Meet Twink.

His color may be purple, and he sure looks like the old McDonald's character Grimace, but his favorite color is red.

Meet Mrs. Harts. She has two peaks on her head and purple horns on each. Her favorite pizza is cheese and her favorite food is, no surprisingly, cheese.

And then there's the funny-looking fellow that looks like something between a bat-monster and a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle. And what about that character that was once a magician, until a failed trick turned himself into a hideous monster?

Those are the stories of the Monstrous Moppets, and they've invaded Compass Memorial Healthcare.

Actually, these new stuffed toys were the brainchild of Williamsburg High School seniors Micki Stallman and Shianne Lindsay, who created them as part of an FCCLA (Family, Career and Community Leaders of America) project for the hospital.

And with the help of WHS family and consumer sciences teacher Krista Goodman and students at Mary Welsh Elementary School, the project became reality.

Goodman and Mary Warwick, CMH's director of administrative services, explained the toys were given to the hospital's emergency room, to be given to younger patients to help them relax in their time of emergency.

"A lot of kids have a fear of the hospital or a doctor when they're younger," said Lindsay. "We thought this might be a fun way to take their minds off it.

"Our teacher (Goodman) had a brand called Ugly Dolls, and she got one and, 'Omigosh, how cute is that?'" she continued.

"It's a lot for one person to head up, so the two of us kind of just took it and went with it," noted Stallman.

Goodman said that students in Sue Gosnell's second-grade class and Theresa Glandorf's third-grade class were asked to sketch a monster and create a humorous little story to go with it. Materials were purchased and with the help of fellow FCCLA club members, Lindsay and Stallman spent several days creating about 50 dolls, all using templates based on the original drawings and making the dolls look as close to the original drawings as possible.

"I love this project because it's touched so many hands," said Goodman. "They all took the drawings back to my class where FCCLA students and other (WHS) students picked out the drawing they most connected with, and then turned the drawing into a doll. They liked the stories … so many cute and funny ones in there."

On Monday, Jan. 23, the stuffed toys were given to CMH for eventual distribution.



A photo of each doll was taken and will go back to each Mary Welsh classroom for display.

Lindsay and Stallman said the project will be going to an FCCLA presentation at Prairie Middle School, Cedar Rapids.

Each of the dolls have a little heart on their back side, to show they were made with love.

"I kept telling kids they are 'Ugly Dolls,' but they don't have to be perfect," said Goodman. "I love this project. Almost any student … was able to participate use sewing machine or sew by hand."