Elsapony

For my half of a trade with the amazingtacular Centchi, I plushified her lovely concept of a ponified Elsa, from Frozen.

She was...not easy. Sometimes it seems like I do the most growth when I'm making trades or gifts for friends (no idea why - I don't even do trades very often), and that was certainly the case here. Let me elaborate:

First, I had to figure out how to do the complex, many-pointed snowflake cutie mark with the tools available to me. As most of you know I don't own an embroidery machine, and usually applique cutie marks. I didn't think that would work, but I tried it anyway. It didn't work. My dad gave me an airbrush for Christmas that I've been playing with and trying to figure out how to use properly. I tried airbrushing the snowflake. Lighter colors don't show up when airbrushed on. So that didn't work. I finally found something that WOULD work, and happily with the fine satin it created a lovely iridescent effect for the snowflake against her skin.

Then came the hair. OH GOD THE HAIR. I have never done such difficult hair in my life. All us plush makers talk about multiple colors making things so much more difficult...and they do...but PLUSHING BRAIDS IS THE BANE OF MY LIFE. Her tail took me three tries and two days to get anywhere close to where I wanted it. I ended up having to cut the individual strands of the braid in curving shapes so that they would interlock beforehand, sew them and stuff them, and then fit them all together. And honestly, I'm still not 110% happy with the result...but it's the best I can do with my current level of skill. And being imperfect makes me sad. Her mane was a trial as well, but I learned a LOT there - making all the pieces interlock so that it looked right from all angles and swept around the back of her head to braid on one side was challenging, but really fun...and I'm super proud of the results. Which is why I included pictures of the back of her head. Ahem.

Anyway, I hope you all like her, and Centchi most of all - thanks for challenging me!

AndI'msorrythephotosaresobadIcouldn'twaittotakepicturesandit'snighttime.