Shelly's Stuffed Animals

I’m not an organization, I’m just me, Shelly Butrymoicz. I make stuffed animals for craft fairs. I don’t make anything off them, just “cost of supplies” as I enjoy creating my animals. I’ve made Elephants, cows, bears, rabbits, and moose. I also donate my animals to policemen, to carry in their cruisers. I’ve donated to hospitals, and am trying to reach Toys for Tots this year. A story I wanted to tell was of a young man, a few years ago, that was going thru the craft fair with his mom. He was a little larger than most children in strollers and I learned from his mom that he had brain cancer. He loved the craft fairs, and this was the way she could get him around, so he could see all the stuff. They went all the way thru the fair I was at, and returned to my booth because he wanted one of my animals. He had an allowance and wanted to buy an elephant he had seen. I could not take his money, and I gave him the elephant. The joy on his face, and the tears in his mom’s eyes, really hit me. I was honored that of all the things he had seen, he wanted this animal I made. A year later, the mom returned to find me. She was without her son. In the past year she had lost her son to the cancer, but she wanted me to know that he loved that elephant so much he wanted to be buried with it. I stayed strong while the mom was around, then I stepped out and cried for a long time. I have a lot of wonderful stories but that one, even all these years later, touches my heart. I love making the animals I make and without the quality of Poly-fil, they would not hold up to all the hugs and love.