Posted By Kathleen David on February 17, 2011
Toy Fair was held at the Javit’s center and other unknown locations through out New York this weekend. Toy Fair is where companies bring out their new toys and their not so new toys and show and sell to retailers who buy toys and the like. It is a pretty big show with lots to see and takes up the whole convention center plus a number of showrooms outside the center.
Peter has some connections with various toy companies for various reasons so we get to go. This year we started at the Hasbro showroom which was not at the Javit’s center and got to see the cool new toys and games coming to a store near you by fall of this year. And there are some really cool ones too. Also had some new games and some new versions of older games including a Disney Trivial Pursuit with a revamping of the rules to make it easier for younger kids to play and faster over all. They are also introducing more travel versions of their games. There were new Transformers to be seen along with My Little Pony toys that look like the Hub version of the ponies and more Littlest Pet Shop than you can shake a stick at.
One license they got back was Sesame Street and the toys they have based on them are truly amazing. Tickle Me Elmo has got nothing on what they will have coming out this fall. Think Guitar Hero for the preschool set with Elmo leading the band and you wouldn’t be far off. The interactive toys just keep getting more interactive.
After we toured Hasbro, Peter went home and I went onto the Javit’s center for the rest of the show. It took me about 4 hours of pretty constant walking to make it through most but not quite all of the show. There were one or two corners I missed and a couple of showrooms I didn’t venture into.
One thing I did like is that more of the toys I am seeing allow for more imagination and creativity than guide play. There were a number of dollhouses that were modular sections that you could put together in your own configuration. A lot of cardboard castles and houses that the kids could color and drawn inside and out. Some new craft materials that would be useful in costuming were there. A lot of craft kits allowing kids to build things from the ground up.
And of course there were puppets.
Melissa & Doug have a few new ones coming out including a very nice Mermaid. Folkmanis is trying out some Monsters that look really cool and are big enough for adult hands to play with. A number of other companies are throwing their puppets into the ring as well. There was the Puppet Company that had puppets with that slight muppet look to them. Silly Puppets reminded me of the Kids on the Block style puppets. They were big enough for adults hands and looked pretty sturdy. Sunny & Co Toys had both marionettes and hand and rod puppets for sale. They were much like Silly Puppets.
For the older kids and adults my pick was Puppet Heap Playthings, which had a unique look sort of Mr. Punch kind of Grand Guignol look (www.puppetheap.com). It is an interesting way to construct puppets and the fabrication of the fabric was fabulous. The only thing missing was Mr. and Mrs. Punch and baby. The artist for the pieces has a wonderful eye.
I am grateful I had the time I did at the Toy Fair.
Category: Uncategorized |
Comments Off on Toy Fair 2011 A Few Thoughts
Tags:
Posted By Kathleen David on February 16, 2011
I will be giving my thoughts on Toy Fair tomorrow. I am still processing all the stuff I saw. I will say it was nice to see more companies offer puppets with heads big enough for adult hands.
Where I am in project land.
I am down to the fiddling bits that need to be done to finish the costume. A few fasteners need to be added at key points and I need to finish Ariel’s wig, which turned into a project from heck because of cats and yarn.
Then I have a couple of dolls that need touch-up before I bring them to Farpoint. And there is the sooper skerit project I hope to get done and unveil there.
Once I am back I will launch into the postcards so I can mail them before we are off again.
The next couple of weeks will be pretty busy with real life stuff so crafting is probably going to have to take a backseat for a bit.
Onto the Photos of current projects for Farpoint
Caroline’s Costume
(For the Visually Impaired) Caroline’s costume consists of a dress with no sleeves. The dress is purple with a black inset piece shaped like a T. There are two fingerless long sleeved gloves that are black with pink at the top of the sleeve. There is a collar that is pink on the inside with black on the outside. The front of the collar has a red jewel in the center. Behind that is the headpiece which is shaped like a V which will go onto a silver long wig.)
Ariel’s costume
(For the Visually impaired) It is a green tunic with the Green Lantern symbol on a white circle and a green belt
Ariel’s Wig before cut and style
(For the Visually Impaired) It is a grey, black, and blond wig that looks like a lion stuck his finger in an electric socket. The hair is wild and everywhere.
I will have pictures of the girls in the costumes next week along with pictures of the dolls I get finished.
I am grateful that I have gotten as far as I have so far.
Category: Uncategorized |
Comments Off on The Wednesday Edition of Crafty Tuesday
Tags:
Posted By Kathleen David on February 15, 2011
Since today I am going to Toy Fair and we have to leave pretty soon.
I did get Caroline’s and Ariel’s costume done. Weeeeeelll almost done. I have some Velcro to add so things don’t slide and I have work to do on both wigs but that will be about an hour or so to do all that.
There will be pictures tomorrow too.
Tomorrow is finishing up some doll costumes and making sure that I have all my make-up stuff. I will also probably talk about what I saw at Toy Fair from a crafty perspective.
I am grateful that I get to go see cool toys.
Category: Uncategorized |
Comments Off on Crafty Tuesday will be Wednesday this week
Tags:
Posted By Kathleen David on February 14, 2011
Happy Valentine’s Day to y’all. Caroline had her cards ready to go for the usual school ritual of card giving. Peter and I are going for a Romantic Lunch at a place we like to go. It is our third choice but the first two closed last year doggonit. And Peter got me the coolest Valentine’s Day present. It is the Jedi Path. I haven’t read the book yet but the snippets I have read are really neat. The packaging is a treat in itself. You push a button and the opening of case makes you feel like you are in the Star Wars universe. There is a video on Amazon of the case opening but it doesn’t do it justice.
I finished Ariel’s Costume and got Caroline’s down to a few Velcro pieces and snaps. The Wig is a little more than half done. I now have to go back and make more plugs for it since I apparently under estimated how much I needed. I am hoping (ha-ha-ha) to have that all done by the end of today since tomorrow is Toy Fair Day for me.
I have some really mixed feelings about Valentine’s day especially after I read the Saint’s Life about St. Valentine. It is rather violent and sad. Iin the Middle Ages it changed to romantic love in the courtly love tradition (think Lancelot and Guinevere). That kind of faded until the Victorian Era where it became much more like the holiday we have today with the exchange of cards and tokens. But it started with a rather gruesome martyrdom.
I am grateful for hair that behaves.
Category: Uncategorized |
Comments Off on Valentine’s Day 2011
Tags:
Posted By Kathleen David on February 12, 2011
So for Ariel’s costume she needs a rather specific form of wig that is not that hard to find at Halloween but tends to cost in the 80 to 200 dollar range. And I am reticent to buy a wig, if I could find it at this time of year, for a one off costume. So I am building the wig and, as anyone who has done the same, it takes a lot of time. Yesterday was nothing but set up for the wig. I still have probably an hour to two hours to go on just the prep work. The assembly of the wig will probably take a day or two but I can do things in between when I get horribly bored with wigging.
So for Caroline’s I have left her shoes and a headpiece, which I need to attach to her wig. For Ariel I have the rest of her tunic, gloves, and the wig. Caroline and I are going to finish up some of the pieces later.
Then onto the dolls which will be finishing a few pieces and trying something new for this show.
My stomach is basically back to normal. Thank you for all your advise on this matter. It is nice to feel pretty much normal right now. The only weird symptom left is that my sense of smell is more hyped than usual.
Hope everyone is having a good weekend.
I am grateful to be able to eat without worrying about keeping it down.
Category: Uncategorized |
Comments Off on Wigging Out before Farpoint
Tags:
