Julie and Elsie's Christmas Gift Guide

Christmas is coming soon so we have been working hard on our annual gift guide. This is part of our job as studio assistants at Studio Lumio. Make sure to share this list with your Person so they know what to get you!

1) Otter books by Sam Garton 

This year there are three books to choose from about our friend Otter! The Halloween one is our favorite. We know that Halloween has already passed but if you get this book for Christmas, you will have plenty of time to prepare for next year. Better yet, tell your Person that you need all three books! Here is a link to the books on Amazon.

Take a break from working Person and come read to us!

2) Tiny Journals by Ordinary Artists

We know many of our fluffy friends like to travel and write about their adventures. These tiny journals are just the right size for anipals and fit nicely inside Person's backpack during travels. Make sure to get at least two so you can share with a friend! You can purchase the journals in the Ordinary Artists shop.

I'm letting Elsie use the pink one because it is Christmastime.

3) Bookmarks from Studio Lumio

If you or your Person like to read, our Japanese paper doll bookmarks are a great stocking stuffer. We helped Person make these by yelling instructions and telling her she was doing it wrong. I think we must have been quite helpful because they turned out very nicely! 

This pink one is our favorite!

4) New warm winter clothes by Teddy Togs and Toys 

It is important to have snugly clothes so you are always ready for winter activities. We think these winter coats and hats would make an excellent addition to any stuffie wardrobe.You can request a custom order if you need a special size too. Here are some of our favorite ones: 

You can purchase this coat in their shop

This scarf and hat is also available in their shop!

5) Earrings by Studio Lumio
We like to dress up during the holidays and think we look very good in these earrings that Person made. Person says we do not need earrings but she is misinformed. If you have this problem with your Person, we suggest that you tell Person that the earrings are for them. After you receive the earrings, you can show Person how cute you look and they will surely change their mind.

See how nice we look!

There are several colors to choose from in our shop

6) Hammock by Just Yarning
This little hammock is perfect for fluffies to take a nice long winter nap in! It's also prefect for sleepovers when you have friends visiting for the holidays.

You can purchase this from Just Yarning's shop

7) Tiny Crane Ornaments from Studio Lumio 
We think these tiny crane ornaments are excellent for Christmas trees and they double as toys when Person is not looking!

Don't tell Person that we have these. She told us not to touch!

8) Ginger Bread Toys by Loops and Lines
These knitted ginger bread toys are very cute!  They are for playing with though and not for eating! I'm explaining this to Elsie now.

You can purchase them from Loops and Lines shop.

9) New friends from Ria Art World and We're Rabbit 2006

Christmas is an excellent time to ask your Person for a new stuffed animal to come live with you! It’s good to have lots of fluffies at your house. It makes planning anipal friendly adventures easier and for convincing humans of things. Elsie was responsible for this portion of the gift list so it is all rabbits. I tried to explain to her about diversity but it was too long a word for her to understand. These bunnies are very cute and they both come with their own carrots which is definitely a plus! 

You can purchase this bunny in Ria Art World's Shop

You can purchase these twin bunnies is We're Rabbit 2006's shop

10) Anipal Sleeping Bags from Studio Lumio

In our shop we have little sleeping bags for stuffed animals! The sleeping bags are very snugly and warm and perfect for a cold winter night. I help Person make them so if you want a specific size or color, I will make sure it’s just like you want! We have extra sleeping bags on hand for when our friends come to visit for a slumber party! You can purchase them in our shop. 

Here we are making a custom sleeping bag for our friend Ajdin!

We think the finished sleeping bag turned out very nice!

 

If you have questions about any of these gifts or need other ideas, please let me know. You could ask Elsie too but she’s kind of unreliable right now because she’s so excited about Christmas!

Juliet Runs Away! 

Yesterday, something very bad happened. Juliet, my baby zebra, ran away! Elsie and I looked for her everywhere but we could not find her. What could Juliet be up to?  Finally, late in the afternoon, Juliet came home. 

We were so worried about you!

It turned out, Juliet had gone on an adventure without us! This is very naughty of her and she will not be getting any chocolate today! She was hiding in Person's coat pocket and went out with Person's coat. 

She did a lot of things while she was gone. 

She looked at the pretty fall leaves... 

Climbed a tree...

Picked some apples that were just her size...

Jumped in the fall leaves...

Found a nice nest...

And tried to hike to the zoo!

Juliet had a great day and we are very jealous. She is in a lot of trouble for running off without us and making us worry. How do you think we should respond to her running away like that? 

Beach Trip!

Recently we went to the beach. Person was not planning to take us but we climbed into the suitcase when she wasn't looking. We think she was secretly happy that we came along although she says otherwise. 

This beach house is very cozy.

Person rented a house so we got to stay the weekend. Elsie and I had plenty of places to play which was good because it was a little foggy outside. Since the weather was bad, Elsie and I decided to do a Puzzle. The puzzle was very hard so Person had to help us.

Pay attention Elsie! The pieces do not go on your head!

We spent hours on the puzzle and started to get cranky. Some of the pieces were  missing and I accused Elsie of eating them. Person told us to stop fighting. We knocked some of the pieces off the table and Elsie started to cry. Eventually Person put the puzzle away so we never finished it. It's probably just as well since pieces were missing. I still think Elsie ate them.

It was a puzzle with a picture of the Oregon coast.

Person sent us outside to play on the deck and things got better. We saw a little chipmunk but no bunnies. Elsie decided to pretend the chipmunk was a bunny. The chipmunk was not friendly and ran away. I think maybe chipmunks are scared of zebras. I don't know why. It had stripes like me and would have made a good friend.

We have a nice view from here!

After playing outside, Person let us have a snack so everyone was in a better mood. Chocolate makes everything better.

Chocolate cake with raspberries and cream!

The next day was sunny so Person said we could go play on the beach. We wanted to be helpful so we studied the tide tables very carefully. It was quite confusing and we didn't understand it at all. It was probably boring anyway.

Person says it's confusing because we are looking at it sideways.

We watched Person make a boring healthy lunch to take with us. Person was going to forgot the chips but we yelled loudly until she packed some. 

Let's build a sandcastle!

It was a beautiful day on the coast. It was a good thing Person remembered the shade tent because the sun was very bright and we don't have any sunglasses. Person really should get us some. I want a pink pair. 

The ocean is very big and beautiful.

We had so much fun at the coast and did not want to go home. Weekends are never long enough for all the things we want Person to do with us. There was not even time for a trip to the aquarium this weekend. Person needs to work on her priorities so we get more time for play and travel. We plan on discussing this with her at our next family meeting. We have lots of ideas so that there will be time to visit the aquarium on our next trip. If you have ideas let us know.

An Exciting Surprise!

Today a very exciting thing happened. Person went to the post office which is usually boring but today she came back with a package for us! It is even addressed to us! We could not wait to open it and wondered what it could be.

 

 

What do you think is inside this big envelope?

Person got the scissors and helped us open the package. For some strange reason we are not allowed to use the scissors by ourselves. Maybe because I tried to give Elsie a hair cut recently? Who knows with Persons. 

Oh it's a present and a card from our friend Ajdin!

It is always exciting to get a present in the mail especially when it isn't even your birthday. This is turning our to be a very good day. 

Such a pretty card. I wonder if Ajdin made it.

We asked Person to read the card to us because we are not good at reading. Ajdin is very happy with the sleeping bag we made and wanted to send us a thank you.

Thanks for helping me unwrap the present Elsie.

The present was wrapped very nicely in orange paper with a lovely ribbon that has little honeybees and sunflowers on it. I think the ribbon makes an excellent present too! 

Oh Elsie, stop playing and focus! This is important.

Once we got the present unwrapped, we saw that it is a lovely magnet that Ajdin made for us! Person says we can put it on our refrigerator.

We are lucky to have such a kind and thoughtful friend. Thank you Ajdin! We are very happy with our present.

 Sewing!

Elsie and I have been very busy helping Person with the important job of making a sleeping bag for our photo contest winner Ajdin! We emailed with Ajdin to see what sort of sleeping bag would be good and decided to make a space themed sleeping bag since Ajdin dreams of being an astronaut bear!

We went to the fabric store with Person and picked out some very nice fabric. We like visiting the fabric store because there is always a chance Person will buy some fabric to make something for us. She did not this time which was sad.

This fabric we picked is very soft and is Ajdin's favorite color, blue!

Once we got home with the fabric, Elsie and I got to work. The first thing we had to do was very difficult and required measurements and math. We aren't very good at math so we hope the sleeping bag will fit Ajdin. We did ask for Person to help so I think it will be OK. She is good at math.

Using the measuring tape is fun!

We used the big sewing scissors to cut the fabric.

Helping Person iron.

No, no Elsie! Don't touch the iron. It's very hot!

After we did all the preliminary steps, we had to pin the pieces together. Elsie poked herself with a pin and we had to give her some chocolate so she would calm down.

You have to be careful when sewing because there are lots of sharp things.

 When we were all done getting ready to sew, Person used the sewing machine to put all the pieces together. We are not allowed to use the sewing machine. Person says it is dangerous.

When the sleeping bag was all finished, Person showed us a very exciting surprise! This sleeping bag is kind of magic and we got very excited because it glows in the dark!

See how the astronauts and stars on the fabric glow!

The only thing left to do was package up the sleeping bag and mail it to Ajdin.

No Elsie! You can not go live with Ajdin! We would miss you!

Finally, we wrote up a little letter to tell Ajdin about the magic qualities of the sleeping bag. We had Person write the letter on the computer but we signed it ourselves.

I think we did a very nice job on our letter

We think our project was a big success. Now we just need to get Person to take us back to the fabric store to buy some fabric to make something for us.  We are both badly in need of princess dresses to go with the tiaras we got for Christmas! How shall we convince her of the importance of this?

We go on a fun hike!

This weekend Person took us hiking. We were very happy because we had not been in a very long time. We had a lot of opinions about what to pack for the picnic lunch. Sadly, Person did not listen so there were no potato chips on the hike. I'm sure the potato chips felt left out. We had to make do with sharing a chocolate bar. 

Stopping for a snack on the trail.

The first part of the trail was very steep and we were glad to be riding in Person's backpack. There were lots of pretty wild flowers to look at and we saw several squirrels. The squirrels were scared of us which was strange. They acted like they'd never seen a zebra before! 

So many pretty flowers!

We had a very good time on our hike. Next time we plan to talk Person into going to the coast because we want to go to the aquarium and see the sea otters and starfish. We saw a starfish on the beach once. I'm sure it wanted to play with us but Person wouldn't let us get very close. I heard that they have a program where you can go diving at the aquarium so we want to go right now! We really need to get our drivers license!