Hug Me (part2)

As promised, in the first Hug Me article, I bring you more beautiful handmade cuddly toys. All of the below plushies just make me go into snuggle mode. As the summer is here we will have to hang up our Mexican hammock in the garden so I can spend a happy afternoon curled up in it, with a good book and one, or all of these scrummy handmade soft toys.

Charlie the super hero looks to me like he can give fabulous hugs. Tullykatalley has made him with long outstretched arms, which are just perfect for giving giant hugs. Judging by his huge smile he's a very happy fellow. I wonder what story book he's like to be reading with me.

Reeneegurumi's Geoffry the lion looks like he needs some cuddles. He looks a little lost. Could it be he wants someone to read him a story? Perhaps he'd like to hear some of The Lion, witch and the wardrobe. He might want to take his charming striped cardigan off when he is in the hammock as it's quite warm in the sunshine.

Bunnies Inc.'s zombie bunny might be a bit of a biter, but even zombies need a squishy hug sometimes. I think as long as you don't let him nibble your brain everything will be fine. I'm guessing he's going to like reading a scary horror book... ewww not my kind of thing.

Odd Sox's sad little plushie is just looking for a home where he can be loved. Maybe an afternoon reading comic books with me in a hammock with a bunch of other cuddly friends would make him happy. Could you put a smile on his face by giving him a forever home filled with love?

I think Frute Juce's Panda Pops has already climbed up the tree to tie the hammock to. He is very eager to have hugs and stories. I wonder if he has a copy of "Panda big, panda small" to read us all. Whatever book he chooses I think he would be fantastic to have a cwtch with.

Don't spend your day alone when you can have a handmade cuddly friend to keep you company. They will brighten your day and make everything you do so much more fun as you'll have someone to share it with.

Written by Lynne of PiratePixieCrew and Hyperloop Hoops

Hug me!

I feel the need for a hug today, so I thought I'd go in search of creations I'd like to snuggle up with on the sofa whilst watching a feel good film. There were so many to choose from I might have to do a part 2, 3, 4, 5, and maybe even 6. Today's choices are in no particular order. I'd like to hug them all equally.

From PinkCheeksStudios this is Abby in her bear costume. Isn't she just adorable. I hope she hugs like a bear rather than bites like one! We could watch The Jungle Book together.

Never Enough Hours' beautiful Giraffe has a neck to smoosh and would make the perfect companion to sit and watch Born Free, although maybe Elsa the lion might scare him.

This puppy from Heartable looks like he would enjoy a good giggle, so I think we better watch a comedy movie together, something like All of Me or Little Nicky.

Cute-n-cozy's naughty but cute bandit doggy will probably love to watch The Italian Job with me, to get a few tips on bank robbing, but it has to be the original "You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off!"

Lizi Sews' Queen might not be as cuddly as the others but I adore her so much that I picked her to sit and watch The King and I with me. I love this folk doll almost as much as I do Yul Brynner!

I'm off to force Jon to snuggle up on the sofa with me to watch some old movie that he'll probably hate, because it won't have car chases, terrorist plots or horror beyond belief, but I'll placate him with popcorn and ice cream... Or just sit on him to make sure he stays hehehehe.

Dinosaurs! WooooHoooo!

Admit it, you love them too. Dinosaurs may have died out millions of years ago, but we are all still fascinated by them. Maybe because they are long gone is why we are so interested in them. From the smallest child to the oldest person on the earth dinosaurs capture our imagination. The variety of shapes and sizes astound us, especially the Massive ones like Tyrannosaurus Rex, Stegosaurus, and brontosaurs. Lots of artisans use dinosaurs in their work. Lets have a look at some.

Love Yu has created this cuddly cute blue patterned dinosaur. He's very stylish and anyone would love to have him as a squishy pal to keep them company. At 14 inches high I'm tempted to buy him to put on my sofa so that when a scary movie comes on the telly I can hug him and he can protect me form all the oogally boogallies.

Just how cute is this? Yes I do mean the baby and the bandanna bib. Kewt Kids made this great dino dribble catcher. The main problem I've found with bibs in the past is that babies have a naughty habit of moving their head to watch the cat go past and they drool past the side edges of conventional bibs. This one, however is beautifully wide. It's sure to keep your babies clothes nice and clean.

Wood, wood, wonderful wood! Eenie Beanie Threads has combined a fabby dinosaur design with one of my favourite materials and created this beautiful jigsaw. This smiling T-Rex looks like he has spotted dinner and is about to go off and catch it. I hope I'm not dinner *gasp*

The Polka Dot Tot Spot's shop is chock full of beautiful soft toys. There are building blocks, soft balls and bunting. These dino blocks would make the perfect gift for a new born. Soft, safe and tactile. There is a matching ball to go with them, which would be great to encourage babies learning to crawl and walk to chase when rolled across the floor.

Sugar and Cream's print made me smile. The little kitty is willing to share her ice cream with the big red dinosaur. Is it just so the dinosaur won't eat her or is it just because she is a kind kitty? I think it's the latter. The print looks utterly stunning when framed (there is a photo in the listing). A perfect picture to hang in a playroom or child's bedroom... or in my bedroom.

I adore all the items I found to day. So much love and care had been lavished on each of them in their creation, how could you not adore them? Go and put "Dinosaur" into the search engine of your favourite handmade shopping site and come back here and leave a link in the comments to the item(s) you most like. Share the dinosaur love!

Written by Lynne of Hyperloop Hoops and PiratePixieCrew

Project Wonderful

On the left hand side of this blog we offer people advertising space through Project Wonderful and I'm happy to say that many handmade goods makers take the opportunity to promote their goods using the space. Project Wonderful is just one of the many ways to run ad campaigns on-line. I like it because it is fairly simple to use and even if you have a very small advertising budget you can find yourself some spaces to place your ad's to gain exposure. It is run like an auction and you bid on spaces to place your ad's. Many places that offer ad spaces don't put a minimum bids on their boxes, so you can even find spaces for free. You can track how well your adverts are doing and see how many click they are getting, so you can tell if the ad's are working or not. Here are a few items from people that have recently placed their handmade ad's on this blog.

Stonehouse Studio has a shop filled with stunning jewellery. This piece is the one I liked most when I visited her shop. I love the way each handmade bead is slightly different in shape and the subtle colours you can see in the polymer clay. Very stylish.

Ollie the owl caught my eye in East Coast Kitsch's shop. Such a cute critter. He looks very happy in this tree, but I bet he would be equally happy being cuddled up with a new owner on the sofa watching TV.

This fabulous photo was taken by Infivision. I chose to feature this one from the many amazing shots in his shop because of the minute detail you can see of this ant. Whilst many people find insect horrible or scary they fascinate me. They have such varied but amazing life cycles.

Jennifer Ladd is a regular advertiser on this site and I'm so glad, because she has so many gorgeous bags in her shop. I'm always clicking on the ad to see what's new. I picked this scarlet red clutch because of the cute bicycle and trees, but there are many more I adore.

This beautiful under water scene was drawn in pen and ink by Tamara Garvey. The fantastical creatures are varied and interesting and every time I look at it I see another fishie or starfish. It's truly delightful.

All these people are using Project Wonderful to drive traffic to their shops, join in the traffic and click on those ad boxes you see on the left at the top of this page. There are so many amazing shops behind those 125 x 125 pixel boxes. Click a few and see.

Written by Lynne of Hyperloop Hoops and Pirate Pixie Crew

Mooooooooo

Today I was shown an item on Artfire, by Painted Bull, that made me smile and I decided it was a perfect item to feature. The theme of today's blog was decided before the smile had left my face. I love when people do that, show me something that just wows me. I hope the items in this article wow you too.

This is the item responsible for today's topic of cows. Nothing Like It made this fabulous cup coaster. The facial expression is just perfect. I think I'd look just the same if someone dropped a huge cup full of coffee on my back.

Flying zoo made this fantastic flying cow. Pure genius. I don't really know what else to say other than I love it, love it, love it ! wheeeeeeeeeeeeee! Imagine if cows could really fly. Dodging falling cowpats would be a must.

Sock creations are usually monkeys but Kool Kooky Kreatures, has created Clarice the friesian who by all accounts is a cowolympic standard athlete. If you decide to give her a home you might have to install a gym for her at the end of the garden.

Joo Sweetie is aptly named for it is she that made these moo moo cut hair grips. They are just so sweet. Great for any little girl that needs to keep her hair out of her eyes when she is drinking a glass of cool milk.

Lily Lola's Lovely Things is the maker of Lulu the lazy cow. Lulu is only happy when laying down. She really doesn't like to exert herself. She would make a perfect companion to someone that spends a lot of time in bed. She is the exact opposite to Clarice.

I hope you liked the moooooo selection. Pretty bovines that are all looking for a good home. Could that home be with you?

Written by Lynne of Hyperloop Hoops and Pirate Pixie Crew

Christmas Wish List.

So Christmas is fast approaching and Jon and I have been trying to work out what to get each other and asking each other what we would like, so I thought I'd blog a list of the fabulous goodies I'd like to receive, that are made by independent artisans. Now I know money is very tight this year so I'm not really expecting to get all or any on this list, but it's fun to wish and dream.

Most of all I'm hankering for a beautiful Psi LED hula hoop. A fabulous gentleman called Patrick in the USA makes them and they truly are the most sparkly gorgeous hoops I ever have seen. I think I'd want a mix of 50%/50% the Eflin and Dragonfly lights and as many lights as Patrick could squeeze into a 95cm diameter hoop. I've borrowed this video from You Tube to show you just how pretty they are!

I'd also love to be the proud owner of Wound Around Jewelry's beautiful silver creation. Made up of silver curls and links this necklace would look fabulous when you are all dressed up with somewhere to go or over a plain T-shirt and Jeans when you were off to the market. I just love it!


I'm a huge lover of vintage and all that vintage represents. I love the idea of beautiful items from the past being given new life to be used again and these cups from uknowuneedanother just appeal to me soooooo much. The colour and the bumpiness of the glass just make me smile. Imagine serving up individual trifles or ice cream sundaes in these... hmmm starting to dribble now... Dribble's not good for my laptop :)


As a lover of all things Pirate, my next choice just had to be from Damselinthisdress. Not only does she make the most beautiful bodices but she makes these gorgeous coats with detachable sleeves. I so wish I could have one made up in with a purple outer and a burn orange lining. Santa are you listening? Hmm... what's that you say? I'm on the naughty list.... Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa


I've blogged about these next people before and I unashamedly am going mention them again. They make THE most sensational pieces ever! Muju are a British couple from Brighton that pay great attention to detail. To choose just one of their items is very hard but because I had to I went for one of their fabulous Plushies, although to call it a plush some how seems to be wrong. It's a miniature sculpture in felt. A perfect work of art.


For a very long time I have admired the work of Maisy Brown. She makes exquisite reproductions of clothing from days gone by. She has a knack of picking all the right styles that make me go wow! The dress that I have seen of hers that I like most is the Tuxedo ruffled matador in black and white. It has such beautiful clean lines and is such a flattering shape.