run red run needle felted collectibles

You may not recognize these two guys, because they’re friends of mine, Hous and Mike. On the other hand, you might recognize them from the vacation vlogs they post to their YouTube channel. Let me fill you in…

You know I’m a big Disney fan. Such a big fan that my friends and I like to watch other people’s Disney vacation videos on YouTube.  There are hundreds of people who enjoy sharing their trips with the general public, and it’s a great way for me visit the park without leaving my couch.

A little while ago we found some vacation vlogs done by two guys from Amsterdam named Hous and Mike under the screen name Phoenixterdam. We could tell right away that they loved Disney as much as we did and they seemed like super nice guys. Watching their videos, we always felt like we were right there in Disney with them, and they always made us smile.

Somehow, the stars aligned and we discovered our upcoming Disney trip was going to overlap with Hous & Mike’s next trip. So while we arranged to meet up with them to say hi, we also got to work on a way to thank them for all the laughs their Disney videos gave us. My illustrator friend, Vince, decided to give them a couple of his Untold Tales of Bigfoot t-shirts.  And, if there was enough time, we thought it would be nice to felt them something to go along with the shirts.  We talked about something Disney-themed until we had the bright idea to felt Hous & Mike.  Vince sketched the design and I started felting.

Vince’s design was stylized version of a portrait. I think they turned out looking like the guys in a fun, cartoony way.  Hous wears a ballcap in a lot of the videos so I felted a removable hat, and Mike has these gold/magenta sunglasses, so his feltie has removable felted sunglasses.  I freeze-framed their vlogs a hundred times to make sure I got details like their eye color correct. They both have awesome beards, so I felted those to have a little movement in the mouth area.  Just by adjusting a little with my finger they can have a more open mouth look or a suggestion of a smile.

We managed to meet Hous and Mike a few days into our vacation. We had a nice surprise when they pulled out a couple of packages of Dutch Stroopwafels from their bag! They’re so tasty, we can’t get enough of those now! Then we gave them our gifts and I think they really liked them. Their reaction to opening the felties has got to be my absolute favorite unboxing. As you can see in the photos, I think they were very touched.  We became fast friends and met up many more times before we had to leave for home.

Thanks Hous and Mike for making our Disney vacation memorable and special!  You guys are the best! For more images of the Mike & Hous felts, browse my gallery.

Please be sure to check out Phoenixterdam’s YouTube channel and watch their fantastic videos of their Disney trips, cooking tips, life in Amsterdam, and things they love.

Down below, Mike and Hous set up the felties in Amsterdam and sent me photo.