Have you all heard of Budsies? They’re a toy company that takes kids’ drawings and turns them into into real stuffed animals. The results are kind of amazing and I was excited to see what brilliance Mazzy would draw to get the Budsies treatment.

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“Ummmm… those drawings of two girls with long braids look awfully familiar.”

“It’s Elsa and Anna, Mom!”

“You have about 1000 real Elsa and Anna dolls. How about you come up with something you couldn’t buy at the Disney Store?”

Mazzy drew a rainbow.

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“Mazzy, I’m not sure you are understanding. You can draw whatever animal or doll or creature you want and this company will make it into a stuffed animal. It can be ANYTHING.”

I showed her their site with examples of other creations designed by kids.

“OH!!!!!” Finally, I saw something click in Mazzy’s brain and her imagination got to work.

On the same piece of paper as her rainbow, she carefully drew a picture of a pink unicorn with blue wings.

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“It’s awesome, Mazzy! Is this what you want me to send to Budsies to get made into a stuffed animal?”

“Yes! Send them the rainbow and the unicorn.”

“You can only get one thing. You can’t get two.”

“Okay.”

Thinking that was settled, I went off to put the dishes away in the kitchen. A few minutes later, Mazzy came in looking very satisfied.

“Look, Mom. I made it into one thing.”

She handed me her picture and I saw that she had drawn a dotted line with an outline around it, connecting the rainbow and the unicorn.

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“You see, Mom? It’s one thing now.”

You had to commend the kid’s ingenuity.

“Okay, I can send it to Budsies and ask, but I’m not sure if they will be able to do it.”

“Okay, Mom.”

I snapped a picture of her drawing, sent it to Budsies and once again, thought the matter was closed. The next day, Budsies responded that they would be able to accommodate both the unicorn and the rainbow.

I told Mazzy the good news.

“Good news, Mazzy! Budsies says they can make both the unicorn and the rainbow as one thing!”

“What about the girl?”

“What girl? What are you talking about?”

Mazzy rifled through her papers on the dining room table to find her drawing (this was pre-art clutter organization) and showed me “the girl”.

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Apparently, at some point in the last 24 hours, Mazzy had snuck back to her drawing and added a girl in a pink dress sitting side saddle on top of the unicorn.

“Mazzy, you didn’t tell me you drew the girl! How would I know to include it?”

“It’s me, Mom! Don’t you like it?”

“I love it, but that’s THREE THINGS. I don’t think Budsies can make you three things.”

“No, Mom, it’s ONE thing.” She pointed to her dotted line, like I should know better.

“I already sent in the drawing of just the unicorn and rainbow.”

“But can you ask them?”

“I can ask but I can’t promise anything.”

“Okay, Mom.”

“I don’t want you to get upset if they don’t include the girl.”

“Okay, Mom.”

We waited a few weeks for our Budsie to arrive, not knowing if they would include the girl or not. I was fully expecting they would not, but SURPRISE!

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Isn’t it the most awesome girl riding a unicorn JUMPING OVER a rainbow stuffed animal you ever did see???

“It’s not just a girl, Mom. It’s ME!!!”

Sorry.

Isn’t it the most awesome Mazzy riding a unicorn jumping over a rainbow you ever did see???

Mazzy was over the moon, to say the least. She really is one lucky little kid. I would have KILLED for an Ilana riding a unicorn riding a rainbow back when I was her age.

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Together, we compared the drawing and the stuffed animal and really appreciated all the little detail that perfectly emulated her drawing.

“Look! It has a blue eye just like my drawing!”

“Yes, and look at the faint pink line twirling around the horn!”

“And the blue wings with pink on the tips!”

“It’s really a very cool unicorn, Mazzy.”

“It’s not a unicorn, Mom. It’s a pegasus.”

“I don’t think a pegasus has a horn.”

“What’s a unicorn with wings called then?”

We googled and came up with “Pegacorn”.

So. Just to reiterate. Mazzy made a Mazzy riding a pegacorn jumping over a rainbow. I don’t think you can get more five-year-old girl than that.

And you know what?

They even made it into TWO THINGS.

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So basically, this is the story of a five-year-old girl who got the opportunity to have one of her drawings made into a stuffed animal, and then milked that opportunity for all it was worth.

She’s going places, my daughter.

Do you think your kids would like a Budsie? OF COURSE THEY WOULD!

Today, I am giving one grand prize winner the opportunity to create one 30″ original Budsie and 5 runner-ups a $30 Budsie gift card! Just post a picture on the Mommy Shorts Facebook page under this status update. Winner will be announced on Friday March 20th.

So, find a drawing your kid wants make into a stuffed animal or have your kid draw something to enter!

Good luck!

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Update:

Congrats to Jennifer who racked up the most facebook “likes” for her son Owen’s mouse eating an ice cream cone with a cherry on top. Owen wins the opportunity to have that mouse turned into a 30″ original Budsie!

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The five runner-ups who win a $30 Budsie gift card are…

This abstract owl:

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This interpretation of the nutcracker:

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This ridiculously detailed mermaid:

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This self-portrait wearing rocket shoes:

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And this three animal combo I call a “Ligeraffe”:

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Congrats to all the incredibly creative artists! Have your moms contact abby@mommyshorts.com to claim your prizes.

For everyone else, you can use the code MommyShorts for $15 off at Budsies.com up until April 15th!

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This post was sponsored by Budsies, but all pegcorns and rainbows are purely Mazzy’s.