#me buying vintage clothes and stuffed animals and toys... i have a problem

[forkinthebrain]

don't worry about it <3

[finsterhund]

idea

another idea I had to combat boredom and loneliness in life is something that has interested me for a while.

Rescuing damaged stuffed animals and modifying them!

Yes, and I don’t mean like Sid from Toy Story. I mean actually being kind. 

An issue I often have getting stuffed animals second hand is that their eyes have been scraped up. This always upsets me a lot. But the thing is, assuming you can stitch up the small access hole you make afterwards (I don’t really know how to sew but I know some knots and stitches isn’t that the same thing???) it’s actually a really simple modification to switch out the commonly used type of “safety eye” that stuffed animals have. (and noses too) I know this because my oldest and dearest stuffed animal (a penguin actually, not a dog!) has an issue where his safety eyes (which are really old and chipped but pure black plastic so no paint to rub off) like to fall out. So I’m very much familiar with how safety eyes work. Currently one of his eyes is in a little bag packed away safe but the main plastic bit is broken so it doesn't stay in the washer without glue. So he has one eye. His eyes are rather special and as they’re both so chipped and worn down it wouldn't make sense replacing them unless I wanted to hella mod him (I don’t)

but other stuffed animals could be. If their eyes are scratched up a bunch or chipped I could switch them out, give them bright fantastical colors or heterochromia or even find a pare of significantly rarer toon-style eyes and put those in. (I love plushes with toon eyes SO MUCH. Lookin at you Tiny and Wheezy.)

Also, making replacement legs, ears, etc. Adding wings, the list goes on. I definitely don’t know how to outright make stuffed animals, but reverse engineering damaged pieces to recreate new ones would be something I could do. Eventually I could build up these skills to one day build a canonically accurate life-size Whisky. One that’s super floppy and cuddly. I've even seen some vintage patterns that could be modified for this.

As I've lately been unable to sit and game for extended periods due to my pain, and there’s the very real possibility that I won’t be able to go to conventions anymore, this would be a hobby that I could actually have as it’s less dependent on screen use and is less time spent doing it and more time spent gathering materials for it. It also combines my love of stuffed cartoon dogs. I've been sort of chastised as of late for my stuffed dogs even though my friend has a whole bunch of BJDs which I don’t think is too fair in context, but if I actually make it a hobby like his and fix them up and photograph them maybe it will be taken more seriously as something that I use to provide comfort in life. I still want an Andy bjd someday because if he’s super accurate I can take photos of him. That’s a very expensive investment though so he’s low on my priority list. I also am very sensitive about my masculinity. Even if BJDs are considered an artistic hobby that’s always going to be something in the back of my mind. There’s not as many guys in the hobby and it’s something I feel very self conscious about.

Another reason to pick stuffed animals, is that my lack of hand dexterity and depth perception makes actually building models pretty much impossible. Especially once you get to the painting segment. That has ALWAYS been where I've been intimidated by models. I hate my bumbly hands. They’re so tiny and agile so if not for this neurological problem they’d be amazing at small detailed work so it’s frustrating. Stuffed animals are much less fragile. The fragility of stuffed animals is mostly common sense (don’t chip the eyes, set on the ground, wash them like you wash clothes, etc) or if you know what to look for, very easy to avoid (baldness)

Once I have my service dog I’ll be able to go to places like thrift stores and craft stores more, which is where I’d get everything. Also ebay you can buy eyes and noses real cheap from Chin, and there’s a ton of variety on etsy.