Crazy Crafty: Pixie the Pink Pet Poodle

Just when you think Christmas has left the building (I took the wreath off the front door just today - a consequence more of laziness/forgetfulness than lingering holiday cheer, I assure you), old Kris Kringle rears his bearded head and deposits a few holiday holdouts as a reminder of Christmas past.

This week I had the great fortune to be on the receiving end of some truly out-of-site gifts.  Believe me when I tell you that they could not have come at a more opportune time; instead of feeling renewed, refreshed, reinvigorated by the change of the calendar year, I was feeling sluggish, bored, and depressed.

Then came this!

Knowing how disappointed I was to walk away from an estate sale that was stuffed to the rafters with vintage plush animals (they were just too far gone to salvage), Mary found me this stuffed, pink poodle.  Imbued with the spirit of Annette Funicello's star turn in Pajama Party (a film I've mentioned at least one million times), I don't think there could be a more inspired gift for losing the winter blues than a "Stuffed Animal" - especially when it is a pink poodle!

Pastel Poodle Party!!!
(Source: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)

As evidenced by the above photo of my new poodle, the ribbon around its neck has seen happier days.  Seeing how spectacularly-dressed a pink poodle ought to be (thanks for the unattainable diamond collars, Zsa Zsa, dah-ling), I knew that it was my job to find more appropriate adornment than simply a sloppy retying of that bedraggled bow.

Then came this!
Included in a belated Christmas gift from our dear friends (a veritable
treasure box full of incredible, vintage, Christmas goodies) was
The Pixie Bow Maker!

I love that the MSRP was marked as one dollar but
the price tag from The 88¢ Store was 98¢! 

The dead stock Pixie Bow Maker came with all of its original bow pins, the instruction book, and even a dozen peel-and-stick bow backers.  After semi-successfully making my first pixie bow with the silver, "ideal for home bow maker," Bow Master ribbon that was also part of the gift, I knew I was ready for the big leagues.  I also knew that my gift, in conjunction with the vintage button and baby-pink, rayon, Velvette ribbon that I had in my stash, was the perfect answer to my poodle's problem.  Thanks Pixie Bow Maker!

On a side note, I'm thinking that my next craft project will be that ribbon-rose
topiary as featured on the back of The Pixie Bow Maker - talk about CLASS!

It may seem odd for a thirty-something man to make a craft project out of a pink poodle and a roll of ribbon but as the unpaid child-laborer son of a 1980's, bow-making entrepreneuse, I can testify of the crafting credibility of home bow making.  Furthermore, if the craft seems weird, I guarantee you that it is even more odd for the same thirty-something man to name said poodle.  Frankly, I'm usually not one for naming inanimate objects but given the combination of post-Christmas, Christmas magic that has been swirling around me and the inspiration of a certain bow maker, I figured there was only one name for my pink pet poodle - "Pixie."

This isn't my bed but I couldn't think of a better setting
than a bright-pink, matelassé bedspread and cherry-
blossom mural (hand painted by Mr. Tiny) to give
the newly-outfitted Pixie her editorial debut.

Do you have any vintage stuffed animals?  Did you get any belated Christmas presents that changed your outlook and lifted your spirits?  I hope your new year is off to a great start!

Cheers!

Mr. Tiny