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The Cute Book: Cute and Easy-to-Make Felt Mascot
The world of craftsters is full of things Japanese Cute - kawaii, and the look created by Aranzi Aronzo is familiar to many but not until now has a single one of the hundreds of bootleg American copies they've sold been in English. Finally these priceless books of mascots, accessories, clothing and well, just about everything, come in ready-to-read English!
47 pages, Hardcover
First published February 6, 2007
3 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
About the author
Aranzi Aronzo
25 books20 followersHello, we are ARANZI ARONZO.
ARANZI ARONZO is the name of the company that makes original goods.
And it is the name of the shop, where the original goods produced by ARANZI ARONZO, are sold. Besides, it is a group's name rather than one person.
Such as a band name for music. A unit name, a stage name, or a pen name.
Anyhow, we are ARANZI ARONZO.
Our catch phrase is "cute, strange, cool, silly, a little bit horrible, stupid and comfortable ARANZI ARONZO".
We appreciate your remembering just ARANZI ARONZO at least if you can.
ARANZI ARONZO, Mrs. Saito & Ms. Yomura, began their business to produce and sell what they want to create originally by home manufacture.
And now we continue it.
But what we want to produce expands.
We made it. Stores, books, exhibitions, advertisement, and so on.
We are advancing steadily.
What's going on? We can't tell.
-http://english.aranziaronzo.com/about...
ARANZI ARONZO is the name of the company that makes original goods.
And it is the name of the shop, where the original goods produced by ARANZI ARONZO, are sold. Besides, it is a group's name rather than one person.
Such as a band name for music. A unit name, a stage name, or a pen name.
Anyhow, we are ARANZI ARONZO.
Our catch phrase is "cute, strange, cool, silly, a little bit horrible, stupid and comfortable ARANZI ARONZO".
We appreciate your remembering just ARANZI ARONZO at least if you can.
ARANZI ARONZO, Mrs. Saito & Ms. Yomura, began their business to produce and sell what they want to create originally by home manufacture.
And now we continue it.
But what we want to produce expands.
We made it. Stores, books, exhibitions, advertisement, and so on.
We are advancing steadily.
What's going on? We can't tell.
-http://english.aranziaronzo.com/about...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews
January 1, 2014
Just the thing I need to add to my craft shelf, as if I need more... I can't help myself... I have all this stuuuufff that I hate to throw away, and want to make use of. THIS is the PERFECT reuse recycle book for that. If you've got bags of old clothes that you just can't part with, or love love love, but couldn't put on unless you lost 300 pounds.. and want to pet and cuddle with loving memories of something sweet.
Make a " lovey" out of that " scrappy" thingy and put it in a place of glory, like on a pillow, top of a bed post, back of a couch, corner of a bookcase, or perched on the shoulder of a chair, so you can see it everyday.
This book will, with a bit of thread, and such, help you to remold that " whatever it is" into something wonderful, and amazing for you to cherish in a new way, and not sit in the bottom of a stinky plastic bag for you to drag it out every once in a while to say, " damn I wish I could DO something with this..." ( but NOT give it away cause I love it too much! )
Make a " lovey" out of that " scrappy" thingy and put it in a place of glory, like on a pillow, top of a bed post, back of a couch, corner of a bookcase, or perched on the shoulder of a chair, so you can see it everyday.
This book will, with a bit of thread, and such, help you to remold that " whatever it is" into something wonderful, and amazing for you to cherish in a new way, and not sit in the bottom of a stinky plastic bag for you to drag it out every once in a while to say, " damn I wish I could DO something with this..." ( but NOT give it away cause I love it too much! )
October 26, 2007
This crafts book, which contains patterns on how to make adorable felt creatures such as matching bunnies, is basically the cutest thing ever. (Well, ok, I bet you noodled that out from reading the title, but still.) The only drawback is that if you don't know how to sew, you'll want to run out and learn immediately because the stuff in here is so goddamned adorable that you'll want all of it.
June 13, 2021
This is part of my 365 Kids Books challenge. For an explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf. Thanks to the marvelous people @chpublib and @ocplibraries who are keeping me supplied!
Insanely cute. I have no strong desire to make mascots or anything really out of felt, but if I were going to it would be because of this. So cute, lalala, look at the adorable bunnies and such. The text amuses, even as it provides a little helpful instruction in sewing basics.
Then it gets weird, but still cute. Fish is mature and has sexy lips and an alluring gaze, and also flowers on the body. Bird is coquettish. Lizard should look calm. Then there's Bad Guy. "His smile is so creepy." Liar. Alien. Kidnapper, who looks like Slender Man, and has a bag to put kids in.
Strange and wonderful.
Library copy.
Insanely cute. I have no strong desire to make mascots or anything really out of felt, but if I were going to it would be because of this. So cute, lalala, look at the adorable bunnies and such. The text amuses, even as it provides a little helpful instruction in sewing basics.
Squirrel's face, her personality, even her clothes are all cute. Her curly cute tail is key. So make her tail cute, okay? And make her stripes cute too, ok? Thanks
Then it gets weird, but still cute. Fish is mature and has sexy lips and an alluring gaze, and also flowers on the body. Bird is coquettish. Lizard should look calm. Then there's Bad Guy. "His smile is so creepy." Liar. Alien. Kidnapper, who looks like Slender Man, and has a bag to put kids in.
Strange and wonderful.
Library copy.
September 19, 2012
Recent birthday present. Some very cute designs featured and I look forward to testing some of them out shortly.
April 21, 2012
Extreamly adorable and easy to make...you think you don't need little felt critters? What exactly would you do with them? The real question is, what couldn't you use them for?
-Nice, simple layout and playful text and ideas through out. Easy enough for begginers and youngsters, and so darn adorable even pros would enjoy making them all day. The end of the book has gazillions of ideas for using the patterns as appliques, as well as how to modify the little guys to serve every and any seemingly useless purpose you could think of. Why have plain hair ties, keychain-less bags, or loose change that could be lovingly kept inside a miniature cat/frog/whatever?
Wholeheartedly recommended, and be warned: Your felt stash will be quickly depleated.
-Nice, simple layout and playful text and ideas through out. Easy enough for begginers and youngsters, and so darn adorable even pros would enjoy making them all day. The end of the book has gazillions of ideas for using the patterns as appliques, as well as how to modify the little guys to serve every and any seemingly useless purpose you could think of. Why have plain hair ties, keychain-less bags, or loose change that could be lovingly kept inside a miniature cat/frog/whatever?
Wholeheartedly recommended, and be warned: Your felt stash will be quickly depleated.
November 30, 2008
This is truly adorable. The book's layout and instructions are simple. Though I don't often have a need for stuffed felt bunnies and robots, it's still fun to flip through.
The cutest by far is the bunny, and I love the image in the intro of the felt bunny making its own felt bunny.
Squeal!
The cutest by far is the bunny, and I love the image in the intro of the felt bunny making its own felt bunny.
Squeal!
March 28, 2020
The instructions are very clear and concise. The art is excellent and thematic. The book ends with fun ideas for mascot uses such as hair pins or coin purses. A beginner to handicrafts/felting might have to switch between the introductory pages where stitches and such are explained and the pages dedicated to the specific mascot they are making. The extra information included about the mascots tend to be about the vibe each one should give off than how to deal with a tricky part of the creation itself,
December 4, 2022
Love this! I made the cat mascot just as the directions asked for.
December 14, 2009
After making more than half of the felties in Nelly Pailloux's Felties I started poking around for other similar books. I located this one, took a look at it at and purchased it. By now I had the basics down so was just looking for some new patterns.
I noticed a few strange and not very cute patterns (to me) but bought it anyways for some of the cute ones. The ones I thought were strange were things such as "Kidnapper", "Bad Guy", and "Liar", I think they are just the sense of humor of the creators and I don't really share that same sense of humor, I'm all about the cute not so much the weird. But no matter, the book had things such as "Striped Cat", "Frog", "White Sheep" and others to catch my fancy.
So far I've only made 5 from the 19 patterns ("Panda", "Monkey", "White Sheep", "Striped Cat", and "Frog"). A lot of the patterns are very similar with the bodies being exactly the same (arms, legs, and a dress) and only the heads being different. Eventually I think I will get to some of the others but they are so similar I haven't really felt the need to make them yet.
Compared to Felties, The Cute Book's directions are a little briefer but unlike Felties it has a whole section in the back about what you could do with the felties (or felt mascots as they are referred to in the book). Ideas include keychains, hair accessory, applique etc. Aranzi Aronzo also has several other books that branch off from this one that look to involve using a sewing machine so I've passed on those.
Overall another fun feltie book after almost exhausting Felties. Would definitely suggest Felties over this title though.
I noticed a few strange and not very cute patterns (to me) but bought it anyways for some of the cute ones. The ones I thought were strange were things such as "Kidnapper", "Bad Guy", and "Liar", I think they are just the sense of humor of the creators and I don't really share that same sense of humor, I'm all about the cute not so much the weird. But no matter, the book had things such as "Striped Cat", "Frog", "White Sheep" and others to catch my fancy.
So far I've only made 5 from the 19 patterns ("Panda", "Monkey", "White Sheep", "Striped Cat", and "Frog"). A lot of the patterns are very similar with the bodies being exactly the same (arms, legs, and a dress) and only the heads being different. Eventually I think I will get to some of the others but they are so similar I haven't really felt the need to make them yet.
Compared to Felties, The Cute Book's directions are a little briefer but unlike Felties it has a whole section in the back about what you could do with the felties (or felt mascots as they are referred to in the book). Ideas include keychains, hair accessory, applique etc. Aranzi Aronzo also has several other books that branch off from this one that look to involve using a sewing machine so I've passed on those.
Overall another fun feltie book after almost exhausting Felties. Would definitely suggest Felties over this title though.
April 29, 2009
Awalnya aku ketemu sana Aranzi Aronzo di Internet dari hasil penelusuran hyperlink. Aranzi lelaki berayah Mexico dan beribu Jepang. Semetara Aronzo yang juga pemain tamborin ini adalah lelaki Norwegia campuran Vietnam dan India. Keduanya sepakat mendirikan usaha yang didasari pada kecintaan mereka pada craft dengan nama Aranzi Aronzo. http://english.aranziaronzo.com/index...
Pengaruh Japanese Craft memang sangat kental terasa dalam karya-karya Aranzi Aronzo. Karena keduanya tinggal di Amerika cukup lama dan memulai usaha mereka disana, maka pengaruh American Craft, berpadu dengan pengaruh Japanese Craft dalam karya-karya mereka. Hal ini bisa dilihat di buku ini, bagaiama Aranzi Aronzo membuat buku instruksionalnya dengan gaya Ondori Jepang dengan semangat bermain yang kuat. Selain dari tampilan bukunya, karakter-karakter felt yang di ciptakan Aranzi dan Aronzo pun, lebih eksploratif dan punya karakter yang 'mereka' banget meski tekniknya cukup sederhana. Bagi pecinta felt making, buku ini ada di perpustakaan art &craft tobucil.
Pengaruh Japanese Craft memang sangat kental terasa dalam karya-karya Aranzi Aronzo. Karena keduanya tinggal di Amerika cukup lama dan memulai usaha mereka disana, maka pengaruh American Craft, berpadu dengan pengaruh Japanese Craft dalam karya-karya mereka. Hal ini bisa dilihat di buku ini, bagaiama Aranzi Aronzo membuat buku instruksionalnya dengan gaya Ondori Jepang dengan semangat bermain yang kuat. Selain dari tampilan bukunya, karakter-karakter felt yang di ciptakan Aranzi dan Aronzo pun, lebih eksploratif dan punya karakter yang 'mereka' banget meski tekniknya cukup sederhana. Bagi pecinta felt making, buku ini ada di perpustakaan art &craft tobucil.
January 9, 2009
illustration-wise this is 5/5..but the instructions were a little "too cute" and vague. i'd recommend it to people who are confident in the basic stitching skills and know how to make the "french knot" or else your mascots won't resemble anything in the book.
here's the only french knot tutorial that really helped me, it's all in the angle of the needle and tension of the string...
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index....
mascots aka softies are a great hobby to pickup though. it's almost like joining a cult. most of the *cool* books are in japanese so it's nice that aronzo made an english translation as well.
here's the only french knot tutorial that really helped me, it's all in the angle of the needle and tension of the string...
http://www.craftster.org/forum/index....
mascots aka softies are a great hobby to pickup though. it's almost like joining a cult. most of the *cool* books are in japanese so it's nice that aronzo made an english translation as well.
February 21, 2009
It is, actually very cute. I made two of the figures for Xmas presents and people loved them. They are harder to make than they look, though, because they are soooo tiny. You'd think it would be easier to sew tiny things, but not necessarily. I wanted to share a pattern with my 10 and 13-yr. old neices and decided I should enlarge the patterns by 50% so they wouldn't get frustrated. I still want to make more of these.
I also like that because the animals are really so simple, it inspires you to make up your own as well.
I also like that because the animals are really so simple, it inspires you to make up your own as well.
January 5, 2010
Very cute projects that can be made by anyone-even if you have never sewn before. Great for kids, and the projects are very inexpensive to make, since they recommend you use sheets/pieces of craft felt (usually you can get about 3 or 4 for a dollar at places like Wal-Mart, Hobby Lobby, Michael's, Joann's, etc...).
However,if you decide that you want to make something that is going to last for a long time, I would recommend using "real" wool felt or another type of fabric, as the craft felt will pill and stretch and not hold up as well if it is getting a lot of use.
However,if you decide that you want to make something that is going to last for a long time, I would recommend using "real" wool felt or another type of fabric, as the craft felt will pill and stretch and not hold up as well if it is getting a lot of use.
January 25, 2008
This book is full of terrible cute creatures that you could make yourself. Stock up on felt & polish your thimble. I hope you already know how to make a french knot, because you'll be doing it a lot. The front half of the book is loaded with precious creations, and the latter portion has ideas on how to use these adorable creatures in unexpected contexts. It's short & sweet, and really cute, as you might expect.
March 17, 2011
this is cute and weird. This has lots of Aranzi Aronzo characters which you make into felt mascots. Some obviously cute things - bunnies, pandas, kittens and some less so fish and frog and some down right weird alien, kidnappers and liar.
I made a character called Mechani-Panda (a panda robot) but not from felt but cross stitched on stitching paper. My mum mad a blue felt bunny for a baby book for my nephew.
piccy at twitpix
I made a character called Mechani-Panda (a panda robot) but not from felt but cross stitched on stitching paper. My mum mad a blue felt bunny for a baby book for my nephew.
piccy at twitpix
February 4, 2014
Easy to read and adorable.
Do you have kids that want to learn to sew? The Cute Book is one of the best. At lest its the one that I've had the best luck using when teaching kids to hand sew.
It gets 5 stars for,
Fun easy patterns, simple patterns that are easy to modify and being a good interdiction to hand sewing.(And of course for being beyond cute)
Do you have kids that want to learn to sew? The Cute Book is one of the best. At lest its the one that I've had the best luck using when teaching kids to hand sew.
It gets 5 stars for,
Fun easy patterns, simple patterns that are easy to modify and being a good interdiction to hand sewing.(And of course for being beyond cute)
August 2, 2007
I took this out of the library just because I wanted to take a look at it. I'm still mildly obsessed with amigurumi, so I don't think I'll be stitching felt anytime soon. The creatures are pretty darn cute though.
September 7, 2007
So much fun. It's a challenge to make the creatures in the book because of their small size, but the basic skills of constructing a stuffed toy are clear and simple. The basic patterns in the book can be enlarged and embellished to create as many different creatures as you can come up with.
November 27, 2007
Learn to make cute and bizarre felt friends in The Cute Book. Lots of great pictures and easy-to-follow instructions make this a great book for crafty tweens or teens. I would have loved to make these when I was in my crafty teen years.
April 28, 2008
Got this book for Christmas. I thought the construction of the animals was too cumbersome (all hand sewn). I never actually finished any of the ones I started, but started amigurumi instead. But cute patterns, would be good for people learning to sew/a rainy afternoon with no kids.
August 15, 2008
This book makes me want to buy mountains of felt and googly eyes and fill my home with creepy cute little doodads and tchotchkes. I can't knit or crochet to save my life, but I can stitch together little Frankenkitties with some thread and a bottle of Elmer's glue, you betcha. Cute cute CUTE!!!
March 28, 2015
This is a cute book. The designs are cute, and the instructions are easy to follow. Everything is very simple. It would be find to make some of these dolls with kids or teenagers. There is no machine sewing involved.
March 28, 2007
This is the CUTEST BOOK EVER!!! Whether you make the critters shown in this book or not, it is still adorable and will make you want to flip through it again and again.
May 6, 2007
fun, cute, fun and cute.
May 26, 2007
Japanese crafts are cuter than yours.
July 25, 2007
Of course cute! And actually easy to make. I'm using these patterns also to make a family of dolls as gifts for young relatives.
August 22, 2007
this is pretty adorable. I made three tiny plushies so far. it's challenging cutting and sewing on such a small scale but the patterns are great and they are damn cute!
August 24, 2007
These adorable felt mascots are even tinier than they appear. I think in the future I might blow some of the patterns up just a little bit to make them a touch easier to work with.
November 16, 2007
Oh my god, read this book. And then make them for Christmas.
March 4, 2008
Nonfiction; craft. Easy-to-make felt "mascots" (small, cute animals to hang from your bookbag, etc.) from Japanese crafters Aranzi Aronzo.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 47 reviews