Reindeer shirt to match clearance pjs

This truly is one of my favorite kinds of projects. If you've read my blog for any length of time you know I am CHEAP!! :)  Last year I grabbed these clearance pajama pants in a size up for Annaliese and stashed them away, promising to make her a coordinating shirt before winter. I completed it yesterday!

It took me a while to decide what design to use. I did an extensive google image search on reindeer applique designs to find a good one to use. I stumbled upon one that was a close match to this print, but from a digitizer I wasn't familiar with. I briefly browsed the etsy shop and found some designs of team logos and licensed characters... and had to break the news to Annaliese that I would not be buying that reindeer design. It's my personal goal to not support digitizers that break copyright laws -- I'd much rather support those who follow the rules! So I continued my search.
A few days later it dawned on me to search for "Rudolph" and boom, I found a cute design from a site I trust! This is a modified version of Applique Cafe's Rudolph with lights design. It's missing a few things... obviously the lights, Annaliese wanted me to omit those since the reindeer on her pants don't have lights. Do you notice what else is missing??

Satin stitches!!
As I prepared the design and fabrics, I thought about the shirt I made to match pj pants last year, how the raggy design really suited the fleece pants, and wondered if I should attempt to make the reindeer raggy. Then I realized I had picked fleece and knit, neither of which would fray! So I took a look at the design in Embird, hiding the satin stitch steps. It was digitized in such away that if I skipped the last two colors, it would still look good! I made sure to use matching threads for the tackdown stitches (which I ran twice at the machine). After the eyes and smile were done, I snapped a quick pic to get a second opinion from my MIL:

We decided it looked good! I removed it from the hoop and saved 20 minutes of stitch time!
The only key detail that was lost by skipping the satin stitches was the line around the head, separating it from the body. Since the reindeer on the pants had collars/scarves, I cut a piece of pink fleece in the shape of a scarf and tacked it down on my sewing machine, leaving the ends loose. (and I confess I didn't really save 20 minutes... I cut out three different little scarves before I got one good enough.)
I literally got done trimming the stabilizer on the back as her bus drove down the street. So I carried it down the driveway with me and greeted her with it. She gave me the biggest hug!
Tonight she said, "This is probably the best shirt ever. Way better than one you can buy, you know like a screen print one." That's an exaggeration, but oh, she melts my heart. :)