Archive for toys

Halfway to Halloween Countdown: Oriental Trading Co. Random Roundup

Posted in anatomy, craft, halloween, jewelry, plush, products, undead with tags , , , , , , , , on April 29, 2013 by shewalkssoftly

Oriental Trading Co. has thousands of Halloween items. Here’s a goody bag of random treats I happen to like that I haven’t posted in previous roundups here or here (wow, there was some cool stuff in those old posts now that I look back!).

For the jewelry makers…
Hanging Bat Charms

Body Part Charms

Bat and Mummy Lampwork Beads

Latex Skull Balloons

Stripes!

Stickers (childhood, I miss you!)

Plus Bean Bag Bats (I have NO practical use for these…but they are just so darn cute).

Cannot type/talk due to severe illness (all words courtesy of voice software or kind typing helpers)…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond.

12/30

Posted in anatomy, art, astronomy, craft, day of the dead, kitsch, monsters, photography, retro, toys, undead, vintage with tags , , , , , , , , , , , on December 30, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

Medical hiatus no-typing mix…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond at the moment.
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Merry Christmas

Posted in animation, christmas, decoration, food, toys with tags , , , , on December 25, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

…to those who celebrate it!
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McFarlane's Twisted Christmas, Jack Frost

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READ THIS! Lovely…
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Medical hiatus…I read and appreciate all comments…Apologies for not being able to respond at the moment.

Desktop Goodies 7/8

Posted in absurd, advertising, anatomy, anthropomorphic, art, Books, clothing, comics, death, destinations, humor, kitsch, monsters, photography, pinup, vintage with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on July 8, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

I want to go here. So badly.

Anyone know the artist for this?

I do not know this woman, but her batty glasses indicate she’s probably pretty great.

This woman, too…

A child destined for greatness.

I really want this game!

Bats and cats…oh my.

Now let’s get serious and talk about death. Great book title:

And another:

I would absolutely read this one.

Another incredible title.

Does anyone have this? I couldn’t find it anywhere, but I’m curious and intrigued.

The first? Great detective work, Dr. Donohue.

I never knew a mortuary could be so exciting.

“Man describes his sensations while slowly roasting to death”

Rather beautiful antique illustration:

Indication of slightly skewed priorities (read the fine print…she’s upset about her hair).

It may feel like slight indigestion at first, but…

Anyone know where this anthropomorphic poison comes from?

Brilliant!

Serenade…

Lovely death and (a) maiden.

Come in, kiddies. A meaty, cheesy death surely does not await you in the hungry jaws of Mayor McCheese.

Heaven?

Hell?

For the ladies…

I don’t think this ended well.

The end.

Desktop Goodies 6/4

Posted in absurd, art, Books, death, decoration, fashion, food, halloween, home, humor, introvert, meat, photography, pinup, puppets, retro, taxidermy, toys, vintage with tags , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 4, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

Does anyone know the artist responsible for this (I bet one of you will!)? I swoon every time I look at this piece.

The lesser known alternative to “shooting lasers from one’s eyes” is shooting pinup models.

My fellow introverts, here is a fabulous KEEP AWAY sign!

Who wants a start a club with this name with me?

From Cake Wrecks comes this awesome reproduction:

Hey, want some fashion? Here goes…

Hairdo hall of fame!

Excellent costume idea:

And while was not intended as a Halloween costume, I think it would work wonderfully as one.

Great alternative to to poodle skirt:

Just make sure you’re not dressed for trouble.

Lovely Crazy Cat Lady:

This has been circulating a lot, but I just have to make sure you’ve all seen it.

Two loves had he…

“Lite Brite, Lite Brite…turn on the magic of colored lights!”

[Imitates Todd Flanders] “Is your source on this reliable?”

This kid is going places in life…

Old Sunday School postcards are always cheese-tastically awesome.

The word of the week: HAMAGINATION.

I love hints of barely detectable darkness amidst standard prim and proper design.

Well done, taxidermist. Well done. Does anyone remember the Ren and Stimpy “Log” commercial that featured “Ultra Log” (which just had a hideous dead squirrel nailed to the top)?

Coincidentally, I also came across what might have been the goal of the project above:

Can this be me, please?

Okay…time to get some reading done…

Desktop Goodies 5/25

Posted in absurd, Books, comics, craft, humor, meat, monsters, retro, sculpture, toys, vintage with tags , , , , , , , , , , on May 25, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

I’d love a copy of this.

This was the ONLY way to play with Weebles back in the day!

“Hey…would you cut me a slice of that potato salad?” I’m not sure why the mid-20th Century as a whole felt that all food was better served molded and congealed.

Maybe Snuggles can cook up something better.

Now THIS is a great piece of food!

My kinda cookbook…

Clearly the world’s most amazing self-help book:

And a book I want very badly!

A book that the occasional SheWalksSoftly reader might have actually had:

Why it pays to be nice…

“Hang on…I have to put my face on.”

An accessory for the man about town:

And quite the dress design…

I’m intrigued…

I never expected a Mighty Dark-Winged Avenging Lord of Chaos to be named “Bryan.”

Pleasant dreams, kiddies…

It seems I had a bunch of images lined up to post, so expect another Desktop Goodies installment soon…

Uncle Fester’s Mystery Light Bulb

Posted in monsters, toys, TV, vintage with tags , , , on May 24, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

Today I give you Uncle Fester’s Mystery Light Bulb, released in 1967.

This plastic light bulb was powered by one AA size battery. The actual flashlight bulb is a 1.5 volt elongated, frosted bulb. The instructions say to replace the lamp with a standard 1.5 volt flashlight bulb once the original burns out. The flashlight bulb is contained within a non-breakable plastic full-sized light bulb. You can tell it’s authentic if the top of the bulb is stamped “ML” and surrounding these letters are the words “Mystery Light Bulb.”

The trick in lighting the bulb was to make an electrical connection between the bottom of the metal lamp base and the side of the lamp base. You could do this by wearing the special ring included in the box, by using aluminum foil concealed in your hand, or in your mouth if you want to practice the conventional Uncle Fester method.

One of the great dangers of this toy is that the bulb base was not reverse threaded. This allowed the 1.5 volt battery operated bulb to be easily screwed into any 110-115 Volt lamp socket! Knowing this toy might cause a possible fire or electrocution would most certainly evoke a sly smile on the faces of the entire Addams clan.

Did anyone have one of these? Or any other old spooky products you might like to share?

Source

MST3K Model Kit

Posted in craft, film, sculpture, toys with tags , , , on May 8, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

I must thank my friend Fritz (who is running this amazing event next month) for this link. A rare MST3K model kit was released by the Janus Company over a decade ago.

The kit portrays Mike Nelson, the reluctant commander of the SOL for the last half of the series, tightly gripping the steering wheel and confidently looking ahead while his robot friends Crow T. Robot, Tom Servo, and Gypsy look on in total abject fear.

I wish the photos were larger. I can’t seem to enlarge them and maintain clarity.

Sculptors Tom Seiler and Jeff Yagher actually traveled to the studio in Minnesota so they could accurately construct this wonderful kit.

What a great discovery for a MST3K fiend like myself! Did anyone have this?

See more info here.

Gre-Gory the Big Bad Vampire Bat

Posted in monsters, retro, toys with tags , , on January 29, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

In 1979, Matell released this wonderful toy: GRE-GORY THE BIG BAD VAMPIRE BAT.

Though the concept is rather arbitrary (never in all my years of being a bat connoisseur have I seen one with a translucent chest), kids must have loved this thing.

If I hadn’t sworn not to add more clutter to my house until I can get rid of some things, I’d be tracking this guy down on Ebay right now. Every grown woman needs plenty of monsters in the house, right?

And now for a look at Gre-Gory himself:

Does anyone have Gre-Gory? Did you have him as a child? Anyone just dying to get rid of one? ;-)

Randy Regier

Posted in craft, satire, toys with tags , , on January 9, 2012 by shewalkssoftly

Short anecdote: in 6th grade my class was asked to construct a diorama based on a book we liked. I recreated the “hobbling” scene from Stephen King’s Misery. I was the only student whose project featured a prostrate Ken doll with a bloody stump where his foot once was, at the mercy of an axe wielding Barbie.

Don’t worry. Despite such antics in my younger (and recent) days, I’m a shockingly well-adjusted human being.

I’ve always had a soft spot for re-purposed and mildly morbid toys, so when I came across Randy Regier’s gallery of vintage style handmade faux-playthings, I was delighted.

See the rest of the toy gallery here.

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