Update #4: Beanie Babies + Foxes = Perfection

 I'm back with a slightly unexpected purchase! I can't recall how I stumbled across it, but long story short, I found out about a beanie baby named Slick, as well as Snocap, whom are both foxes. They're both in the "newer" style of beanie baby, as in, they were made after 2000 and instead of being really floppy like the original beanies, they are slightly more stiff and more closely resemble the animal they're supposed to be. As soon as I saw them I had to have them, as the only other beanie baby fox I have is Sly and there's no such thing as having too many fox plushies!

First, I'll talk about Slick. I thought at first he was supposed to be a Fennec Fox, but his ears are a bit too small. After doing some research I've come to the conclusion that he's based on the South African Cape Fox. He's in mint condition and his tag came with a case. His birthday is August 11th, 2003, and according to his tag he enjoys detective books, word games, and puzzles. He seems like he would be a fun little guy to play with for a while!

Oddly enough, I've had a lot of trouble finding information on him. Looking up "Slick the fox beanie baby" on Google yields tons of results about a beanie boo red fox with the same name, and the few beanie baby encyclopedias I've looked at seem to have no record of him. I know I've never seen him before but I didn't realize he was so rare. I guess his rarity justifies the $16 I paid for him (I've never spent that much money on a single baby and, unless I find another similar to this, I prob never will again).

The next one is Snocap, a super fluffy arctic fox. Also in mint condition and the tag is in a case, which is actually the most interesting case I've seen as the front of the hang tag goes in first so instead of being open inside it kinda sticks out in front (sorry for my bad explanation lol). His fur is pretty soft and much like Slick, his legs are a bit stiff, though his tail can move around a bit more easily than Slick's tail. I honestly can't get over how fuzzy Snocap is, I don't think I've ever seen a beanie baby with so much fur on it. This one was $8 so it was a pretty good buy, especially considering this is another one which I'd never seen before (though admittedly not as rare as Slick).

Here are some comparisons:

Both of them together. I like to think that they're best friends since I bought them both at the same time from the same person, and I'll likely keep them next to my red panda beanie baby Rusty, who is made in the same style as these two are.

Here's Snocap next to Dakota. Of all my arctic fox plushies, Snocap is the second smallest and Dakota is the largest, so I wants to see how they size up together. I still prefer the way that Dakota is made, because he's really floppy and soft and realistic, but I love both of them a great deal.

Lastly, here is Slick, arguably my smallest fox plush (I do have one that's smaller but I couldn't tell you where it is rn) and Sterling, my largest fox plush, again comparing sizes. I honestly still can't believe how big Sterling is, it's so hard to come across plushies that are that size and that well made. Sterling is perfect for hugging sessions while Slick fits perfectly in my hoodie pocket, so I love them both.

I wanted to mention one more thing before I sign off. I did end up selling my fennec fox plush for about $13 (not including tax and shipping) so unfortunately the original Sandy is no longer with us. He's off to a new home and I'm sure the new owner will rename him and give him all the love and attention that he deserves. I don't know yet if or when I'm gonna buy a new fennec fox plush, but in the meantime I recently bought a really small (and very well made) fennec fox figurine made by Schleich and I absolutely adore him, so that will hold me over for a while. He literally fits perfectly in any of my pockets so I like to take him everywhere I go now! 

Anyways, that's all for now. I'm hoping to write some more blog entries on individual plushies soon so you guys can look forward to that. :)

Blog #14: Ben the Grey Squirrel (Aurora Miyoni)

 Ben the Grey Squirrel

Name: Ben
Gender: Male
Obtained: August 2021

Background: This plushie was a bit of an impulse purchase. I got him at a Tractor Supply Store for a reasonable $13, and given how cute he is I simply could not pass him up. He makes me wish that the Webkinz team would have made a Signature squirrel plush (they did made a Signature chipmunk, but surprisingly they never made a Signature grey or red squirrel, despite having regular plushies for both). There actually is a really nice red squirrel plush made by the same company that made my arctic fox plush (Uni Toys) but it's not currently available without paying for shipping and waiting forever like I did with the husky, so for now that plush is off-limits. In the meantime, though, Ben is a really cute squirrel plushie and I like him a lot so he's sufficient.

Personality and Other Stuff: Ben is outwardly mischievous and likes to prank people, but he's also somewhat of a handy man and likes to help people. He usually only misbehaves if he's bored (which seems to happen a lot) so giving him work to do is a good way to keep him out of trouble. He's a lot younger than most of the others (basically a teen) but he still gets along pretty well with them. He sees everyone as his equal, and not as authority figures, so nobody really has any control over him. He also loves playing sports, particularly baseball, and he often plays with Juniper.

Fun Fact: You likely noticed by the picture, but this squirrel plush is actually holding an acorn in his paws. I think it's kinda cute but I also wonder why they did that. I suppose for aesthetic reasons, since squirrels are usually associated with acorns.

Blog #13: Sterling the Silver Fox (Douglas)

Sterling the Silver Fox

Name: Sterling

Gender: Non-binary (he/him)

Obtained: Jan 2022

Background: As is probably very obvious by now (if you've read my blog up to this point), you know that I'm a big fan of fox plushies. I absolutely adore foxes, I think they're really cute and I love their somewhat mischievous personality. They remind me a lot of cats, and I've loved cats as long as I've been alive. Anyways, since I love foxes so much, of course I would love to have a plushie for every type of fox. That's a lot easier said than done, though, and I find that most of the fox plushies on the market are either a red or arctic fox. Don't get me wrong, they're both very nice and I love to see plushies of them, but I also love variety when it comes to plushies.

So I wanted a new fox plushie that isn't one which I already had. Specifically, I had my heart set on a silver fox plushie. In case you don't know, a silver fox is actually not its own breed, rather it is a melanistic form of a red fox (like how a black panther is a melanistic leopard). In real life silver foxes are extremely rare, and it seems, likewise, that the plush form is just as difficult to find. Doing my research I was only able to find two silver fox plushies, one made by Douglas and one made by WWF. The former is readily available both through Douglas and Amazon, the latter is nearly impossible to find. (Also, in case you're wondering. No, searching for "grey fox" does not help as that is an entirely different breed and will yield a different result.) So I knew that if I wanted a silver fox plush badly enough that I would have to settle for the Douglas plush, which I eventually did. I really wish that more companies would make silver fox plushies, because they really are beautiful creatures.

I was a bit skeptical about this plush at first because I don't generally like plushies that are stuck in a lying position. And honestly, I would probably like this plush even more if it were in a semi-standing position like most of my other plushies. But I've had this plush for about a week now and he has instantly become one of my all-time favorites. His size really surprised me; I used to be shocked about how big Alex was, but Sterling is easily twice his size. He is so very cuddly; his fur is slightly coarse but it's still very soft and fluffy to the touch so holding him is not uncomfortable at all. He's also the perfect amount of floppiness, not too stiff but not limp. And of course I have to talk about the detail. The WWF silver fox, as nice as it is, doesn't look much like an actual silver fox, but this one looks almost exactly like a real one. I love the color texture on his fur in particular. I do, however, wish that his overall grey fur color was slightly darker than it is, but it's not nearly a big enough issue for me to dislike him at all. That's just a very small nitpick, which I actually love because it means that the makers of this plush made all the larger details perfect.

Anyways, ramble over, I really love this plushie and I could probably talk about him for at least a few more paragraphs. Let's move on, shall we?

Personality and Other Stuff: Sterling is a character who loves to praise others for their hard work but hardly gives himself enough credit. He's very overly critical of himself, and always strives to be better even if his friends think he's the best. He is very idealistic, disciplined, and very much so a hard worker. He radiates positive energy to his friends and always brings a happy mood to those around him. It's a wonder how he doesn't view himself the same way. Sterling is a big fan of watching and talking about movies, especially the comedy and adventure genres. He and Alex love to do commentaries of their favorite (and least favorite) films.

Fun Fact: I've only ever had one other lying plushie which I really liked, and it happened to also be a relatively large plush that was soft and floppy. I think I may still have it but I haven't seen it in years. If I ever find it I'm re-adding it to my plushie collection!

Another Fun Fact: I usually give my plushies a binary gender, since they are simply stuffed animals and they don't need an overly complex character. But I made this plushie non-binary, in order to represent myself. Even his personality is inspired by my own. I don't usually like making characters that are even loosely based on myself, but it's my hope that the love I give to this plushie can reflect back to myself, and teach me to love myself more.

Blog #12: Alex the Red Fox (Wild Republic)

 Alex the Red Fox

Name: Alex
Gender: Male
Obtained: September 2021

Background: I got this plushie because I wanted a big red fox to go with my arctic fox Dakota. What I got was this guy, he's a heck of a lot taller than Dakota and despite being stuck in a seated position he's actually made quite well. I was a bit skeptical at first since Wild Republic is known for making decent but somewhat cheap plushies. To be fair, though, these toys are designed for children and they do a very good job at representing whatever animal they're supposed to be. 

Anyways, this fox isn't quite as nice as my Uni Toys arctic fox. His fur is reminiscent of the more stringy fur of the regular Webkinz red fox, and he's not particularly realistic (though I do appreciate that they got the coloring correct and didn't skimp out on the black feet/ears or white-tipped tail). But honestly none of that even really matters. To me, a plushie is made well if it 1. looks (at least) very similar to the animal it's supposed to be, and 2. if it's able to be played with without getting messed up easily. While I love my more realistic arctic fox, I have to say his playability is much less than this plushie's playability. This plushie is perfect for cuddling and for any child who loves to play with stuffed animals like I used to. I feel like he can withstand lots of adventures and still look just as cute as the day he came home. He may not be my favorite anymore (that place has been taken by Sterling) but he's still worthy of all the love I can give him.

Personality and Other Stuff: Alex isn't necessarily high-class but he still acts like a gentleman around everyone, especially the girls. Everyone loves him because he's generally a very nice and easy-going person. He treats everyone with respect, unless they've wronged him or someone he cares about, and he's a pro at remaining calm and cool even in tough situations. He doesn't like to lie so he always tells the truth, even if it might hurt someone. He is secretly somewhat of a nerd and loves playing video games.

Fun Fact: This plushie is named after my best friend whom I've known for almost 5 years (similar to how Zoe is named after an old friend of mine).

Blog #11: Lauren the Lamb (Aurora Miyoni)

Lauren the Lamb

Name: Lauren

Gender: Female

Obtained: September 2021

Background: This plushie has a slightly more interesting story than many of my others: she actually came from an antique store. I'm a big fan of antique stores, because even if there isn't anything to buy per se, there's always lots of interesting stuff to look at. I didn't go there planning on buying this plush, I happened to stumble upon her as I was looking around. She was being sold for $6 so I simply could not pass her up, thus she has been added to my plushie collection! 

I'm not gonna lie, I sometimes forget that I have this plushie. I feel bad because she is really cute, but I tend to be drawn more so towards plushies of my favorite animals (cats, foxes, raccoons, red pandas). Lauren is an odd-man-out in that she's the only plushie I have that isn't one of those above animals or some kind of dog. I will say this about her though, I love her wayyyy more than the Webkinz Signature Lamb. That particular plushie is one which is stuck in a permanent lying position, and aside from Sterling I really prefer plushies that can stand (or are "seated" but can be made to stand) so this plushie gets a huge plush from me for that alone. I also really like the feel and texture of her wool, and the attention to detail is really nice. This is one instance where I actually prefer the non-Webkinz plushie, which is pretty rare since I often hold Signatures in high regard.

Personality and Other Stuff: Lauren's favorite pastimes are gardening and reading, both being quiet and relaxing activities. She has issues with anxiety so she prefers to avoid stressful situations. Her best friend is Sylva and they spend a lot of time together (some even consider Lauren to be her adopted child). Lauren tends to be timid and naïve, and it can take a while for her to warm up to new people. Once she finds a new friend she holds onto them and loves them dearly.

Fun Fact: This is the only recent plushie of mine in which I don't remember the day I got it. I barely remember the month, actually. I forgot to write down the date I got her, I didn't take a picture the day I got her, and I hadn't even included her in my toyhou.se page until today. I'm so sorry Lauren, I honestly don't know how I forgot about you in so many ways lol.

Blog #10: Juniper the Arctic Hare (Webkinz Signature)

 Juniper the Webkinz Signature Arctic Hare

Name: Juniper
Gender: Female
Obtained: Jan 2022

Background: I'm not even gonna lie, I'm kinda surprised that I got this plushie. This was one that I didn't know existed until fairly recently; it was originally released in January of 2013, long after I had officially stopped collecting Webkinz on the regular. It was also one that I never planned on buying before. I don't know exactly what made me think of it. It might be the fact that, in terms of appearance and design, the arctic hare is quite similar to the arctic fox, and yet the arctic fox happily sits at over $200 in value, whereas this poor hare rarely sells for more than $20. In a way, I kinda felt bad for it. This particular one costed me $15, and that's surprisingly cheap for such a beautiful plushie. 

I know that the arctic fox is very different from the arctic hare, but if you can't afford the fox then this honestly may be the next best thing. It has the same kind of fur (same color, even, though of course they're both animals of the arctic) and, as all Webkinz Signatures are, it's made very well. I especially like the dark tips on her ears, though I wish they were darker like an actual arctic hare's ears (oddly enough, I had a difficult time finding arctic hare plushies on Mercari that had black-tipped ears, I've only seen a few on Ebay). But besides all those details, I need to mention that this has to be one of the most cuddly plushies I own. She isn't perfect in quality, she's obviously used, but she's still very soft, so I can hold her and I don't feel like I'm gonna mess up her fur. In that sense she's actually better than my arctic fox; I don't handle him often because he's still pretty new and I want to keep his fur looking nice. With this plush it doesn't really matter, so I enjoy handling her quite a bit. 

So even though I didn't originally plan on buying this plushie, she is easily one of my favorites now. She's one of the few that I like to keep by my pillow at night, along with Dakota, Zephyr, Marley, Benjie and Sterling. I think she's found her new forever home! :)

Personality and Other Stuff: Juniper is very outdoorsy and athletic. She loves playing sports, though she doesn't watch sports much, since she prefers to participate. She's often called a "chatty cathy" because she loves to talk, and she'll talk about almost anything. She is best friends with Dakota and Zephyr, and all three like to go on hikes when it's cold outside (and especially when it's snowy). Juniper is always up doing something, she does not like the laid-back lifestyle as she has tons of energy to burn. Despite her athleticism, she has somewhat of a figure since arctic hares are known for retaining body fat to protect from cold weather. She doesn't seem to mind, though.

Fun Fact: Juniper has noticed that Zoe has a crush on Zephyr so they have a somewhat heated relationship. Juniper is very protective of her friends, and she doesn't want anyone to "steal" them away from her.

Update #3: And we're done! (for now)

 The last two days have been really exciting for me, because I got my last two ordered plushies, the husky and the silver fox!!

I ordered the Faithful Friends Husky on January 6th, and luckily it had free shipping because this beauty came all the way from the United Kingdom. This plushie bears a striking resemblance to the Webkinz Signature Siberian Husky, which is infamous in the Webkinz community for consistently selling for over $200 on Ebay and Mercari. The one I got only costed $43, and it's brand new, whereas a Signature would very likely be used (if you got a new Signature husky you'd better be prepared to sell a kidney to make up for the cost). He finally arrived yesterday evening and I adore him!

The biggest difference between this plush and the Signature is that the Faithful Friends version has long fur that goes all the way down to the bottom of the paws, whereas a Webkinz Signature husky has short fur on its paws much like the other canine Signature plushies. I'm also not familiar with how holding a Signature husky feels, but this plushie is a bit stiff compared to my Signature golden retriever and arctic fox, especially its head and tail (perhaps I can "break him in" over time, I don't know). These small details, however, don't take away from how nicely made this plushie is. The fur has that really nice airbrushing on it, just like the Signature does (the husky's fur is white and is airbrushed in black, so moving your hand through its fur will show the white undercoat). The stitching is all perfectly fine, and I love the attention to detail. I don't necessarily know if I would pay $43 for it again, maybe closer to $30-35, but I don't regret my purchase one bit. I really love this husky plush so I'm very happy with my purchase!

Now let's talk about the big boy. Literally, he's a big boy. My silver fox plush from the Douglas toy company arrived in the mail today, and oh my goodness, I cannot get over him!! 

As I mentioned before, this is basically the only silver fox plushie you're gonna find on the market (except, of course, ones that are hand-made by people on Etsy). It was selling on Amazon for $53, and while I really wanted it there was no way I was about to shell out that much for a plush, especially when I had already paid $65 for a Signature Bernese Mountain Dog and $43 for the husky above within the last few weeks. So I checked the manufacturer's website, and not only did they have him for $36, but I found a 10% off coupon which allowed me to get him for $33! As a side note, I don't know if Amazon was stalking me through this process or what, but now this plush is $41 on their website lol.

So he arrived here today, and I'm so very pleased with him! I knew that he would be big because the manufacturer listed the length as 20 inches, but he truly is 20 inches long, making him the biggest plushie that I own currently (besides the humongous rabbit plush sitting on my bed). His fur is ever so slightly coarse but it's also soft, so it almost feels like real fur. The detailing on the fur is gorgeous, it's all different shades of grey that perfectly mimic the coat of a real silver fox. And of course, he's really floppy and I'm sure he will make a perfect cuddle buddy.

With this, I have now received all the plushies which I splurged on when I got paid a few weeks ago. I don't really like to splurge, I prefer to save up my money for future endeavors. I hate that I splurged so much money, and to make sure I didn't do it again I put my recent paycheck into my savings account with only a few tens left over. But that's not to say I regret these purchases at all, I really don't. This particular set of plushies is something that is really special to me. I love each and every one of them, and I wouldn't trade them for anything.

Chances are, though, that I won't be buying any new plushies for a while. I tend to take a 2-3 month break between purchases, so unless I come across something that I need at that instant like a Webkinz Red Velvet Fox or a WWF Silver Fox, I'll continue to talk about my existing plushies in this blog. Thanks for reading my blog, by the way, you're amazing! :-)