Uru is in the same price range as OFA, but the quality and structural integrity of her work is way better than OFA. OFA's wait list is also several years at the moment.

As for "affordable", the best way to make it affordable in my opinion is to start with a partial, and don't try and save money on a fursuit please dear, it's better to spend $900 on a head you are proud of and want to show off than $300 on a head you'll never wear and then go and get the $900 one anyways; wasting the $300 for the other head in the process.

As for fursuit makers, there are quite a few of them out there and I only have 2 minutes before I have to leave the house to catch the bus so here's a few off the top of my head. I'll ask Uru to link you some more here if possible.

Getting fans built into my head by him now, and he makes awesome stuff, not sure if he does partials though.
He's been getting pretty good and the most affordable out of all of these guys.
Don't know about his price range, probably the same as Uru and OFA but can always get a quote.

Don't know much about them other than that they make suits
same deal as above
same deal as above

That should get you started for now!

As pointed out by growl_wolf below, does indeed make SUPER cute suits. It would fit your character very well.

Also, do NOT send Soki NSFW reference sheets; he does not like them.

Thanks so much for all the info hon!!! I have so much research to do now :D Overwhelming how many options are out there honestly, but I really appreciate you pointing me in the right direction.

I completely agree with you all though, I'd much rather spend the extra money on something I'll love instead of having something that I'll be embarrassed to wear around...

Good boy!

Honestly, I have tried commissioning several builders over time and I can tell you my experiences with other builders if you like. I would highly suggest against commissioning OFA as their wait times are insane, their customer service is aweful, and the quality leaves a lot to be desired.
sokitwopaw is very reliable for completion times and the quality of his work is excellent. He can be difficult to work with, but definitely consider him.
donthugcacti is pretty expensive but they are quite friendly and their quality is excellent from my experience.
Those are the people I've had the most positive experiences as a commissioner.

If you're interested in commissioning me, I would definitely advise you to ask some of my previous customers about their experiences that way I'm not just bragging on myself ;)

Definitely go for quality over price. You will be much happier with something more expensive over something cheap!

Wow, thank SO much for all the info Uru! It's really a huge help having so much information. I really like to look around and make a strongly informed decision before I just jump in to anything.

I've personally seen xaff's suit and how much he absolutely LOVES how great you are to work with. I take his recommendation for you very highly, and respect you greatly for the work and friendliness you exhibit.

aww well thank you very much! I try to provide the best possible customer service =) honestly, I've commissioned other artists that i would never commission again and i feel that i should be honest about my experiences with them even though i build suits myself. Because hey, not everyone is going to commission me, so I'd rather point them towards an artist who's gunna do a good job!

best fursuit maker of all time  FirestormSix Woof! he makes the best!

Thanks for the pointer Growl, I'll definitely look into them!

Thanks Xaff! ^^

Feel free to hit me up if you have any questions! Xaff's comment is correct however, I don't build partials. Here's a resource to learn a bit more about a number of builders:  fursuitcritique

OMG North, that's an invaluable resource!! Thank you so much for showing me this, I could spend hours reading over it all!!!

seems like a lot of the popular ones are listed, there's also made FUR you, "razzylee" does some, scribblefox, kodipup, :P could go naughty and get a noblewolf suit, it'll also depend on the type of material you want to get, there's the most common "fur" but there's also some half decent looking spandex and lycra ones as well

Thanks tech! I definitely want to stick with fur though. The lycra and spandex have a nice look, but they don't really fit Laz you know? I'll definitely check into the folks you listed here.

Made fur you is good, I couldn't find razzy lee's FA so didn't list her. Scribblefox = OFA, have not heard of kodipup - will have to check him out. Noblewolf has kinda cross-eyed heads, not ideal :p

I completely agreed about Noble... I like this body suits... but his heads leave much to be desired for what I want for Laz

 rlworks for razzy
 morefurless is another one, they make super awesome suits with posable eyebrows, but i'm not sure you want that cartoony