I decided to go with Twilight Sparkle from my little pony as a great practice plush. I saw a couple of tutorials online and went with 2 (one for the body and the other for the eyes) that helped me along the way while making small adjustments here and there.
The final result...
She is 100% Handmade and stands 14 inches tall 11 inches wide.
I didn't have a tutorial for the horn, hair and tail. Her bangs was what I was having trouble executing. I was so determined to have her look the way I pictured her in my head that I refused to give up on her until I got it just right. Believe me there were times I had to stop, take a step back and think about how I was going to make it work. Other times I took a needed break and moved on to other things in hoping when I came back to work on Twilight I would have a clearer head on what to do next with her hair.