The Greatest Stuffed Animals Known to (Wo)man
I know I’ve taken a little time off from posting reviews and giveaways, but this one, my friends, is worth the wait.
Some wild animals showed up in my mailbox yesterday. No, I didn’t mail my kids to myself. But Sarah, creator/sewer/artist extraordinaire, of Flaky Friends sent me two of her creations: Lester the Giraffe and Lucky the Turtle. I fell INSTANTLY in LURVE. Head over heels in love. I feel a kinship to these weirdo animals. Kind of like a long-distance-relationship-gone-bad kinship. We’ll always be connected - I can’t quit you.
The first thing I noticed when I held my loves girls’ new stuffed animals is their craftsmanship. These guys are so well-made, you’d swear a high-powered machine with 80 underpaid sweatshop workers had slaved away over them. But thankfully this is not true of the Flaky Friends. Each animal is HANDMADE by Sarah herself. I KNOW!
Sarah started making these crazy critters after her daughter demanded requested a purple stuffed pony, and after searching high and low, she couldn’t find one. So, like any other artist, she decided to make one. (Personally, I would have fibbed and told my girls Santa couldn’t come through and he was an anrgy old man and to quit asking for frivolous things. I kid - I kid.) People - she’s been working at these since January of THIS year. She’s just that good.
The tagline for Flaky Friend’s Etsy store is “Why Should You Buy One? Because You Can!” Ladies (and one or two gents) - I haven’t been this in love with a new product find since TiVo was invented. And that’s saying a lot. (Maybe I’m exaggerating a tad, but I LURVES these animals.) You must go now to buy your Flaky Friends from Sarah before she realizes she’s not charging enough for her artwork. Hello? $29-32 for the medium sized Friends? And by ‘medium,’ I mean 12-15″. That’s practically stealing art from an artist of Sarah’s caliber. Trust me - I’m a stuffed animal connoisseur, and you can NOT find handmade (in the USofA I might add) stuffed animals that are this well made and this adorable and this quirky and this lovable. And at this price.
Discount
So kiddies, I’m off to buy Sven the blue penguin for my penguinalholic 4-year-old. And I’m going to use the coupon code Sarah is passing along to all of us for 20% off everything in her store - HOTMAMAS. Use this code* through September 30, ‘08, but I recommend buying NOW before she realizes she doesn’t charge enough.
Giveaway
For our readers only, Sarah is giving away one of her ‘Out-of-Shell Turtles’ (value of $30). To win the turtle, visit Flaky Friends and comment below with your favorite Flaky Friend. (Sorry, but if your comment does not include the name of a Flaky Friend, you cannot win.) One comment per person, per day - come back daily for your chance to win! Comments are open until Sunday, August 10th, 11:59pm EST. The winner will be posted here on MamasLike, notified via email, and on Prizey.Fetch.
GET YOUR BUMS OVER TO FLAKY FRIENDS NOW and buy one (why? because you can). If you happen to win, and you’ve already adopted your Flaky Friend, no worries. You can start a menagerie.
*Etsy stores do not have the abilities to use coupon codes in their checkout. To redeem your 20% off discount, enter “HOTMAMAS” in the “Notes to Seller” upon checkout and wait for a revised invoice that reflects the discount before you complete your payment. It sounds confusing, but trust me - it’s worth it.

Flower Turtle Stuffed Animal Plushie Softie
Quasi Kitty (or any of the others!) would be a darling gift for small ones.
My favorite is the basset hound
These are just cute! I would love to get one for my daughter. My favorite Flaky Friend is the Blue Unicorn!
OMG, adorable! Sven the Blue Penguin Plush Stuffed Animal Softie Bird for me, I mean, my daughter. She’s also a penguin addict.
I love the Bug Eyed Cutie Rainbow Elephant! These animals are so cute!
Sarah Abbott’s last blog post..Zoo
Awww! So cute! Gertie the Good Natured Hippo is so cute, and my 2 year old would love her. Who would guess a 2 year old’s favorite animal is a hippo?
Anjanette’s last blog post..Wednesday’s Wonderful Recipe
I like Bogart the Camel! These are definitely unique creations. They are adorable.
plug in my vote for Greg the Shaggy Sheep
i love bogart the camel.
These are so fun and creative!
I think Lester the giraffe is adorable! I also like Greg the Shaggy Sheep.
Thanks for the chance to win!
sharvey(AT)connections-etc(DOT)net
I really like Greg the Shaggy Sheep Stuffed Animal Softie Plush-he’s super cute!
Lovestruck Blue Penguin Stuffed Animal is my pick.
Thank you for having this. My daughter picked out the Flower Turtle Stuffed Animal Plushie Softie. Thank you!
Girl Scout Patch Turtles are my favorite.
I love the Rainbow Striped Elephant….so cute! Thanks, justicecw@hotmail.com
I LOVE Svetlana the Purple Penguin.
It’s too bad the other penguins are threatened by her degree in microbiology so she has to tell them she’s a waitress at Chili’s.
Hopefully she’ll meet a strong ,proud, manly penguin who isn’t threatened by smart women.
Man these are so cute! I love Suzie Porker the Jolly Pig!
Oh my - I just LOVE the shaggy sheep. He’s all haired out and just such a cutie!!
I love greg the shaggy sheep! So cute!
Crazy Yellow Gold Crocodile. He’s so delightfully goofy!
My favorite really is the shell-less turtles! But Roger the Elephant is a cutie as well. So is Tofu the flying pig. How cute!
onlycancan at hotmail dot com
CanCan (Mom Most Traveled)’s last blog post..Wordless Wednesday: No Indoor Bathtub Here!
Flower Turtle Stuffed Animal Plushie Softie. So cute!
I love those girl scout patch turtles, hehehe…..
Barbara the Pink Beaver Stuffed Animal Plushie is very cute.
AWW! I love Kitty McPhee. He just looks so… CUTE!
My favorite is Stripy Elephant.
OMG, I’ve seen Sarahs flaky friends before, but this is my newest favorite: Gerty the Good Natured Hippo. How stinkin cute.
thanks
Karyn’s last blog post..A Journey Through Time
Kitty McPhee looks sooo cute! my DD loves it!
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=13817106 — Kitty McPhee! She’s amazing! I saved her shop to my etsy favorites
You’re going to make me choose? Bogart or Shameless Cow, or Morty? I think I like Lucky the Turtle the best though!! Thanks for the chance to win!
wow how cute thay all are and well if i was to win this i right now would not know that one to pick but well untell i know if i’m a winner i will wait to pick one and well i realy like them all thanks
jennifer bowen’s last blog post..going back to wioh boy what a joy
Lester the Giraffe is very cute.
I love the rainbow stripe elephant. My son would adore the ribbon tail and the crinkly cellophane ears and jingle bell stuffing. How cute!
I had so much fun browsing around and looking at the adorable and unique animals. I think I love the killer teddy bear best.
thanks so much.
I love the turtle.
Kitty McPhee is my favorite!
Charlotte’s last blog post..Scrapbooking Night
I LOVE THE RAINBOW STRIPED ELEPHANT
Lester the giraffe because my daughter collects giraffes
Suzie Porker the Jolly Pig - how cute!!
Cindy
Cindy’s last blog post..Thoughts on our adoption journey. . .
Gerty the Good Natured Hippo Plush Stuffed Animal is really cute!
I love Greg the Shaggy Sheep! They are all so cute! Thanks so much!
I like Lucky the Turtle, she’s so cute!!
Can’t pick just one - Gerty the Good Natured Hippo and Greg Shaggy Sheep - they are precious!
Kerry Dalbey’s last blog post..Flippin? pictures part II
Shaggy sheep wins my heart.
I absolutely love Shameless Cow. The description makes me laugh out loud! She’s all woman…Look at those teats! Hilarious!!
seeryusfam@msn.com
Sky’s last blog post..Tired. Oh-So Tired!
Roger the Elephant is cute.
My favorite is Lucky the Turtle.
My kids would go nuts for the turtle! I also really like Seth the Unfortunate Elephant. CUTE!
Patti’s last blog post..And the winner is…
I like Gerty the Good-Natured Hippo!