DIY Pokémon Ghost Bow: Pokemonbounding Ep 11

 

When I saw Pokemon Center's Halloween 2024 merchandise included Sprigatito with an adorable little ghost bow, I immediately wanted one for myself. They don't have any for sale (at least none that I saw), which meant it was crafting time. I couldn't find a good way to make the spider web mesh, so I left that off and just focused on the central bow. 

Materials: 

*Lilac-colored felt

*Black felt

*White felt

*Scissors

*Fabric chalk

*Metal barrette

*All-purpose adhesive 

*Needle and thread (optional)

Directions: 

*Cut a strip of lilac colored felt about as thick as you would like your bow to be (1 1/2" to 2" should work well). 

*Glue the ends of the felt together. 

*Pinch the middle of the ribbon to form a bow shape.

*For me, it was helpful to put a couple of stitches into the pinched part of the ribbon to get it to retain its shape.

*Cut off a thin piece of lilac colored felt. Wind it around the middle of the bow and through the top piece of the metal barrette. Sew or glue the ends of the felt strip together. 

*Draw a ghost shape on the black belt using the fabric chalk and cut out.

*Cut out two little eyes from the white felt and glue to the ghost shape. 

*Glue the ghost to the center of the bow. Let dry.

Wearing my ghost bow in a Sprigatito-inspired look.

One more just for fun! From Sewaddle Community Day.

DIY Jigglypuff Ears: Pokemonbounding Ep 10

Here's a fun and relatively inexpensive item to make for your next Pokemon-inspired look: Jigglypuff ears.  You can also use this technique for making other ears.  Just modify the ear shape and felt colors to suit your critter.  Otherwise, the steps are the same.

Materials:

*Headband

*Pink felt

*Black felt

*Scissors

*All purpose adhesive

*Fabric chalk or pen

Directions:

*Draw and cut two Jigglypuff outer ear shapes from pink felt.  I think I used my Meowth ear template for this, but you could also freehand the ear shape.

*Draw and cut out two Jigglypuff inner ear shapes from black felt.

*Glue the inner ear pieces to the outer ear pieces.  Let dry.

*Glue the ears to the headband.  Let dry.

Pop Star Pikachu Bow (Pokemonbounding Ep 9)

Pokemon GO Fest 2021 was music themed.  For ticket holders, you got to choose whether you wanted an encounter with pop star Pikachu or rock star Pikachu.  I of course had to go with pop star Pikachu because she's absolutely adorable, and I decided to make a bow like hers for my Pikachu ears so I could match her.  I also ended up making a mini bow for my Pikachu plushie.  Keep scrolling for more pictures, as well as instructions on how to make a bow of your own.

Pop Star Pikachu Pictures

When I completed the GO Fest special research, I received two photo bomb encounters with the musical squad I selected during the course of the research.  Aren't they just adorable?

I had to snag some pics with Meloetta, the star of the show.

I also had to include a picture with pop star Pikachu herself.  If I had more time and money, I would love to do a full pop star Pikachu cosplay, but for now, the bow will have to suffice.

Lastly, here's a picture of my Pikachu plushie with the matching bow I threw together for her last minute.  If you'd like to make a Pikachu plushie of your own, here's how I made mine.

DIY Pop Star Pikachu Bow

Materials:

*1" wide pink satin ribbon

*Thin ribbons in dark pink, white, and purple

*Packing tape

*Large pink circular or oval-shaped rhinestone

*Sewing needle and pink thread

*Scissors

*All purpose adhesive

*Elastic

*Pikachu ears to attach the bow to

Directions:

*Construct a bow following the directions outlined in this post.  That post calls for a thin ribbon, but I took a small length of the pink satin ribbon and folded it in half to create a thin ribbon to wrap around the center.

*Glue the rhinestone to the center of the bow.

*Pikachu's bow has a strip of ribbon hanging from the side.  To keep the ribbon from flailing around while I was wearing the bow, I took lengths of the pink, white, and purple ribbon and lined them up side-by-side on a piece of clear packing tape.

*Cover the ribbon with a piece of clear packing tape on top to essentially laminate the ribbons together.

*Trim the ends and cut off excess packing tape.

*Sew the strip of ribbon onto the back of the bow.  You'll want the ribbon at an angle so that it won't be in your face when you wear the bow.  I just kind of winged it here, which is why the sewing does not look particularly nice.

*Sew on some elastic so that you can attach the bow to your Pikachu ears.

*Cut off any bit of ribbon that pokes out over the top of the bow.

Pokemon Trainer Misty: Pokemonbounding Ep 8

This week I'm participating in a set of Pokemonbounding challenges over on Instagram, so I figured this would be the perfect time to add another post to my Pokemonbounding series.  Tuesday's theme was Pokemon trainer, so I decided to go with a look inspired by Misty.

Misty's main look consists of a yellow crop top and blue denim shorts, so that was my starting point for this outfit.  She also has red suspenders, which I do not have.  I used some red stud earrings (not really visible in the photos, unfortunately) for the red color and borrowed Brian's bracers to get the suspender look.  My shorts don't have interior buttons, so I had to tuck the bottom edges into my shorts and hope for the best.  This was fine for pictures, but if you're shooting for a more wearable bound, you'll probably want to omit the suspenders if you don't have ones that clip onto your shorts.

Misty wears red and white sneakers.  I don't have those either, so I had to choose between black sneakers or red heels.  Black sneakers felt more Misty's vibe, so I went with those even though the color didn't match her scheme.  She often wears her hair in a side ponytail, so I did just that.  Lastly, I added a Pokeball stress ball to finish off my Pokemon trainer look.

Misty's favorite Pokemon is Togepi.  I don't have a Togepi plushie, so this is where Pokemon GO AR came into play.  I was able to snag some Togepi pictures without having a physical version of Togepi.

Keep scrolling for a few more pictures of this look, including one featuring real-life Pokemon, Chip.

It's mini Togepi!  Sometimes, when placing a Pokemon using AR, the resulting Pokemon image ends up much larger or smaller than it should be.  This mini Togepi image was a fun "blooper."

I also managed to hatch a flower crown Togepi from a Pokemon GO event, so I snagged a couple of pictures with him as well.

Smeargle decided a photo bomb was in order.

Chip, our friendly neighborhood squirrel, decided to drop in for a visit.

I hope you enjoyed today's post.  If you'd like to see more crafts and outfit ideas, click here.  If you have any suggestions for my Pokemonbounding series, I'd love to hear them.  I have a few ideas for Pokemon I'd like to bound as, but I'm open to suggestions as well.

Roselia Community Day: Pokemonbounding Ep 7

Sunday was Roselia Community Day in Pokemon GO.  I had spaced on which weekend February's Community Day was happening, so I had to adjust my plans when someone posted in my local Pokemon GO chat about it.  I didn't have the supplies on hand for a proper Roselia bound, but I threw together a look with a green romper and a clip on rose I have on hand.  For a last minute bound, I would say this one was not too bad.

Someday when I have more time, I'd like to make a Roselia crown and maybe some oversized paper roses to finish off the look.  Let me know if you'd like to see me try this.

Here are a few more pics from Roselia Community Day.

Shout out to Brian for taking the time to pose Roselia on my shoulder.  It made for some adorable pictures.

Here's the AR photo bomb with one of my shiny Roselias.  I didn't have the time to play for the whole event, but in the hour that I did play, I ended up with six new shinies.  Since I mainly play Community Day for the shinies, I was pretty pleased.

I know this is a short post, but hopefully you still enjoyed it.  If you'd like to see more Pokemon crafts, including the other looks in my Pokemonbounding series, click here.  If you have any specific Pokemon you'd like to see me create a look based on, let me know.  I'm super swamped right now, but I'm hoping to get back to my monthly Pokemonbounding this summer.

DIY Shiny Alolan Meowth Plushie + Shiny Alolan Meowth Pokemonbound

 

As some of you may know, the Kanto region Meowth is my favorite Pokemon.  I'm still trying for a shiny Kanto Meowth, but I was lucky enough recently to catch a shiny Alolan Meowth.  Alolan Meowth is pretty cool too, so once I caught it, I knew I wanted to make an Alolan Meowth plushie to match, as well as an Alolan Meowth cosplay.  I ended up using the same Meowth ears template for my shiny Alolan Meowth that I used for my Kanto Meowth, so I won't be doing a separate post on that, but if you want to make your own shiny Alolan Meowth ears, you can use the template in this Meowth Pokemonbounding post and the Meowth color scheme in the post you are reading now.

First up, I have some pictures of my shiny Alolan Meowth look.  After that, I'll show you how I made my plushie.

Shiny Alolan Meowth Look

Here is my Meowth look, complete with my Meowth plushie and an AR photo of my in-game shiny Alolan Meowth.  My romper and shoes aren't quite the right color, so I'll have to keep my eyes out for periwinkle blue clothes, but I had fun with this look anyway, and on the whole, I'm happy with it.

And here's Meowth being ultra cute.

One last picture for good measure.  I'm trying to hold my hand like Meowth holds her paw.

DIY Shiny Alolan Meowth Plushie

Materials:

*Periwinkle blue felt
*Purple felt
*Black felt
*White felt
*Scissors
*Periwinkle blue headband (or one that matches your hair color)
*Fabric glue or all purpose adhesive
*Gold cardstock

*Pillow stuffing

*Blue thread

*Sewing needle

Directions:

*Print out a couple of copies of the Alolan Meowth template given below:

*Cut out the following pieces: Two copies of Meowth's body and head from periwinkle blue felt (one front piece and one back piece), four arm pieces from periwinkle felt (two front and two back), four leg pieces from periwinkle felt (two front and two back), two tail pieces from periwinkle felt (one front and one back), two ear shapes from black felt, two inner ear shapes from purple felt, two eye shapes from white felt, two pupil and lid pieces from black felt, one mouth from black felt, two teeth from white felt, one tip of tail piece from purple felt, two tip of feet pieces from purple felt, and a coin shape from gold cardstock.  Here is what all of these pieces look like when cut out:

*Glue the inner ear pieces onto the outer ear pieces.  Since my Meowth is going to live on a shelf, gluing seemed appropriate, but if you are planning on actively using your plushie, or making it for someone who will actively use it, in the steps where I glue, you'll want to sew.

*Glue the pupil and lid pieces to the eye pieces.

*Glue the tip of tail to one of the tail pieces.

*Glue the tip of feet pieces to two of the feet pieces

*Cut a long, thin strip of black felt and cut it into segments.  Glue those segments to the coin shape to create the coin details (see picture in the next step).

*Glue the face pieces and coin onto the head.  At this stage, these are the pieces you should have glued or sewed together:

*Now it's time to start sewing the appendages together.  Place two arms wrong sides together and sew using a blanket stitch, leaving an opening for stuffing.  Stuff and sew closed, and repeat the process with the other arm.

*Place two feet pieces wrong sides together and sew using a blanket stitch, leaving an opening for stuffing.  Stuff and sew closed.  Repeat the process for the other foot.

*Place the tail pieces wrong sides together and sew, using a blanket stitch.  The tail can be tricky to stuff with how thin and curvy it is, so you can either sew the pieces together without stuffing, or stuff and sew closed.  At this stage, you should have these pieces stuffed and sewn together:

*Now it's time to start assembling Meowth.  Sandwich the appendages and ears between the front and back parts of Meowth's head and torso.  Sew around the edge with a backstitch, leaving an opening for stuffing.  After sewing but before stuffing, Meowth should look something like this:

*Stuff and sew closed.

*I left Meowth's whiskers for last, gluing the front and back pieces together.  However, you could also trim the whiskers from the back piece for Meowth, since the whiskers don't really need reinforcement.

DIY Pikachu Plushie

 

This little electric mouse friend is too adorable not to love.  Here's how you can make a Pikachu plushie of your own.  Note that my template is for a girl Pikachu, but you just have to modify the tail piece if you want to make a boy Pikachu.

Materials:

*Yellow felt
*Red felt
*Black felt
*White felt
*Yellow thread
*Black thread
*White thread
*Red thread
*Scissors
*Sewing needle
*Pillow stuffing

Directions:

*Print out two copies of the template given below (you'll need a second one to cut out the tail):

Cut out two copies of Pikachu's body from yellow felt, one copy of her tail from yellow felt, two eyes from black felt, four ear tips (two of either ear tip) from black felt, a nose from black felt, a mouth from red felt, two cheeks from red felt, and two white eye pieces from white felt, as shown below:

*Sew on Pikachu's face to the front piece of Pikachu's body using the appropriate colors of thread, as shown above.

*Sew Pikachu's tail and ear tips to the back of Pikachu's body, as shown above.

*Sew the two halves of Pikachu's body wrong sides together, using a blanket stitch.  I used yellow thread for all but the ear tips, and switched out the yellow for black when going around the ear tips.  Leave an opening for stuffing.

*Stuff and sew closed.

Looking for more Pokemon craft ideas?  Be sure to check out the Pokemon section of my blog, where I have tutorials for plushies, costumes/cosplays, and more.  Plus, check back in next week, when I'll share one more Pokemon plushie with you.

Gastly Pokemon Plushie

 

Love Pokemon?  Or perhaps you're looking for handmade gift ideas for the Pokemon fans in your life.  Either way, Pokemon plushies are an adorable option that many Pokemon fans, perhaps even you, would love.  Today I'll be showing you how to make the ghost type Pokemon Gastly, but if Gastly isn't your favorite, then I have tutorials for Zubat, Snorlax, Meowth, and Magikarp.  Plus, stay tuned for two more Pokemon plushie tutorials coming later this month.  Also, if you love Gastly, be sure to check out the Gastly inspired look I made this summer.

Materials:

*Purple felt

*Black felt

*White felt

*Red felt

*Pillow stuffing

*Red, black, and white thread

*Purple tulle (optional)

Directions:

*I unfortunately didn't make a template for this one; I just kind of eyeballed the pieces.  I have a tutorial on making your own Pokemon plushie template here, though, so if you don't want to wing it, you can follow these steps to make your own template.  You'll want to cut out two large circles from black felt, four eye shapes (two front and two back) from white felt, two pupils from black felt, a mouth from red felt, two little fangs from white felt, and a gas cloud shape from purple felt, and also from the purple tulle if you're using tulle.

*Begin by sewing the pupils to the eyes with black thread.

*Next, it's time to construct the eyes.  Place two eye pieces wrong sides together and sew along the edge using white thread and a blanket stitch.  Leave an opening for stuffing.

*Stuff and sew closed.

*Repeat the process to make the second eye.

*Next, it's time to work on the mouth.  Sew the fangs to the mouth using white thread, and then sew the mouth to the body using red thread.

*Sew one of the black circles (the one without the face) to the gas cloud shape using a running stitch.

*Start sewing the circle with the face over top the plain circle, also using a running stitch.  Leave an opening for stuffing.

*Stuff and sew closed.

*Lastly, it's time to sew on eyes.  I don't really have a good explanation for what I did here.  I just brought the needle through the bottom layer of the eye felt and the top layer of Gastly's felt a bunch of times, until the eyes seemed like they were on securely.

If you love Pokemon and plushies, stay tuned, because I have two more Pokemon plushie tutorials I'll be releasing later this month.  Since I'm going to be posting a bunch of Pokemon plushie tutorials this month, I'm considering waiting until December to do my next Pokemonbounding video.  If you have any Pokemon you'd like to see as either bounds/costumes or as plushies, let me know.  I'm thinking potentially an ice type for December, but I don't have a specific Pokemon in mind.

DIY Misdreavus (Pokemon) Necklace: Pokemonbounding Ep 6

     It's October, which means spooky season is in full swing.  For this month's Pokemonbounding project, I thought it would be fitting to go with a ghost type Pokemon and opted for one of my favorites: Misdreavus.  I've also done looks for the ghost type Pokemon Gastly, as well as Meowth, Magikarp, Vaporeon, and a Pikachu Fan Trainer Costume, so if you're looking for Halloween costume inspiration and love Pokemon, be sure to check these posts out.
     This is a great last minute costume idea, especially if you already have some wooden beads on hand, or a pink costume jewelry necklace.  I have both a video tutorial and a written tutorial for the necklace in this look.  I've included the video tutorial below, and keep reading for the written tutorial, as well as some more pictures of the completed look.

Misdreavus Necklace

Materials:

*One 20 mm wooden bead
*About twenty 16 mm wooden beads (you may need more or fewer, depending on the neck size of the person you're making it for and how tight the person would like it to be)
*Pink acrylic paint (if your beads aren't already pink)
*Paintbrush (if your beads aren't already pink)
*Elastic cording
*Scissors
*Clear nail polish (optional)

Directions:

*If your beads are not already pink, paint them pink.  Let dry.

*Cut off a length of elastic.  I like having plenty of extra elastic at the ends for tying, so I cut off a segment that was large enough to wrap around my head and then some, but the amount you cut off will depend on how tight you want the necklace to be and how comfortable you are tying elastic.

*Slide your largest wooden bead onto the center of the elastic.

*Add about 10 smaller wooden beads on either side.  You could also use a few different smaller sizes to get a more tapered look, closer to the "necklace" Misdreavus has, but that will require more beads.

*Knot the ends of the elastic together.  If the elastic you're using is slippery, to keep the knot from coming undone, you can cover the knot with a little clear nail polish.

Putting the Look Together

Materials/items:

*Misdreavus necklace (see above)
*Navy blue clothes
*Colorista Hair Makeup in raspberry, or other pink temporary hair color
*Navy blue eyeshadow
*Pink lipstick

Tips:

*For the strongest Misdreavus vibes, pick flowy navy blue clothes, if possible, since Misdreavus is a ghost type Pokemon.  A flowy navy blue dress or maxi romper could be an excellent choice.

*If you want to dye the tips of your hair for this look, make sure to pick a dye suitable for your hair color.  I personally like the Colorista Hair Makeup for brown or black hair because it shows up vibrantly in my hair.  However, if you have really light hair, make sure to get hair color for blonde hair, as the temporary colors for dark hair may stain your hair.

*If you're a dark blonde (the tips of my hair could be considered dark blonde, so that's the color I'm talking about here), the hair colors made specifically for blonde hair may not show up well one you since they're usually designed more for platinum blonde hair.  You probably can get away with using the temporary colors for dark hair.  However, I'd recommend testing it on a few strands on the under layer of your hair where it's not very visible to make sure it washes out before you go ahead and color your tips.

Misdreavus Look

     That's it for my Misdreavus look.  I'm not sure which Pokemon I want to bound as next, but I'm thinking maybe an ice type here soon, since we're moving into winter.  (Maybe I'll save that one for December, though).  If you have any Pokemon you'd like to see me bound as, feel free to suggest one.
     Happy spooky season, everyone!  I hope you have a safe and fun October.  Stay tuned for more Halloween fun, and more Pokemon projects.

DIY Vaporeon Fin Headband: Pokemonbounding Episode 5

     For September's Pokemonbounding video, I finally got around to putting together the Vaporeon look I've been talking about.  I have both a video tutorial and a written tutorial.  However, I forgot to take pictures to accompany the written tutorial, so if I'm not clear in places, the video can probably help.  I've included the video below, and keep reading for the written tutorial as well as some more pictures of my completed Vaporeon look.

DIY Vaporeon Fin Headband

Materials:

*9"x12" medium blue felt sheet
*9"x12" light yellow or cream colored felt sheet
*Scissors
*Fabric pen or metallic marker
*All purpose adhesive
*Dazzle tac or other strong adhesive
*Copper wire
*Wire cutters

Directions:

*Print out a copy of each of the fin templates given below:

Side of Head Fin Template

Top of Head Fin Template

*From the light yellow or cream colored felt, cut out two copies of each of the full fin shapes.  You'll want to trace one copy from the front side of the template and one from the back, so that when you cut them out, you'll have pieces that are mirror images of one another.

*From the medium blue felt, you'll want to cut the uppermost segment on either fin out and trace that onto the felt.  You'll need two copies of each upper fin piece type, again cutting one with the template facing printed side up and another with it facing printed side down.  Once you've cut out your pieces, you should find once again that they mirror one another.

*Glue the medium blue fin pieces onto the top parts of the respective cream fin pieces.

*To create the ridges in Vaporeon's ear fins and add stability, cut off small sections of wire and glue them to the backs of the fins along where the fin lines on the template are.  Let dry.

*For the top of the head fin, glue a piece of wire in where the fin line is on one of the pieces of felt only.  Then glue the two top of the head fins together, wrong sides facing.  Let dry.

*Turn the top of the head fin so that it is oriented like it is on Vaporeon's head.  Cut off a long, narrow strip of medium blue felt and glue that to the front of the fin to hide where the cream colored felt is showing through.

*Using Dazzle Tac or another strong adhesive, glue the side fins to the sides of the headband.  Make sure you are in a well ventilated area, if your adhesive calls for this.  Let dry for a couple of hours.

*Drape the headband over an object (I used a folded drying rack) so that you can attach the top of the head fin.  Let dry for 24 hours, or however long your chosen adhesive calls for.

Vaporeon Look

     Here are some more pictures of my completed Vaporeon look:

In this close up, you can see that I have some pale blue teardrop earrings on.  I chose them for this look because Vaporeon is a water type.

I just thought these blue filter pictures Brian took looked cool.

This post wouldn't be complete without an AR photo.  Unfortunately I forgot to take one until the evening, when the lighting wasn't great.  I guess I'll probably have to wait until another time to get the perfect Vaporeon AR photo for my photo dex.

     Enjoying my Pokemonbounding series?  Stay tuned for a spooky bound next month!  Also, if there are any Pokemon you'd like to see in particular, let me know.  No promises I'll be able to make the looks, but I'll definitely give them some consideration.