Custom personalized wedding cake topper

My youngest brother recently got married and I had the honor of making their wedding cake topper.  He and Sarah first met while playing the World of Warcraft.  He played a female Blood Elf and she played a male Tauren.  They wanted me to create their characters in polymer clay wearing the same outfits which BJ and Sarah would be wearing for the wedding.   Sarah wore a beautiful white wedding gown and BJ wore full Scottish dress to represent his Celtic heritage.  I even created her wedding bouquet to match the flowers in the real bouquet.  This highly detailed cake topper posed several challenges for me.  It had to be lightweight since I didn't want it to sink into the bride and groom's special cheesecake.  I also learned a lot about Scottish dress outfits while painstakingly matching the plaid pattern on the Blood Elf's kilt to the clan pattern my brother would be wearing in the wedding.  I included as many details as possible, like the sporran, the purple tie, the laced gillies, and the belt buckle. 
 

This cake topper measures about four inches tall and 5 inches wide and took about a month to complete.  It was a real hit at the wedding.  Everyone liked it so much I decided to  make a custom order listing in CreativeCritters for personalized wedding cake toppers.
I can create toppers to resemble your online avatars, characters in a game, or anything else you like. 
Your wedding is one of the most important events in your life. You want your cake topper to signify that importance, rather than have just another generic bride and groom! This is a keepsake you will have for the rest of your married days. It should be as special and unique as your wedding :-) I can create any character you like, so long as you can provide good pictures. I can also create more traditional bride and groom, or same sex cake toppers, but still customize them to make them resemble the bride and groom. There are a lot of options when it comes to wedding cake toppers, and I do my very best to create something that is completely unique, something that really captures who the bride and groom are.  If you have any questions just visit CreativeCritters and use the Contact Artisan button under my avatar.
Thanks for stopping by!

~Michelle of CreativeCritters

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OOAK Custom Order World of Warcraft Plush Tauren Death Knight Warbeef

I finished my Plush World of Warcraft Tauren Death Knight custom order  and Warbeef the Tauren is now on its way to it's new owner.  This is one of the biggest projects I've done, and it took months to complete.  Creating someone's WoW character as a plushie is challenging no matter what, but when that character is a Death Knight in full armor, that adds whole different set of challenges!  I put a lot of time, effort, and attention to detail into these unique plush characters, and continuously improve my patterns and techniques.  I start with my own original pattern, which I trace onto high quality fur fabric and sew the pieces together by hand.  For this character I used black and white spotted fur fabric.  I stuff the parts firmly with polyester fiberfill and attach arms, legs, head, and tail with heavy duty carpet thread.  With this custom order I had to add the armor before I could sew all the parts together.  I used polymer clay to create the armor, which I added in layers, and the entire piece went through several bakes in the oven.  Because this was such a large piece I attached it to a wooden base with heavy gauge wire.  Warbeef's large ax was also sculpted from polymer clay with glow in the dark accents.  This is definitely a one of a kind piece!



The skull on his chest was sculpted from polymer clay and also glows in the dark.  The purple polymer clay armor is accented with dark brown leather.  I used blue glass beads for his eyes and needle sculptured his face.  I'm very happy with the way this piece turned out, and look forward to creating more custom WoW characters in the future.  If you're interested in having me create something for you, just click the Contact Artist button in my shop under my avatar.  Thanks for stopping by! =)
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Creating a Custom Order Plush World of Warcraft Tauren

I recently received a custom order for a plush World of Warcraft Tauren, and have been working on her for the last several days.  The customer saw my Tauren Hunter with his Pet Wolf, and wanted me to create his friend's character for her birthday.  The fact that this is a birthday present makes it even more special, and I'm trying to create my best Tauren yet.  I have several Taurens, along with Murlocs, in my Plush World of Warcraft Characters category, and I really enjoy creating custom characters.  When I make a custom characters, pictures are very important.  The more good, clear pictures I can view, the easier it is to create a 3 dimensional plush version.  I have lots of pictures of Taurens, along with other WoW characters, and I created my patterns with the help of those pictures.  The Taurens in stock right now are about 14" to 18" tall and made from a variety of fabrics, from faux fur to plush felt.  I found some beautiful faux fur for my custom order.  I sew these by hand using heavy duty thread and small stitches, ensuring a durable plushie.  The clothes are usually made from imitation leather or real leather, and most Taurens carry a staff or other type of weapon  sculpted from polymer clay.  I often alter the pattern just a bit for each one, so these are truly one of a kind creations.  I created the patterns myself, through much trial and error.  My custom order is coming along quite nicely, and I'm finding new ways of doing things as I'm working on her.  These new techniques and ideas will be used to create even better Taurens (and other plushies) in the future.  So if you're a fan of the World of Warcraft, or know someone who is, drop by CreativeCritters to see what I've got in stock.  And don't forget, I love custom orders!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Plush World of Warcraft Characters from CreativeCritters

Below are some of my handsewn plush World of Warcraft Taurens and Murlocs.  I created the patterns myself and sew each character by hand.  I use felt, fleece, and velboa fabric to sew the bodies, which are stuffed with poyester fiberfill.  The Taurens wear clothes made from leather and carry weapons sculpted from polymer clay.  Both Taurens, and Murlocs have jointed limbs, allowing them to be posed.  Each creature is a one of a kind creation, and would make the perfect gift for any fan of the game.  The pictures below are clickable, and will take you directly to the listing for more detailed information.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

How losing my brother got me started making World of Warcraft plush

I wasn't sure if I was going to write this- wasn't sure if I could.  But this has a lot to do with some of my creations, and I think I owe my brother the recognition for his part in their making.  My older brother, Jeff died 1 year ago on Oct. 28th.  He was only 39 and his passing was sudden and unexpected.  It hit me hard, and I still have a hard time believing that he's gone.  His passing caused my mother and I to reconnect after many years, and through her I learned about a side of Jeff he didn't always share.  I knew about Jeff's love of fantasy, of course, that went back to the days of Dungeons and Dragons, but I didn't know that he had traded D&D for the World of Warcraft.  My mother and younger brother played too, and through them I learned about some of the different characters and their roles in the game.  Jeff had a Tauren character.  When Mother saw some of the work I was doing, she brought up the idea of making plush World of Warcraft characters.  She's also the one who found ArtFire and sent me the link (THANK YOU Mommy!).  As a way to honor Jeff, I decided the first characters I would make would be Taurens.  It took weeks of study about Taurens, and even longer testing out patterns, changing, adapting, and trying again before I came up with a Tauren I was willing to put up for sale.  These patterns are created completely by me, and each character is one of a kind.  The Taurens measure between 14" and 18" and are stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  They're dressed in leather and carry polylmer clay (sculpted by hand) weapons.  I think Jeff would be proud of them.  Recently I've started making Murlocs.  So far I've created 3 different patterns, with options to customize each one.  These monsters measure between 12" and 17" tall and are stuffed with polyester fiberfill.  They have jointed arms and legs, and I use pipe cleaners in their fingers, making them completely poseable.  If Jeff were here, I'd give him one for a pet.  He always liked my comical fantasy sculptures- my Christmas presents always made him laugh.  As I get time, I'll be creating new characters, and delving deeper into Jeff's World of Warcraft.  These are the plushies I have available at the time of this post, however, I'm working on another Murloc right now, and will be listing new characters as I complete them.  Thanks for reading and browsing.

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

The newest plush World of Warcraft Tauren from CreativeCritters

I just listed the latest addition to my plush World of Warcraft family of characters.  Each of these Taurens stands between 14" and 17" tall and they all come with a staff or weapon.  I created the patterns myself (a very time consuming process of trial and error!), and each character is one of a kind.  They are all sewn carefully by hand and wear real leather outfits.  Their weapons are usually sculpted from polymer clay.  These characters are just perfect for anyone who plays The World of Warcraft, and I'm working on expanding my line of characters.

Here's the description for my newest Tauren.

This plush handsewn Tauren would be perfect for anyone who enjoys the fantasy of The World of Warcraft. She stands 14" tall and her body and head were made with CowSpot Velboa fabric, which has a short soft nap. Her brown horns and black hooves were made from felt. Her hair and tail tuft are faux fur fabric. Her eyes were handpainted with fabric paint and then sealed with triple thick gloss glaze. She's stuffed with polyester fiberfill and her arms and legs have plastic safety joints, making her poseable. Her dress is genuine deerskin which has been decorated with green fabric paint. I used my own pattern to create this character. Her ax measures 16" tall, with the head being made of polymer clay and the shaft is a wooden dowel. I've glued velcro to the shaft of the ax and sewed velcro to her hand, so she can hold the ax.

Below are pictures of my new lady.  Stop by CreativeCritters to see my entire line of WoW characters!

Thanks for looking!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

The newest plush World of Warcraft Tauren from CreativeCritters on ArtFire.com

Well, I've finally finished my latest plush World of Warcraft Tauren.  This one is a hunter with a pet wolf.  The Tauren was made out of Cow Spot Velboe fabric, which has a short, soft nap.  He stands 14" tall and wears a genuine deerskin skirt.  This is the first time I've worked with deerskin, and I really like the soft smooth texture.  I stamped green leaves around the edges and an X pattern down the center front and back.  I wasn't sure how well the deerskin would take to stamping, so I practiced on a scrap piece first.  I think the final result is quite nice, and plan to have a lot of fun playing around with stamping and light colored leathers in the future.  This is my first WoW Tauren to have plastic safety joints, allowing him to be posed.  I got a great deal on dollmaking parts from BAKidagain2 on ArtFire, so now I can use the plastic joints, eyes, and noses for a variety of projects.  I used felt for the Tauren's large horns and hooves, and black faux fur for his hair and tail tuft.  His brown eyes were handpainted with fabric paint, something I think I'm getting much better at.

The wolf is actually attempt#2.  He stands 10" tall and 13 1/2" long.  He was handsewn from long gray faux fur fabric.  The first try (using a pattern I had for a dog) just didn't look "wolf-y" enough.  It can be frustrating to create something from bginning to end, only to have to start over again.  But for most projects there's no such thing as "good enough".  So I set my first try aside (he'll make a nice gift for one of my neices), and adapted my pattern to narrow and elongate the muzzle, shape the head more, make the ears larger and more pointed, and basically make it look more like a wolf.  After I cut the pattern pieces out, but before I sewed them together, I trimmed the fur to achieve the look I desired.  I did a little research on the internet to see just what a Tauren wolf pet looked like.  I used brown plastic safety eyes and a black plastic safety nose. as well as large fangs sculpted from polymer clay and sewn and glued on.  Both the Tauren and the wolf are stuffed firmly with polyester fiberfill.

This Tauren carries a staff made of a wooden dowel wrapped with polymer clay.  The top features wooden shapes topped with glass beads and decorated with embossing powder.  The staff measures 13 1/2" tall and has velcro on it in order to attach it to the Tauren's hand.  All in all, this project took about 80 hours.  These WoW characters may be time consuming, but I enjoy making them.  I like the characters, and the way they all end up with different personalities.  I've had a positive response from many WoW players.  Eventually I plan to try my hand at different characters.  I do a lot of research before creating something like this, so I'll have to study up quite a bit before I make a new character.  Below are some pictures of my Tauren Hunter and his pet wolf.  Click on the first picture to be taken to CreativeCritters studio and view the listing.  I'm also willing to take special orders, and can be contacted through my studio.  Thanks for looking!

 

 

-Michelle of CreativeCritters

Craziness!

This last month has been nuts! First, Gramma got bronchitis- not good, but the antibiotics were starting to help. Then her blood sugar dropped really low (she's diabetic) and we had to take a trip to the ER. They sent her home the same day, once her sugar stabilized. She really didn't get much better after that though. She was coughing less, but very weak and tired, and she had no appetite. Did I mention I live with her and take care of her? So I know what's normal for Gramma, and things were not normal. After a few days of this, with no improvement, she decided to have me call the ambulance. There's nothing wrong with Gramma mentally, so these decisions are hers to make. I can offer suggestions, but I can't force her to do anything. I'm here to help her with the things she's unable to do physically, although my responsibilities have steadily been increasing lately. Anyway, they finally figured out that her bronchitis had turned into pneumonia, so they admitted her and she's been in the hospital since Friday. My husband and I have been to see her every day. She's been improving, eating better, sitting up for several hours at a time, and even walking a bit today. She looks more like Gramma now, which does my heart good. I was pretty scared there for a while. She may be 93, but I still can't stand the thought of losing her. She's one of the most important people in my life.

Yesterday (Memorial Day) we went out to my husband's aunt's house for a cookout after leaving the hospital. That's the first time I've been able to see the family for quite a while. I haven't been able to leave Gramma alone for some time now. It was nice to relax a bit and have fun with the aunts, uncles, and cousins. Uncle Don, another gardener like myself, dug up some black raspberries and some rose bushes for me to take home. He's very generous like that. We spend a lot of time talking gardening, animals, and nature. He's a really great man, much like my grandfather. So today I was planting black raspberries and rose bushes (in the rain). By the way, a good way to handle prickly plants like these is to wrap newspaper around the stems and hold the paper. Surprisingly, I didn't get stabbed once. Usually when I deal with roses or raspberries I get all scratched up. I dug deep planting holes for each plant, filled it partially with torn up newspaper, compost, more newspaper, and topsoil. Then I filled the hole with water, to be sure it was well drenched. I put the plant in the hole, covered it with topsoil, more shredded newspaper, and more compost. Then I watered it again. Hopefully all the plants will do well.

When I got home late last night and checked my email I saw that I had made a sale. Turns out I sold 15 items to one lady! By that time I was so tired I wasn't sure if I was reading it right. Now I need to carefully pack up all the individual pieces, which include several of my miniature clay houses, a pen set, several knit stuffed dogs and cats, some earrings, and my World of Warcraft plush Tauren Hunter with his Pet Lion. Oh, and when I logged onto ArtFire last night I saw that the new Fusion studios were live. If you want to check out my new layout go here. I still have some work to do, but I got a good start on it. Feel free to give me your opinion on the new look.

So, I've been incredibly busy this month. Lots of ups and downs. Gramma's health started out as a "down", but is changing to an "up" as she improves. She was pretty talkative today. It's nice when I can call all the relatives and give them good news. They plan to keep her for rehab for another week, which is what she wanted. She'd rather wait until she's strong enough to come back home, rather than rushing things and ending up back in the hospital. My big sale is definitely an "up". To know that someone likes my work enough to purchase a large amount of it makes me so happy. Every sale is a thrill for me. So, that's an overview of my month- no wonder I'm tired! I've barely slowed down enough to eat lately!

Sold my first plush WoW Tauren!

This is my second sale on ArtFire, and my very first World of Warcraft character I've sold. I've only been making plush WoW characters for a few months now. My mother and younger brother play the game and thought it would be cool if I could make the characters as plush toys. I started with the Tauren because they are just so neat. The ones in my studio now range from about 14" - 18" or so. They're all handsewn, and most of them wear leather outfits. Most carry some sort of weapon, which I generally sculpt from polymer clay. A lot of research has gone into each one. I don't play the game myself, so I spent a lot of time online learning about the characters (WoWwikki is really useful). Each character takes at least 40 hours to complete. They're completely handsewn, and their clothing is attached to their body. In most cases their weapons can be attached to their hands with velcro. I really like the one I sold today. She was sewn in "modern cow velboa" fabric, which has a short furry nap. I saw that fabric and knew I had to make a Tauren with it. Her leather top and skirt came out nicely too. Her giant mace (huge hammer type weapon) came out really well too. My mother was really happy when I told her about my sale. Of course I had to call her first! I think my older brother would have been really proud too. He really liked the game and played whenever he got the chance. He recently passed away, and in some ways, making these characters is a way to honor him. I know he really would have liked them. I miss my brother very much, but he continues to inspire me.
I'm working on another Tauren right now, a male that I'll list at creativecritters.artfire.com when he's complete. Here are the World of Warcraft Taurens available right now.