Is it just me who has a child that’s completely obsessed with a certain animal?
My little Ben, who’s now four, has been in love with penguins since he was really small and literally everything we make has to be penguin related. I even stretched the theme to Halloween last year when I transformed a pumpkin into a penguin for him for his nursery competition. (The things we do to make our children smile!)
I let Ben loose with some old acrylic black paint I found at the back of my crafting cupboard and off he went to create his ‘masterpiece’. The result was something quite frightening – which is actually perfect for Halloween when you think about it! – and he went on to win the contest!
Then for World Book Day Ben decided he wanted to go as the penguin from the book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers, so I bought him a penguin onesie and his dream came true!
And then there’s Ben’s ridiculous penguin soft toy collection which have all been named ‘Ted’ for some reason!
Naturally Ben’s preference for penguins has influenced many of my Miss Shelly Design products. I made him an embroidered penguin wall hanging for his bedroom earlier this year. It fits in perfectly with his black and white themed room and on the back of this I decided to make a new penguin Christmas decoration for my collection.
In the past I’ve always stayed away from anything black as it’s so hard to see when you stitch but I’m so pleased I took the plunge as they’re adorable. They’re personalised with a little star tag which can have a name printed onto it or I can even add ‘First Christmas 2018’ if it’s for a baby’s first Christmas.
I recently showed them to notonthehighstreet.com and they suggested I also make a penguin couple - perfect for a newlyweds’ first Christmas! I don’t usually launch my new Christmas range until September but I’ve just added the penguins if you’d like to start your Christmas shopping early. Click here to see more
And before you ask Ben already has one made for him which he’s patiently waiting to put on our tree this year…
