Soft Toys Made From Your Child's Drawings

Omg, these are really, really super cute.  I want one!!!  I'm sending in my childhood pics now!!!  

Child's Own Studio custom makes soft toys for children and boy, they are so darn adorable.  The creator, Wendy Tsao took on this amazing task, by making a soft toy for her 4yr old son in 2007, because he was constantly drawing.  Since then, she has made 400 of them.  If you have children, check it out - you'll absolutely love them!

Seven more after the jump...

Must Watch: The Lego Story

If you're in your 70's, 60's, 50's 40's, 30's, 20's, 10's or even 5, you'll enjoy this video.

Celebrating 80 years, Lego has put together a Pixar-esque video that is pretty darn cool - I really enjoyed watching it.  

The video tells the story of how Lego came to be, and the origin of the famous painful-foot-stabbing bricks.  LOL.  You won't be disappointed.

Hell, If I'm correct, my mom still has my original Legos I played with as a kid.  I need to have a talk with her. :-)

The Launch of a Lego Space Shuttle

For any lover of space or science fiction, you will love this fantastic video!  The music and the whole idea of it was just impressive.  It's heartbreaking to know that we will no longer hear of our Space Shuttle or when the next launch date will be.  I never realized how much this would affect me, but the Space Shuttle program started and ended in my lifetime.  I was in 8th grade when the Space Challenger exploded and it was the greatest tragedy I had ever experienced.  Who knew that a toy could make me feel so much nostalgia.

In the following video Raul Oaida used a helium-filled weather balloon to launch a Lego Space Shuttle to an altitude of 114,000 feet. He explains why he did it and how much effort went into completing this project on his website.

YouTube Description: My name is Raul Oaida (from Romania) and this is my LEGO tribute to the end of the space shuttle era. Proving that although retired, this machine can still fly, albeit in toy form.

The launch took place from central Germany (easy flight clearance) and reached a max altitude of 35000m. A 1600g meteo balloon filled with helium was used alongside a GoPro Hero, Spot GPS and of course Lego Space Shuttle model 3367.

We launched it on the 31st of December 2011, the equipment was recovered via GPS tracking 240 km S-E from a remote area.

I wish to thank Steve Sammartino for the opportunity to do this project and the german airtraffic control for the understanding.

Keeping It Old Skool - Issue No. 11 - Etch A Sketch

Who never had an Etch A Sketch growing up?  If you didn't, I don't know what to tell you. You lost out on a piece of history that you'll probably never get back. LOL.  Don't get me wrong, you can still buy them, but c'mon would you?  Why would you want to buy it when you have the PS3, Xbox, or Wii?

These were the coolest things ever!  You could draw with them, write with them, take notes with them, and then erase it within a matter of seconds.  A simple shake is all it took.  The two white knobs, and the stylus underneath the gray screen did all the work.  All you would do is move the knobs around and line would appear.

Ironically enough, the toy was invented in the late 1950s and not the 80s like you might have imagined.  The toy became popular in the 60s, so I'm sure you're grandmother played with one before you ever got to.  Regardless, it has become one of the most creative toys of the 20th century.  It was inducted into the National Toy Hall of Fame in 1998. [source] 

Well, I found another place for Ryan and I to visit when we go on our travels. :-)

Make sure to check out my previous "Keeping It Old Skool" issues here.

Back In The Day - Lego circa 1989

Wow, seeing this today really brought back memories.  Oh, how I loved my Legos, and I had this very box too!  I truly miss being a child.  Yes, I've grown wiser over the years, but it would be nice to go back in time just for a moment.

Office Warfare

 

Last week, in my "Keeping It Old Skool" series, I introduced you to an awesome Nerf battle between a few kids.  This time around an office war commences when an employee picks up a co-worker's Nerf gun from his prized collection. It was really fun to watch, check it out.

Keeping It Old Skool - Issue No. 9 - Battle of the Nerf

I'm sure by now every kid in America has grown up playing with some type of Nerf product.  Growing up I used to play with the guns and sportballs, they were so much fun.  Of course back in the 80's we didn't have quite the selection they do now.  Watching this video brings back memories, it was definitely fun to watch.  

Most of the toys are made of a foam-based material and are neon in color.  Parker Brothers created the toy in 1969, according to Wikipedia, but didn't really take off until the 1980's and 1990's.

Caution:
Watch as these kids partake in a violent nerf battle, but it's unlike any you've seen before.  This one comes complete with blood and gore.  Kudos to whoever put this together, though, it may not be suitable for children to watch. LOL. literally.

Keeping It Old Skool - Issue No. 5 - The Rubik's Cube

I had originally intended this post to be a special issue of my 'Poster of the Week' series, but then realized I could use it as a 'Keeping It Old Skool' issue instead.  And after looking at the motivational phrase, I couldn't pass it up.  

This is so-something I would've done back in the 1980's. I hated these damn things growing up; I even removed all the stickers once and "completed it."  My sister and parents thought I was a genius. :-)  Little did they know I had trouble making them stick.

According to Wikipedia:

The Rubik's cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik. Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980.

As of January 2009, 350 million cubes have sold worldwide making it the world's top-selling puzzle game. It is widely considered to be the world's best-selling toy.

Ironically enough the concept wasn't entirely Rubik's; prior attempts had been made using a spherical version of one, but it never took off.  

I remember sitting in class or just out with friends in the playground, and everyone was playing with one of these magical little boxes.  Sometimes my sister and I would fight at the Pizza Hut gumball machine to see who could get the special key-chain version of the toy - of course our mother ended up with it.

As with all my 'Keeping It Old Skool' issues, you need a classic trailer...

Another classic trailer after the jump...

Keeping It Old Skool - Issue No. 4 - Voltron

I didn't realize how much time had flown by.  I haven't posted a "Keeping It Old Skool" issue since mid-February.  Don't get me wrong, I've wanted to post one each week, but with all the current events and hot guys I had to get my priorities in order, LOL.

I was 13 years old when my mother bought me this amazing toy, I played with it for hours on end, and it was the coolest toy ever!  She had no idea what it was, she just wanted to make me happy.  The coolest thing about the toy was the fact that it was like the cartoon, but better!  So not only did I have the 2D version I saw on TV, but I had the real VOLTRON! In. My. Hands!  In the cartoon, Voltron was made up of five pilots who would command these five robot lions, which could be put together to form the greatest Robot of all time.  The five were in charge of protecting the planet Arus (ruled by Princess Allura) from the evil King Zarkon (from planet Doom), his son Lotor, and the witch Haggar, who would create huge Robeasts to terrorize the people of Arus.

According to Wikipedia: 

The original series was created by Peter Keefe in 1983 using material he had licensed from the Japanese cartoons Beast King GoLion and Armored Fleet Dairugger XV. The series was dubbed into English and edited, rewriting the scripts with reduced violence and the removal of Japanese cultural and location references.  A sequel to the original series, was made in the 1990s using computer generated imagery (CGI) techniques.

 

Ahhhh, the joys of 80's commercials! :-)  I don't remember what happened to my Voltron.  I think I may have dissected him, as investigating how things were made were a pastime favorite of mine.

Keeping It Old Skool - Issue No. 2 - Turnin' Turbo Dashboard

Ahhh, it's time to reflect back on those good 'ol days of our childhood or teenage years and continue with my second issue of "Keeping it Old Skool."

I never owned one of these personally, but I remember playing with one at my friend's or cousin's homes, wishing I did.  I loved this toy; where else could I pretend I was driving, aside from making a car out of a cardboard box? 

The Turnin' Turbo Dashboard was every kids' dream.  It gave us an endless amount of time and it was so much fun, at least until Nintendo and Playstation came around. Of course, since there was only one in the house, we all had to share it, and that wasn't the fun part.

The toy was made and sold in 1983 by a Japanese company called Takara Tomy.  And we all know how much we love imported merchandise.