Do you know what a puggle is?

echidna bag-tag in brown tones

echidna bag-tag in red pink and purple - this one has a jaunty air with it's up turned nose!

echidna bag tag

For ages, I have wanted to create a range of re-sew-cool bag-tag kits depicting Australian animal and birds. What put me off? Have you been down Swanston Street and ever looked in those souvenir shops? Nothing says “tacky” like an Australiana animal object dangling from a key chain!!!!

I discovered this when my eldest daughter went to America on exchange and we wanted her take gifts for her family. Fortunately a sister of mine was living in Cooktown and the family were rescued from getting Australian flag thongs and instead got some indigenous paintings. Phew!

My second eldest daughter then followed suit and ventured to France. This time, we wisely visited the museum shop - and she was going to France so we sent food stuff too. I also made Hazel some Australiana Mary Jane slippers.

All along I kept thinking what a good idea some Australian themed re-sew-cool kits would be: 

1. for the person going overseas to make and hang from their bag

2. for the traveller to make in some down time or for a rainy crafternoon (perfect because the kit has everything you need in it!) 

3.as a gift to crafty overseas friends.

Well, as inspired by my recent visit to the Melbourne Museum, I’ve FINALLY got started. And first up, one of my favourite animals, the echidna. I have very fond memories of finding one on our front lawn in Beechworth and Mum gently gathering it up in her hands and putting it in a box. We returned it to the bush the next day but had a wonderful time touching the spines and watching it waddle about. We often saw echidnas in our childhood bush ramblings.  To complete the nostalgia I feel for my childhood echidna-spotting-adventures I have used Albert Namatjira paintings as backgrounds here. I had a 1950’s mum and our house had the ubiquitous Albert Namatjira water colour prints which I spent my childhood gazing at.

Echidna Facts

• Echidna’s scientific name is Tachyglossus aculeatus (spiny fast-tongue or Spiny anteater).
• Echidna's lifespan is over 45 years
• Echidnas grow up to 50cm (20") in length
• Each of the echidna’s spines is formed from a single hair
• An echidna can lift objects twice its weight
• Echidnas drink water and can swim
• Like the male Platypus, the male echidna has spurs, but has no venom glands attached to them
• Echidna is slightly less intelligent than a cat(???)
• A baby echidna is called a puggle

Just finishing the instructional drawings for the echidna kit today and should be packing them soon!

posted by Julianne sister outlaw