The Conclusion of the Animal Arc

Welcome once again to the blog, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Jorel, and I just want to say that YOU. . . are fantastic. But enough about you, let’s talk more about Bailey Day!

I thought we’d stick with the ongoing theme for one more blog post. We’ve already talked about Bailey Day’s real life animal companion, and Bailey Day’s virtual animal friends, but there is one more kind of animal that Bailey Day is familiar with that is neither real nor virtual. Well, they are real “physically” at least, but they’re not alive. Though they are able to come alive if you have enough IMAGINATION! Have you solved my riddle yet? I’m talking about. . .

STUFFED ANIMALS!

And no, I’m not speaking taxidermically. Bailey Day isn’t that strange of a character. No, I’m talking about plush, novelty toys stitched into fun, friendly creatures. You know what I’m talking about. Bailey Day used to collect stuffed animals all the time. It was a hobby she had when she was younger. She would give them all cute names, play with them, act out pretend plays with them, typical young girl stuff. That might be too much information I’m shelling out. I wouldn’t want to embarrass Bailey Day now, would I? Regardless, Bailey Day has amassed quite a panorama of fluffy friends. Care to take a gander at a few of them? Buckle your seatbelts, kids. It’s going to be a wild ride!

Let’s begin with the. . .

GEMS

These are the cute, little stuffed animals, the kind that you can easily hold in your hand. They make great decorations, you can play with them like you would play with a doll, and then you can leave them on a shelf for a few decades to collect dust bunnies in your attic, only to be found again years later like buried treasure after being dug out from under all of that dust. Let’s see what Bailey Day has here. . .

Ty Beanie Babies

Ah, who doesn’t know about these things? You probably see a display chock-full of them whenever you visit the supermarket. Ty Beanie Babies. The classics. Bailey has a few more of these lying around, but these three all have a similar theme going on. You can’t see it at this angle, but the vampire bear has Bailey Day’s actual dried blood on its’ head. Don’t ask me how that happened, but it really gives the vampire more character.

Little Cat

Whoa, I almost thought this was a real cat for a second. It looks so realistic.

My Meebas

Now what the heck are these things? Well a few years ago, Mattel came out with a toy where you cared for a little blob creature in a little virtual game. They came in small capsules affixed with buttons and a screen, and you bonded with your creature throughout several stages of its’ life by playing little minigames with them. They’re not unlike the Japanese tamagotchi virtual pet games, only with My Meebas, once you’re little creature has finished “growing”, the top of the capsule opens up and out pops your new amorphous amoeba friend. There are hundreds to collect, but Bailey Day has only collected like 3 or 4 of them. They never really took off, after all. Aren’t they cute though? . . . sure, I guess.

Pink Monster Guy

This guy has been through a lot. The look on his face says it all.

The Seaside Trio

These three are pretty cool. They’ve got big eyes. They’re all sparkly. But they’re not waterproof, despite them being modeled after aquatic lifeforms.

Toothy

It’s a tooth. . . obviously. But who decided that stitching together a stuffed tooth would be a worthwhile endeavor? That’s just weird, man. At least it seems happy.

I <3 YOU Bear

This bear. A symbol of fortune. A tool for temptation. Many men have attempted the impossible challenge of skill countless times before, but only a select few lucky souls have received the reward. All others leave empty-handed, pockets lighter, and spirits broken. This bear. An object of legend. A link to the story of a great warrior who challenged the great clawed beast, and against all odds, prevailed. This bear. A memory of a distant time. A father and daughter, and the overwhelming love between them. This bear. The holy grail. Anyone who holds this bear bears the blessing of luck, love, and prosperity. But they must carry it with respect, the weight of that fateful day resting on their shoulders. This bear. A hero’s bounty. A gift of generosity. A thing of beauty. This bear. . .

That’s the first batch of animals out of the way, yet we still have many a batch to review. I bet you’re wondering where Bailey Day keeps all of these stuffed animals, aren’t you? I mean, she’s a bit too old to be worrying about them, so where does she store all of the millions and bajillions of toys she owns? Well, look behind you. . .Made you look. Sorry about that. There’s a long recess in her home that sits above the outside of her room and stretches end-to-end throughout a long hallway. I call it “The Ledge”. It’s about a yard deep too, so it has plenty of area for decorations and other fancy things. In this case, it carries an army of stuffed toys that watch over the rest of the house. I’m sure any visitors that drop by Bailey Day’s place become surprised when they see all those colorful creatures staring into their souls from up above. I’ve gotten used to it though, so it doesn’t bother me. Let’s move on to the big stuffed animals, or as I like to call them, the. . .

LUNKERS

These are the grand prizes at the fair. The bruisers. No shelf or toy box is big enough to contain them! Good luck finding a place for them. They are so big that they break through the illusion of our fancy photo shoot backdrop. Curses, now you know our secret. But with great size comes even greater snuggling potential, that fact can’t be denied. Let’s go fishing for the big ones. . .

Brown Bear

Truly, he is perfect.

The White Bear and the White Rabbit

Button noses? Check. Squeezable tummies? Check. Shaped like a friend? Check-a-roonie! It’s time to snuggle! Just kidding, back on The Ledge you two go.

Pink Rabbit

Yeah, it’s just a pink rabbit. This rabbit is sad though. She lost her tail and she can’t seem to find it anywhere. If anyone finds it can you please return it to her? It’s cute and fluffy just like she is.

Cow

It’s a rather flat cow. You could say that it’s pretty down to earth.

Max

And now for one of Bailey Day’s pride and joys. Max, the stuffed horse. It’s every little girls dream to have their own pony when they’re young, and one Christmas morning long ago, Bailey Day got her wish. Well, her wish was half-granted, because while this thing is a horse, it’s not a real one. But Bailey Day loves him regardless. Yeah, Max is a “he”, and he’s pink. You got a problem with that? And this two-image photo gallery contains our first size-comparison shot of the day. Looking good, Bailey Day!

Mr. Bear

You thought Brown Bear was as big as the bears got? Wait until you see the big boss, Mr. Bear himself. Standing 5 feet tall and weighing in at over 15 pounds, he puts all other fluff-filled ursidae to shame. He hasn’t really been taking care of his body very well though, all the way up on that ledge. He needs to build up some more muscle, put some more meat on those bones, you know? Then he’ll truly be the fluffiest, cuddliest, snuggliest teddy bear in the whole wide world once again!

Before we move on, I’ve got to clear something up. During the intro paragraphs above, I did sort of low-key tease Bailey Day for playing with stuffed animals. In defense of this, Bailey Day has let me know that playing pretend with stuffed animals or other dolls is actually a very important aspect of a young child’s development, as it strengthens their mind and heightens their imagination and creativity. That makes sense. So I guess it’s a good thing that Bailey Day has spent so much time playing with stuffed animals, because she has one heck of an imagination now. But we must move on, we’ve got so many more animals to admire. It’s time to take a look at the. . .

VETERANS

These are the animals that Bailey Day has inherited from other family members. They were passed down to her for some reason, perhaps because she was the only one who would get any enjoyment out of them anymore. And whatever the reason Bailey Day came by them, enjoy them she did!

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Named after the character Little Lord Fauntleroy in Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel of the same name, Little Lord Fauntleroy is best know for being the very adjective in his name. Little. But being little doesn’t stop him from enjoying life’s greatest wonders. Being all the way up on that Ledge does.

Dog

That’s a pretty funny-looking dog. Not as funny-looking as Bailey Day’s real dog though!

The Mayor

Bailey Day was pleased to inform me that this particular animal always held a special position in her routine playing pretend sessions. He was always cast as the mayor, who would then pretend run the pretend town and pretend perform many pretend mayoral duties. He definitely looks the part with his authoritative sheep dog appearance and dapper bow tie. Rock on, Mr. Mayor.

Corn Cob

Okay, we need to have a talk. This is getting out of hand. The tooth was one thing, but this is just obscene. Because the first thing I think about when I look at an ear of corn is “You know what? That would make a great stuffed toy.” NOT! Corn is not known for being cuddly, it’s known for being a vegetable. I guess they’ll make a plush out of anything though, won’t they? Whatever, I’m going to see how far I can punt this thing across the room.

Polka-Dotted Ferret and Squirmy Wormy

Does anyone like their stuffed animals served loooooooooong?

Mr. Opus

Apparently this is a character that starred in his own comic strip. Somebody ought to tell him that his tie needs straightening.

PEEF

Who can forget the story of Peef, the Christmas bear? Legend has it that good ol’ St. Nick fashioned him from all of the elves’ most treasured pieces of fabric. All of the colors of Christmas were stitched together, and thus, Peef was born. But somehow two Peefs have ended up with Bailey Day and I: a big one and a small one. Maybe these Peefs aren’t the real Peef. Their can only be one real Peef, and chances are we don’t have it. But hey, at least they say their name when you squeeze their tummy. That’s attention to detail! Also, Peef reminds me of a certain other character that is also a teddy bear, crafted from several different colors of fabric, and beloved by Bailey Day. I wonder if Peef was the inspiration for his design.

You know, maybe it’s kind of strange that I’m making this blog post. I mean, they’re just stuffed animals. Surely we’ve all owned one or two in our lifetimes. I don’t like to feel like I’m doing this just to brag about how many of these things Bailey Day owns. Rather, I’m doing it for them. The stuffed animals themselves. Many of them have been sitting around for so long, slowly becoming forgotten and unloved. I think they deserve to be seen. They deserve to be shown to the world. We’ve only got a couple more sections to go, so let’s finish strong! It’s time to take a look at some of Bailey Day’s top tier stuffed animals.

DAY‘S FAVORITES

Bailey Day holds a special place in her heart for all of the following stuffed animals. Curious to know what she’s hiding in there? You know I am!

Applin

Ah yes. Applin. The Apple Core Pokémon. Yeah, that’s right, this strange-looking thing is a pocket monster. You may remember when Chord briefly mentioned this Pokémon when he went over Bailey Day’s Pokémon Journey Bailey Day’s Applin has since evolved into Appletun, but she can’t get over how cute its’ primary stage is. She just had to have this Applin plush. I don’t really see what’s so cute about it. It’s literally just a worm in an apple. Not to mention it’s almost the weakest Pokémon ever. It’s also a dragon too, if I’m not mistaken. That’s pretty cool, I suppose.

Totodile and Feraligatr

On the topic of Pokémon, let’s take a look at two more Pokémon plushies that Bailey Day has come into possession of. The first and third members from Bailey Day’s favorite Pokémon family, Totodile and Feraligatr, the Big Jaw Pokémon. Feraligatr is Bailey Day’s favorite Pokémon you know. And yes, I am spelling that correctly. These Pokémon live a sort of tragic existence though. Doomed to be forgotten and left out of the game series they hail from. But at least Bailey Day is here to give them some love. All we need now is the second member of the family, Croconaw, and then the Big Jaw line will be complete.

Hindsight

This one is a recent addition to Bailey Day’s already large collection of stuffies. Plague doctors made a comeback during the all the pandemonium of the pandemic, and this thing was cute enough that Bailey Day couldn’t leave the website without purchasing it. She named it Hindsight; as the saying goes, “Hindsight is 20/20”. Very clever, Bailey Day.

Spider and Snake

So when choosing an animal to craft a stuffed version of, what animals come to mind? Bears? Dogs? Rabbits? How about spiders and snakes? Aren’t they known for being cuddly and cute? To be fair, bears in real life are seldom cuddly, but that’s beside the point. These two animals are catalysts of fear, so who’s the genius who decided that they’d make a great toy for children to play with? I guess they’re less intimidating than actual spiders and snakes, but I’ll take a bear over these two any day.

Orange Monkey

When it’s been a tough day at the office and you just need to let off some steam, this li’l monkey fella is the perfect stress reliever. He’ll gladly take a beating for you, so don’t be afraid to go all out with the punching and kicking. Insult him too if you want. He’ll absorb all your attacks and words like a brick wall, and he’ll still have that stupid smile on his face afterwards. Thank you for your service, Orange Monkey.

Ugly Dolls

Look out world! Here comes the ugly! Bailey Day was really into collecting Ugly Dolls when she was little, and she and her cousin would play with them all the time. I guess I understand the appeal. They’re untraditional toys. They’re collectibles. They all have silly names and even sillier backstories. I’d take this over Barbie or Bratz dolls every time. They even got their own movie which Bailey Day and I had the opportunity to review. It wasn’t totally disagreeable. Perhaps one could even call it an “okay” movie? These aren’t even all of the Ugly Dolls that Bailey Day owns, we found a couple more after we finished taking pictures. Well too bad guys, you missed the photo shoot. Better luck next time!

Scary Bear

Scary? What’s so scary about this bear?

OH SWEET MAMA!!! Now I see. This bear can go from bubbly cuteness to nightmare fuel at the drop of a pin! This is one teddy bear you wouldn’t want to spend the night with. It makes me glad that Toy Story was just a movie, and that your toys don’t actually come alive when you’re not looking or sleeping. Or do they? Oh no. . .

We’ve finally made it to the finale. Ladies and gentlemen, meet the. . .

ONE–OF–A–KINDS

One day, Bailey Day stumbled upon a website called Budsies.com. Budsies’ whole business is that they make custom stuffed animals out of drawn pictures. Well at the prospect of bringing her own characters to life, Bailey Day was absolutely on board with this service. I should note however that Bailey Day ordered most of her budsies when the business was still in the beginning stages. Budsies has since increased their prices substantially, probably because they realized they were sitting on a goldmine of an idea. So if you’re thinking of cashing out on a budsie from Budsie.com. be prepared to pay a pretty penny. However, judging by the quality of Bailey Day’s budsies, it might be worth it for some people. Without further ado, Bailey Day’s budsies!

Plantitudinous

Eugh! What the heck is this abomination on my eyes? Wait a minute. . . it looks familiar somehow. . . wha-could it be? Oh my goodness, it’s Plantitudinous, Bailey Day’s custom homunculus from Bailey Day’s Homunculus Nightmare Scavenger Hunt! Really, Bailey Day? You decided to create a custom plush of Plantitudinous? Isn’t it creepy enough as a drawing? I swear, I’ll never truly understand what goes on in that head of hers.

Members of the cast of The Amazing Imagination Machine

Well well well, what do we have here? A bear in a suit jacket, an orange bunny cat thing, and a strange, pink-headed, blue-haired, three-eyed doll. Weren’t these three in a book or something? Perhaps a book by Bailey Day, entitled The Amazing Imagination Machine? A book that you can buy now on Amazon.com that is totally worth the read? Yeah, probably.

The Lawn Shark

Oh, the Lawn Shark? That movie was terrible! This particular Budsie came out a little wonky compared to the drawing it’s based on, but Bailey Day seems to like her “shark” anyway.

Monster Pillow

This thing isn’t a budsie. Bailey Day bought it from a fair one year because it reminded her of one of her own characters. Which leads me into introducing what could probably be the greatest stuffed monster of all time. . .

Big

Big is Bailey Day’s imaginary friend from her youth, and now he has been brought to life through the magic of Budsies. Perhaps you’ve caught a glimpse of him from the banner on the home page of this website. As you can see, he’s a gigantic pink cube monster covered in blue spots, and he was also a main character in one of Bailey Day’s original unpublished works. This plush isn’t a perfect likeness of Big, as he is supposed to be the same length on all three dimensions x, y, and z, nor is it size accurate, as the real Big is about 10 feet tall (I think). But it’s a pretty good likeness in all other respects. He makes a great pillow, that’s for sure.

And with that, we have officially gotten a VIP look at Bailey Day’s stuffed animal collection. Pretty impressive assortment, isn’t it? I haven’t even shown you every animal in the collection. If I did, we’d be here until tomorrow. Let’s just leave it there for now. I’m glad some of these things got to be in the spotlight again.

Will you be sad to see this series go? I won’t be talking about any manner of animals anymore, at least not for a while. Does anyone even read these posts? Am I just typing these into a black hole? Well, I’ll keep writing them, audience or not. Maybe they’ll gain traction someday when the name Bailey Day is bigger and famous-er.

This is your guy, Jorel. Remember, don’t be a hoarder!

Stay healthy, everybody.

Jorel signing out.

Tagged with: #theamazingimaginationmachine, BaileyDay, Monsters, Pokémon, StuffedAnimals