Gallery

From something you love to a painted little friend

Every one of these started as something someone loved. Here's the whole journey — a shelf we've painted by hand, one mini at a time, including our first fan's own Rainbow Kitty. Fair warning: they're every bit as fun for grown-ups to paint, and a lovely thing to make for a kid — or with one.

From plush to painted

Each real toy, spun a full 360°, and the little friends we printed and painted from it.

The Loaf Kitties

One very cute loaf of a cat started it all — we scanned the original Loaf Kitty, and then we couldn't stop. Now it's a whole litter. Galaxy Loaf Kitty lives in space and flies faster than the rest. Fourth of July turns up in a big striped flag bow, red, white and blue all over, with a special "250th" stamped on her bun. Gold Nugget is the heaviest and shiniest of the bunch, in a silver bow — because silver and gold just go together.

A couple of things every proper Loaf Kitty shares: a little maker's stamp on her bun, and — for the ones true to the original — a soft top coat sponged on in a fine stipple, just enough to read a little buttery (white on the first, tinted on Galaxy, silver on the Fourth; Gold Nugget goes without). And then there's Rainbow Loaf Kitty, painted in a rainbow of colors by our first fan — orange ears, purple front paws, a green tail, a brown face. Which leaves just one question: how would you paint your own little friend?

The original plush, spun 360°.

The original Loaf Kitty mini, painted, seen from the front — The original

A Loaf Kitty mini painted as a glittery purple galaxy with a pink bow, front view — Galaxy

The Loaf Kitty mini painted red, white and blue with gold stars, front view — Fourth of July

The Gold Nugget Loaf Kitty mini painted gold, straight-on front view — Gold Nugget

The Rainbow Loaf Kitty mini painted in rainbow colors, front view — Rainbow

OSHA Beedee

OSHA Beedee earned his name one night when the stuffed animals were running a construction site on the living-room floor — makeshift crane, careful crane picks, the works. Somebody had to keep the job site safe, and he took the badge. He's been sniffing out safety violations everywhere he goes ever since. Is he a chocolate-dipped little guy covered in frosting sprinkles? Absolutely. Does that square with a life in workplace safety? Not even a little — and it never mattered. He's one of our dearest friends, exactly that way.

The original, spun 360°.

The finished OSHA Beedee mini, painted brown with colorful sprinkles, front view

Everything else

The shelf, works in progress, and the modeling behind the minis — mostly our own steady hands and a five-dollar set of paints, with our first fan's Rainbow Kitty in the mix.

Four hand-painted loaf cat minis lined up side by side, each in a different color scheme — Four of a kind — no two painted alike.

The red, white, and blue painted mini seen from an angle — The Fourth-of-July one, from its good side.

The Gold Nugget Loaf Kitty mini painted gold, from a front-right angle — Gold Nugget Loaf Kitty, from the corner.

The Rainbow Loaf Kitty mini painted in rainbow colors, side view — Rainbow Loaf Kitty, from the side.

A white 3D-printed cat mini being hand-painted, its bow half pink and red — Mid-paint — the bow goes on first.

Several freshly printed minis on craft sticks mid-paint, beside a primed white cat mini — A whole crew, painted on sticks.

A primed white cat mini on the table, bow half-painted, seen from above — Another coat, another afternoon.

A cat mini and a small painted figurine on a stick, mid-paint by a sunny window — Two minis mid-paint, by the window.

Our first fan smiling and holding up her painted orange mini — Our first fan, very pleased with her orange one.

A child holding the original plush cat in one hand and its painted mini twin in the other — The original plush, next to its mini twin.

The OSHA Beedee stuffed animal beside its finished 3D-printed, hand-painted mini — OSHA Beedee, plush and printed.

The original loaf-shaped cat plush — Loaf Kitty herself — the one that started it.

The loaf cat plush seen from a three-quarter angle during its capture shoot — Posing for her scan — three-quarter view.

Side profile, straight from the capture shoot.

Two tall raw white 3D prints beside a small finished orange-painted mini — Fresh off the printer, beside a finished one.

The galaxy mini mid-paint, before the glitter was added — The galaxy one, mid-paint — before the glitter.

A mini drying on a stick after its first orange coat — First coat down, drying on a stick.

The OSHA Beedee mini mid-paint, base colors partly applied — OSHA Beedee's base colors going on.

A 3D scan of a cat figurine being tidied up in modeling software — Another scan, getting cleaned up before printing.

A loaf-shaped cat scan shown as a clean 3D model — The 3D model, ready to print.

A white figurine straight off the 3D printer bed — Straight off the printer bed, before priming.

Freshly printed white loaf cat minis on the 3D printer bed — A fresh batch, straight off the Prusa.

The 3D-scanned Loaf Kitty model, cleaned up in 3D software — Your video, turned into a 3D model.

Two Loaf Kitty minis mid-print on the Prusa — Printing in tough, kid-safe PLA.

The Loaf Kitty mini primed bright white on its stick — Primed bright white, ready for color.

Make your own.

Every mini on this page started as a quick phone video. Leave your email and we'll send you early access, first word on pricing, and the filming guide.

No spam, ever. Just a heads-up when the printers are warm.