Beginner Help - Birthday Announcement Block

[TiffanyH 1]

I am fairly new to the machine embroidery and I LOVE it!
I have done a lot with the applique and purchased designs on onesies.

I decided I wanted to do a birthday announcement block on a cubbie stuffed animal for my son.

I purchased an embroidery font, used sew-what-pro and spent a lot of time adding each letter in and resizing it, etc. (It still doesn't look like the ones I saw on ETSY. They have extra things, like hearts, lines and dots?)

I chose to practice this design before going straight to the stuffed animal.

Good thing.

The fonts I purchased seem too thick. The machine is doing them but it seems like it takes a lot of effort especially when the font gets small. They don't look as dainty as the other ones I saw that I liked and the time it took to bring each letter and number in was tedious. I attached a picture of what I was able to do but it does not look like the ones I see on Etsy.

There has to be an easier way to make something like this or a better font to be using. What am I missing?

Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer!

[Poppyseed 11]

My (non-expert) understanding is that embroidery shouldn't be resized too much -- no more than 20%. Perhaps that's part of the problem? I don't know Sew What Pro, but try searching online for tips or videos and/or contact SWP support for help.