My son absolutely LOVES Eric Carle’s The Grouchy Ladybug.
I don’t recall ever seeing it growing up, but I read a lot of Carle’s other stories such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, and Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? It’s a nice feeling to read a kid’s book for the first time along with your child. I think one of the main reasons he likes it so much is how it’s read – such as voice inflection and enthusiasm. For a while, we had to read it multiple times in a row (and at one point we may have even hidden it) but now we’ve moved onto other stories. We still read it at bedtime on occasion and he even quotes it once in a while.
Needless to say, when a customer messaged me on Etsy about making a ladybug, I definitely took it into consideration. I figured that if I made one and didn’t think it worthy of my customer, I’d just give it to my son and say it was the Grouchy Ladybug.
Luckily, I was very happy with how it turned out!
I sent a few pictures to my customer and she absolutely loved it! I was so happy that she liked it as much as I did. So, a listing was created, the invoice paid, and this cute, little bug was shipped out right away.
See? It never hurts to ask a seller if they’d be willing to do a custom order despite the fact that they don’t normally do them. 🙂
I’m planning on making another one to make sure my pattern is all there (I’ve been known to leave off instructions for various pieces) and will be adding it to my shop. I figure it might be a good idea to include some items that aren’t video game characters. A little variety never hurt anyone! I should have a listing for this little guy up in a few weeks at the most. I just need to finish up some Etsy orders!
I’m actually considering making a few more characters/animals from some of my son’s other favorite books/shows. I need to make a list of things I’d like to make. I’ve made one before, but I only got around to making a few. A lot of what I wrote down either intimidated me or didn’t seem as good of an idea as when I wrote it down. At the moment, the next item on my list is “Whacka” from Super Paper Mario on the N64:
My brother asked me about a month ago to make one for him and I’ve (sort of) looked into it. Sure, the body is easy enough, but what about the dirt/rocks?! Hmmm… I have some ideas that I may have to test run, but that’s all part of the fun! I just need to make sure I don’t tie off anything during the testing process so the yarn doesn’t go to waste if I need to frog it (I’m awful at that – I’ve thrown away numerous feet, etc). But this looks like a fun project – I love little Whacka! He’s so cute.
I’m always open to suggestions – video game characters or otherwise! Just leave a comment or send me an Etsy message! 🙂
As always, thanks for reading!
-Rachel
Pleasant Plushies 
