Toy Society Drops

I'm ashamed to admit it's been nearly a year since I've done a drop for The Toy Society.  When several of the girls in my sewing group decided to participate in a Halloween weekend drop, it was the  perfect opportunity to get back in the swing of it. I managed to drop two handmade toys while Mark and I were at a local flea market. With so many people milling around, it was hard to be covert, but I managed.

The first drop was another of my robots, yes-I'm a tad obsessed.

 Funny, I was so worried about being spotted dropping this guy, but he hung around unnoticed for quite some time! We visited the building where I dropped him first thing and went back to that building(for vintage hankies)about four hours later and he was still there! We checked again after the hanky buying excursion and he was gone. Yay!

The next drop, was this guy. A mini version of Lars. He's OK, but I think I'll go back to making the larger ones the next time.

I don't know how long the mini-monster stuck around. It was probably an hour later when we walked back by the stone bench where I left him. He was gone.

 I hope they found a good home or at the very least, made someone smile!

Want to spread a little hand made love? Head on over to The Toy Society for more information about this fantastic project.

Lars

Went with my family to Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville on Monday. I did my third drop for The Toy Society while we were there.

I wasn't planning on dropping Lars after I first made him because I thought he was too ugly and strange for The Toy Society. Monday morning as I was getting ready to meet up w/the folks, Lars sorta called out to me from my sewing desk. Perhaps it had something to do with being so close to the children's hospital at Vandy...

"Please let me join the Toy Society!" he said
"I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!"

I couldn't argue w/that! SO.... my brother Shea and I meandered over to Children's Hospital while Dad was checking in. I left Lars at the koi pond in the garden area. I'm hoping that he will make a child very happy!

Check out the The Toy Society...and if you are the crafty type, please consider joining in the merriment and making a toy to drop!

Toy Society Drop #2

I made this little robot as my second drop for The Toy Society. I was in Nashville Thursday and decided to leave him at the Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. There was a garden area right outside the main entrance...I left him there w/a sweet statue.
Hopefully, he's already had the opportunity to brighten someone's day!

Pete...the first Toy Society drop

This is Pete. I made him for The Toy Society. Pete loves hugs, gummy worms, playing peek-a-boo, and listening to his favorite band, Hootie and the Blowfish.


Today I drove him into town, fastened him to a lamp post in front of the public library, and just walked away....leaving him there, stranded.


I felt bad about it in a "I'm a hopeless dork" kinda way.

Mark drove into town FOUR hours later and poor Pete was still hanging there, homeless. I hope someone gives him a home soon! It's dark out and it's gonna get cold tonight.


The Toy Society project is part random acts of handmade goodness, part street art. How ironic that as I am dropping my toy I come across this...


Guess I'm not the only "street artist" in town!


If you haven't been yet, go check out The Toy Society or the Toy Society Flickr group where they're making the world a nicer place, one toy at a time.

Don't Toy With Me

In my excitement over joining The Toy Society, I decided I should probably try my hand at toymaking once again.

I call this little fellow Puppy-Pain-In-The-Butt. I didn't think it was all that difficult until I started stuffing him. The more I stuffed, the worse he looked! He is supposed to be standing, not squating and don't even get me started on the pipe cleaners that ended up all wadded in his ears! I would love to know if anyone else at there has tried(or is willing to try) this pattern and let me how it turned out. I don't know that I have the patience to try it again! Still there is something about him...Next, I went for something that I thought might be a bit easier. And it was...only two pattern pieces. This pattern is McCall's 6907. He's OK, but I think a fluffier, furrier fabric would have been more suited. I used a fuzzy felt(not wool felt, can't afford it)and it sheds like crazy, makes the weird crease in his forehead(that I can figure out the reason for) show up too much and again, it's not fluffy enough for a teddy bear! Still, he is kinda cute. Finally, I gave up on patterns completely and just made a monster. I drew him on the felt and started cutting. He's my favorite of this lot and the one that might be good enough for the Toy Society. I think the reason I'm happiest w/this one is there was no pattern to follow and nothing for me to judge myself against. So even if he's a tad on the wonky side I can say he's supposed to look like that! I'll call him Lars....I think he's got a bit of Scandinavian heritage in there somewhere. That's a pompadour on his head, not a bow...although a girlie monster might be kinda fun too!

My next toy project: Wee Wonderfuls Spaceboy & Robot.

Thanks for stopping by!

The Toy Society

I happened upon Odd Dotty Dollymaker earlier today and read a post about a Christmas project the blog author was involved in. I was immediately smitten by the idea of The Toy Society. And Odd Dotty's dolls are beautiful, by the way.

The Toy Society began as a street art project by a toy artist and blogger in Melbourne Australia. In the words of the originator:

It came about from a love of "street art" but a recognition of my lack of artistic skills. I really wanted to contribute something to the street scape. I'd watched a friend put his work up about the place and got such a buzz walking past random walls in the city and seeing his work. I thought maybe I could sew something instead. And so The Toy Society was born.

I planned to leave toys around the streets to brighten up the place and give people something interesting to look at. And then I imagined what they might look like if they were still sitting on a light pole 5 weeks after they were put up...all faded and manky and rotten. So I thought I should invite people to take them home, share the love and all that.

What a way to spread joy & happiness around the world! And yes, the project has spread from Melbourne and toys are finding homes and spreading love all around the globe.

All it took was me reading this letter from a woman who found one of the toys to know that I wanted to be involved.

I wish I had been aware of this project before the Christmas Drop, but I'm still so eager to get started on a toy! I have only made three toys(successfully) since I started sewing. These, this one and this one, so this will be a challenge for me, but I am SO ready for it!

Want to know more? You should head on over to The Toy Society. Be prepared for a big dose of happiness while you're there!