"Felt Cuisine - A Taste of Italy" : The Pizza AND The Pasta

www.FeltCuisine.com
Scroll down for the story behind "Felt Cuisine" and it's creator Hiromi Hughes.

Learn how to create beautiful, hand crafted pretend play food from felt.

Fully illustrated craft guides show you step by step how easy it can be to create these designs that will thrill your children, and keep them entertained and delighted for hours on end...

My name is Hiromi Hughes, a busy mother of two from Melbourne Australia.

I produced the "Felt Cuisine" series of ebooks as I have always enjoyed arts and craft and have spent many years making my own hand made gifts for friends and family.

I grew up in Tokyo Japan, and have lived in Australia since 1991. In Japan I studied fashion design and have always loved designing things and being creative.

This passion for design has only grown since my husband and I started our family and I have found myself at home spending lots of playtime with our two beautiful children.

I have always encouraged my children in their play and have enjoyed watching them grow and develop. I love to watch and listen as they play and see them using their imagination as they explore and learn about their world...

Like most kids, they love their toys, but I have always wanted to provide them with a variety of toys.

Unfortunately, most of the toys that are available nowdays are the normal mass produced, cold, hard, plastic toys...nothing wrong with that of course, but I was searching for something different. Something softer, warmer and more natural, yet something that still allowed them to have fun, use their imagination and inspire their creativity.

I also wanted my children to understand and to feel the care and love that is put into gifts that are hand made and not just purchased ready made from a store.

I want my children to grow up valuing their family and friends and appreciating the true meaning of gifts, especially those that are made with love and affection by others. Gifts that are hand made by loved ones can not easily be replaced and help strengthen, relationships and help build fond childhood memories that will last a lifetime...

So I started to make some pretend play toy food from felt and other materials for my children and they loved them. They have always enjoyed playing "dress up" and "grown ups" and these pretend play food pieces were a hit. I continued to make them and started to make little sets for my friends, and their children. The feedback that I received was wonderful and it was such a pleasure to see the joy that these pieces brought to the faces of the children...

I then began to sell my work online (some of you may have even purchased some of my work yourselves) and again, the feedback I received was wonderful and greatly appreciated. I have now sold my work to many parts of the world, not only to people throughout Australia, but also to the UK, the USA, New Zealand and to some parts of Europe.

The problem was though, that there is onIy one of me and when I sold a set of my hand made pretend play food, I had to sit down and make it. Also, many of my customers have asked me if I would tell them or show them how it was done so they could try and make some for themselves...

The result of course, is the step by step, illustrated guides that form the "Felt Cuisine" series.

The designs and methods enclosed are the result of countless hours of design and testing... trial and error as I worked out what works and what does'nt work and the cheapest, easiest and most efficient way of doing things.

My two children began playing with my "Felt Cuisine" pieces when they were 2 years old and they have lasted wonderfully well. They are very safe toys, with no fragile, sharp pieces that are likely to break off and no small moving parts. Like anything though, they need to be treated with care. They are made of fabric, are hand sewn and are of course not completely indestructable.

Although these pieces may look difficult to make, they can be very easily re-created by you at home by following the simple step by step instructions and templates that I have provided.

I hope that children wherever they may be will enjoy playing with the wonderful creations that I know you will all soon be making...

As always, if you have any questions or comments about this book, please do not hesitate to contact me. Your feedback is always welcome and always appreciated.

Hiromi Hughes.
Melbourne, Australia 2007.

P.S - Don't for get to visit us at www.FeltCuisine.com" and sign up for your FREE eBook "Felt Cuisine - Strawberries by Design" and our FREE monthly newsletter with handy tips, hints and ideas to help you with your Felt Cuisine and other Japanese / Japanese inspired art and craft projects...