Hello Kitty Craft Books

You probably heard the news: Hello Kitty is not, in fact, a cat. My middle school heart is broken, my childhood now dramatically altered. I spent most of my middle school allowance on all those cute Hello Kitty thing-a-ma-jigs (technical term). It was an obsession. So I was super excited when I received two fun Hello Kitty books in the mail from Quirk Books (thank you!).

The Hello Kitty Baking Book: Recipes for Cookies, Cupcakes, Pies and More by Michele Chen Chock

“Do you know what a macaroon is?”, The Tween is yelling at me from her bedroom. “What?”, I inquire. She yells across the house again: “A macarons? It’s a French thingie.” (You can see where she gets her expansive vocabulary from.)

The book thief strikes again in my house. The Tween, seeing the Hello Kitty covers, had swiped the books off my table and she and a friend were looking through them in her room. One of the items in the cookbook is indeed a Hello Kitty French Macaron (page 18). There are also Hello Kitty ice cream sandwiches, cakes, cupcakes and a whole lot of yum. There is a brief introduction that discusses key ingredients and baking equipment, helpful for people like me who barely enter the kitchen. It turns out, unsalted butter is best for baking (I bet Robin knew this). There are two things I look for in a cookbook: 1) I want colored pictures of each and every recipe. 2) I want a detailed list of ingredients that’s easy to find before I even start reading the recipe. And we have a winner because both of those things happen here. You have to buy a Hello Kitty cookie cutter for a couple of these recipes to work, but a brief Amazon search reveals that there are plenty to choose from and they are not overly expensive. There are also some templates that you need to photocopy and blow up to do a few of the recipes (and there are instructions for doing that).

Hello Kitty Crochet: Supercute Amigurumi Patterns for Sanrio Friends by Mei Li Lee

First things first: “In Japanese, Amigurumi refers to knitted or crocheted stuffed dolls.” (page 5). This is a book that will help you make a ton of cute Hello Kitty and friends dolls. They are adorable. They are also way above my skill level it turns out. BUT, for those who can make these, best thing ever.

We begin with some front matter full of basic information, including a look at some of the common tools you’ll need and an overview of some techniques you’ll need to complete the projects. Then we have our instructions with full color pictures to show you what it is you’re trying to make.

The Tween has now confiscated both of these books. Her and her friend are trying to learn to crochet because they want to make the Amigurumi dolls. This weekend we’re making Hello Kitty French Macarons (The Tween is France obsessed). So these books are a win. The layout and design is perfect, the instructions seem easy to follow, and they have motivated us to try new things. Wish us luck!

As for Hello Kitty, apparently they are saying she is not literally a cat, but the cartoon personification of a cat. That’s splitting hairs. It’s not like my middle school self thought she was a literal cat, so I’m at peace with this news. All is right in the world once again. Go forth and craft.

Filed under: Craft Books, Crafts, Hello Kitty, Quirk Books