Same old same old

Okay another final (ish) toy post since I've been holding back on buying toys and decided to invest in more art related things. I thought I blogged not too long ago but apparently I never posted all the pics I thought I did...

Lazy to filter and edit pics so forgive the drop in quality...

Finally got my hands on those rilakkuma bearbricks!! Got them for such an amazing deal on kidrobot forums. The white bear is a chase figure so I really lucked out this time.

 

PandaZ figure won on eBay for an amazing deal as well.

Got this on Amazon for like $6 shipped? Thank god I didn't buy them for $15 +shipping when they first released. 

Tomica Rilakkuma cars! Amazed by the quality (then again, it IS tomica). Also got the pirate Sorry Angel thanks to the amazing Rotofugi who were willing to sell me their displayed one!!  

 Glass head made in Italy from 100% recycled glass! Got for $8 and she looks awesome in my studio.

 Price on Amazon...crazyyy

A Toyful Winter

Not the most beautiful or tasty turtle buns but they were fun to make! For the shells we used something like a green tea sugar cookie dough. 

Matcha cupcakes with powdered sugar. Made the stencil hearts with a covered cookie cutter and then sifted powdered sugar over. Didn't work out that well, the rest of them looked like fat upside down raindrops.

Sooo many cute xmas ornaments at Target this year!! I literally could not leave the aisles and was tempted to buy everything (I walked away with...nothing! *miracle*) 

Went to KiKiKaiKai exhibit at the Seattle Asian Art Museum! I thought it was a Murakami solo exhibit but turned out it was actually the works of other artists within his studio. I studied Japanese pop culture during my two years of IB Art back in highschool (ahh the good ol days). One of the artists I focused on was Murakami and his KiKiKaikai crew so I was super excited to be able to see some of their pieces up close. The exhibit was awesome!

Ugh blurry photos drive me nuts but these were too awesome to not share!! I went to screaming sky art gallery for the first time (finally, after like 3 years!). They happened to be showing this artists work (unfortunately I can't remember atm but I'll look it up later). All hand made with fabric! These horrible photos don't do them justice at all :( 

Cool trash can on Alberta decorated with old street signs. Was waiting outside in line to grab a lunch at Tin Shed (SOO delicious and worth the wait!)

Hehe cute chicken game I came across at toy store.

 Tsumtsums at Disneystore!! So excited to finally see them irl I just stood there and kept taking pictures...

My purchases (a few were gifts).

Gushed over fabric designed by Nate Burkus at Joanns...was thinking of picking one for the curtains in my room but i realized they're probably too fancy to go with my ugly plain room. Maybe someday :(

 

SUPER delicious macaroons from workplace for my birthday! I'm not a really huge fan of macaroons even though I like the way they look. They're usually way too sweet for my taste, but these were delicious!! The best I've had so far! Cream was fresh and soft, shells were light and crispy on the outside and soft and slightly chewy in the inside...

Made an order with Rotofugi (their customer service is seriously amazing). Highly recommend buying from them!! Got the Balloonicorn that I've been eying for ages...and got it for an awesome deal!! I also went ahead and bought a few other things since I had to pay for shipping anyway. They mailed my order within a few hours after I paid and shipping was ridiculously fast (2 days!!). Not only did they pack the box with packing peanuts but they also individually wrapped ALL my boxed toys with paper so it was literally like unwrapping presents!! I don't even get to unwrap presents during xmas or bday anymore! Such a great experience!!

Sorry gee Angels (they're like the parody boy version of Sonny Angels). Love that they've got that trololol face and they have some ridiculous/funny costumes. I really wanted the pirate or scribbled one but I ended up getting the original completely naked one HAHA

GUMDROPS! At longgg last!! 

And then for the grand finale....balloonicorn!!!! They sold out on their site but they offered me this displayed one they had in stores. It was in perfect condition and even had its original box. Got it for a discount! 

O and here's the rubber duck I bought on impulse at a local toy shop. I've never seen a rubber duck in that shape and  it kind of inspired something in me...

And then there's my danbo xmas present ! My first authentic danbo (yes I have a knock off one) and the eyes actually lights up! 

Current obsession- gudetama!! He's the new "lazy egg" character created by Sanrio. Such an amusing little guy who reminds me of my lazy self. Hes almost impossible to find online or in stores here so I asked my cousin in HK to look for them. Today was her first day searching and she found this small selection! She sent me this pic and asked if anything caught my eyes. I ended up asking her to get me that little plush on the left that's sitting on an egg white : D

That was all the up-to-date photos I've got on my phone...although I have a lot more new toys that I haven't taken photos off *guilty spender*. But honestly, I haven't been buying toys recently...at least not as obsessively as I used to. I still have quite a lot of unopened toys in my studio garage that needs to be displayed (case is fulll and needs to be reorganized). The designer toy scene is unfortunately not what it was a couple of years ago. All good things must come to an end I guess... but that means less spending for me! Ha!

Play ALL the mobils

Astronaut playmobil. Okay I might possibly maybe likely be obsessed with crazy playmobil figures (crazy ones only. don't care for the plain ones)

Look at all those glorious details and accessories! 

Diver dude in amusing diving outfit. Funny I'm saying this right after I blogged about how great playmobil's quality and design are, but this particular figure was such a design fail. As you can see in the pics, his shoes are broken. Both shoe actually broke into four pieces as I was trying to fit his foot inside. It was IMPOSSIBLE to do so without breaking it. It was like forcing the glass slippers into cinderallas stepsisters foot which eventually went kaboom! and exploded into a million bits. Had to glue everything back together but couldn't find that one little chunk :( 

Bought this huge 'J' made out of cardboard and tried painting it to look like rusted metal. Came out decent! Although my moms response was "Why would you want something that looks old and rusted? It looks gross." Because im an artist would've been an appropriate reply. 

Excuse me while I desperately filter out the ugliness of our kitchen with the strongest instagram filter possible.

Anyway, since this is the most valuable piece I own, I figured it deserves to be displayed on its own. Couldn't find a display box that would fit this giant figure so I went to a local plastic store (TAP plastic) and asked them to cut me a few pieces of acrylic. (They're awesome btw!!)  I gave them the dimensions of my box and they calculated exactly how much plastic I needed. Total came out to be around $25? Which is waaay cheaper than buying one for this size in store (if it exists). The toughest part was gluing the box together. Holy crap it was seriously a pain in the butthole. You definitely need two or more people to help you out. Acrylic cement is super runny and once it hits your plastic it'll immediately melt the surface and leave an ugly smudge you can't remove. I actually bought two boxes, I glued the one I made for my parents first and it came out butt ugly. My uncle and I got the hang of it after our first try so this one came out a lot nicer. Dramatic display it is!

Afterwards I went to a local wood working shop and asked them to cut me a piece of wood for the base. I was only able to get a piece of plywood so it didn't look as nice I thought it would after spray painting.

Stupidly forgot to take some pictures before I placed them on top of my book shelves. I'm afraid of heights and my chair wasn't tall enough so while trying to lift this heavy giant box, I felt like I was gonna topple over and spill my brains all over the floor.

Tada!

Looks so small here but I ensure you its huge.

Was able to get out of work early so I stopped by Toy R Us to browse for a gift for my second cousins *liescoughits actuallyformyself*. Was only planning to browse (and buy it for cheaper on Amazon later ha!) but I ended up buying this large Big Hero 6 figure. It's produced by bandai and actually being sold at the disney store for $30! I got this at Toys R Us for $20 (same price as Amazon). Haven't seen the movie yet although I love the character designs. Probably won't be obsessed with collecting Big Hero figures until I watch the movie so I've decided to leave it unopened until I've actually seen the movie. Had a feeling this figure would sell out quick and people would be jacking up prices soon so I just bought it. Quality is a bit made in China-ish but it's not like I'm going to play with it anyway. 

 Finishing post with a nice warm bowl of udon. Bought this expensive korean udon that comes with soup base, bonito flakes, and this package of onions with tempura bits. Tastes as good as restaurant ones!

Tiny rubber ducks from vending machines. About the size of a quarter. Wish I'd gotten more!! 

Photography fail. Wanted to capture this crazy decked out car next to mines, but I chickened out cause my lane was starting to move as I tried to take this shot. 

Semi-fail hassle back potato!! Last time I failed cause I couldn't cut the potato properly, this time it's actually all in one piece! it's a pretty nerve wrecking process because you can't cut too far but if you don't cut enough it won't fan out properly. Semi-fail because I didn't bake it long enough, stuck it back in the oven at least three times and finally gave up. Uncooked potatoes are the worse things ever.

Portlandia was filming right outside my workplace. Was pretty excited to see all the crews and their equipments but didn't get to see any filming in progress :( 

Playmobil blind pack! Might actually start collecting the ones I like...

Also got this pretty badass one. Even comes with a little weapon hanger!!

Found out that all playmobil toys are made in Europe from their original factory, hence the superb quality and impressive attention to details. If you compare a playmobil figure to some other made in China toy, you can feel the difference in quality (material and paint job wise). While assembling these figures, I realized how well they're designed. Playmobil has been around for ages but I've always brushed them aside thinking they're the baby version of legos (I know, shame on me), but now I'm starting appreciate how much detail they're willing to put into their figures. 

Couldn't resist getting a tiny tiny giraffe. I have a thing for giraffe toys and illustrations. He's around the size of a quarter. Probably gonna get lost somewhere in my room soon.

Saw this wooden horse outside the toy store. Love the design!!

Snacks from my cousin from HK. She said she picked them all based on their packaging cause she knows me too well hahah