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It appears these white little critters have recently been creating a bit of a”flutter” in the Japanese Twitterverse, and we guess that should come as no surprise, considering how utterly cute they look. But what exactly are these fluffy white balls? They’re actually coin purses made by craft artist Piyoyama, and people who have fallen in love with the little birds are asking where they can get their hands on one of them!

Piyoyama created the coin purses for the Java Saprrow Festival 09 (Buncho Matsuri 09), an annual event that commemorates Java Sparrow Day, which is on October 24.  The event, which first began in 2007, took place this year from October 23 to 28 at Gallery Nagatani in the Kichijoji area of Tokyo.

The event is all about getting more people to recognize Java Sparrow Day and involves booths selling java sparrow-themed arts, crafts, and books.  Piyomaru tweeted that just 10 of the specially made java sparrow coin purses would be sold at the festival.

▼ Even one is cute enough, but ten of these are just too adorable!

Twitter users who have seen the pictures of the coin purses have commented:

“OMG, seriously want!”
“They look like they’re wearing headphones, it’s so cute!”
“Java sparrows wearing tiaras?”
“This is so so so cute! I really want one but can’t make it to the Java Sparrow Festival. Is it available online?”
“The quality looks excellent … but I’m afraid I couldn’t actually use it, because I wouldn’t want it to get dirty!”
“They look so real!”

So it looks like plenty of people are seriously interested in purchasing one of these java sparrow coin purses. But is it possible to get one once the festival is over?

Piyoyama makes these purses alone and is unable to produce a large number at one time, but the good news is there are plans to continue production and hopefully make the item available for sale at other events and online in the future.

Here are a few more pictures tweeted by Piyoyama showing the darling little birds:

▼ This tweet explains that the birds’ eyes are made of garnet, and the beak is polymer clay.  It’s made to be somewhat water-resistant, but both the stone and the clay will be gradually damaged by contact with water, so the purse really shouldn’t be washed. The item is too delicate to be attached to a bag as a key chain or charm and is made more as an ornament to be displayed.

▼ Here’s what the purse looks like open.

▼ Simply too adorable, even when they’re tipped over!

▼ Here’s what the purse looked like at one point when Piyoyma was struggling to complete the product.

▼ And here’s what the finished purses for the event look like. Beautifully done!

The java sparrow coin purse looks expertly crafted and at the same time seems to have the warmth of a thoughtfully created hand-made item. If, like many other Japanese internet users, you’ve been enthralled by these white furry fellas, they’ll be available next at the “Equimonia” event to be held at the Miyako Messe pavilion in Kyoto on December 12 and 13, so you may want to check that out. We certainly hope you’re able to find your little “white” bird of happiness!

Source: Twitter（@piyorizan）, Facebook（Left thimble handmade Crafts）
Photos: Piyoyma Left thimble, used with permission
Original article by Yayaoi Saginomiya
[ Read in Japanese ]