You’ll remember how excited I was when I received my first Etsy purchase in the post, and welcomed Mr Panda to the home? I showed him to my mother who was impressed.

“Why don’t you make him a girlfriend?” she said. “You could get the materials from the craft shop, some felt, some stuffing, a bow to make it a girl. It would be really easy to do.”

“What you’re saying is, you want to make him a girlfriend, don’t you mum?”

And so she did.

We discussed various ways of making her a girl, including making various bits pink, adding eyelashes, or maybe just a bow. We settled for a bow and some pink feet.

As it turns out, the shop only had white and pink felt and no black felt for the ears. Instead, mum used black foam, which is basically the same but a little firmer. I actually think I prefer it, as it makes Mrs P’s hands easier to pick up.

Then it was just a matter of putting the main body together…

…and adding the finishing touches. Mr Panda and Mrs P together at last.

The day after my mum handed her over to me, I spotted that the original Mr Panda creator had made the official version. It looks much more of a match, but I do like the oddities of my Mrs P.