Peaceful Plushies

Hi my name is Natasha Dejesus, a lot of my friends call me by my nickname "Nate". It has given me great comfort over the years. I am a 21 year old animation student. I am currently enrolled in the "Magic" program at Miami Dade college. I am super close to finally reaching my associates degree so I may begin my Bachelors. One of the reasons I do art is to inspire and bring upon happier times, we all have our share of ups and downs and art is the best way to express all those things in a lighter way. These handmade plushies have been a passion project of mine for the past few months. My grandma recently living with us during covid was a big change for me. I learned a lot about my self through this solitude moment of time with family. Id love to tell you a little bit on how It started. My dog foxy was a pup and had a thing for destroying pillows. He just loved the feathers inside a bit too much. Foxy was my dog so it is my responsibility to fix his so called damage. Believe it or not, sewing that pillow was a life changer from that moment on. I had a thought. "What if i made my own stuff?" Id always idolize and fall in love with high quality stuffed animals. Stuffed animals had always been given to me during rough times in my life. When ever I received one I would light up.That is when it hit me, I wanted to see how crazy I could make these stuffed creatures of my own design. They could bring others joy like they brought me joy countless times throughout my youth. These plushies have been helping me throughout quarantine by making the best out of my time. Quarantine has been a blessing and a curse for me. Such a change for a 21 year old that used to go out all the time. A great change. It takes months to weeks sometimes to find the perfect fabric. Corona has really impacted the scarcity of fabric choices. It is frustrating at times but it is always worth it at the end. Sewing has helped me think better and relax. I search through the internet and branch out to friends each time I start a new project. The opinions of my loved ones are most important to me! Its never a dull moment during projects. All my animals make sewing an adventure. Their is always someone sitting on my fabric. My black cat rescue scourge is usually the culprit. He has to spot check every fabric. Scourge is my project tester sometimes as well. He has always been there for me so showing him my creations always receives a meow or two. I usually start off with a couple drawings, a whole bunch of paper, and my favorite pair of scissors to create a paper replica first. These replicas made from paper usually take me days but they are the most important part in the plushie process for me. The paper replicas help me stylize the design and plan further. I take the paper replica apart cutting where I want the seems to be and copy it onto minky fabric. This is when I hand sew everything making them look unique. I usually use a blanket or a ladder stitch for all my designs. Music and art has been my main inspiration, I can always find the perfect song to help me power through hour five of hand sewing! Five hours of hand sewing may sound like a tough time but when you enjoy your creation it is but a simple repetitive job. Recently I've opened customs to save up for a sewing machine so I can see my plushie quality improve. Plushie making has been the best break towards my animation college I could have asked for. I get inspired from the sock or joy others give me when I show them a finished product. It never ceases to help me stay calm and collected. I hope this contest can bring to light some talented and heartfelt artists.