Our little household has a new addition by the name of Twinkle. She is a little bossy, quite demanding and has only been here for, well... half a day. Yet already she is expecting to sit at the dinner table, requesting her own car seat and no doubt demands for her own bedroom with en suite will follow if her seven-year-old owner has anything to do with it.
You see, IJ is completely and utterly in love with her (and convinced that she has feelings too). Twinkle was created today at the Build-A-Bear Workshop in Nottingham and has been taking over our household ever since.
We went to try out the bear building experience thanks to Estelle at Publicasity who arranged the visit for us (and thanks to lovely Caroline Smailes who put our name forward). We headed off to the the city with IJ determined to wear her new school shoes and school bag for the occasion. From all the bears on display, IJ managed to choose a frog.
We were made to feel extremely welcome by the staff as we were taken through the stages of the bear/frog-building process from choosing a sound (IJ opted for a lullaby rather than a bark, thankfully) ...
To selecting a beating heart (yes, really) and adding the stuffing...
.... checking the frog for huggability and giving her a quick wash.
Choosing an outfit proved the most challenging part as there was just so much to choose from.
In the end IJ opted for a dress and bright pink shoes rather than a cheer-leading outfit or pyjamas, and went off to the dressing area to create the final look.
After compiling a birth certificate we were able to take Twinkle home and the pair are now inseparable. Already Twinkle has been taken for a walk around the garden in a push chair, attended a picnic, and been read a bedtime story while all the time sitting on a pink, fluffy heart-shaped cushion. I am drawing the line at cooking a separate meal for her.
We thought the whole bear/frog building experience was great fun and Twinkle has proved a huge hit. In our case the end result would have cost just under £40 (we got Twinkle and her accessories free of charge), so for us a visit would have to be reserved for a special occasion although there are cheaper bears available. We would definitely visit again and add to our bear/frog collection. Our visit today has left one little girl very very happy.
