The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo

I am addicted to acquiring hobbies.

There is nothing I like better than learning a new skill, buying supplies or reading up on how to do something, and then making something for the first time.

In the ten years since I graduated from college, I have taken on the following hobbies: calligraphy, backpacking, crochet, matting and framing, snowboarding, baking, gardening, cardmaking, blogging, and podcasting. While I try not to spend a lot of money on my hobbies, I do try to take each one seriously for at least one year. Then, I feel, I will have fully acquired the skill (albeit at a lower level) and will be able to pick it up whenever the mood strikes me. For instance, I haven’t crocheted anything since the scarf I made for M, but if I wanted to, I could pick up my needle and keep going without having to relearn anything.

I have sewed a few times in my life, but I never considered it a hobby, nor was I interested in taking it up. However, I just got The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo (a Japanese brand with a slew of licensed products, not unlike Hello Kitty) and now I want to start making things with fabric.

The Cute Book is essentially a craft book with clear, step-by-step instructions on how to make those tiny, darling little Japanese critters that you might see hanging off of girls’ schoolbags or keychains. Every mascot is made from felt and embroidery thread and stuffed with cotton. And because I assume the book is intended for girls, the sewing is simple enough for a beginner like me to follow.

And each mascot is really so cute! There’s the quintessential felt bunny, but there are also squirrels, pandas, dogs, cats, frogs, and monsters. All cute, all very reasonable to make yourself. I want to make the sheep!

I’m going to add sewing to my list of hobbies stat.

The Cute Book by Aranzi Aronzo

Tags: craft books Japanese characters sewing Aranzi Aronzo