World of Warcraft trinket box for my brother

I wanted to make something really special for my younger brother for Christmas, and I knew I wanted it to be something related to the World of Warcraft.  I decided a trinket box would be something he could use, and I ended up sculpting two different Murlocs, a Wind Rider cub, and the Horde symbol onto the box after I covered it in polymer clay.  I spent a lot of time on all the little details like glow in the dark spines, teeth, and eyes for the Murlocs.  I also textured their skin.  The Wind Rider cub (inspired by the adorable plushie my mother gave me) is also highly detailed, right down to his tiny little claws and glow in the dark fangs.  The Horde symbol on the end of the box also glows in the dark.  The letters W O W on the lid were sculpted from glow in the dark clay and serve as a handle.
    

I really like the way this turned out, and my brother was pretty impressed as well (and it made it all the way to AZ without anything breaking in transit!).  This is definitely a one of a kind creation, although I may try my hand at other World of Warcraft trinket boxes in the future.  Stay tuned to see what else this Creative Critter comes up with!
-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

Handmade Plush World of Warcraft Murlocs with SOUND!

I've been making plush World of Warcraft Murlocs for some time now, and have several listed in my shop.  They're really funny mosters, and I have a blast making them.  In a recent conversation with Mother (she and my brother play WoW) she was musing if it would be possible to make Murlocs with sound.  If you play the game, I'm sure you know what they sound like.  I recalled seeing recordable buttons in the craft store on my last visit.  I told Mother that if she could find a good Murloc sound wave file and email it to me, I should be able to record it on the button, then sew that into some part of the Murloc.  Mother's been playing the game for years, so she knows a good Murloc sound from a corny reproduction.  She sent me the file, I got the button and recorded the sound, then I tried to figure out where to put the button in the Murloc.  I thought about the mouth, but it wouldn't have fit right, so I settled on placing it in his left thigh.  I kept accidentally pressing the button while sewing the Murloc, scaring myself and the cats- LOL!  Not only is this creation soft and cuddly (yeah, I know, Murlocs aren't usually considered "cuddly"), but he makes those hysterical sounds.  This would be the ultimate Christmas present for any WoW fan.  Once I can get more supplies I'll be buying more of those buttons and making more "talking" Murlocs.  Be sure to make your purchases in time for Christmas- it's creeping up faster than I want to realize!  Check out my entire Plush World of Warcraft category to see all I have to offer for WoW fans.  Thanks for looking!

OOAK Plush World of Warcraft Murloc with Sound

-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

So I know I haven't done many personal posts lately, not because nothing is going on in my life, but because too much is going on. Sometimes I've got so many thoughts in my head, they get all jammed up and don't want to come out (not coherently anyway). I probably should be posting more- writing always helps me deal with things better. Of course one of the main issues in my life is Gramma. She never really fully recovered from her last trip to the hospital this spring. Now she's only able to sit in her chair for a few hours a day, if at all. Other than her usual health issues that she's dealt with for years, there's nothing specifically wrong. Her BP is good, heart, lungs, blood sugar- all are good. She just seems to be sort of fading. She needs a lot more care now. She's most alert late at night, so that's when I talk to her about what's going on in my life. I tell her about my artwork and friends, and what Mother and my brother are up to. I talk about the cats, the garden, something funny I read in the ArtFire forums- anything to make her smile and add a little interest to her life. I wish I could do more for her. No matter what, I always feel like I'm not doing good enough.
On the plus side, there's my artwork. While I haven't sold much this month, I have completed a few projects that's I'm really proud of. There's my Lighted Glow in the Dark Pumpkin House
, which took weeks to complete, but turned out better than I could have hoped. My Embrace of the Vampire sculpture is another one I'm quite proud of. One of those where my muse just guided my hands and made it turn out just right. I've done a few Halloween Costume dolls as well. So far my favorite is probably Wendy the Witch and her Black Cat Spook. I managed to find the perfect fabrics for her dress and cape, as well as for Spook the cat. I think he's even got some Cat Magic in him- he's very soothing to hold. Right now I'm working on another plush World of Warcraft Murloc. And I'm in the planning stages for another lighted house sculpture.
Of course, there's a lot more going on here, but I don't want to make this post too long (can't have my readers getting bored- LOL!). I will try to post more about life in general though. I'm getting more comfortable "talking" online, and it really does help to get some of these things off my chest. Until next post, thanks for reading!
-Michelle of CreativeCritters

New from CreativeCritters- plush WoW Murloc!

So I've finally started to expand my line of plush World of Warcraft characters.  So far I've only made Taurens, but I decided to add Murlocs to my repetoire.  I create the patterns for all these characters myself, so it does take some time to settle on a final design.  I put a lot of time and effort into these creations, trying to get them as close to the actual characters as possible.  Since I don't play the game myself (no WAY I'd have time for that!), I spend many hours online researching the characters, colors, styles, weapons, etc.  I also spend a good bit of time picking my mother and brother's brains.  Mother introduced the idea of making plush WoW characters to me a while back.  She and my youngest brother both play regularly.  So this is my newest creation, with more to come.  You can stop by CreativeCritters on ArtFire to see all I have to offer, or click on the pictures to go directly to the listing.

This plush World of Warcraft Murloc was handsewn using my own pattern and measures about 13" tall, standing, and 8" tall seated. He's made from blue and green felt and gray sweatshirt material. His spines, teeth, and tongue were made from stiff felt. I used fabric paint to paint the markings on his body. All four limbs have plastic safety joints, making the Murloc fully poseable. His eyes are also safety eyes and his hands and fingers have pipe cleaners inside to make them poseable as well. He's stuffed with polyester fiberfill. If you enjoy the World of Warcraft, you have to get this unique handcrafted Murloc!

Thanks for looking!

-Michelle of CreativeCritters