ruby cherry-berry

Posted on June 5, 2015 by bear loves dove

” Hi, my name is Ruby Cherry-Berry and I love growing veggies and baking cakes. My favourite things are flowers, strawberries, cherries and bees. Especially bees, because without them I wouldn’t have my other favourite things.

I love to play in the garden and do a little weeding, but the best part of gardening for me is the picking bit. Picking flowers and picking veggies. The pretty and the yummy.

I always wear an apron when I bake as I’m quite a messy baker. I usually leave the kitchen looking like I’m the one that’s been tossed in the beaten eggs and rolled in the flour.

I’ll often hum a song as I wander about twirling in my favourite bee skirt.

I love to collect little treasures from the garden like pebbles and feathers, so a woollen cardy with a heart shaped pocket is the perfect cardy for me.

And because I love flowers so much I like to wear them whenever I can, these wooden flower buttons are my favourites.

My friends are Rufus Rad Rabbit and Heartface Bunnykins and my dream is to make a little girl very happy and be her bestest friend. “

Ruby was made with love, during a crafternoon with friends where cute monsters and other softies may were started with caring and generous hearts. (Some speedsters even finished the same day – I’m looking at you Sandra!)

Ruby and some of the other crafternoon creations will be gifted with love to the ‘Softies for Mirabel‘ for this year’s softie toy drive. I just love the fact that I can contribute to the community in a crafty and meaningful way. I hope that a little Mirabel kiddie will feel all the love and friendship Ruby Cherry-Berry has to give when they hug her.

Wishing you all the sweet stuff… love and friendship and cherries and cake.

meet heartface bunnykins

Posted on March 9, 2015 by bear loves dove

Heartface Bunnykins loves to love, and shares her love with everyone who cuddles her. She also really loves chocolate (can you tell?) and Easter is her favourite time of the year.

Heartface Bunnykins has an oversized, shaggy and slightly messy tail. This makes sitting down a little tricky, but she’d rather be in the arms of someone anyway so it isn’t really problem. She’s just a bit different to other bunnies she knows.

Heartface Bunnykins has heart buttons for eyes, a fluffy heart for a nose, and a great big heart in her chest that is so enormous it has to sit on the outside.

I know she doesn’t look much like a real Bunny, but I made her up on the go as I went and my heart was in the right place when I made her. And that’s what counts right? She is going to find a home with a little kiddie thanks to the Mirabel Bun-anza. There are a lot of kids that have either lost a parent or are no longer cared for by their parents due to substance abuse. The Mirabel Foundation look out for these kids and Pip from Meet me at Mikes run’s a Softie drive for them. You may remember Rufus Rad Rabbit that I made? I didn’t think I’d have time to make a bunny for Easter as well, but thanks to a long weekend and a need to sit and craft for a while, I did. I made Heartface Bunnykins.

If you have some spare time this week maybe you’d like to make a Bunny of some kind too? You don’t have to crochet them, they can be knitted or sewn. All the details are here but you’ll have to be quick as it closes 15th March.

May you have a heart so big it’s bursts outta ya!

rufus rad rabbit

Posted on October 12, 2014 by bear loves dove

Meet Rufus!
Rufus came to be for a good cause, I made him for the Softies for Mirabel toy drive.
Softies for Mirabel is such a lovely creative way to bring a smile to a little kids face who could really use something to smile about.

I discovered this wonderful toy drive via one of my favourite people and blogs, Pip Lincolne from Meet me at Mikes. Anyone can get involved, your toy can be whatever you want it to be!

I’ve never made a stuffed toy like this before and I didn’t use a pattern. Rufus came out of my head with what whatever crafty supplies I already had (admittedly I do have a healthy craft room stash!). I was inspired by the beautiful softies on another favourite blog, Posie gets Cozy. They are totally adorable, as is the blog and the softies creator, Alicia Paulson. Rufus sports crocheted eyes out of sashiko thread, a stitched felt nose and some cotton whiskers.

The trim on the fake pockets is something I’ve had for years. It was a packaging trim from a Bison purchase, and I knew it’d be perfect for something one day!

Of course it goes without saying that I have a healthy stash of left over yarn, so crocheting a jacket and knitting a scarf seemed like a perfect way to use some up and make Rufus all cuddly and warm.

Now Rufus did have some body shape and proportion issues. But I had a chat with him and explained that these things weren’t important really. It’s the stuff you’re made out of that counts. And he’s stuffed with love and kindness and a super big heart so that’s all that matters.

Rufus Rad Rabbit was surprised to hear this, that his bumps and lumps and odd shape body didn’t matter. Now he’s as happy as can be and just can’t wait to meet his owner and start sharing some of his love and kindness.