Der-bear Comes Out

I decided to take Derek or "Der-Bear" (yes, named after that werewolf) out with me. He's one of my favorites, but I don't tend to photograph him as much.

Project Bears

 Over the past week I decided I wanted to work on some new projects, one of which required a teddy bear. I happened to find these two fellows at thrift stores, and I set about cleaning them up and working on them.

Project Bear #1. 

I didn't end up using him for my initial plans, but I think I will work him into something else. Here he is after having his stuffing removed and being washed/air dried.

Project Bear #2

I ended up using this guy for my original plans as he fit the look I was going for much better. He is an older BaB, initially released in 2007. He began life as a Lil' Honey Cub, but I had bigger plans for him. I removed his stuffing and washed him, though he took much longer to dry because of his thick fur.

The hearts of Project Bear #1 (left) and Project Bear #2 (right). 

 Once dried he became...

 Bowie Bear!

My inspirations for Bowie Bear.

Pika pi!

I went on an adventure today of epic and exhausting proportions. Due to some trip related snafus, I ended up having to stay with my parent's dogs, but I was able to runs few errands. One of which was seeking out a Pikachu plush from Build a Bear.

Initially I called my normal store and they said they had him, but stock was low. I was there within about 45min and they had all sold out. So I called another local store, no luck. Finally, I tried a store that was about 30min away and they said they had some.

Smushed face of victory!

At that store they had three left, and the woman behind me took the other two. So I was very lucky to arrive when I did! The store was absolute bedlam, literally wall to wall people. The staff were great as always, which continues to impress me. I ended up waiting in the stuffing line for about 30 minutes, which wasn't too bad.

Post stuffing pika!

I did open him up again once I got home to fix his nose a bit (he suffers from the same weird nose issue as Eevee), and also to adjust his butt stuffing for lack of a better term. His seam was also pretty messy, so I fixed that as well.

So. Much. Snuggles.

I broke the Howl's Moving Castle traditon with this guy (I almost named him Markl) and went with Hamilton instead as I was listening to the mix tape on the way. 

Overall I'd say he's absolutely worth it if you can adjust his nose a bit before stuffing (or after if you're comfortable). He is big and plush (so soft!), and the perfect shape for cuddles. I'll be bringing him to a New Years Eve party with me this weekend as he's part of my costume. 

Happy holidays!

Ophelia

Since I've introduced my other BABW plush, I thought I should mention Ophelia too. I came across her at a thrift store, and thought she was just the cutest and (honestly) weirdest thing I'd seen. I am often partial to obnoxiously pink things be it clothes, accessories, or plush, and she fit the bill. I also have a love for octopus and squid. Normally I don't purchase plush from second hand shops unless I'm using them for a project or something similar, but she was in pristine condition with the tag on and everything. She was also a recent 2016 "bear," so she hadn't been around very long.

She does have a little mouth, you just can't see it!

She is amazingly soft, and sits rather well even despite her slightly odd design. I have some fun plans for her involving a very pink, punk rock vest and some decora-style accessories, but for now I've been scouting for other outfits. Dresses are the best bet given all those legs...and I managed to find two that require limited alterations if any.

There's the smile!

The purple one is sitting a little funny at the neckline because the straps are tied in the back, and I just need to shorten them a bit. The pink and blue one fits perfectly without any alteration. I hope to incorporate her with some of my own decora or loli outfits eventually as I think it would be fun.

Preparing to boldly go!

So I decided to take Spock Bear after all, as he is easier/smaller to pack. Since I'm flying back, I want to make sure I can just have carry ons instead of having to check any luggage.

Hopefully we'll have a chance to take some fun pictures!

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 12

On the twelfth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me: wishes for happy holidays!

Spock: You have my gratitude for allowing me to participate in such an interesting cultural phenomenon. As per the custom, I offer my wishes that you have a satisfying holiday celebration and a beneficial start to the new Terran year.

Bear Surgery and Holiday Howl

Happy pre-holiday craziness! I am working hard trying to get all my loose ends tied up before leaving on my trip on Christmas Eve, which has left me feeling like a very tired elf. Presents and packing and pre-trip nerves oh my!

For personal reasons, this trip is going to be quite stressful. So I'm also trying to plan some good, fun things to help distract me along the way. I decided early on I wanted to take one of my plush with me for holiday shenanigans, and originally it was going to be Spock. However, I think I have decided to take Howl with me as I have the least pictures of him so far, and I did just do the 12 Days of Christmas with Spock. So I've also been getting him into ship-shape for the upcoming trip, and packing all his clothes along with mine. He doesn't have a very extensive wardrobe (yet), but I have some Christmas items that will be fun for photos along the way.

One thing I did to prep him was to open him up and adjust his stuffing. This is the second time I've done this, as the first time I had to remove his scent disk. I think it got overheated or melted during the stuffing process (the stuffing "pump" can get quite warm during the process, and the staff member commented that he was really, really warm). It ended up smelling like melted chemicals and death, so I removed it. This second time I opened him up to re-stuff as his original stuffing was pretty slapdash. I think it was because it was towards the end of the day, but the staff member who stuffed him wasn't particularly helpful. (Not a big deal for me as I can sew, but I did miss doing the heart ceremony.)

Original stuffing on the left, new stuffing on the right.

His body was mostly stuffed, but I realized that his face was very deflated. In parts it was almost empty, which didn't do him any favors poor fellow. So I re-stuffed his head and his body to give it more shape, and the results are much, much better. You can really see it in the curve of his face, and his nose area. I think maybe that's why I haven't loved some of the Eevees I've seen in the past, because they were under stuffed.

I also picked him up one small item while I was doing the end of my holiday shopping, which is this red shirt. I couldn't find something specifically Santa-themed which was my goal, but I already have this sparkly hat.

I thought this was particularly fitting for Howl. 

Alas they didn't have one for "heart eater."

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 11

On the eleventh day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me:

Eleven Christmas lights!

Spock: By my calculations there are more than eleven lights on this strand...

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 10

On the tenth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me....

Ten paper snowflakes!

Spock: As a member of a desert-dwelling species, I find these paper representations to be a much better option.

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 9

On the ninth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

(One of) Nine reindeer!

Spock: I find I have a preference for the tale this carol tells, although having a preference itself is illogical.

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 8

On the eighth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

Eight wrapped up gifts!

Spock: Is present-giving usually enacted under duress?

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 7

On the seventh day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

Seven feet of wrapping paper.

Spock: This...is...illogical.

Meet Howl!

Build a Bear Workshop was sneaky and decided to release more Eevees this week. I only knew about it because I had my sister snag an item of clothing for me (she is considerably closer than I am), and they let her know. She was kind enough to go back on release day and grab me one which I stuffed this weekend. 

Target acquired. 

I has initially been on the fence about Eevee as I wasn't in love with the design. Mostly the nose/mouth if I'm being honest. It looks odd in profile, and there were very few photos I liked it in. Someone suggested it was better in person, which I do think is the case. Still weird, but not quite as bad. Plus, once you have an Eevee in your hands, the soft and cute overwhelm you.

I will say that this Eevee version is *not* the same as the original one released, for those who have been wondering. The main difference I see is the eyes, as the new ones are completely black rather than black and "purple" (it always looked brown to me). This doesn't bother me, but it is good to know. 

I named my Eevee Howl as I called my Charmander Calcifer. (Used to be Duke, but I never actually called him that, so it seemed silly to keep it.) I have always pictured Eevees as very pretty and proud of their appearance. Kind of like the nice supermodels of the Pokémon world. And what fits that better than "I see no point in living if I cant be beautiful" Howl?

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 6

On the sixth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

Six inch ribbon curls!

Spock: Achieving six-inch ribbon curls is statistically unlikely, and entirely unnecessary. 

Calcifer is no longer doing the no-pants dance!

As I mentioned before, Charmander is kind of a larger "bear," and his shape isn't superbly conducive to a lot of things. Pants in particular are a challenge because of his short legs and rather large tail base. Myself, I don't mind him without pants as I don't think they're entirely necessary for him. However, I came across a pair of overalls that I thought I could re-purpose for him. 

I ended up cutting the top off the front and back, and shortening it significantly before reattaching it. I was able to avoid shortening the straps by trimming it off the bottom instead, which worked well. The straps have two different sets of snaps so that you can make them longer/shorter. For this outfit I used them on the longer side just to show a bit more of the stripes beneath since the shirt's collar is already a similar color blue. I think that with any of the other shirts of different colors, I would use the shorter length instead. I made a large tail-hole  that suits him pretty well, and re-hemmed everything aside from the legs.

Overall (pun possibly intended?) I like how they turned out, and I may investigate some additional overall options in the future. I still think pants would be a weird fit on him, but this style works nicely.

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 5

On the fifth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

Five chocolate candies!

Spock: You are aware of the effect of chocolate upon my biology, are you not?

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 4

On the fourth day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

Four colorful bows!

Spock: One would have been sufficient for a "present" of my size.

It's the holiday season...

12 Days of Spockmas: Day 3

On the third day of Spockmas my Vulcan gave to me...

Three little elves!

Spock: A creature lacking opposable thumbs is ill-prepared to craft toys.