Build A Bear's Newest Pokemon Plush

Hi guys! If you follow me over on Instagram, then perhaps today's post is a long awaited one for you! I am finally going to be showing you guys the latest addition to my Build-A-Bear Workshop Pokemon plushie collection! Some of you might have seen a photo already on my social media, because I really couldn't resist sharing my adorable new cuddly friend! Haha, that just sounded super cheesy XD but I don't care! I love teddies, stuffies, plushies, whatever you call them, and I don't see myself stopping buying them anytime soon! I know there's lots of you out there who share this love of soft toys, and this post is one for you :) Enjoy! 

I know that everyone has been complaining about the weather we've been having in the UK over the last two weeks, but I'm about to contribute! I mentioned in my previous post that the heat wave has a crappy effect on my health, basically it makes my fibromyalgia flare up. I have spent all of July thus far in a constant state of exhaustion; I've been getting headaches a lot more than usual and my body is sore af. Having insomnia means that I'm used to doing most of my blogging at night-time, but because of the way the heat has been making me feel, I'm finding that by the end of the day, I am too drained to concentrate or do much of anything. It's really annoying me to be honest... I just want to write up all the ideas I have but it's been such a challenge. I've been wanting to show you guys this plush for ages now! Sorry it's taken me forever to get this post up >.<

Exactly a month ago today, my best friend & I had a day out in Manchester city. Literally the whole purpose of this trip was to visit the Build A Bear Workshop and pick up the newest Pokemon plush release, but because Manchester is such an awesome place, we decided to make the most of it and do other fun things whilst we were there :) We went for a meal at TGI Friday's (which was delicious by the way!), did some shopping in the Arndale centre and at the fabulous Affleck's Palace, and we also went geocaching. We only found one cache, but it was the biggest one that I've ever found so I was super happy. I can't believe the cache was so close to the hotel that we usually stay at whenever we go to a gig or something in Manchester, as if I never thought to look if there were any nearby! If you haven't heard of geocaching before, check out my post all about it. 

Something that I absolutely love about the Build A Bear Workshop experience is that, as the company name suggests, you get to 'build' your own plushies! Upon entering the store, you are greeted by a pretty big selection of different plush characters; there is a display showing each one that's available as a finished example, usually wearing something from the various clothing and accessory collections to make you wanna buy an outfit for your own. These outfits are adorable so it can be hard to resist getting something for your new plush to wear, haha! When I got my first ever Build A Bear plush as a teenager, I bought it a full outfit, shoes and everything :D Anyhow, underneath these example plushies, you will find the 'skins', which are basically the plushies without their fluffy filling. I always have a good rummage through the drawer to make sure that I find a perfect one :)

After choosing which plush you want, you can have a look at a selection of different sounds that you can put inside it. For example, there's a meow to go inside a cat plushie, and there's even a beating heart (which is more of a feel, than a sound of course)! Until my latest visit to the store, I'd never felt/listened to this beating heart, but one of the shop assistants wanted me to experience what it felt like and to watch my reaction... it was so weird XD But if you want one of these inside your plushie, then go for it! It's cool that the option is available, haha! 

The most fun step of the plushie building process comes next... I don't know what to call it, the stuffing? fluffing part? But it's when the 'skin' you've chosen actually becomes a cuddle-worthy plush! The middle photo above shows the machine which contains the fluff filling, and during this process a shop assistant controls the adding of the fluff but you get to put your foot on the black pedal you can see in my photo, and that is what causes the fluff to come out of the metal tube into your plush. I hope that makes sense! You can see that I'm holding a little chequered heart... you have the option to add one of these inside your plush, they are only £1 and all of the proceeds of the sale of them go to charity as far as I know. I make sure to get one of these hearts everytime :) It always makes me blush because just before closing up the stitching on the back of your plushie, the shop assistant always tells you to kiss this heart and make a wish, haha!

Once you have your plushie all fluffed and snuggly, you can explore the rest of the store and choose any outfits, including the costumes that are specifically made for the one you've chosen. Getting a whole outfit can get expensive, so most of the time I don't buy one. However, there are occasions when I can't not as the outfit is just so flippin' cute! Like the onesies that were released along with the Eevee and Vulpix Build-A-Bear's, omg they are so sweet! The final stage before heading to the till, is to fill in your details to get a certificate made for your plush. You don't have to do this but again, it's fun. You get to fill in the name you've chosen for your new plushie, and there are a few examples on the computers in store to help you if you can't decide on a name yourself. Keeping scrolling to find out what I named my new Jigglypuff! 

How adorable is Princess Candyfloss though!? Hahaha, yes I'm 25 years old & yes, that is the name I decided on for my plushie! XD I think it's the perfect name for her! She makes me think of a big ball of candyfloss because of how round she is, and also because of the shade of pink she is. I think she's such a gorgeous shade of pink! I also really like the colour they've chosen for her eyes, it goes so well with the pink. Turquoise is one of my favourite colours! 

Something else I love about this plush is just how chubby it is... it's so cuddly! It just looks so much like actual anime Jigglypuff, I'm impressed! The only thing that's different is that Jigglypuff has blue eyes VS these turquoise ones, but I love how they look so I'm not bothered about that and sometimes her eyes on the show do appear to look more of a turquoise colour. (I don't get why the birth certificate thing lists her eyes as green though?). Her little pointed ears look awesome, and I love how small and cute her arms are too! Omgosh, just everything about the Build A Bear Jigglypuff is too adorable! 

My favourite part of the Build A Bear Jigglypuff design overall has to be the little swirly tuff on her head! It's squishy and just looks so cute, they've done a great job in recreating this feature from the original Pokemon. How cute is Jigglypuff's facial expression as well!? She looks so happy... like someone finally listened to her song without falling asleep :D It would have been awesome if there was a marker pen accessory available for this plushie, don't you think??

Another thing that is so awesome about Build A Bear's Pokemon Plushies is the fact that they come with their very own Pokemon card, and they are really cool because they look the same as the real thing other than the company's logo. They are so nostalgic to me! I've put all of my Build A Bear Pokemon cards up on my wall, and they look awesome lined up together. I think they are such great little freebies to receive with the plushies; who doesn't love a freebie!? 

This time around, I finally decided to get a sound put inside my plushie. I've never opted to get one before, even if the sounds were super cute because I like to hug my plushies and use them as pillows when I'm relaxin' in bed so I thought it would be annoying if a sound kept going off all the time, haha. However, the Jigglypuff sound is seriously so adorable!! In fact, there are four different sounds in one, and I love them! The sound thing was put inside one of her feet, and because of the size and shape of the plush, it's not gonna got off if I use it as a pillow. Oh, I almost forgot to comment on just how soft my Jigglypuff is, well all of my Pokemon plushies from this store are so soft and made from excellent quality material. I love how nice they feel! 

Here is my entire collection of Build A Bear Workshop Pokemon plush :) LOOK AT ALL THOSE COLOURS!! *all the heart eyes emojis*. I have been continually impressed with the quality and design of each of the Pokemon plushies. If you've been following the release of the Pokemon collection, you'll know that I am missing the Meowth plush. I do think it's cute but he was never one of my favourite Pokemon and I don't want to collect the plushies just for the sake of having a complete collection... I just get the ones of Pokemon I love. Sorry Meowth! 

So, which is your favourite of all of my Pokemon plushies? Are there any Pokemon that you would like to see Build A Bear release next? My favourite Pokemon is Vaporeon so I obviously would love to see a Build A Bear of Vaporeon, as well as the other Eeveelutions. I would also be very happy with a Marill, a Clefairy and a Togepi! I hope you all enjoyed my post :) 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Do you have a favourite Pokemon?

Do you have any of the Build A Bear Pokemon? or any other plush from the store?

I'd love to hear all about them! 

Build-A-Bear Pokemon Plushies

Hey everyone! Apologies for my lack of posts last week; our internet got cut off for a few days, oops! Since I've been back online, I have had a hard time getting back into my blogging schedule, mostly due to my mental health. It hasn't been great lately and I've had such a lack of motivation. All I've wanted to do was catch up on episodes of my favourite TV series and sleep. It's so tough to get stuff done when you're drained of energy, achy and experiencing brain fog. Oh, the joys of spoonie life!

I've been really looking forward to sharing this post with you all :) I was going to wait until I'd completed the whole collection, as the Build A Bear Workshop are yet to release the Bulbasaur plushie (I can't wait!), but I just could not wait any longer! I hope you all enjoy reading, and have a lovely rest of the weekend! 

The Build A Bear Workshop is an amazing international store that sells cuddly toys. It is special because of the interactive/hands-on experience it offers it's customer. When you buy a plushie there, you have the option to make it yourself, which is something that children, and fellow cute plushie loving adults like myself, find really fun! Check out my instagram post for photos of the process.

The shop floor is set up like a little workshop, with seperate sections for the different stages of the plushie-making process. When you first enter the store, you are greeted with a display of various plushies, in so many styles and colours and some based on popular children's characters. Once you have choosen with plushie you want, here's where you choose the 'skin' which you will be able to help fill with fluff/stuffing later. For the next step, you can choose clothes and accessories for your new cuddly friend if you want. The shop is filled with all sorts of outfits, and there's usually special clothing for any character plushies available. Next, it's time to stuff your plushie with the help of one of the staff. Before you queue up in line to do this, there's a station where you can also select a sound to go into your plushie, and you can even had your own recording. If you've decided to pick a sound for yours, you take the little devices with you to the stuffing machine :)

There's some little fabric hearts available and if you buy one for £1 the money goes to charity so I always get one. The shop assisant manning the stuffing machine will ask to you to kiss the heart and make a wish before they put it inside your plushie, which is adorable! They hold the plushie to the machine and fill it with fluff for you, but you get to put your foot on a pedal to control the fluff coming out of the machine. Once your plushie is the perfect snugglable size for you, they pop your sound device inside or heart and then sort out of the stitching to complete the plushie. The next section is a little grooming table with a cute hairdryer and a collection of brushes, and finally, you go to the computers to create the birth certificate for your cuddly toy. It's an lovely experiences and I love it! 

I got my first Build A Bear plushie when I was a teenager at the store in Manchester's Trafford Centre. They had Hello Kitty available and as you all know by now, I'm obsessed with her so I couldn't not buy one! I bought her an adorable outfit... pink boots, a black skirt and a little trendy top, and I named her after my best friends :) Any of my fellow Build A Bear fans, do you remember your first plushie from the store? I'd love to hear about it in the comments. So, the rest of this post is going to be pretty picture-heavy! The Build A Bear Workshop so far have released four Pokemon plushes: Eevee, Pikachu, Charmander & Squirtle. Warning: expect very high levels of cuteness! 

Look at my Pokemon babies; they are too cute! They are fabulous quality, made of lovely, soft material and have such a great design. I love the cute facial expressions on each of their faces. I am really impressed with them, and I'm so looking forward to seeing how the Bulbasaur plushie looks :)

Eevee was the first of the Build A Bear plushies that I bought, and he's my favourite of all four of the plushies. I really love the design of his big squishy tail and his long fennec fox style ears. I'm impressed with the size of the plushie and his cheerful facial expression. You know the special clothing that I mention earlier for specific characters? Well the Pokemon plushies also come with their own clothing. Eevee's pokeball onesie is just amazing! I really like how bright and eye-catching it is, and how it has a hood with holes for his ears to fit through. He's perfect! I decided to name my Eevee 'Rainer' after one of the Eevee Brothers from the show, the brother who had a Vaporeon (one of Eevee's evolutions) since Vaporeon is my most favourite Pokemon ever.

Pikachu was the second of the plushies that I bought. At first, I thought I was going to miss him in stores and he was going to sell out, but when I went to Blackpool to see the Rocky Horror Picture Show Musical with my best friend, she spotted him in the Build A Bear store. I might have squealed in the middle of a shopping centre. He was a present to myself for my birthday last year, and I just love how happy and vibrant he is! His open-mouth expression just makes me think of the anime character everytime I look at him, shouting 'Pika!'. This is why I named him Pika :) There's always an online exclusive edition of the Pokemon plushies available on the Build A Bear Workshop website, and if purchased online you could get Pikachu with a super cool Charzard costume! I would have loved to get this outfit, so I decided not to buy the hooded pokeball t-shir that was available in store. 

I think the Charmander plushie is so cool! I'd seen Eevee and Pikachu cuddly toys before; I'd even owned a few of the Pikachu ones as a kid, but I had never seen a Charmander plushie and I fell in love with it! I forgot to get a photo of his tail, but it's fantastic with a yellow & red bushy fluffy part on the end to represent the flame on the tail of the cartoon character. I also really like his blue eyes. Charmander is supposed to be available with a blue hooded pokeball t-shirt but they didn't have any available in the Manchester Arndale store when I bought him in December last year. I named him Flamey, and he's my second favourite of the Build A Bear Pokemon collection. Whenever you purchase one of the Pokemon plushies, you are given a special Build A Bear Pokemon card which I think is such an awesome little additon. I unfortunately seem to have misplaced my Charmander one, haha. If you had a Charmander plushie, what would you name him?

Squirtle is the lastest Pokemon to be released at Build A Bear; I took a trip to Blackpool last month to buy him as that's one of the closest stores to my hometown other than Manchester. A worthwhile trip, it was lovely to walk along the seafront and nosey in the seaside shops. I very much wanted to buy the online exclusive Squirtle set, since the plushie came with the sweetest pokeball raincoat that I really really wanted. However, the exclusive set cost £45.50 (probably plus P&P as well), so I couldn't afford it with my £35 budget :( I'm still very happy with my plushie so I don't mind too much that he's not wearing his raincoat. I love the shade of blue they've used for this plushie. Additionally, the material is different to the three previous plushies, very smooth and velvet-like. I'm not very keen on the colour they've used for Squirtle's belly as the original character's is a cream/ pale brown colour. I also thought that they would have made the shell on his back much bigger... it's  more flat than I was expecting. He's still a great plushie and I was going to name him River originally. I then thought it would be cool to learn how to say River in other languages and choose my favourite. In the end, I chose Joki (pronounced Yoki), the Finnish word for River. I think it's a super cute name! 

I hope you guys enjoyed looking through all of the photos of my Pokemon plushies, I know there was a lot of them, haha! They are actually really photogenic. I'm eventually going to have so many plushies that I can't get into my bed, and I have no regrets! Which is your favourite of the Build A Bear Pokemon plushies? 

Thankyou for reading!

♥

Are you a Pokemon fan? If so, who's your favourite Pokemon? 

If you could have the Build A Bear Workshop create any plushie of a character you love, 

Who would you choose?

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