Christmas Craft 2014 : Cat Plushie

This Christmas, I decided to embark on a project making a cat plushie for a dear friend. I failed terribly with using polymer clay and decided to create a simple cat plushie. I bought all my supplies from Daiso, so it was relatively affordable but the time and effort that goes into it is taxing, however I love every minute of it. My cat plushie is not perfect, but I am pleased with it since it is my first time doing that.
A week was spent researching on the materials and fillings ( check this out ), followed by getting ideas of the cat plushies/cushions on Etsy and Pinterest.
Another 2 weeks were spent on conceptualizing to re-doing ( when it gets real bad ) to stuffing in the polyester fiberfill to finishing up the whole product.

Materials required :
Felt material cloth ( Daiso ) - I bought adhesive and non-adhesive types
Polyester Fiberfill ( Daiso )

You can actually use a sewing machine which would be faster but I hand-stitch all the way, to make it a very handmade item. The white and black felt materials on the cat plushie itself are adhesives. Some people will prefer to stitch non-adhesive types but since I already have some adhesive felt material from my last craft project, I decided to use them.

Steps :
(1) Conceptualise the drawing.
(2) Made measurements on the felt material. I use a pencil to lightly draw on the grey felt cloth and then cut out the picture of the cat.
(3) Using the cut-out, I duplicate on the grey felt cloth so that I have 2 identical pieces for a front and a back.
(4) Place both pieces together and start to hand-stitch them, leaving a small gap for your hands to go in to pull it inside out as well as to insert the polyester fiberfill in.
(5) After the hand-stitch is done, place your hands in and pull out it inside-out so that the stitches are inside instead of outside.
(6) Draw the eyes, mouth and whiskers on another felt cloth material ( I use black and white adhesives ) and paste them on.
(7) I stuff in the fiberfill in the plushie. Even though the description on the polyester packaging states that the 130g is good for 45cm by 45cm, I feel that the 130g is not enough for my almost 30cm by 30cm plushie, but its up to individual.
(8) Ladder-stitch the remaining gap, once all the stuffing goes in. Check it here.
(90 Ta-da, the end product!

Sanritsu D'asses Green Tea Biscuit

2 boxes were retailing for $8 at the Robinson Expo while Choco Express is selling one for $4.50. Delicious and addicting, the biscuit crumbles with every crispy bite with that hint of matcha flavor.

Waffle Slayer - Matcha Azuki Buttermilk Waffle

Waffle Slayer, an offshoot of Strangers' Reunion café next door, is located in Kampung Bahru and offers waffles in their tiny café, manned by college and university students. I was there on a weekday afternoon and we were the only customers while Strangers' Reunion was 40% filled up with young customers.

At $14.90, I thought it was way overpriced, considering the quality of the food. Only the vanilla ice-cream is decent. Thick and dry, the waffle is infused with fine green tea powder that gives it a slightly bitter taste which doesn't seem to blend well with azuki beans that are not sweet enough. And the orange segments are probably from the can. $14.90 for such waffles, no way.

Funwari Meijin Uji Matcha Chocolate

It costs $5.50 from Yamakawa Super but I bought it when it was at 30% off, usually because its about 1~2 months away from the expiry date.

Each pack contains 4 individually packets with 5 oddly shaped pieces in it. An airy rice snack, with a barely there cocoa taste, you can feel the softness and sweetness as you bite into it, which seems to melt in your mouth into nothingness that makes me want to take another bite.

Easy on the stomach with a sugary and sweet taste, it somehow feels more like fun rather than a decent tea break snack. I don't find it to be a satisfying snack too. Just an innovative creation and a interesting unhealthy snack.

Glico Friend Bakery Cookie

I snagged this for $2.50 from a shop in Orchard Central. It contains just a few cookies which I can easily polished off within an hour but I refrain from doing so, since I always like to enjoy my matcha snacks slowly. 
The matcha taste is rich and flavourful, with biscuit at the bottom and the matcha cream on the top. Nice to indulge when you requires something fulfilling on the stomach.