"Headsters" for Sale!

Here are some handmade beanbag animals from a new line I've started called the Headsters. They're now available on ebay:

 

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uhm, perhaps I'm overdoing this joke by now...) Uhm, please enjoy the "headsters!" :-D

 

 

You can buy them here!

 

 

 

 

 

The Sweet Stuff Bunch are Here!

Here are some handmade stuffed animals from a new line I've started called the Sweet Stuff Bunch, each one representing a different sweet treat. They're now available on ebay:

 

 

 

 

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uh, perhaps this joke truly is getting a bit stale by now...) Uhm, please enjoy the plushies! :-D

 

 

 

Bubble Gum

 

Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry

 

Raspberry Jam

 

Caramel Fudge

 

Mocha

 

Sugar Cookie

 

Grapeade

 

Tangerine

 

Lemon Meringue and Cotton Candy

 

NEW! Popsicle

 

NEW! Gelato

 

NEW! Blueberry

 

NEW! Mint Cookie 



 

 

 

Halloween Plushies for Sale!

Here are a few handmade Halloween plushies of mine, which are now for sale on ebay and ready to get their scream on!:

BTW, his eyes glow in the dark.

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uhm, is this a bit too much? Little bit? A tad?) Uhm, please enjoy the Halloween plushies! :-D

 

 

You can buy them here!

 

 

 

 

"Weirdies" For Sale!

Here are some handmade stuffed animals from a new line I've started called "Weirdies." They were made from this very bizarre-looking vintage pattern I bought a little while ago; I purposely tried to keep them weird looking. They're now available on ebay:

 

 

 

 

 

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uhm, is this joke becoming a bit much? Little bit?) Uhm, please enjoy the "Weirdies!" :-D

 

 

You can buy them here!

Musical Plushies For Sale!

Here are a few handmade musical plushies of mine, which are now available on ebay:

Una the unicorn plays "The Unicorn Song."*

 

Arthur the dragon plays "Greensleeves."

 

And his girlfriend Gwenevere plays "Camelot."

 

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uh, am I overdoing this joke? Kinda? Sorta?)  Uhm, please enjoy the musical plushies! :-D

 

You can buy them here!

 

 

 

 

Fun Fact: The Unicorn Song was originally written by the legendary Shel Silverstein, and then featured in his book, "Where the Sidewalk Ends."

Plush Pets For Sale!

Puppies and kitties and mousies, oh my! Here are some handmade plushie pets of mine, which are now for sale on ebay:

 

 

 

 

 

Tried to give this guy sorta' retro-look eyes.

 

 

 

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Uhm, is this joke staring to get old? Little bit? Kinda?) Uhm, please enjoy the plushie pets! :-D

 

 

You can buy the puppies here!

 

You can buy the kitties here!

 

You can buy the mice here!

 

 

 

 

 

Bean Bag Animals for Sale!

Here are some handmade bean bag animals of mine, which are now on sale at our ebay store:

 

 

 

These also make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, fish, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Wait a second...didn't I just say that? Oh well...) Uhm, please enjoy the bean bag animals! :-D

 

 

 

You can buy them here!

 

 

Teddy Bears for Sale!

Here are some handmade teddy bears of mine, which are now on sale at our ebay store:

 

 

 

 

These bears make good gifts for kids, adults, teenagers, farm animals, wild animals, fish, insects, birds, reptiles, amphibians, inanimate objects...(Bit too much? Little bit?) Uhm, please enjoy the bears! :-D

 

 

 

You can buy them here!

 

 

 



 

 

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Bookstore:The Tighty Whitey Spider by Kenn Nesbitt

When pigs fl-oh, wait...

 

 

200 posts?!?! ALL RIGHT!!! DA DA DAH, DA DA DA DA DAH, DA DA DA DA DA DA DA-A-AHH! YEAH! (Is this joke starting to get old? Kinda? Sorta? Little bit? Oookay. :-D)

 

 

This is a very nifty little book of weird and wacky animal poems, with many very clever little ditties, such as the titular tale of a certain undies-clad spider, "Cara's Parrot", which concerns a bodybuilding bird, "Has Anyone Seen My Chameleon?", concerning the disadvantages of playing hide-and-seek with a chameleon, "Banana Dan", the sad(or, actually, more pathetic!) tale of a once brave monkey, "Speedy Sid", which concerns a racing squid, "Gabby's Baby Beagle", a tongue-twisting poem about a girl and her baby beagle, who has a taste for bagels, "An Ordinary Day", which catalogues a cavalcade of Unusually Uninteresting Sights, "Get Me out of the Fish Tank", a song set to the tune of "Take Me out to the Ball Game", told from the POV of a cat who tried to get a snack and fell in, and "My Hamster has a Skateboard", concerning a skateboarding hamster who's not so easy on his wheels. (Let's face it-Tony Hawk he ain't!) If you like funny poems, you like animals, and especially if you like funny poems about animals, this is the book for you!

 

 

Here are a couple of my faves:

 

He's one kitty that's certainly very straight-to-the-point! :-D

 

Hmm, I wonder if Peach and Edwin like to play this game.

 

 

 

 

Buy it on Amazon!

 

 

 

 

BTW, Ganz, the makers of the very popular Webkinz line of plushies, has also made a series of plushies with triangular bodies called Triang-A-Mals, one of which being a cat. This is perfect for anyone who might like a triangular kitten of their own, or knows someone who does.

 

 

Ganz Triang-A-Mals cat

 

 

  

Just Peachy

Peach Fuzz is a nifty little ameri-manga series written by husband and wife team Jared Hodges and Lindsay Cibos. This short-lived series, which was the winner of Tokyopop's second Rising Stars of Manga competition, chronicles the adventures of sweet fourth-grader Amanda Keller and her wacky, lovable pet ferret, Peach.(No relation.)

Volume One:

The first volume establishes the story and characters. Nine-year-old Amanda's mother has finally consented to let her have a pet, but Amanda doesn't want an ordinary one, such as the usual dog, cat, fish, hamster et al. One look at the ferrets, however, and she's instantly smitten. She picks one and names her Peach(due to her fuzziness), little knowing that Peach is a very prissy ferret who fancies herself a princess(Princess Peach?), and has the Walter Mitty-esque tendency to fantasize ordinary things as extraordinary, such as envisioning her cage as a dungeon, Amanda's toys as monsters, and Amanda's hand as a vicious, five-headed beast called the Handra!

Worse still, when set upon by this "Handra", Peach bites in defense! It's up to Amanda to train Peach to behave...but will she be successful?

Volume Two:

 

Amanda has successfully trained Peach(Finally!) and plans to take her to school for show-and-tell. Amanda isn't very popular in school, and hopes that her new pet will stack the odds in her favor;unfortunately, while Peach is quite popular with the class, Amanda herself still gets left out. :-(  A plan is hatched by Amanda's popular(and sometimes sassy) friend Kim Chang(pictured on the cover, above) to get her in good with the class: a ferret costume, made by Kim herself!

Unfortunately, after Amanda gets good props from the teacher for her costume, the(VERY nasty!) school bullies Phil and Tim conspire against her. These guys are really mean, but fortunately, they get their well-deserved comeuppance in the end.

Also introduced in this book is Kim's pet ferret Pavaratty, or "Pava" for short.(Pictured with her on the cover.) Pava is a conceited sort who fancies himself a famous actor/singer/dancer; he rudely chides Peach, denying that she could ever be considered a princess, at which she then gives him what for!

Volume Three:

After Peach escapes from her cage yet again, Amanda's athletic(and rather superstitious) friend Mimi Santini(pictured on the cover, above) suggests that Peach may simply be lonely. At Amanda's request, her mom consents to let her buy a second ferret; Amanda selects a fancy ferret(Peach is a sable) whom her mom names Edwin(after a hero in her favorite novel). Peach is elated by Edwin's presence, fancying him the ferret prince she's been pining for...an emotion that's quickly shattered once she gets to know him. Edwin is very klutzy, goofy, ill-mannered, overly dramatic, and very, very loopy(He believes that vets are aliens, 'nuff said), far from the prince she'd envisioned.

Amanda pays a visit to Mimi's house, where she meets Mimi's equally superstitious family, who are all unnaturally obsessed with mushrooms(...Huh? Mushrooms?), as well as Mimi's albino ferrets Truffle and Spore, with mention also made of the late Puffball(All three of whom are pictured with her on the cover). Like their owner, Truffle and Spore are very superstitious sorts(But also somewhat creepy!); they warn Peach of the curse plaguing their land, and suggest that she and Edwin might be its next victims. Peach, however doesn't believe them...at least, not at first!

Have mercy, those albino ferrets are creepy...but sorta' creepy cool, though.

My thoughts:Overall, this is a very cool, interesting, hard-to-put-down series of comics, with a very clever concept(A comic about a ferret). The comics are well-written, with ginger-peachy artwork, and likeable, relatable characters; the ferrets in particular are cute, funny, and lovable. Each of the books also have some very nifty extra features, such as:

-Peach's Monster Compendium, chronicling the various "beasts" Peach has encountered throughout the story.

-Pavaratty's Ferret Terminology,  in which Pava educates the reading audience on various ferret facts.

-Bios of each major character, complete with sketches.

-Sketches diagramming each major story location(Amanda's house, Mimi's house, the school et al.)

My only major beefs about this series were: 

-The series didn't last very long, which IMHO was quite a shame, considering how good it was. :-(

-Although the storylines concerning the ferrets were given closure, the storylines concerning the humans never were.

-It would have been nice to see Edwin and the white ferrets a little more. (I may be slightly biased because I like Edwin, though.)

-We never get to know Puffball before he dies, save for the snippets of information given about him in book three.

 

Overall, this is a very cool manga series, worth plenty of re-reads. As the ever-quotable Brighteyes once said, it's "Super peachy-keen!" :-D 

 

 

Buy Volume One on Amazon!

 

Buy Volume Two on Amazon!

 

Buy Volume Three on Amazon!



Here also, though not related to the books, is a(very cute!) ferret princess plushie, perfect for those who might want a "Peach" of their own, or knows someone who does.

 

 

Aurora Princess Farrah plushie

 

Aurora Princess Farrah plushie with carrier

 

 

A couple of things I just had to add:

 

Okay, well...

 

 

FERRRRRET KOMBAAAAAAT!!!

 

Love Edwin's expression in this pic, "Huh?"

 

 

Fun fact:Lindsay Cibos based the concept off of her own pet ferrets, Momoko and Elf.



U.S. Acres:Jim Davis' Lesser-Known Comic Strip

U.S. Acres was a newspaper comic written by Jim Davis, creator of Garfield, in 1986. The strip(which was known as Orson's Farm outside America) followed the wacky hijinks of several kooky farm animals. The cast consisted of the polite, intellectual pig Orson who was the strip's main character, the bossy, loudmouthed rooster Roy, the cowardly but lovable duck Wade, the feisty little chick Booker who would often try(and fail) to catch a worm, his easygoing little brother Sheldon(no relation) who lived inside an egg shell which had similar properties to Snoopy's doghouse, the friendly but not-too-bright sheep Bo(he was more of a surfer dude type in Garfield and Friends), and his grumpy sister Lanolin who would often spar with Roy.

In Garfield and Friends, the group was often antagonized by Orson's three big, nasty brothers Gort, Mort, and Wart(who had appeared in the strip previously, albeit for only the first few weeks). Orson's brothers lived on the farm next door and would often come over to Orson's farm to steal food or cause some sort of trouble.(Which they fortunately were never successful at!) Further antagonists were a weasel, a fox, and a wolf, all of whom had the same goal:to steal chickens. (Honestly, IMHO, it would've made more sense for the wolf to be stealing sheep, but there it is.)

A pair of temporary additions to the cast were Cody the dog and Blue the cat(The latter being of obvious coloration). This may be just IMHO, but it seems that part of the reason for these characters' short-lived career(although they did appear in the various kids' books) seemed to be the fact that they didn't have quite as much personality as the rest of the cast(Cody in particular didn't seem to have any personality at all other than chasing and attacking the other animals). On a related note, for unknown reasons, Cody and Blue also never appeared on Garfield and Friends. (One could possibly call them "The Lymans of U.S. Acres.")

The comic had a small fanbase, though it never became quite as popular as Davis' more famous strip, Garfield, and only ran for three years.(Although the franchise had a much longer lifespan on Garfield and Friends.)

Overall, U.S. Acres was a fun, humorous, and very nifty comic with a good, likeable cast. Despite it never having quite the popularity Garfield did, it's definetly worth a read! (Or, "worth a watch" in the case of Garfield and Friends.)

Here are a couple of my favorite strips below(although, honestly, it was hard to pick just two!):

The entire comic series has been released in book form; the books are available at the links below(some, regrettably, are a little pricey, but well worth it for any U.S. Acres fan):

U.S. Acres Goes Half Hog

U.S. Acres Counts its Chickens

U.S. Acres Rules the Roost

U.S. Acres Runs Amuck

U.S. Acres Hams it Up

Orson's Farm Cuts the Corn

For younger fans, there were also several kids' books made, which are available at the links below*:

Wade Dives In!

Happy Birthday, Sheldon!

The Big Camp-Out

Beware! Rooster at Work!

Wade's Haunted Halloween

Sir Orson to the Rescue!

Let's Play Ball!

Booker Meets the Easter Bunny

*There are also two other books in this series entitled "The Great Christmas Contest" and "A Most Special Easter Egg" which, regrettably aren't currently available on Amazon, but they do occasionally show up on Ebay.

There were also plushies made of the characters, which show up on Ebay from time to time.

Hmm...the animals in the last panel of this comic look...familiar, somehow.

They're Lovable! They're Huggable!

I'm a (BIG!) Pound Puppies fan. Over time, I've collected several Pound Puppies items, from the vintage plushie dogs and cats, to the more recent plushies, to the vintage books/coloring books.

Here's some of my stuff:

 My Newborn Pound Puppies; the one on the upper right is one of the more recent ones(made in '95)

  My Pound Purries

 My coloring book collection

A little plastic dog & cat(which, as per the picture, make good board game pieces), and a slightly unusual plastic dog with wheels(He has what looks like a place to hold a pencil on his back...) 

And last, but not least, my (GINORMOUS!) mini Pound Puppy collection :)

(The little brown dog at the very bottom, separate from the others, is a Pound Puppy knockoff; I believe he's called a Kennel Kuddlee.)

The franchise has had a long and very interesting history. It began in 1984 in England & shortly thereafter migrated to America; the production has changed hands many times, and there have been many different varieties of Pound Puppies made since.

More info can be found here:

http://www.ghostofthedoll.co.uk/Toys_PoundPuppies_Galoob.htm

I'm a fan of the various Hanna Barbera cartoons, especially the Pound Puppies, and hope to write more about the show, the books, the movie, and other related things later.