I would say that you acheived an excellent result with just the raw processing and a crop. It goes from a plain looking snapshot to a sharp artistic portrait.
I don't personally mind the thing at the left. It seems incidental and does not distract my eyes. If you cloned it out the picture would look more contrived, which is fine, but I personally think I prefer the natural look it imparts. It gives me the subtle impression of a toy left aside when the sleepiness took over.
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