Toy Army Tuesday - Mahlimae

Hi guys! Toy Army Tuesday is back in full swing, and I have so many incredible artists and pieces to share. Today I am excited to share with you the very talented artist Nicole, from Southern Tasmania, Australia - aka Mahlimae.


(Echo 10, Mahlimae, from my personal collection)

Nicole of Mahlimae produces beautiful echo hatchlings. Her "work is pulled together by a common theme of possibility, a longing for connection and a intentionally simplistic form which aims to intrigue. [She finds herself] hopelessly drawn to the mystery of ancient Folklore, to the beauty in the darkness at the heart of a forest, to the energy which radiates from worn, tattered fabrics...[and she believes] there is much to be said for the subtleties in expression and much to be learned by allowing yourself to step outside the reality of the everyday." - For more about her and her work please visit her website here - Mahlimae.com.


(Echo 10, Mahlimae, from my personal collection)

How precious is this little piece? I initially stumbled upon Nicole's work via instagram and instantly fell in love with the sweet and simple expressions in her work. Nicole produces a small number of her echoes each year, so I was very fortunate (and woke up at 4 in the morning) to get one. I love her work because each piece seems to carry a world of secrets that they want share with you. She is definitely one of my most prized possessions :]

Toy Army Tuesday - Rotofugi Haul

Hi all! Toy Army Tuesday is coming to you on a Thursday this week since I am a smidge bit behind, whoops. Oh well. You need to shake things up now and then, right? Today I am going to keep my post fairly short and to the point. For those of you who are not up to date with my blog - in February I attended the Traveling Circus at Rotofugi. The Circus Posterus collective/my favorite group of artists had their work up for display. Being the crazy person that I am, I waited out at 5 in the morning in the below freezing Chicago temps to be the first person in line to get a ticket to buy a piece from the show. Thankfully waking up that early was complete overkill so my room mate and I were the first two people in line - meaning that I got first dibs at whatever two pieces I wanted - yeah, I was and am still excited about it. Oh - and my room mate is the best person ever.

Anywho... I knew that I wanted to add a piece by Amanda Spayd and Chris Ryniak since I didn't own anything by them at that point and their one of a kind pieces are highly sought after and nearly impossible to track down unless you attend an opening. Below are the two pieces I picked up. In the next couple of weeks I look forward to sharing more information about each artist with you. In the mean time - take a look at my adorable creatures.


(On the left - "Fiddlesticks" by Amanda Louise Spayd. On the right - Ice Root Gourwart by Chris Ryniak.)

("Fiddlesticks" by Amanda Louise Spayd)

(Ice Root Gourwart by Chris Ryniak)

(On the left - "Fiddlesticks" by Amanda Louise Spayd. On the right - Ice Root Gourwart by Chris Ryniak.)

The Dust Bunny by Amanda Spayd was the item the Traveling Circus's fliers and posters, and was also the first piece she created for the show. As soon as I saw her post a preview of it online I knew I wanted to take the little guy home if at all possible. Her work is cute, creepy, and mysterious all wrapped up in to one. This guy looks startled - as if you caught him sneaking in to the cookie jar late at night. Aaaand get a load of his very real looking teeth. The Gourdwart by Chris Ryniak just blew me away. His adorable frankenstein-esque features and blue coloring had me instantly falling for piece. I am so glad that I was able to bring both pieces home with me, and I was even more excited to meet these talented artists who I have been following for quite some time now. It really was a special night and I am so glad I have these guys to remind me of it all daily :]

*end nerdy rant about toys.

Have a beautiful day everyone!!

Toy Army - Starry Midnight Masao Set

Mornin' everyone! Toy Army Tuesday is back in full force.
Today I am bringing to you the first skelves I added to my collection - the Starry Midnight Masao Set.



Aren't they pretty?


This edition of skelves were designed and hand painted by Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters, the Starry Night Masao Set was created in November 2012 for DesignerCon. The larger of the two - the four legged Masao skelve stands at 8 & 3/4 inches tall and is an edition of 66. The mini Masao skelve stands at an adorable height of 4 inches and is an edition size of 100. I was instantly drawn to the translucent blue with silver glitter - these gems look pretty neat in sunlight. I love cute and creepy things - what's not to love?

Do any of you collect - toys or anything else? I would love to hear about your collections.
Also, do you have any questions for me about my collection or collecting in general?
I would love to answer any questions you may have.
Until next time!

Toy Army - Calliope Jackalope #1

Hi all! How are you doing today? Hope your weeks are off to a good start. The beginning of the month is always hectic for me at work so I am counting down to the weekend. This weekend I am going to see my brother in A Chorus Line - pretty darn excited. A bunch of his friends from school/work are in this production so it will be nice to see them all together again. Anywho...

Toy Army Tuesday is back again. I have added quite a bit to my collection recently and am pretty excited to show everything off. Instead of overwhelming you all with it all at once I thought I should break it down. Today is all about - Calliope Jackalope #1, by Kathie Olivas - my favorite artist in the world of toys.

I showed off some of my first few pieces by Kathie last year in case you want to catch up. For a quick summary of her and her work: "Kathie Olivas is an internationally exhibited multi-media artist from New Mexico. Through her current body of work, the Misery Children, she explores society’s insatiable desire to assign ‘cuteness’ and our discomfort with the unknown. A dark blend of early American portraiture set in post apocalyptic times, Kathie’s paintings and custom toys are a satirical look at how fear affects our sense of reality." - kathieolivas.com



Now that you are caught up to speed you can meet Calliope Jackalope #1. Calliope is made of sofubi, aka - soft vinyl and was produced by Tomenosuke and Circus Posterus (a small collective of fine artists established in 2007 by Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters). This specific piece was created for the 2012 DesignerCon and was limited to 120 pieces. Each piece came signed and numbered in individual bags.



Isn't she adorable? This January they released Calliope #2 which is ivory colored. I don't own that particular piece - just yet. I love the robins egg coloring on this piece and the adjustable legs are fun allowing the piece to sit on the edge of just about anything. I also have an artist's proof print of Calliope which I will have to share some time soon. She is one of my favorite characters.

Next week I will have to introduce you all to the wonderful world of Skelves! Have a good day everyone.

Toy Army - Deadly Sins Labbit Mini Series

Hi all! Happy Tuesday. Hope your day is off to a good start. I am excited to say that Toy Army (Tuesdays) are back! I have added quite a bit to my collection and look forward to sharing bits and pieces with you all along with other toy tidbits - i'd also like for you to share bits of your collection too! Wahoo. Well here it goes...

8 Deadly Sins Labbit Mini Series By Kronk


Quick Background (please click on links within the text to learn more)
Who is Kronk?
Kronk is an illustrator/toy designer/graphic artist from Cape Town, South Africa. He is the talented artist behind this wild series.

What is a Labbit?
(I am answering this for the newbies) Labbits - Aka - Smorkin' Labbits were created by Frank Kozik - a self taught artist who produces awesome gig posters and vinyl toys. He also happens to be one of my favorite artists in the vinyl toy world (the large pink figure above is an example of one of Kozik's Smorkin' Labbits).



The series
The 8 Deadly Sins Series originally went on sale July 26th, 2012 in Kidrobot stores. Th 2.5 inch blindbox figures embody the following vices - sloth, pride, envy, dejection, greed, lust, gluttony, wrath, and stupidity. Each figure comes with a unique design and card. The three I own are wrath, lust, and dejection (blue variant).



I don't own any other pieces by Kronk currently but I love this series. I really enjoy his illustration style and would like to complete this quirky set some day. The sloth design is my personal favorite.

note:I am still working out the kinks in this series. I could go on and on about all of the artists but I find it is best to keep blog posts short and to the point. Right? Or would you prefer more info? I hope that an overview of the artists and toys will peak your interest so that you can click through the links to learn more if you'd like and to help others from feeling overwhelmed - we will see how things progress in time.

Anywho... next week is all about Kathie Olivas, my favorite artist. I can't wait to share her work with you all :] I will have to break her posts up in to a series in itself. Also, if you would like to show off your toy collection on ShyScout feel free to leave me a comment or shoot me an email at shyscoutblog@gmail.com.

Dreams Really Do Come True!

Hi all! I have a very special Toy Army Tuesday to share with you all. It is the mother of all my Toy Army Tuesday posts honestly. Many of you who have followed my blog for awhile know that I LOVE Blythe dolls. I had two dolls (I even picked one of them up in Japan!). Ever since I fell in love with those big eyes I have been on the search for a 1972 Kenner Blythe doll at thrift stores and flea markets, mainly since they are far too expensive on ebay ($600-$2,500). For those of you who don't know - Blythe dolls were created and sold (originally) for only one year - 1972. Needless to say the originals are VERY DIFFICULT to find. I made it my quest however. I have been dreaming of finding Juniper for over a year now...and now she is mine!!!



Yep, that is right! I found my dream Blythe. A blonde 1972 Kenner!! Saturday night I attended the all night halloween fleamarket. It was freezing and half the size of the fleamarket in August, I was pretty bummed. I picked up some Pyrex and wandered inside to check out some stalls. I was drawn to a pile of old musty dolls. Running through my head was small hope that Juniper would be there. This time I saw some teeny feet and started to get excited. Next I saw a paisley patterned dress - WHAT?? And then I flipped her over and saw her eyes. It was her. I started shaking. OH MY GOODNESS!!! This is happening. I told myself I had to try to act as calm as I could and ask the man how much she was - I didn't want him to become suspicious. "Sir, how much is this doll?" I asked, "$3 dollars" he promptly responded unfazed by the situation, "Oh, ok." - AHHHHHHH. I unbuttoned her original dress and there it was written - 1972 Kenner. I kept checking her in my bag every 5 minutes just to make sure.

Phew. I could go on and on about that night. I won't though. Here she is as I found her. Next week I will show you her cleaned and restored look :]



Not a scratch, mark, or crack (aside from on her face where it looks like someone attempted to open it). She even still had her original polka dot panties on aaaaand proof that she is a 1972 Kenner stamped across her back. Oh - and guess what!!! Her eyes change effortlessly to all four colors!! Her pull string works better than on my other two Blythes, which is insane considering she is 40 years old.



This crack and her missing 5 tracts of hair are her only quirks.



This is proof that if you dream about and search for something long enough it is bound to find you.

Have a beautiful day everyone! Next week I will show you what she looks like after her makeover.

Toy Army Tuesday - Domo-Kun

Another installment of Toy Army Tuesday here. Today I thought I would tell you a little about Domo-Kun (aka Domo here in the states) and show off my mini collection in the process. I remember first seeing Domo-Kun online in high school. His odd shape and strange expression initially caught my eye.

For those of you unfamiliar with Domo-Kun he is the official mascot of Japan's NHK television station. Cute mascot huh? Domo-Kun was created in 1999 to promote NHK’s satellite broadcast service. Domo-Kun is a monster who hatched from an egg and lives in a rabbit hole with a wise old rabbit and REALLY likes T.V. You can view a compilation of all the stop motion Domo-Kun vignettes HERE.



My collection consists of a large and small Domo-Kun plush (the small one unfortunately has yet to be unpacked) and a set of slurpee straws from the 2009 7/11 promotion. The straws just may be my favorite Domo-Kun items I own. They had come out in the fall of 2009 but I was oblivious to the 7/11 promotion. In January I found a photo of one of the straws online and made it my mission to find one. I went to about 6 different 7/11's all over the area to track them down but every single one was sold out since the promotion had ended months before. At the 6th store, however, I found a huge pile of them on super sale and snatched them all up. I think the best part of collecting is hunting down the items you want.

I did see Domo-Kun products all over Japan while I was there but didn't purchase any. It is fairly easy to find him here in the states - Target for example has his plushes out and about for just about every holiday. The halloween and Valentines day ones were pretty darn cute. Do you own and Domo-Kun items?

Have a beautiful day everyone!
If you haven't done so already, please enter my $50 gift card giveaway to Shabby apple! It ends June 1st.

Thrifted Thursday - Doll collection

As you all know I have a weakness when it comes to collecting dolls. The stranger they are the better in my book. I definitely don't need them, but when they come with a thrift store price tag I can't say no. Is there anything you can't turn down when thrifting? Anywho, over the past month or so I have added three more
gems to my collection...



This cute doll was a carnival prize from the 50's. I instantly fell in love with his big eyes, bow tie, and goofy plaid hat. I found him while thrifting on this excursion but turned him down due to his price tag. I went back about a month later and his price was reduced - on top of that I had a coupon worth $20 at the store so he ended up being free :] That is what I call a deal.

The other weekend when I purchased my cute plaid coat I also found two dolls calling my name.



I had seen these dolls before in various outfits on thrifting excursions but they usually were slightly out of my price range (I don't like to spend more than $10 on an item typically while thrifting). I had to have these two when I saw their $3 price tags. I have a problem, haha, I know. Do any of you have dolls like these in your collection?

I really need to work on giving stuff away rather than taking more stuff in. This weekend I hope to sift through all of my things so that I can throw a garage sale the following weekend. Wish me luck! I hope you all are having a beautiful Thursday! Any exciting plans for the weekend?

Toy Army Tuesday - Blythe

As many of you know I am a Blythe fanatic and collector. However, I have never shared their back story or my trip to the Junie Moon store on here... so I thought it was about time.

Blythe dolls were sold for only a year in 1972 by their manufacturer Kenner. Their large eyes and big heads made them unpopular and scary to children. Kenner quickly pulled them off the shelves. It wasn't until Gina Garan rediscovered and photographed them that they became popular. A friend of Gina's described one of the scary eyed dolls selling on Ebay - Gina fell in love and started collecting them - at one point she had over 200 original Blythes. She later introduced Blythe's to her agent in Japan. The toy company Takara soon began remanufacturing new versions of Blythe dolls and their popularity has grown ever since. Today an original 1972 Blythe doll can easily sell for over $1000. For more of their back story please check out This is Blythe.



Junie Moon (photographed while on my trip in Japan - above ^) is the official Blythe store of Japan. While many stores may carry them, Junie Moon sells only Blythe products. They sell the dolls, their clothing and accessories, stationery, apparel, and more. Needless to say I was in heaven. Unfortunately, you are not allowed to photograph inside. The only thing I could justify spending money on was some stickers - everything else was priced way too high. For example - a pair of Blythe sunglasses (for your doll) cost $23 dollars - yikes! It sure was fun though giddly oogling over all their products.

I wish I could have taken them all home with me. I did manage to buy a Blythe on my trip to Japan at a Manadrake shop in Nakano which I wrote about in my last Toy Army Tuesday post. I thought it was about time to show her and her sister off...



Introducing: Ume (meaning Japanses plum). I finally settled on her name today, so I thought it was fitting to show her and Penelope off. I wanted a name that referenced where she came from. Yep. I am a crazy Blythe lady. I need hit up some thrift stores this weekend and find them some new clothes to wear.

Do you have a Blythe collection of your own? I would love to check it out! Have a beautiful day everyone :]

Toy Army Tuesday - Japan Blythe

Ok, so for anyone who has followed my blog longer than a minute - I am pretty sure you know I am obsessed with Blythe dolls. As soon as I learned that I was going to Japan, Blythe was on my brain. Needless to say as soon as I landed I was on - Mission: Blythe.

Instead of giving you a huge back story on Blythe (let's save that for a rainy day), I thought I would show you some of the places Blythe dolls popped up on my trip. For anyone considering traveling to Japan - this may or may not help you out. Either way - they look lovely as ever.

First night - Akihabara
Alright, so I may not have been specifically looking for Blythe dolls on this day - but they found me any way. I wish I could remember the name of the shop. The Blythe's were hidden in the corner of the Doll floor - yes this was a 7 story toy store! They all looked lovely but cost a fortune (no I don't have $500+ to drop on a doll) *sighhh.


Hakuhinkan Toy Park, Club 67 - Ginza
While walking around Ginza we stumbled inside a toy store. Again - not looking for Blythe. However, once inside I noticed that there was a doll store in the basement...so I headed down.


The store also had beautiful Pullips and Barbies.


Everything was still out of my price range, but we were getting warmer. I had found some decently priced dolls at a Mandrake store online - so the next day we headed to Nakano.

Mandrake - Nakano
If you want a great deal on Blythe dolls - Mandrake is the place for you. This location is inside of a mall with multiple stories of toys. After searching around...there they were :] Sort of crammed in dimly lit cases. They even had 1972 Kenners!!


I picked up a White Magic Night Blythe for a fraction of the cost. Although I had found the doll I wanted I still couldn't help but search for more.

Odaiba - Toys R Us
This post has gotten far too long. I will save Junie Moon - the actual Blythe store for another day as well. Until next time - have a beautiful day!!