Chasing away the Nightmares...

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!

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Ready to made a BLUE Cuddle Monster!

Red monster supplies...ready to start!

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!"