Sew What?! Baby Elephant Walk

At first, I couldn't decide if this was a "Sew What?!" project or a just another Crazy Craft.  When I examined the fundamentals, I realized that the only supplies involved were cotton fabric, thread, batting/fiber fill, ribbon, and some pom-pom fringe - no yarn, hot glue, beads, popsicle sticks, felt, rhinestones, feathers, foam, puffy paint, or sequins.  Furthermore, the only techniques involved were machine and hand sewing - this was definitely a sewing project!

Mary and I have been invited to perform at a private event, to be exact, a baby shower (a co-ed baby shower, no less).  I know that we are paid entertainment, but I have a hard time showing up completely empty-handed to a party.  Not knowing the host and hostess (the expectant parents) very well, not knowing the sex of the unborn baby, and not knowing if/where they're registered, I figured that I could put my stash-busting skills to work and make something that was mostly gender-neutral and suitable as a small token of congratulations for the proud mama and papa-to-be.

This is what I came up with.
I started making these stuffed animals and then, for some reason, decided that they needed to be wearing bathing suits.
The cool cat wears jams and the dainty elephant wears a floral, yo-yo bikini edged in pom-pom trim.
They were all ready in their bathing costumes, so I had to take them to the beach.

There are many unusual sights along the Southern California coastline, none so strange as the fully-grown, fully-dressed man laying down in the sand to spread out tiny towels and a miniature umbrella for his stuffed animals.
Would it have been less weird if I had made a little picnic too?

Sun worshippers!
"Everybody had matching towels!"

Aware that I have already shared this song multiple times, I couldn't help but include "Stuffed Animal" again, both for its thematic relevance as well as my love for the bizarre lyrics as so eloquently delivered by Annette in a 1960's peignoir.

"Stuffed Animal" - Annette Funicello

So deep in the thick of stuffed animal making, and excited by the fact that the cutest nephew in the world was coming to town, I decided to make yet another miniature mammal.

This particular kid is obsessed with three things: pumpkins, trains, and PIRATES.
 I thought it would be fun to make a pirate elephant...and it was.  I started with the same blue, floral
material used to create the bikini-clad elephant's body but used a red-and-white stripe for the legs.
Sticking with the red, white, and blue color scheme, I used navy-and-white polka dot fabric for the
pants and eye patch and a red bandana for the head scarf (the ears go though machine-made
buttonholes), and multi-stripe grosgrain ribbon for the sash.  A PATRIOTIC PIRALEPHANT!!!

I gave it to him when we picked him up from the airport and he loved it (a welcome surprise from a
kid who likes something for one minute and then throws it in a corner never to acknowledge its
 existence ever again).  He even asked to sleep with it at night.  Yahoo!

After all of these baby elephants (and one cat), there was really only one other song that would underscore this post perfectly.

"Baby Elephant Walk" - Henry Mancini

as performed by The Lawrence Welk Orchestra

I hope the recipients of these animals will like them.  My favorite part of this project was that it required zero trips to the fabric store; I used only what I had on hand!  Have you ever made a stuffed animal?  What do you think of homemade gifts?  Are they corny or cool...or both?

Here's hoping that the waning days of summer (Northern Hemisphere) are treating you well!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny