Tag Archive for 'plush kawaii kitty'

Kauai Kitty

It wasn’t until I made this plush kitty that I realized I seem to be going through a tropical phase. I’ve been constantly drinking Raw Coconut Water, listening to Sergio Mendes, and recently acquired a vintage Bali embroidered Cutwork summer dress.

I used this vintage Hawaiian shirt to make my kitty. I had a good time playing around with the placement of the foliage and bird of paradise flowers.

I really liked the label on the shirt and was hoping to incorporate it into the design. It didn’t seem to work out, but I’m definitely hanging onto it for something in the future. I also discovered Paradise Found is the same company that made Magnum P.I.’s “Jungle Bird Shirt!”

 

Not only are bird of paradise flowers colorful and exotic, they represent joy and paradise. I named the kitty after Kauai since it means “Garden Island.” I also like that it sounds just like Kawaii, which means “cute” in Japanese.

To give the kitty extra Hawaiian appeal, I used leather buttons that have a very similar weave to Lauhala- woven boxes made of palm leaves.