used a pattern (which my mom helpfully informed me that I'd paid way too much for), and really enjoyed seeing my little stuffy take form! The hardest part for me was machine-appliqueing the toenails onto her little feet. I'm just starting to be able to sew a smooth curved line, and those sharp little curves were a real challenge!

I used 3 fat quarters (I had a lot left over of the blanket and inner ear fabric), and about $0.70 worth of felt. I'll definitely be using this pattern again, although hopefully future projects will look a little more finished.