Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Giraffes in the House


Probably everyone who knows me would say that hedgehogs are my favorite animal. And they would be right. But it's slightly less known that giraffes are my second favorite animal.


Elph's Circus Giraffe Plush Stuffed Animal
Elph's Circus Giraffe Plush
I've been collecting giraffes for a while, as well as lots of other zoo and circus things. When it came time to decorate my son's room, it was easy to decide on zoo and circus as the theme. Sometime I'll post about his room, but here are the giraffes he now has for himself (ok, one or two are on extended loan from me, ha ha).

Gyffy the Giraffe Inflatable Toy Rody
Gyffy the Giraffe. He's an inflatable Rody riding toy.
Sophie the Giraffe Squeak Toy France Natural Rubber
Sophie the Giraffe, a natural rubber squeak toy.

Red Giraffe Metal Wall Hook Hanger
Red Giraffe Metal Wall Hook
German Giraffe Riding in a French Hot Air Balloon Wagner Flocked Animal
German Giraffe in a French Hot Air Balloon. He's a little vintage flocked Wagner Kunstlerschutz

Tuesday, January 29, 2013

Pom Pom Animals

blue and white pom pom bird handmade with yarn by katy kristin

When I was little, I remember seeing the cutest little Steiff ladybug in a toy shop. It was made out of pom poms, and I often wondered how it was made. These little guys were called "woolies", and Steiff began producing them in Germany in the 1930s and continued making them until the early 1980s. If you want to read more about them, read this neat article from Steiffgal's blog here.


These are a much older version of the one I saw as a kid. I can't find a picture of the 80s ladybug!

I had been searching around for vintage Steiff toy pictures to pin to my Vintage Toy Pinterest board (yes, I should have been doing something else but looking at pictures is more fun!) when I came across the most amazing Steiff woolie collection that had been auctioned off at Christie's London a few years ago. I am truly amazed by what they could make with pom poms! Here's some pics:


Steiff woolie pom pom calico cat chasing a Steiff woolie pom pom brown mouse

A bird wedding!




So I became super inspired and set out to learn how to make multicolor pom poms. I wanted to be able to make some little "woolies" of my own! I found a tutorial here which really helped. And the result is the little purplish blue birdie at the top of the page. I can't wait to try making more. You know a hedgehog is on my list!