As the name might suggest The Cute Book by the Japanese Company Aranzi Aronzo is unbelievably cute. Its a collection of patterns and instructions originally written in Japanese, but now available in English (yay!), to make twenty three adorable animal mascots (tiny felt stuffed animals).

When it came into the store I was totally taken by it's genuinely funny descriptions of each of the characters who rang from the sweet "White Bunny" (pictured above on the left) to the more sinister "Liar" and "Kidnapper" (both not pictured). Here's the charming description of Terry The Terrier (pictured at the bottom):

Terry the Terrier is a wire-haired Fox Terrier. Because he's a terrier we call him Terry. His real name is Terrible, which sounds real strong and cool, but he's not really strong at all. Terry works for Aranzi Aronzo. His little beady eyes are so cute. 

I decided to make the four little creatures pictured above. Clockwise from the top they are Bird, Bear, Terry the Terrier, and White Bunny. It was really fun watching them come to life. The instructions are simple and easy to follow. They are sewn entirely by hand so you don't need a sewing machine. This would be the perfect project to do with kids. Here's a picture to show you how small they are:

The book suggests that you make your mascots into pins and sew them onto things like bags and hair ties but I sort of like them just how they are; little impractical pieces of eye candy. I also think they'd make a great addition to any Easter Basket!

Here are my mascots hanging out by the materials you'll need if you want to make some yourself. With the following supplies you could make every single project in the book:

• The Cute Book
• 5 pieces of Mary Flanagan Felted Wool (I used Mexican Clay, Buttercup, Blue Spark, Carmel, and White.)
• A bag of Cotton Stuffing
• 4 balls of Valdani Embroidery Thread (I used Black, Natural, Rose, and Sun.)

Happy Mascot Making! --Molly