Eight-year-old proud of turning children’s drawings into toys with her mother

An eight-year-old has said she feels “proud and accomplished” turning children’s drawings into cuddly toys alongside her mother, in a “unique” process that brings both them and other families happiness.

Lilia’s Smiling Horses began in April 2020, inspired by Polly Petrova’s daughter Lilia, who is a keen horse rider and loves to draw.

“Lilia loves riding horses, she’s been riding horses since she was two and she used to draw horses all the time”, Ms Petrova, 38, who lives in Marlborough, Wiltshire, told the PA news agency.

“The first line of toys that we made were a line of horses with smiles on their faces, as she used to always draw horses with smiles on their faces – and that is how we came up with the name.”

The first of Lilia’s drawings that they made into a stuffed toy was called Tiger Stripes, with Lilia describing her as a “very joyful mare”, adding: “She loves to play with her friends under the rain… her superpower is to make rainy days brighter”.

She added that seeing her drawings become toys was “exciting and a dream come true”.

Wanting other children to experience the joy of seeing their drawings become toys, the mother and daughter duo began offering the service to others, with Ms Petrova admitting that her daughter is a “bit of a control freak” when helping, in order to make sure the toys look similar to the original drawing.

“She is constantly supervising, she is very outspoken and always has an opinion”, Ms Petrova, who works in the medical centre at Marlborough College, said.

“She is also very creative and constantly produces 3D models all the time.

“You know how artists are with their art, and she wants to make sure everything goes to plan, so is very involved with the whole thing.

“It is also a hobby for both of us that we love to do and gives us valuable bonding time together.”

Lilia added that being part of the process is “satisfying, especially the part when we send them to the kids – I feel proud and accomplished”.

Customers can place an order through their website or on sales platform Etsy, with most taking a couple of days to produce as Ms Petrova hand-paints the children’s design onto 100% cotton fabric which is then shaped and stuffed.

For some pictures that are “more difficult to reproduce”, she uses Photoshop and then sends that image to a company to print on to fabric, which could take up to two weeks.

“I never want to rush the process because I really insist on the results being the best they could be”, Ms Petrova added.

She said she loved making the toys because “I know how special they are for the children and parents”.

One that really “stood out” for her was a “memory toy” she made using the last drawing of a young girl before she died – a little princess with hearts.

“It was a gift from her aunt to her mum – and it got emotional for me and I did all that I could to make it as good as possible”, Ms Petrova added.

“The toys are so unique as they are designed by children and that is the thing that really motivates me because it encourages children to be creative and makes them happy, which is so satisfying.

“The most important thing for me is that I do not take any credit because it’s actually not my art – it’s the children’s and I am just recreating it so that they can have it permanently, in case something happens to the drawing.”

She added that she is hoping to have an exhibition in an art gallery to showcase Lilia’s new line of toys next year.

More information about Lilia’s Smiling Horses can be found at: liliasmilinghorses.com while their Etsy store can be accessed at www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LiliaSmilingHorses