Nutcracker and Mouse King Holiday Paper Printables

The classic story of the Nutcracker and Mouse brought to life as printable paper toys. Now you can reenact the epic battle between the Nutcracker and Mouse King. I'm not sure what they were fighting over, the Sugar Plum Fairy or just peanuts?

The Nutcracker even has a movable jaw! Although I wouldn't try cracking any nuts with it. The Mouse King has this cool feature which allows you to roll it on the floor. Not only will the kids love the rolling mouse but your cat just might too.

North Pole Printable Gingerbread Collection

Three new paper toys for the holiday season available in my Etsy shop. I've been wanting to add more PDF playsets to my original gingerbread cottage and now its starting to look like a Christmas village. I like the choo choo train best... you can add small treats to the carts behind. The new cottage features elves having fun in the Winter snow.

Yesterday the giveaway for the white reindeer ended. I always feel so bad having to pick one winner from all the comments made. I thought it would be great if I had another quick giveaway for fun. I will give all 3 playsets from the gingerbread collection to 3 winners. To participate tell me your favorite Christmas song along with a way to email the PDF's to you. I grew up in the 80's so my favorite tunes are "Do they know its Christmas?" and "Peace on Earth" by David Bowie. Giveaway ends December 6, 2010.

No Coast is less than two weeks away!

 No Coast Craft-o-Rama 
Midtown Global Exchange building
December 3, 3pm - 8 pm
December 4, 9 am - 5pm

Don't miss in my opinion one of the best craft shows of the year. I look forward to this event every year. So many creative, talented artists participate. It would be hard not to find that unique holiday gift. Sara from Too Many Suitors, one of my favorite artists, designed this awesome poster for the event.  

Below are some of the kawaii ornaments I'll have available. Five new designs including ice skate, mitten, gift, gingerbread cottage and sad fruitcake will be for sale along with softie ornament designs from past years.

2010 Christmas Giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed.
Randomly selected by Random Number Generator.

Congrats to TwigandToadstool and her winning comment!

TwigandToadstool said...

buttercup fawn!!!! that being said, I LOVE almost everything in your shop...your style is so SO sweet! (I have a soft spot for that grumpy fruitcake as well)!
xo maureen
(valleyvixen at mail dot com)

Now through Sunday, November 28 , 2010 you can enter to win a free white reindeer! To enter this contest simply visit my Etsy shop and pick out your favorite item. Then leave a comment with your favorite item to enter. This contest is open to residents of USA and Canada only. Please remember to leave a way for me to contact you if you win. Your contact information will only be used for acquiring your address information should you win this contest.

You may complete each of the following tasks for one additional entry for each task completed. Please comment in a separate post for each task.

1. Follow this blog.
2. Become a fan of Fantastic Toys on Facebook. Leave a comment.

3. Blog about this contest. Comment with a link to the blog post.
4. Add a Fantastic Toys badge to your blog or website.
5. Tweet about the giveaway!

Christmas Collection 2010

The holidays are fast approaching and I have finally finished my Christmas inventory. I now know what an elf must feel like getting ready for Christmas. As I mentioned in my last post my home has been scattered with red, green, pink, and white felt since August. My Etsy shop is now filled with Christmas goodies! These adorable snow people available in 4 styles and are the newest addition to my Christmas Collection. 

Its also time for the Christmas giveaway. The last two years I have given away a white reindeer and fawn. This year I thought I would leave it up to you guys. What should I giveaway this year? Which of the following would you choose?

Snowman

Snow Seal

Polar Bear

Ornament Set

Fawn

That time of year again...

I know its a little early for Christmas but when the holidays are the best time for your business, I begin the holiday inventory in the summer. Its no wonder why I stopped decorating the house for the holidays. I've been making decorations since August! The picture above is a mountain of of softie ornaments I'm currently making. I've added 5 new designs to my existing ornament collection. I didn't realize I was making so many but after stuffing them all, I have well over a 100. I'll be glad to finish these up and pack them away for my upcoming shows.

Last year sales were kinda of slow. As a result of that I've tripled the amount of shows I'm doing this year. I'm looking forward to the new craft shows this holiday season. My work will be on display at the Textile Center for there annual holiday sale. I was also asked to be involved with Peggy's Holiday Boutique. This will be Peggy's 33rd year featuring the work of over 150 artists. I've never been there so it should be interesting. Lastly I'll be at HandmadeMN 1st annual holiday market. Don't you love the graphics for the event! Check show info for specific detail on all events.

Merry Christmas!

Wishing you a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Fantastic Toys. Thank you all for visiting my blog and making comments. I wish the best for you and your family in 2010. I'm looking forward to the New Year and creating some fresh product. I'm already working on some new plush characters for Spring and Easter. Have a safe and fun holiday , see you next year!

No Coast 09 Show Pics

Just a couple of snap shots from the No-Coast Art Fair. Both days were good. Saturday was beautiful and the people were out in droves. These photos were taken during the quiet morning before the event. My new felted ornaments were hit as well as my plush ornaments. Some talented new artists there. Penguin and Fish and Studio Mela were my favs. P@F is a triple threat, graphic designer, illustrator and toymaker. My favorite kind of artist! Check them both out at etsy.

Day 123: The Snowman (Raymond Briggs)

The Snowman is a children's book by English author Raymond Briggs, published in 1978. It is the tale of a boy who builds a snowman one winter's day. That night, at the stroke of twelve, the snowman comes to life.

In 1982, this book was turned into a 26-minute animated movie. It was first shown on Channel 4 late on Christmas Eve in 1982 and was an immediate success. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Animated Short Film in 1983. It has been shown every year since and has become a part of British and international Christmas popular culture.

Download the PDF file here and make your own Snowman! Also check out our last Christmas's special, Jack Skellington as Santa!

Visit our Facebook Fan page for more goodies!

December Giveaway!

Giveaway is now closed.

For the month of December I'm giving away this lovely white fawn. If you would like to enter this giveaway please post a comment and leave your email address. I will choose a winner from the list of comments by December 15. Make sure to check out my shop for all my other Christmas items.

Felt Christmas Ornament Tutorial

My project is featured on Michaels website. Please rate my project to increase my chance at winning a chance to be on the Martha Stewart Show. Go here to rate this project on Michaels website.

Your family and friends will love these vintage inspired felt ornaments. This is a great holiday craft project to make with left over felt scraps and trim. You can sew them by hand, sewing machine or the younger ones could even glue them together. Finish them up by adding some ric-rac, trim or felt shapes.

Materials Required

Craft felt
Ribbon, ric-rac
Craft glue
Needle/Thread
Polyfill stuffing
Pins

Leave a comment and email address to qualify for the free giveaway of the ornaments pictured. The 2 page PDF tutorial contains the pattern, complete instructions and photos with finished examples.

Please make these ornaments for family and friends. They are not meant to be sold. Merry Christmas!

Download Christmas Ornament Pattern with Instructions.

Christmas Collection 2009

I've added a new plush cutie to my Christmas Collection. I think snow seals must be one of the cutest animals around.. right of there with the chihuahua. I was inspired by another artists interpretation and I knew I had to make one for my collection. You can find this sweet guy along with the rest of the collection in my etsy shop.

Christmas Kiss

Hello Snow Seal!

Cinderella Clothes Pin People Ornaments

Inspired by the Christmas pin doll collection of my youth I have started a new tradition of offering exclusive ornament kits. This is the second year I have offered the clothes pin people ornament kit and this year I designed a winter themed version of Cinderella. Each kit contains materials to make Cinderella, her charming Prince and even the glittery carriage. Inspired by the fashion of Marie Antoinette, Cinderella wears a lovely ball gown and a powdered wig. Kits are available as a limited edition while supplies last. Last years Nutcracker set sold out fast so get this set before its gone. Kits are available in my Etsy shop. Happy Holidays!

My DREAM job!

Every year during the holidays Macy's Mpls. puts on a spectacular Christmas show. Its the closest thing our city has to a Disneyland attraction. Many artists and designers combine their talents creating an animated walk through depicting illustrations from classic children's stories. This years show was an original story, "A Day in the Life of an Elf". My favorite scene was the toyshop and candy factory. Some day I hope to work with this group of people. Macys if your reading this I'm available!

Christmas Giveaway! Win a White Reindeer!!!

Giveaway is now closed.

As part of my blog launch I thought it would be nice to offer another freebie. This is the first year I have made this gorgeous white reindeer. This limited edition softie is only available during the holiday season. I'll even pay for shipping within the United States.To enter, fill out the form to the right and at the end of the month I'll pick a WINNER! Contest ends Nov. 30. Make a comment to improve your chances of winning. Who knows I may have a giveaway every month so check back often. :D

Christmas has arrived early this year!

I just LOVE this photo. Can't you just see them celebrating and dancing around like the timeless Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer Christmas special? Included in this years Christmas Collection are elves, snow people, whie fawns and whole lot more.

Nutcracker Clothes Pin People Ornaments

When I was a child my favorite part at Christmas besides opening presents, was trimming the tree. Every year the best part was unwrapping the clothes pin people from storage. It was such a treat to unveil each handmade pin doll from its packaging to discover what wonderful character was inside and place them on the tree.



I'm excited to share with you a limited edition Clothes People Ornament Kit. Based on the holiday classic the Nutcracker, each kit contains materials to make three enchanting characters from the timeless story. Everything is included to make the Nutcracker, Sugar Plum Fairy and the Mouse King.