Monday was Shoonie’s birthday! In commemoration of her 2 decades on this planet, I broke taboo and made…a Pikachu!
Hm? What’s that? This ISN’T a Pikachu?
…oh. It’s a Mimikyu!
This little guy was a bit tricky to get just right. As pictured to the left, it turns out Mimikyu’s black body underneath has the same spiky pattern as the bottom of its costume. I thought that was merely shadow, but after looking at its model in Sun, it turns out that is not the case. You’ll also notice it doesn’t sit flat, but rather rocks a bit. The weight created by its head and tail leaning to one side doesn’t help either. After doing a bit of research, I may have found a way to keep the base laying flat. Once the shop reopens, I will make and sell a new Mimikyu according to these strategies.
This cutie has been widely received among my classmates. It’s very well behaved too; it quietly listens to music while I work.
Sometimes it joins me for tea.
This Mimikyu is Canadian made. So Canadian, in fact, that it sat and watched hockey with my roommate.
Poor Mimikyu. It just wants to be loved. Maybe it will find a friend in No-Face.
With only 2 weeks left of school, things are getting hectic. While I’m glad to have gotten a chance to sit down and make plushies again, I must also focus on the plethora of assignments that are due in the coming week. Perhaps I will share the completed ones here at the end of the semester!
Which Pokemon should be next? Or should Mimikyu get an alternate costume? Comment below!
Look at this plush, isn’t it neat? Wouldn’t you say that this project’s complete? Wouldn’t you think I’m the girl… the girl who makes, everything? (8)
This is Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She’s pretty cute, if I do say so myself! I chose this combination of red and green, because they contrasted each other and really stood out. She looks pretty close to the original design, so I’d say this was a success.
The body and head shapes were easy. The hair was the hardest part. I felt discouraged at first, because the hair fibers looked much shorter once they were brushed out. I broke a few of the strands too, resulting in a waste of yarn in general. Sigh…
After some brushing and work with the hair straightener, the hair finally started to come together. I used Red Heart Super Saver yarn to make this hair, which is not recommended. The final product looks nice, and didn’t take much head to get it nice and smooth. (The iron was only 350 degrees) However, you can’t give this plush to a kid who likes to brush and style doll hair. The fibers of Super Saver get snagged in toy brushes, such as the ones that come with Barbie dolls. I had to pin up her hair while I sewed on the seashell bra and tail frill. Taking out the bobby pin after finishing the doll was very satisfying. It was like taking down your girl friend’s hair after doing her makeup, and asking her what she thinks.
Admittedly, I didn’t watch Little Mermaid all the way through until about 3 years ago! As a kid, I became a fan the same way some people become fans of Overwatch: through fan osmosis. In grade 1, I owned a two-piece outfit decorated with Ariel, Flounder, and Sebastian. It looked like a pyjama set. Around this time, someone gave me a volume of the Little Mermaid TV series. I remember one episode where Ariel brought home a baby whale and hid it in her room, only for the whale to sneak out and interrupt one of the concerts in the palace. When everything falls into chaos, Sebastian says, “and dat, my friends, is what is meant by ‘bringing down de house.'” My dad told me ‘bringing down the house’ meant to annoy everyone. I took his word for it, because that’s exactly what the whale did.
Until Rapunzel came along in Tangled, Ariel was one of my most identifiable Disney princesses. Despite her father’s warnings, she risked everything to experience walking on land for the first time…even if it was primarily motivated by a guy she liked. I’m not saying that you should always disobey your parents; sometimes you have to think for yourself and make your own decisions in life. Sure, our parents love us and want what’s best for us. But what’s best for us, and what makes us happy, doesn’t always go hand-in-hand. When was the last time you heard a story of a person who did everything they were told, never took risks, and never thought for themselves? I worked with people who were Ariel’s age at my old job, and many of them lamented that they wanted to study art or learn a trade, but their parents were making them go to University. Having been in their situation at one point, all I could say is, “go with what your parents are saying for now. But as soon as you get the opportunity to do what you want, take it.” (I suppose this advice would better relate to Moana, another plush I hope to make)
Zzzzz…
Ariel’s decision wasn’t perfect; she got what she wanted, but at the cost of her voice. But she still made the best of what she had. Because she couldn’t speak, she could only listen to Eric. Even though it was mostly shown in montage, you could see that she enjoyed every minute of those three days on land. Well, two, if you include the day Ursula appears in human form. In the end, Eric saved her from Ursula, because he loved her. And he wouldn’t have realized he loved her, if she hadn’t risked everything to be with him… Many critics say that Disney princesses are sexist, but I think it’s about how you look at it. Some see Ariel as a story of “go ahead and make stupid mistakes. Your boyfriend will save you in the end.” I see it as, Ariel took that risk to ultimately become happy.
Late night snack
In the darker, original version of the tale, the little mermaid does not live happily ever after with the prince. However, she does have a happy ending: she is granted a chance to gain eternal happiness, by only doing good deeds for the next 300 years. I think the moral of The Little Mermaid remains the same: there is no pleasure, without pain.
Do you have gadgets and gizmos aplenty? Or whozits and whatsits galore? Which Disney character should be next? Comment below!
For Christmas, my shoon-tastic cousin Shoonie gave me an EOS lip balm. You’ve probably heard of or seen these before. They’re known for their unique packaging. To people with eternally dry lips, they’re a life saver.
While scrolling Facebook one day, this link caught my attention. (Click image for original blog)
And so I thought, why not personalize my own EOS? I decided to make mine look more like a Bob-omb. And so I got the yarn and started working, until…
Lip BOMB cozy, take #1
Uh oh… I don’t think I did it right. In the original post, it showed the bomb covering the lip balm completely. Then I thought, maybe I should use thicker yarn? So I got out the other yarn…
Lip BOMB cozy, take #2
…nope. And so, I made two halves. On the bottom half, I worked a round through the back loops so the balm could sit flat.
Overall Pattern verdict:
Cute! Though it would’ve been nice if I could figure out why the pictures show it fully covered, yet I kept ending up with two halves.
Here is the final product, closed and opened.
And then, I got inspired to make up my own cozies….
Sanrio theme! Here are Hello Kitty, Keroppi, and Chococat. I still want to make Badtz-Maru, My Melody, Monkichi, and Pandapple. These were created for the January contest on deviantART. There is still time to enter, so if you like Sanrio characters, have a dA account, and love to knit or crochet, give it a try! I think I will sell these once the others are finished.
Have you tried an EOS lip balm? What is your favourite Sanrio character? Comment below!
Val's Crafts 