The warmest hug

When it comes to childhood traumas, I had quite a few. Some more serious than others. But one that has always stuck by me was when my mum put my favourite toy in the washing machine. And while she had the best intentions, the poor duck somehow got decapitated. Even though it was fixed soon, I was heart broken seeing my best friend suffer 😥

I don’t know if it is because of this event, or just the fact that I love animals, or because the landlord doesn’t allow pets, but our apartment is filled with stuffed toys. From cute small ones to large ones and every continent is well represented 😄

Over the years, J (my other half) and I have created a character for each of them and they are my biggest inspiration for my drawings!

So if you ever see a sassy shark on my site, just know that he was created after this guy:

The rule is, who ever gets out of bed first, must put Sharky under the covers 😉

The Dutch translation for a stuffed toy is knuffel and actually has two meaning:

• Stuffed toy, and
• Hug

And to me, these two go together perfectly, because what can give better comfort than a hug and your favourite stuffed animal 🥹

I wish WP would allow us to add pictures in the comments already, because I am curious if you guys have a stuffed toy which is meaningful to you and what it looks like! 🙂