Archive for December, 2020

Happy New Year!

Thursday, December 31st, 2020

Hi everyone!

At midnight tonight, 2020 is officially over! It’s been a pretty horrible year, so I’m hoping 2021 will be much better!

Two bears come to mind today. One is The End (pictured above) and the other is The Beginning.

The End was released back in 1999 as Ty announced that the Beanie Babies range would be coming to and end. His poem reads as follows:

All good things come to an end
It’s been fun for everyone
Peace and hope are never gone
Love you all and say, “So long!”

There was a huge uproar at the thought of no more Beanie Babies, that Ty decided that Beanie Babies were here to stay (yay!) and so The Beginning was released in the year 2000.

The Beginning is a white bear covered from head to toe in shiny, silver stars.

Her poem reads:

Beanie Babies can never end
They’ll always be our special friends
Start the fun because we’re here
To bring you hope, love and cheer!

I’m so glad that Ty did a U-turn on ending the Beanie Babies range as they are just so cute! Even the newer-style ones which at first I wasn’t sure about as they look similar to Beanie Boos, but they have really grown on me.

Hope you all are safe and well and that 2021 can be a better year for us all!

Happy New Year!

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Top five Christmas Beanies!

Wednesday, December 23rd, 2020

Hi everyone!

Christmas is almost here! In fact it’s Christmas Eve…Eve!

Today I’m going to show you five Christmas Beanies from across the Ty ranges that are just so adorable!

1. Peppermint

Now, I know I’ve shown her before, but I loooove Peppermint! She has this real minty vibe that makes her look so cute!

She has green airbrushed on her back with white spots which is a nice touch and sparkly green antlers!

2. Goody

Goody wears an oversized red Santa hat to one side and carries a large gingerbread man in his paws. It’s like he’s offering you a tasty snack. How cute is that?!

3. Nicholas

Nicholas is a cute little brown bear Beanie Boo. I just love the fact that his hat is so long that he has to hold the end of it with his paws and the white trim and pom pom are just so fluffy!

I love his green paws and inner ears too as they stand out from his brown, sparkly fur.

4. Klause

Klause is from the older-style Attic Treasures range. I mean the sort that actually look like they are old teddies that have come from an attic and often have jointed limbs. Not the newer Attic Treasures range that look more like a copy of the Bashful range made by a UK-based company called Jellycat (see my other website Jelly Collector to track Jellycat collectibles). Don’t get me wrong, I do like the look of the newer Attic Treasures, but I’m not really sure what the reason behind calling Attic Treasures is as they look too new to have come from an attic.

Anyway, Klause is just so cute and I love his adorable outfit of a long, red, velvet cloak and red hat with the luxurious green trim!

5. Kodi

Kodi is from the Ty Classic range and is so soft and cute! He wears an adorable red and green striped scarf too which is a really lovely touch. I love his blue eyes too!

Hope you’re all well and safe. Leave a comment below on who was your favourite in this list! Or who you would put in this list!

Have a great Christmas Eve Eve guys!

 

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All the Issy bears are now on the site!

Thursday, December 17th, 2020

Hi everyone!

Phew! I’ve finally added all the Issy bears to the site!

There are 63 Issy bears in total which all look identical, but represent different cities where the Four Seasons Hotel is located. Each bear was available at retailers except for the New York Issy bear, which was only available for sale at the Four Seasons Hotel in New York and came with a commemorative card.

All the profits from these bears (except the New York bear) went to the Terry Fox Foundation to fund Cancer Research. The profits from the New York Issy were also given to charity, but instead went to the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.

The cities represented by the Issy bears are as follows:

AlexandriaAmmanAtlantaAustinBaliBangkokBeirutBerlinBeverly HillsBostonBudapestCairoCaracasChiang MaiChicagoCosta RicaDallasDohaDublinExumaHong KongHoustonHualalaiIstanbulJackson HoleJakartaKuala LumpurLas VegasLisbonLondonLos AngelesMaldivesMauiMexico CityMiamiMilanoNevisNew YorkNewport BeachPalm BeachParisPhiladelphiaPraguePuerto RicoPunta MitaRiyadhSan DiegoSan FranciscoSanta BarbaraSao PauloScottsdaleSeattleShanghaiSharm El SheikhSingaporeSydneyTaipeiTerre BlancheTokyoTorontoVancouverWashington D.C. and Whistler.

Adding these bears to the site was a real task and I’m so glad I’ve finally finished. They are lovely bears, but trying to add 63 of almost the same bear, was so hard!

Do you have any of the Issy bears in your collection? Leave a comment below!

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Top 10 Rare Beanie Boos 2020

Wednesday, December 9th, 2020

Hi everyone!

Today I’ve been filming for today’s Vlogmas video, which will be released a little bit later on. I have also been adding more of your Beanie requests, so look out for those!

For now, I’ve decided to show you what I think are my top 10 rare and hard to find Beanie Boos!

(These are in no particular order of rarity, or in order of who I like the best).

10. Slush

Slush is one of the original seven Beanie Boos.

Now Slush in himself isn’t actually that hard to find. However, I’m talking about the 1st variation of Slush.

Now the difference between this first edition version of Slush and the newer variations of Slush are the ears. Newer Slush Beanie Boos have blue inner ears and the first version’s inner ears are white. The underside of his tail is also white compared to the newer versions which have a blue tip.

2. Rasmus

Next up is the adorable moose Beanie Boo, Rasmus!

Now I had to pick a Beanie Boo here as there are actually five Country exclusive moose Beanie Boos and I didn’t want to list them all. The other four are Väinö, Harald, Birger and Egert. You can actually get hold of these guys but they are all upwards of $30 which is why I have included them. Aren’t they just so cute?!

3. Coconut

Another one of the original seven, Coconut again isn’t that hard to find, but the first version of Coconut is a lot rarer.

Earlier versions had peach coloured ears instead of the purple inner ears are the later version. The first Coconut Beanie Boos also had a solid brown tail, whereas the later versions had a purple tip. There is also a noticeable difference in the texture of the fur between the two.

4. Kiwi

Of course, I’m talking about Kiwi the frog, not the later Kiwi Beanie Boo, which is a kiwi bird.

All versions of Kiwi are hard to find, but the rarest is the very first version.

The first version had a yellow belly, chin and toes and blue button eyes. On later versions, his belly, chin and toes were light pink and his eyes were pink.

5. Bubblegum

When I’m talking about Bubblegum, I mean the original seven Koala, not Bubblegum the lemur.

Bubblegum was part of the very first UK release of Beanie Boos. He was later discontinued, redesigned slightly and renamed Kooky. Those with the original Bubblegum name are very rare.

6. Peanut

Peanut in general isn’t particularly rare, but the first variation is very hard to find.

Peanut was one of the original seven Beanie Boos that were released in the UK. All the original first release Beanie Boos were retired and replaced with eight redesigned Beanie Boos, which didn’t include Peanut. Instead, Bubblegum the Koala was renamed Kooky and a pink lemur appeared with the Bubblegum name alongside a Bush Baby called Cleo.

Later, another Peanut Beanie Boo elephant appeared, but he is not considered one of the original seven.

The first version of Peanut had pink inner ears, pink on the end of her trunk and pink toes.

7. Treasure

Treasure was one of the first Justice Stores exclusive Beanie Boos, who was released alongside Sapphire the zebra.

They were also the first Beanie Boos to feature the newer glittery Beanie Boo eyes!

Treasure is really hard to find as she was the first Justice Stores exclusive, and regularly sells for between $50-100!

(Ignore the really highly priced eBay listings. These are just the price people have listed them for, not what they have actually SOLD for. For more information on how to price Beanies, please see my What are My Beanies Worth guide).

8. T-Bone

I’m not sure whether I can actually consider T-Bone a “rare” Beanie Boo as such, but he is certainly harder to find than most, especially for a low price and in good condition.

T-Bone was actually a Trade Show exclusive that could only be obtained by Ty retailers that visited the Ty booths at one of the 2014 Winter Toy Fairs. The remaining Beanie Boos that weren’t collected, were made available for sale until they were out of stock.

I don’t know what it is but I love the chihuahua Beanie Boos! They are just co cute, so I had to include one! My favourite would have to be Nacho (because I loooove Nachos!), but I can’t really call him rare so couldn’t justify putting him on the list.

9. Waddles

Waddles was one of the original seven Beanie Boos. The later versions of Waddles were quite common, but the very first variation is really hard to get hold of.

The first version of Waddles had orange feet instead of the blue feet featured on later models. He also didn’t have blue under his wings. His fur was a slightly different texture too.

Waddles is very popular and has been released across many Ty lines, including Ty Puffies and Mini Boos.

10. Loy

Loy was a Japanese exclusive Beanie Boo. He isn’t “rare” as such, but as he was only released in Japan, he is a little harder to find in the West.

He is based on the Japanese Akita dog breed and featured a special Japanese swing tag.

I’m sorry if I missed anyone off the list! These were my personal top 10 rare/harder-to-find Beanie Boos.

Who would you put on this list?

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New YouTube video out! – Vlogmas Day 8

Tuesday, December 8th, 2020

Hi everyone!

Some more exciting news! Today’s Vlogmas video is now available on YouTube!

Today I have been adding some finishing touches to the tree and review one of the cutest Beanie Babies released this year!

Check it out now!

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Claire’s Exclusives – UK Update!

Tuesday, December 8th, 2020

Hi everyone!

Previously, I reviewed the Holly Beanie Boo that I had bought from Claire’s. She was released alongside two other Claire’s exclusives called Rory the kangaroo and Kora the koala in the USA but for some reason, only Holly was available in the UK (BOOOO!).

Well, I checked the Claire’s website this morning and it appears that all three are now available in the UK! About time!

Not only that, but the new mythical Teenie Beanie Boos were released in McDonald’s in the UK on 2nd December, so it’s the second bit of good Beanie news this month!

Hope you’re all well, and stay tuned for my new Vlogmas video out later on today!

Stay safe!

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Vlogmas Day 7 – New video now on YouTube!

Monday, December 7th, 2020

Hi everyone!

Hope you’re all safe and well!

Today, I’ve managed to put a few more Beanie requests in. Don’t worry if your request hasn’t been added yet. I have seen it and I’m working through them all!

I’ve just released my new Vlogmas video on YouTube too!

Have a great evening/day guys!

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Vlogmas Day 6 – New Teenie Beanie Boos!

Sunday, December 6th, 2020

Hi everyone!

It’s been a bit of a grey and miserable day here today, so I’ve managed to add a few more Beanies to the site.

My new Vlogmas video is also now available to watch on YouTube! We managed to get hold a new Teenie Beanie Boo!

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Vlogmas Day 4 – Youtube video

Friday, December 4th, 2020

Hi everyone!

Hope you’ve all had/are having a great Friday!

Just a quick message to say that my Vlogmas video for today is now up on YouTube!

Check it out below!

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Beanie Baby Review – Zero the Penguin!

Friday, December 4th, 2020

Hi everyone!

It’s actually been snowing here! Not enough to settle on the ground, but it’s so cold!

Today, I’ve been busy adding more Beanies to the site. I’ve managed to get some more in, but apologies if I’ve missed anyone’s Beanie requests as there have just been so many!

I’ve also been doing a bit of filming for my next Vlogmas video on Youtube which is going to be released later!

Today, I have decided to review a Beanie Baby who arrived yesterday who I am just finding too cute not to write about!

Meet Zero!

Zero was released back in 1998, so he’s actually 22 years old now! I can’t get over how cute this little guy is with his little red Santa hat! It actually matches my own…

Zero’s Birthday is on 2nd January 1998 and his poem reads as follows:

Penguins love the ice and snow
Playing in weather twenty below
Antarctica is where I love to be
Splashing in the cold, cold sea!

As seen in my Vlogmas videos, I have been trying to make the house more festive and I recently made a Beanie Winter Wonderland scene under the Christmas tree. I have actually given Zero a little place in this scene and think he looks quite at home now!

Have you got Zero in your collection? Leave a comment below!

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