Just over a week ago, "Mostly Monsters" got an emergency message...a real "S.O.S." from a desperate Mom in New York.

According to her message, her son (the older of two) is suffering through terrifying nightmares and is afraid to sleep. She's tried everything...dream catchers, stories, everything she could think of!

And somehow, she stumbled onto our Etsy Shop. Was there any way we could create special Cuddle Monsters for her boys, something to eat those nightmares? Of COURSE we said YES! How could we turn down little boys in distress?

She peeked through all our current goods, and told us some of the "parts" and colors the boys liked, and we started to brainstorm...

Favorite colors: Red & Blue...but it had to be FUZZY!

Lining: Superheroes? Monsters? Stripes? Stars? Plain? Nope...FOOD! Turns out big brother LOVES popcorn, so we picked coordinating prints that could feature POPCORN when the mouth is unzipped.

Feet: Usually, we make the footpads to match the mouth, but the idea of a GLOW-IN-THE-DARk print seemed perfect for helping to light the night and scare away the dreams!

Horns & Hair: Well...here was the challenge! Picked the perfect combo for baby brother's monster, but when Big Brother saw our AVATAR, it was love at first sight! So, time to design a NEW Cuddle Monster! This one has no horns or hair, but three eyestalks seemed perfect for peeking around corners to spy those nasty nightmares!

Now that the supplies were ready, time to step into high gear! All through the day and night, the sewing machine whirred away, until fingers were tired and eyes were bleary. But finally, very late one night, the monsters were done! And by their side, some very special monster SNACKS too...

A crazy backstory was created to help the "Magic" of the monsters, and as described on Etsy, their white felt teeth "are pointy enough to eat even the toughest bad dreams, yet soft enough so that they NEVER hurt little boys! Unzip their mouths, and their tummies are filled with popcorn or animal crackers so that the nightmares will taste better as they go down! Their feet are covered with GLOW-IN-THE-DARK stars to help him see better at night to catch those nasty bad dreams, and can help out with a little "nightlight"-style action as you fall asleep."


The boys were also taken with the idea of FEEDING the monsters, so we decided to create special MONSTER snacks, so that when the monsters were all done eating up the bad dreams, they wouldn't go hungry, so we also created special toddler-safe felt DONUTS and a peanut butter & jelly felt sandwich to share!

The monsters were sent off to their new home, including a couple of special "Seek & Find" games for the brothers, ready to do their magic!

Within 48 hours, Mom sent us a flurry of messages, regaling us with stories of cuddling, playing, "feeding", and even sitting on the "potty"! The older brother had never been one for stuffed toys, but he was in LOVE with his new monster!!!! WOOHOO!

We are so happy to have been part of helping a little guy learn to conquer his fears, and we hope these monsters will keep up the good work!


THIS is why we are dedicated to making loveable, handmade monsters! :)


And to top it off, Mom posted the most AWESOME 5-star Etsy Review:

"One of the best transactions I've had on Etsy, out of hundreds of transactions! WONDERFUL quality, WONDERFUL communication, WONDERFUL collaboration... my sons love their monsters, which will be eating up any bad dreams before they get inside my sons' heads! Plus, the doughnuts and sandwich are absolutely adorable, and they love "feeding" their monsters! All in all, A MILLION PERCENT recommended. Will definitely be buying from Mostly Monsters in the future (and will highly recommend to all of my mommy friends)! Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful!"

It's been a while since we blogged, so we wanted to share a bit about our most recent show...at Benchley-Weinberger Elementary!

Waaaaaayyyy back when Dinosaurs roamed the earth, well, ACTUALLY, it was 1972 to 1976..."Mama Monster" went to school here (and her little brother did too.) So when we saw the announcement that they were having a craft show to raise money for their PTA, OF COURSE we had to do it!

And wanting to give back, we also designed a "pretty" flier for them to use to help their show "POP"!

The day was blazing hot, but it was so nice to be back in the old neighborhood, running into old friends and close family, not to mention LOTS of our crafter buddies too! Sylvia Lewis (Designs by Sylvia), Em from "Miss Emy's Attic & Bill's Bird Feeders", Hayley & Ed from "Kit's Designs", "Grunty Baby", and a wonderful chat with Lili Feingold from "Sunken Treasure Jewels" and "San Diego FRINGE Festival"

Favorite moment of the day was the little boy who fell in LOVE with one of our Cuddle Monsters (with immediate adoption!) and ran around ALL DAY LONG carrying this new fuzzy friend who was nearly as tall as he was! We think we even spotted that blue monster riding down the playground slide a couple of times! Naturally, we forgot to get pictures of the duo in action!

So- as hot as it may have been, we'd call the show a success, and we are so happy to have been a part of it!

Sharing a few photos from our booth that day...