Category — Toys

They look like little ultra-cute pieces of chotcke sitting on a shelf into you turn them over, and then you see these pieces from Japan’s Décole are actually drinking mugs. The Upside Down Animal Mug collection measures about 4 inches tall each (upside down or not) and come in three hyper-cute versions: cat, panda and piglet. These mega-cute little drinkers will set you back $20 each. Too much cute? Yeah, maybe.

As a promotional tie-in to the new movie, the SciFi Channel recently ran a Land of The Lost marathon. Deeply rooted memories of Sleestaks and Pakuni bubbled up as I tuned in to watch, but amid all the cheesy sets and bad acting one character emerged that I did not remember: the spray-painted pig.

Apparently the mortal enemy of Chaka and the rest of the Paku, the pig was adorned with bright blue and pink circles. I can see how that may be frightening, but nothing compared to this Pig Mitt from Boston Warehouse I ran across today. Perhaps it’s due to revived Sleestak nightmares, but I’m pretty sure the teeth alone will frighten any small child. Star this oven mitt in a stop-action animation, and you got yourself not only a needed kitchen accessory, but a hit TV show as well. In the early 70’s, that is.

It’s no secret that cooking can be fun, but when it comes to making pasta, the Pasta Pasta Maker from Takara Tomy takes fun to a whole new level. Reminiscent of the Play-Doh Fun Factory (as is this), the machine uses a set of stamps and molds for creating eight different types of Italian pasta. This pasta-making machine may come to us from Japan, and the manual is in Japanese, but considering all the practice you probably put into making inedible Play-Doh patties and the such, I think you will be able to figure it out.

(Via Random Good Stuff)

You are what you eat, right? In that spirit, it seems only natural to show off these Plush Guts from I Heart Guts. Over a dozen varieties are available, but the one close to my heart has to be the Stomach Plush. (Of course, in the strictest sense, I would have to purchase the Heart Plush too for this to be accurate, but the sentiment is there.)

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Mario Batali is a big man, both in stature and profession. As such, he would probably be difficult to get to visit your home kitchen to help prepare the family meal. Luckily, a home version of Mario Batali is now available, in the form of a Food Flippin’ Mario Batali Tin Wind-up Toy.

As the patron saint of your kitchen, this pint-sized Mario (5.25-inches tall), will stand guard over your pasta preparation. Handsomely crafted in tin, the wind-up toy lets loose by flipping its own pan of spaghetti and meatballs. Depending on how you interpret the expression on his face, he could either be passionately awaiting your completed meal, or admonishing you for mispronouncing spaghetti. (Which, of course, he should do.) Either way, this Iron Chef could be yours for $9.95.

Some people like to keep a dish of candy on a nearby side table. Whenever the candy craving hits, a sweet treat is never too far away. As practical as that may be, some people appreciate other sweets adorning their tabletops. Like caramel. Melted caramel.

The Apple Dipper is probably not intended as a perpetual sugar-dispensing device, but it does have that capability. Designed to melt caramel and keep it heated, the dipper is a fun way to create caramel apples. Turn it on, fill it up and dip away. Be careful though, with the ability to keep caramel in a continual ready-to-dip state, that candy dish is going to get jealous!