We are the most intriguing biggest little Stuffed Animal shop in California
We also feature Decorative House and Garden Flags for the home
plus amazing Three-dimensional Greeting Cards!
Store Hours:
Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday: 10:30 AM - 6 PM
Wednesday: CLOSED
Sunday: 11 AM -5 PM
1410 Industrial Park Ave. at the Tri-City Shopping Center in Redlands, CA, 92374
(email:startulipstuffies@earthlink.net)
Extremely easy access from Interstate 10 in Redlands between San Bernardino and Palm Springs!
Find us NOW at our NEW HOME, at 1410 Industrial Park Avenue in the Tri-City Center
Open 6 days a week!
Friends from Riverside, Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura Counties and beyond: Do you pass "routinely" through Redlands on your travels?
Make Us a “regular” stop!
Fall Decorative House and Garden Flags are up on our Flag Wall (with a few designs giving a nod to Autumn Apples)!
Getting our Early Fall on inside our Shop! Fall Flags and Fall "Stuff" are up!
Today is Thursday, October 222, 2020
We are OPEN until 6 PM!
We think we MIGHT have managed to poop out Gilead--with non-stop "adventure" during our Wednesday "day off"--we also FINALLY beat that wisteria vine into (temporary, no doubt) submission--yesterday!
First on the agenda was a trip to Tractor Supply to pick up a few MORE TOYS! Gilly is teething, so we are trying an assortment of shapes and textures and kinds of interactions (he also needs more exercise than sitting in the Shop all day waiting to meet you all!) in hopes of keeping him from getting BORED! Since he needs a safe place to actually RUN, we spent the next few hours raking up foxtails (acquiring blisters on BOTH hands to prove it!) along an awesome tie-out run (a 10' chain that can run up down and back and forth along either side of a 40-50 floater chain--that's a LOT of freedom of motion! AND we tested out a "chase-me" tennis ball covered in a rubber grid--Gilly thinks he should be grabbing and controlling it with his paws as much as by mouth, so it became more of a game of soccer than catch or fetch!
Then we took a "break" to go for an extra car-ride with Dane to drop off his vehicle at the mechanic for smog (just got word it passed--after $1600 worth or repairs...). Gilead got to spend the rest of the day when we got home on the tie-out, exploring weeds, twigs and smells, digging and watching us work in the yard (THAT was probably what exhausted him...!). Today, he is busy catching up on all the sleep he missed yesterday... (he's still happy to come out an meet and greet any and all takers of that invitation!)
It may have become Fall by the weather as well as by the calendar at last! Welcome to highs in the mid-seventies, dipping into the low-SIXTIES come Sunday and Monday, when there is also a 20-30% chance of RAIN! Even after that weather (non?)event passes through temperatures will remain in the low to mid-eighties throughout NEXT week and on into the week beyond!
With the weather mellowing into fall it is time to think about autumn celebrations, including Halloween (even if you don't Trick or Treat, you gotta DECORATE!) and maybe even small Thanksgiving family gatherings. COVID-19 does not need to preclude your home decor at least from reflecting the season! One (or more) of our beautiful Decorative House or Garden Flags would be a great start (and/or finish)! And check out our table full of paper Halloween decorations, plus some even bigger ones we have on display behind our check-out counter!
And if your house happens to "need" a fresh look for Fall, we are here with sweet "Silly Gilly" (Australian Shepherd puppy, Gilead--ask us if you would like to meet him when you visit!) with a Flag Wall bursting with so many Halloween and Autumn Decorative Flags that we cannot even fit the specifically Thanksgiving ones on there yet! Fall "Stuff", including Halloween "Stuff" has crept onto our display shelves!
Remember us and other local businesses as you shop to get ready for Fall holidays and celebrations, even looking ahead toward winter--we love it when you include us in your preparation plans and we really enjoy helping make those occasions special for you!
NOTICE: Our REGULAR BUSINESS HOURS have CHANGED (just a little)!
Our Weekday and Saturday hours are now 10:30 AM until 6 PM and Sunday's remain at 11 AM until 5 PM. However we WILL BE CLOSED through October on WEDNESDAYS.
Big-time THANKS to all who have supported our small business with your purchases these past few months! They helped us with Gilead's new house and other accoutrements and allowed us to keep the doors open through August and September! Although things seem to be slooooowly improving, we as a small business are not out of the woods, yet--and are still dependent upon you to keep us open to serve you! We sincerely strive to repay your support with excellent customer service and high quality products at very fair prices--it's the least we can do! Given that we are now officially into Autumn and coming up fast on Fall and Winter celebrations and occasions, we hope you will continue to keep us in mind for your LOCAL SHOPPING needs for these upcoming seasons!
Our Greeter Boxer has settled upon a fancy sparkly Witch Costume covered with Spider Webs for this coming Halloween! Are you ready to celebrate?
Previously, our Greeter Boxer was fully into the new school year (complete with his book pack, sideways baseball cap and Joe-Cool sunglasses) in order to remind/encourage anyone teaching/learning, especially at the grade school though middle-school levels and even beyond, to consider shopping with us for quality teaching aids and/or rewards for your students putting up with ongoing distance learning or home-schooling! Even though the costume has changed, we are still a great source of teaching/learning/reward materials for your at-home students!
We have African, Australian, Asian, South American Rain Forest, Desert, Forest and Ocean Habitat displays full of realistic plush animals from these places, as well as Stable/Barnyard areas and Domestic Cat and Dog Collections. We are purposefully set up to honor Nature and provide education and enrichment tools (that happen to have artistic as well as comfort value, too) for anyone with an interest in how and where wild and domestic animals live and function. We also have a Fantasy area wherein resides a more imaginative and whimsical set of creative plush creatures.
AND we have a TON of biology-relevant plush Body Parts, Cells, Organelles and life-related organic Molecules from I Heart Guts and Giant Microbes that all come with informative hang-tags to help enlighten about their functions and reinforce that knowledge--sometimes even including a bad pun or two (these even make pretty good gag gifts for patients recently undergoing (or physicians who perform) e.g., Heart or Lung surgeries, Gall Bladder or Appendix Removals, Kidney Dialysis or Transplants, Hip or Knee Replacements, etc.)! Shouldn't your biology student be the first on the block to own their very own plush Brain or Liver or Pancreas or Intestines or...? We actually did not ourselves realize just how much medical/biological "material" we can provide until we began attempting to photograph all the pieces--scroll down to see--we bet you will be equally surprised!
Was it insane to drive across the desert to Kingman Arizona and back in the dead of summer? Yes!
Was it worth it to meet this little guy? ABSOLUTELY!
Meet "Gilead" being held by Breeder Julie Vanderlinden of Shadow Mountain (now Long Valley) Aussies about a week before our visit (at about 4 weeks old) on July 29. His Dad is "Gideon" and we wanted to name him something at least as distinguished! The esoteric history associated with this name, per Wikipedia, includes the fact that Balm of Gilead was a rare perfume used medicinally, that was mentioned in the Bible, and named for the region of Gilead, where it was produced. The expression has come to signify a universal cure in figurative speech. "Gilead" as a given name means roughly "everlasting joy (or happiness)" in Hebrew.
"Gilead" will likely quickly be shortened to "Gilly", which our favorite Reference Librarian (thanks Bonnie!) informs us is colloquial English for a carnation!
What do you think?
Gilead is GROWING! Here he is at about 6 weeks old!
And at 8 weeks!
And sitting in the water next to an unrelated grown-up (for scale!) at about 9 1/2 weeks!
He already LOVES water--hence new waterproof decking going into his kennel, to cover the raw, mud-forming caliche soil on the ground!
Here's Gilly settled into his palatial digs in his newly remodeled kennel at home--with elderly rescue-dog, Dusty, worrying over him in the background (it's GOOD to have company again!).
Gilly, coming from the Arizona desert, is completely certain that the "water" bowl on the ground in his kennel is for playing in, especially scraping all the water out (we are REALLY glad we put in that decking or he would most certainly be a mud-puppy both morning and evening)! Hence the narrow-mouthed, chin-high version on the fence in front of him that he actually drinks out of!
Ah--that HUGE crate at the Shop is not so bad, afterall--and Gilly's toes are MUCH safer here than under Kathy's desk chair! There's plenty of room (and food and toys!) in there and Gilly gets to come out for potty breaks (he's already about trained himself about these), brushing and anytime a customer would like to greet him for free hugs and puppy kisses. Help keep Gilly from getting bored from not having enough people to meet and welcome to the shop, his official day-job now!
Gilead got to spend our "day off" on Wednesday, October 21, testing a NEW TOY and learning to negotiate a LOT of exercise/exploration possibilities on his awesome tie-out run! No wonder he is sleepy on Thursday!
We received a very special shipment from Two-Group/Breeze Decor Flag Co. on Monday, June 29! It included some custom House and Garden Flags in a special design we created just for Redlands!
and follow them on Facebook at:
Since we had no idea how well this concept will be received or supported by the Redlands Community, we had runs of only one dozen each of these flags printed by our long-time, local to SoCal Flag supplier, Two-Group/Breeze Decor Flags. These are available in store for as long as they last, but Two-Group has our artwork and can print more with probably about a two-week wait. We will take prepaid orders for additional flags once we run out of the first printing. We should note that these are quality, double-side flags that read correctly on front or back. The cost for the House size is $35, including sales tax and for the Garden size, $20, also including sales tax, which we will pay.
Although we live in Yucaipa, we have always loved doing business here in Redlands because of how it does function as a community, probably due a lot to its own richly diverse history and culture, with members coming together to help each other when the going gets tough! We are honored to have the opportunity to participate in giving back a little!
HERE is the Design:
Watch for our Halloween DISCOUNT COUPON (good on ALL regularly priced merchandise with only a few exceptions) coming soon in the October issue of the Redlands Coupons Monthly mailing next week!Meanwhile, you can use any of our previous coupons that may be floating around in a drawer, your purse or wallet, because they NEVER expire!
Did you miss out on our "Down on the Farm" Summer Customer Appreciation Gift Basket Drawing?
Be SURE to take advantage of the opportunities to WIN our "Fall Harvest Fun" version. Taking entries starting... NOW!
A little bit of Halloween "Stuff" has crept ontoour shelves...!
Long ago and far away when the Redlands Mall was still open and we had a storefront there, we used to decorate our own windows and some of those of empty storefronts--so we has stocked up on a variety of "professional" seasonal decorations. A pile of packaged Paper Halloween Decorations recently "resurfaced" in our storage area and we want to share them with you! Some are pretty simple, but they range into greater complexity with some in matching themes and all are no more (mostly considerably less) than $10, including sales tax! They would be great to use inside windows of your own home (less subject to vandalism that way and protected from the weather), especially if you don't want to blow past yet another holiday without some kid of celebration! (They might be fun embellishment for your distance-learning "backgrounds" since your teachers won't be decorating your classrooms for you this year, too!). Stop in and check them out on the little table in front of our autumn-decorated panels at the back of the shop retail area!
Limited stock, so while supplies last; when they are gone they are gone!
And there are even more Halloween decorations! These were mostly too big to fit onto the table display, so we have examples hanging on the drapes behind our check-out counter! They are brightly glossy-printed (as you can see from the camera flash glare) on lightweight cardboard and are also articulated so you can pose them a bit! The Haunted Tree is our favorite!
Fall "Stuff", including some cool plush decorative Pumpkins, is now available!
Why not add a little Bling to your Autumn decorating? This sparkly little (about 3" tall, not counting the hanging ribbon) Acrylic Crystal Squirrel from Ganz would love to help dress up a window or light fixture or ? for the season!
More BLING for your Fall decor! This one is a BIG golden acrylic crystal Acorn with a bronze "hat", framed by encircling Oak Leaves. What look like they could be galls on those leaves in nature are actually more little sparkly crystals!
One more REALLY autumn Acrylic Crystal Ornament from Ganz! This one is for the Sunflower lovers out there with golden and orange versions of this beloved fall icon complete with smokey centers and surrounded by Leaves on their way to fall color! A magical swirl of shining autumn hues for your fall decor!
Autumn Decorative House and Garden Flags are NOW AVAILABLE on our Flag Wall--just in case any of you are as DONE with Summer as we are!
If ever there was a harbinger of Fall, it HAS to be a Scarecrow!
Here we have a House Flag, appliqued and accented in glorious detail, personifying just such a fellow, complete with his (not-scared-at-all) sidekick! Composed of substantial (weather resistant polyester) "burlap" this three-dimensional flag is fully reversible, reading correctly on both sides!
Here's a fun Fall Garden Flag featuring printed and dimensional appliqued autumn-hued Succulents arranged in a Pumpkin "vase", double-sided on weather-resistant burlap. Nice!
One of our very favorite things about Fall decorating besides pumpkins and sunflowers has to be beautifully Colored Corn, not to mention those iconic autumn flowers, Chrysanthemums! Because this is a printed Flag, it was possible to depict a LOT of detail in a beautiful design featuring both, along with some oak leaves, acorns and even a few fall berries collected with the corn in a burlap-bowed garland perfect for the season! We especially like the crispy curls of the corn husks and the wood-grain and nails intricately portrayed on the rustic background fence!
We have this style in both a House and a Garden version and there's even a matching 6" round magnet available!
We missed nabbing the House size of this sweet country folk-art vision of an inviting Autumn Porch, but did manage to grab up a few of the Garden size! Can't wait to be relaxing somewhere like this during more fall-like weather!
The print process used to create this beautiful Fall Harvest Flag allows for the intricate and subtle detail and color nuance to so effectively capture such a quintessentially peaceful Autumn moment! This stunning image is available as either a House or Garden size flag (one of each, at the moment).
Bicycling is such an integral part of Redlands life that we HAD to have this pretty Fall Garden Flag starring a brilliant red-orange bike with a basket full of autumn sunflowers and colored leaves! Double-sided printed and appliqued (polyester) "burlap" (the perfect background tone for fall), with embroidery-embellished felt and additional fabric, this Garden Flag is a simply stunning way to "Welcome Autumn" as it rolls into town!
Here is one of our FANCY (but still a little autumn-rustic!) Fall House and Garden Flag styles! It's double-sided with two pieces of fabric sewn together back-to-back, same design on back and front, and features a fall Grapevine Wreath decorated with leaves and flowers and holding a bird-cage lushly printed on country-style (polyester) "burlap". The quintessential autumn Sunflower accents are created in layers of fabric for the top petals and centers adding a three-dimensional, sculpted effect!
Another spectacular double-sided, fool-the-eye realistically printed Decorative Flag design (House or Garden size) with fabulous appliqued Chrysanthemum petal accents, featuring a big country-style Mason Jar full of a hefty bunch of Fall flowers, leaves and berries, this time against a rustic white fence background! Fully dimensional on back and front!
This kicky modern design is ONLY available as a Garden Flag because... it is double-sided and layered with so much awesome appliqued fabric and embroidery (this is a graphic illustration of the flag from Custom Decor, not an actual photograph) it would be just too heavy (and expensive) as a full-sized House Flag! A cheerful way to wish your guests and passersby "Happy Fall" up close and personally near eye-level!
Here is another strikingly beautiful Fall Flag design, available as either a House or Garden sized version! We fell in love with it because of the inclusion of not only the familiar Acorns and colored Maple and Oak leaves, but also the Pine Cones and Aspen leaves, both found in our CA mountains, where we are most likely to see the changes in seasons! Printed with a rustic white barnboard background and starring this perky little Bird who is no doubt getting ready for cooler weather, the intricately detailed elements not achievable with an appliqued design, but easily so in print, combine perfectly to wish us all a "Happy Fall"!
This brilliantly printed, folksy little Scarecrow doesn't seem to be too unhappy that he doesn't seem to be scaring many, if any, crows at all, whether he is trying to do so from either a House or Garden Flag (both available)! He does seem perfectly pleased to wish everyone a "Happy Fall!" from whichever size flag you might prefer best!
Living as close as we are to Oak Glen we cannot proceed into Fall without taking note that it is now officially Apple Season--and Oak Glen is open despite the ongoing El Dorado Fire (it has progressed away from Oak Glen)! Here's a hearty, double-sided (reads correctly front and back) burlap Decorative House Flag in the shape (and color) of a Bushel Basket printed full of lush red ripe Apples to remind us!
Another Decorative Flag to honor Apple Season, this one richly printed in harvest comfort colors featuring a golden-tan bushel basket full of crimson Apples and fall leaves against a lighter, leafy background, all inside a mottled rusty brown border. Less pop and contrast than some of our autumn flag designs, but a warm, reassuring and inviting way to "Welcome" early Fall! This one can be had as either a House and/or Garden size version!
We have only one of these House Flags left--and we cannot figure out why!We LOVE the unusual use of White Pumpkins and the inclusion of Pomegranates instead of maybe apples or gourds. A Goldfinch stands accented against the fruit as the perfect accompaniment to all of those yellow Sunflowers and additional autumn-orange Blossoms while touches of orange and yellow are echoed in those pretty Butterfly wings. One of the features we like best about this design is how the golden-brown, brocade-look background contributes to the complexity as it enriches and sets off the entire scene!
Here is a stunningly printed House or Garden Flag featuring rich, ripe red Apples framed in a velvet-black border embellished with golden leaf scroll work accented with red-rimmed blocks repeating the leafy theme in green. A VERY classic (and classy) way to Welcome your Fall visitors and brighten your neighbors' view!
We have a goodly number of Fall Decorative Flags featuring Apples (we sort of collect them because we are so close to Oak Glen!) and this is one of the most unique printed designs we've found! With lots of big red Apples filling a quaintly painted Bucket rather than the traditional bushel basket, sitting, not directly on a carefully decorated garden Storage chest, but on a clean, bright white Kitchen Towel and dressed up even more with fresh delicate blue Wildflowers, the presentation is all country, but with a special touch of sophistication! House and Garden sizes available in this style!
This sweet little Scarecrow (NOT scaring many crows...) "guarding" his Pumpkin Harvest is softly printed in muted Autumn hues for display on your home (House size only) to welcome the more subdued days of Fall--now that summer might be thinking about waning, at least a little!
There is nothing subdued or muted about the riotous hues on this gorgeously printed Fall Harvest Decorative House Flag! Apples and Pumpkins and Gourds amid piles of colored Leaves and huge Sunflowers and clumps of glorious fall Asters, Daisies and Mums--with a distinguished Tuxedo Cat thrown in for good measure--Oh my!
Here is a unique printed celebration of the quieter moments we sometimes achieve in Autumn, as the days shorten and the light wanes and Nature prepares to relax into winter. A richly beautiful and peaceful, albeit somewhat somber (kind of fits the weird year, right?) study of Fall tones that could take you through Halloween almost into Thanksgiving...
This is one of Custom Decor's fancy, double-sided Burlap Garden Flags (they don't make these in the House size because they would be too heavy!), featuring detailed applique and embroidery in an updated design of gingham fabric-centered Sunflowers and cute Cotton Boles arranging in a "Welcoming" Pumpkin Vase! A little bit stylized, a little bit country but all Fall for your garden path!
The epitome of Autumn in the Country, besides all of the harvest fruits and vegetables, can be as simple as a huge bunch of big yellow Sunflowers in an old-fashioned Milk Can (did you miss the well-camouflaged Butterfly?)! We love how the black background on this lovingly printed Flag sets off those brilliant flowers! This design is available in both House and Garden sizes and there's even a matching round 6" Decorative Magnet!
Here is another take on Autumn Apples, this time accompanied by cute little Chickadees (do you have some in your yard--we've been listening to them lately?)! A pretty printed House Flag with a less intense than summer, blue with a hint of gray, background sky as we head into cooler, maybe even cloudy/foggy days for Fall! Those lush crimson Apple surely do catch the eye--aren't they tempting?
This pretty House Flag features blocks printed with familiar Harvest icons. Pumpkins, Apples, colored Leaves and ripe Grain "Welcome" you and your guests and passersby to Fall!
Display this "curtain" of falling autumn Leaves and Acorns and Berries (printed House Flag) in recognition of the softly changing season!
One more brilliantly printed House Flag staring a pert little Chickadee perched on a bough full of bright ripe red Apples! Time to think about making some pie!
Here's a wild and crazy depiction of Fall Owls LOVE the colored leaves as wings!), double-sided, appliqued and embroidered and even accented with BIG plastic googly eyes! For anyone who delights in whimsy and isn't afraid to show it, we have both the House and Garden sizes of the Flags PLUS the stacked Owls to fit onto a Statement Stake in your yard or make an impression hanging on your front door! A truly unique take on Autumn to dress up your home!
The Halloween Flags are up on our Flag wall!
Just a big old Crow back-lighted by a huge full Moon and sitting on top of a slightly sideways (and leering a bit) carved Pumpkin laying out among the dead leaves on the ground... Nothing eerily creepy about this image, right?
This Halloween Owl is way too cute to be anything like creepy--but she IS ready with her Witch's hat, Potion Bottle and Book of Spells! She's even "invited" a couple of "friends" to come along for a ride on her Broomstick! Are YOU ready for Halloween?
The characters on this Halloween Flag are making no pretenses of being anything but "Creepy". We love the "gallery" of Jack 'o' Lanterns precariously dangling or perched on that gnarly haunted Tree holding them toward us for our inspection; said Tree must, of course also harbor a decidedly imposing spooky Owl!
This stunning House Flag will alert visitors to the fact that a Witch can be pretty elegant! Appliqued with silver metallic swirls and a glittering golden buckle, this richly hued Witch's Hat even sports a flowing, diaphanous veil! Cool enough to attract an arty spider to provide some additional "decoration"!
This trio of dippy-looking Ghosts was just too silly to resist adding to our Halloween Flag collection! Although they may be of somewhat questionable character, being Ghosts and all, "frightening" is probably not the first category they would immediately fall into! Just some ghostly gents out for some Halloween fun!
Here is a "dramatic" (aren't all witches drama queens?) Halloween House Flag featuring a Witch traveling in an entourage of swirling bats in silhouette across the shining full moon! She is framed by black and white polka-dotted satin fabric trimmed in decorative ribbon and black lace befitting such an elegantly spooky Lady (sort of) of the Night...
We have to admit that we are less drawn to scary-macabre Halloween icons than to more whimsical/magical ones--possibly in a nod to (if not downright identification with) some of our younger clientele! This Happy little Ghost popping out of an equally cheery Jack 'o' Lantern is designed to frighten just about nobody! Both seem entirely joyful about the prospect of Halloween candy, too! A cute House Flag to celebrate a Happy Halloween!
The somewhat silly and stylized images appliqued onto this Halloween House Flag are about as macabre as we can bring ourselves to get! Here we have a nice selection of spooky icons we might expect to come across on "Trick or Treat Night"--if we were able to do that! For now they can be a "nostalgic" reminder of more "normal" times and allow us to still get some kind of enjoyment out of Halloween by at least decorating a bit!
These slightly stuffed, 3-D appliqued and lightly connected roly poly Jack 'o' Lanterns are having waaay too much fun! Don't they realize that Halloween is a SERIOUS holiday, dedicated to being scary? Well, even if they do, they are failing quite miserably at any such effort! They might even make you and any passersby smile--just a little--if you display this Decorative House Flag at home...!
OK--this Halloween House Flag is not so much scary as it is BIG and dramatic! All the stops are pulled out on this appliqued crazy-smiling Jack 'o' Lantern face topped with a star and polka-dot spangled Witch's Hat, in turn tipped with chartreuse and vivid orange streamers! This happy Jack is guaranteed to get your home noticed!
Nothing to see here, folks, except for a big Scarecrow Jack "outstanding in his field", enjoying a moonlit Autumn night with a few of his Friends--and waving all a "Happy Halloween" to all, of course!
Just a few more dippy-looking Jack 'o' Lanterns to add to your Halloween decor! We have to say these guys seem more frightened than frightening--or maybe they just look a little confused... In any case some big black Spiders seem to be happy to anchor their webs to them and keep them company!
Uh-oh...
We just realized that we ordered so much "Stuff" for our Medical Area from both I Heart Guts AND Giant Microbes that we had to expand our display for this "interesting" Collection...
The I Heart Guts shipment arrived in June and plush Body Parts/Organs from this supplier found their way onto the shelves of our newly expanded Medical Area! They have now been surrounded by plush Cells, Organelles and Molecules in a shipment from Giant Microbes that was delivered a few days later!
Giant Microbes used to package a number of their cells and germs as mini pieces of three inside of a deep Petri Dish. They no longer do this, probably for the same reason sleeve after sleeve of Petri Dishes shipped to the research lab Kathy once worked at were returned for replacement--Petri Dishes are incredibly subject to fracturing with the slightest ding in the right spot, so losses probably made this kind of packaging, while adorable, a case of diminishing returns! That is certainly not to say we no longer can get, for example, plush Red Blood Cells. They simply are only available only as individual, larger (the "giant" in Giant Microbes!) pieces. As you can see, these are at least as cute, if not more so, as the mini versions! In order for you to better see them, we will be showcasing additional plush Cells that arrived in the most recent shipment from Giant Microbes and are now surrounding the I Heart Guts plush Body Parts in our Medical Display Area!
If you are going to make plush Red Blood Cells you pretty-much HAVE to make plush White Bloods Cells as well! No worries! Giant Microbes does just that! (Now in store in our Medical Area!)
And to be sure those Red Blood Cells can properly clot as needed, there must also be Blood Platelets, AKA thrombocytes) Not enough Platelets in the blood can result in bleeding that cannot be stopped, but too many can cause spurious clots that can cause heart attacks and strokes.
And, of course all of those different kinds of Blood Cells need some kind of medium to swim around in while being transported throughout the body to do their jobs. Enter Blood Plasma, a bit of a challenge to convey as an individual plush item. Giant Microbes' solution to the problem is to present Blood Plasma as a single "liquid" droplet, albeit a slightly fuzzy one (which we also think looks a little like a fried egg...), lacking nothing at all in terms of "personality"!
Meet a plush version of a Stem Cell! Stem Cells are undifferentiated cells, for example those found at the center of early mammalian embryos, that have the capacity to develop into almost any kind of specialized cell needed to function in various developing/adult tissues. Deciding what specialized cells stem cells ultimately become is a highly complex process depending on precise regulation mechanisms, but until that happens a Stem Cell has the capacity to develop in any direction. Note how this trait is suggested here by the rainbow coloration and neutral expression of the as yet undefined plush Stem Cell!
Our very favorite thing abut supplying our Medical Area is what a great marriage the plush Body Parts from I Heart Guts make with complimentary plush Cells from Giant Microbes!
Here is a perfect case in point: The plush Heart is from the former and the Heart Cell is from the latter. We love how anatomically correct I Heart Guts has made the Heart--and that the Heart Cell from Giant Microbes not only makes a faint heartbeat sound, but lights up in concert with it when pressed...!
Here's another great example of I Heart Guts providing the plush organ, in this case a highly detailed Section of Skin, including a hair follicle and its attendant hair, and Giant Microbes making the individual Skin Cell(s), although much more "giant" than the scale of the chunk of skin!
If we can have a plush Pancreas from I Heart Guts, it seems only fitting to also have plush Pancreatic Beta Cells from Giant Microbes! Since Beta Cells are the ones specialized to produce Insulin to manage blood sugar levels, Giant Microbes includes a plastic model of an Insulin (gigantic!) Molecule stashed away inside a special zippered pouch inside each Beta Cell!
Today's Medical Dynamic Duo is plush organ, the Stomach from I Heart Guts accompanied by an individual Stomach Cell from Giant Microbes!
It take a LOT of Muscle Cells to build a big strong Muscle. Luckily, Giant Microbes makes plush Muscle Cells and I Heart Guts has the "Muscle" to provide the plush organ they make up!
This plush organ from I Heart Guts says he is a "Liver, not a Fighter" (I Heart Guts can never resist printing a horrible pun on any given label of theirs...). The little plush Liver Cell from Giant Microbes looks like he is just waiting to get together with some like-minded associates to form this important organ!
This I Heart Guts plush organ represents a Kidney. The particular plush Kidney Cell that Giant Microbes decided to make is a Podocyte, a very specialized kind of cell that, with the help of very specific proteins, wraps itself around tiny knots of blood capillaries within the kidney to facilitate filtering of waste from the bloodstream, an amazingly complex process that allows two kidneys to clean 400 gallons of blood every day!
Her is a lovely plush Brain brought to you by I Heart Guts and surrounded by its supporting cast of a plush Brain Cell and Nerve Cell from Giant Microbes!
The huge Knee Joint on the left is one of the newest "organs" from I Heart Guts! As it happens, theirs is a healthy joint. Giant Microbes, who in addition to cells and molecules also specializes in germs and various maladies, chose to make their Knee Joint their "showpiece" for Arthritis!
Bone Cells make up our skeleton and are therefore found helping to hold our shapes, bend and maneuver, throughout our bodies.
However, sometimes things go amiss, usually not so much with bone itself as with how bones connect and interact with each other so we can move. Along with their Bone Cells, Giant Microbes offers two examples of these maladies represented in plush: Back Pain and issues leading to the requirement for Hip Replacement!
Not only does Giant Microbes make entire cells in plush, but they have even added some important cellular Organelles to their line-up!
According to Giant Microbes (we LOVE that they include information like this on all of their pieces), The "Golgi Apparatus" manufactures and packages proteins, lipids and other macromolecules produced by the cell. It assembles simple molecules into complex ones in conjunction with the Endoplasmic Reticulum..." in all eukaryotic cells, including those of both plants and animals, acting as the cells' factories.
Here is another organelle vital to eucaryotic cellular function and presented in plush by Giant Microbes! While the Golgi Apparatus is considered to be one of the main construction sites within a cell, the Mitochondria would be the energy producing centers! Biology students, this should be familiar; remember the Kreb's cycle, respiration and all those ATPs and ADPs? This is the organelle where all that happens! This is also the organelle whose own small amount of DNA, different from that in the nucleus, comes ONLY from your maternal parent, the "Eve" DNA, and thus can be used to trace maternal family lines.
Besides producing Cells and intracellular Organelles, Giant Microbes even makes plush versions of some very important Molecules on which life depends! Of primary importance in reproduction, growth, development and maintenance of living cells is, of course, DNA--and here we have a plush portion of a DNA Molecule, complete with its double-helix twisted "ladder" of coding base pairs!
Another extremely important molecule produced by our bodies is the Antibody, in the news a lot lately because researchers all over the world are trying to develop a vaccine that will effectively encourage our immune systems to create antibodies able to suppress infection by the COVID-19 virus! Each kind of Antibody is very specifically designed to capture and help put out of commission a very particular microbial invader such as COVID-19 , likely in the case of a virus by targeting an exposed protein on its external coat. Giant Microbes has even illustrated this "capture" of a target Antigen on one of the "arms" of their plush representation of an Antibody! Doesn't it look SO busted!
OK--Home-schoolers and Distance-learners, Giant Microbes (along with I Heart Guts) is here to help with those biology lessons! As we've shown, Giant Microbes makes a plethora of cellular Organelles and Molecules and here to put some of them in context is their plush version of a generic, unspecialized Animal Cell, with a handy-dandy reference card attached!
Although plant and animal cells share many internal organelles, their structures and modes of operation vary quite significantly. Here to illuminate the wonders found at the cellular level in plants is a huge plush Plant Cell, brought to you by Giant Microbes and also featuring a handy-dandy cheat-sheet, er-um, information tag, identifying its parts!
Back in stock from I Heart Guts: a plush set of Lungs, accompanied by a hang-tag with another famously bad pun!
Who else but I Heart Guts would endeavor such an "in depth" 3-D "study" in plush of a Colon? The pun on its hang-tag is even worse than the one for the plush Intestines above!
The perennial get-well gag-gift for anyone who has had to have one removed! I Heart Guts brings us this ginormous plush Appendix. If you "Feel it in your Gut" as the hang-tag suggests, unfortunately, it's probably time to be seeing an emergency room surgeon!
Having done detailed plush studies of both the Colon and Appendix separately, I Heart Guts combines them here in the "context" of the entire set of "Intestines" and points out on the hang-tag that you do, in fact, "Go with your Guts"!
Another hugely "popular" post-surgery get-well gift is this plush Gall Bladder from I Heart Guts! It is SO popular, in fact that we are often out of them and waiting for them back-ordered from the supplier! Back in stock...for now!
Among the silly things listed as fun information (besides the requisite pun on the front!) inside the hang tag for this plush Bladder from I Heart Guts is the fact that most bladders have the capacity to hold as much urine as the contents of a can and a half of soda...!
This combination organ rendered in plush by I Heart Guts is the Trachea (or "windpipe") through which we breath air to and from our lungs. Contained within it is the Larynx where our vocal chords reside; production of the verbal and musical sounds of our voices starts when passing air vibrates these in a controlled fashion which, augmented by our mouth muscles, lips and tongue, allows us to MAKE sounds!
Complete with the Hammer and Anvil (both are ossicles which transmit sound vibrations from the eardrum to the snail-shaped) Cochlea (that converts those vibrations into electrochemical signals sent on to the brain to be interpreted) and even the Semicircular Canals that help maintain balance, this plush Inner Ear from I Heart Guts helps to explain how we HEAR sounds!
Here's a plush set of organs from I Heart Guts that anyone with allergies will appreciate! Allergens like pollen and dust are one group of things, along with bacteria and other breathed-in invaders that are trapped by the Sinuses by encasing them in mucus for expulsion in snot, hopefully before they get to your throat and lungs, but making your head feel like a cotton-filled balloon in the meantime!
We have amazing organs in our throat and head to allow us to make and hear sounds and even catch unwanted things we may breathe in, but one of the most awesome organs of all is the Eyeball, here rendered in plush by I Heart Guts! Very detailed information on how the eyeball and brain accomplish this miracle is available on the hang-tag!
Our bodies are populated throughout with many different glands that help regulate various precisely controlled functions, usually by means of the production and distribution of specific Hormone molecules. The job of the Thyroid Gland is to regulate metabolism, setting how much energy to burn and influencing how energetic you feel. Sometimes the Thyroid fails to produce enough of its hormone to do this effectively, making you tired and weak. Fortunately, modern medicine can treat this problem with a carefully monitored dose of a synthetic version substituted for the necessary hormone, usually, however, required for life once begun.
Your Pineal (refers to its being vaguely shaped like a pine cone) Gland, a rice-grain sized organ buried inside of your brain, plays a significant part in the mediation of your waking days and sleeping nights as it is where the hormone, melatonin, that tells you when it is time to sleep, is produced. Sometimes called our "third eye" because in terms of biological evolution it can be interpreted as something of an atrophied photoreceptor, the Pineal Gland responds to information actually obtained by the retina about the state of light and darkness in the environment. Melatonin is made by the Pineal Gland when darkness is signaled. The Pineal Gland is also implicated in the regulation of bone metabolism and the functioning of another important gland, the Pituitary, including influencing sexual hormone production.
Meet The Thymus Gland, presented for your enjoyment in plush by I Heart Guts! Important to know in these times of contagion and confusion, the Thymus, seated right above your heart, is where those amazing T-cells that fight infection are made and mature to help your body defeat specific intruders!
Read just a portion of all the awesome information included on the multi-page hang-tag of the Pituitary Gland from I Heart Guts: "The teeny tiny pea-sized gland has a lot of big jobs. The Pituitary, which dangles from underneath your brain, watches over the body and works to keep everything running smoothly. The Pituitary releases hormones into the bloodstream that tell other organs and glands to do their jobs. These hormones help control growth, metabolism, sex hormones and blood pressure as well as maintain water levels in the body. That is one busy gland!"
Additional hang-tag Fun Fact: This so-called "Master Gland" actually takes orders from the Hypothalamus.
One Adrenal Gland is perched atop each Kidney in the body. These are the glands that produce Adrenaline, the famous "fight or flight" hormone that increases your heart rate and generally pumps up your strength to enable you to effectively do one or the other (there is a cute chart on the hang-tag detailing how and what body organs are affected by Adrenaline during this response). They've been very busy in the last few months producing another hormone, cortisol, also a stress hormone, in almost all, if not all of us! The Adrenal Gland is also in charge of producing sex hormones, so, all in all, a rather important organ!
We could never come to be were it not for the fluid produced by the walnut-sized Prostrate Gland in men to protect and nourish the sperm generated in their testicles. It is actually mainly the Seminal Vesicle Glands atop the Prostrate that makes most of what goes into semen, the medium wherein sperm cells swim.
Hang tag info for the plush Lymph Node from I Heart Guts:
"Sprinkled throughout the body, Lymph Nodes are filled with White Blood Cells which patrol the lymphatic system for bodily bad guys. When these cells identify harmful invaders, they drag them back to the Lymph Node to be destroyed...!"
Having these organs removed is every kid's nightmare! Tonsils were once believed to be not of serious usefulness and thus got taken out at the first sign of a sore throat located in them. Fortunately, modern medical practitioners recognize the value of Tonsils in fighting germs in our mouths and antibiotics can assist when it seems the tonsils are becoming overwhelmed by an given invader. Wishing to preserve the infection limiting potential of these organs, physicians now tend only to remove them when the tonsils become too compromised to provide that function. Whew!
We can hardly discuss organs of the mouth without mentioning Teeth! Here from I Heart guts is a big plush molar --in pearly white, of course! It even has its own "toothy" grin...!
The coup de grasse of Teeth would HAVE to be a GOLD Tooth--and far be it from I Heart Guts to forego the opportunity to make one! One of our customers has already provided this stunner to her Dentist as a "Thank-you" (sort-of) gift!
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Here are some adorable, extra-quality Baby Spring Barnyard critters from Douglas:
This cute cast of 4" long Barnyard Babies includes two fluffy mottled (but quiet) Chicks, one Golden-tan, one Black and White, and a downy Yellow Duckling that comes with a quacky sound chip!
One or both of these two 5" tall little Lambs from Douglas would be a perfect addition to any Easter Basket--or to anyone's collection of Barnyard beauties! Available in all white or with a black face and hooves!
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Our current Fairy and Fantasy selection:
Look at ALL of the Plush Dog Breeds we have in stock!
Thanks to "contributions" from First and Main and Douglas, our entire Dog area is freshly restocked--and brim full with breed choices!
Just FYI, we've added some interesting creatures to "fill in" our Prehistoric Collection...
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We have refilled all those empty "leaves" on our "Tree" (now again) full of Audubon Birds with the authentic sound chips recorded by Cornell University! Back in stock are Meadowlarks, Mockingbirds, House Sparrows, House Finches, Black-capped Chickadees and Eastern Bluebirds!
We also just filled in a bunch of gaps in our Forest Habitat with new pieces from Wild Republic!
Here is a montage showing critters added from the most recent shipment!
These unique pieces from Wild Republic just assisted in repopulating our South American Rain Forest Habitat!
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Sad news:
Our beautiful day on April 1 appreciating California's native plants flowering in our local deserts (far away from other people) ended sadly when we returned home to find our beloved Australian Shepherd Foxy expired as if asleep in her kennel. We are devastated because this came as a shock, especially as Foxy was always one of our healthiest dogs, and had our vet look into possible causes. It turns out the Foxy had a silent tumor, hard to detect with no symptoms to suggest its presence, on an artery at the base of her heart. It finally caused a rupture that bled into the pericardium of her heart. We consider it a blessing that she showed no signs of distress until her last few days and then slipped away peacefully after a long and happy life of being much loved. Eventually, we will replace the gaping holes in our heats with another fur baby, but for now our hearts are aching..Rest in peace, Foxy. We'll see you on the other side of that Rainbow Ridge....
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It is hard to believe that Star Tulip Stuffies, House of Fine Stuffed Animals has been open for over four years home again in Redlands, CA (we started here back in 2003 in the now-defunct old downtown Redlands Mall)!
We have lived and worked and been your neighbors in this area for more than 40 years! Star Tulip Stuffies was originally opened as a storefront in the Redlands Mall back in 2003. Since then a growing following of stuffed animal aficionados has managed to find, support and spread the word about us.
From the very beginning our intent has been to bring our customers the very best selection of the finest quality plush creatures we can find while keeping our prices as rational as we can.
We are all about choices; we like nothing better than to present several different companies’ version of the same animal because we have found that every designer will have a different take on that same critter. Thus, if you visit us, which we certainly hope to make you curious enough to do, you should not be surprised to find that, not only do we have an “unusual” creature, say a porcupine or an opossum, rendered in plush, but that we also will likely have four or five or even more styles from as many different manufacturers (with accompanying differences in sizes and prices!) of that individual kind of animal! This also means that while you will find respected and familiar names like Gund, Ganz, Douglas Cuddle Toy, Fiesta Toys, Aurora, Wild Republic, etc. on many of our products, we make a point of searching out quality companies less well known, especially in California, that you may only brush up against on a trip to the zoo or aquarium (we really love the educational kick provided by those extremely realistic representations!) or while traveling east of the Rocky Mountains (many retailers are simply unwilling to stand the cost of shipping some of these…)--or that are just outrageously esoteric (we have plush germs--in Petri dishes, no less--by GiantMicrobes and body parts--if I only had a brain--from I [Heart] Guts!
Our selection is so diverse (we are simply stuffed with “stuff”, but then “stuff” is what we do!) in order to keep track of everything we have resorted to arrangement by habitat! When you visit (by now you know you have to if you can…) you will eventually notice that our entire shop is suggestive of the interior and exterior of a gigantic fantastic playhouse or dollhouse. “Inside” live authentic Raggedy Ann and Andy, Sesame Street characters, etc. Also living the pampered “indoor” life are plush Cats and Teddy Bears “Outside” you will find our rather extensive collection of realistic Dog Breeds (this is a personal favorite category of ours, so if someone makes a decent version of a specific breed, we will try to have it for you!), Barnyard Animals, Horses, Frog and Turtle ponds, Forest critters, Desert animals, Birds, and creatures of Central and South America, Australia, Africa and Asia as well as an area devoted to Ocean life! There is even a section “inhabited” by the fantasmagorical creatures of the imagination including dragons, faeries, unicorns and the like!
About Our Name: The “Star Tulip” part of our name alludes to our other life as occasional botanists! “Star tulips” are members of a rather large genus, Calochortus, meaning “beautiful grass”, of native Californian lilies that includes species with enchanting common names like “butterfly” or “mariposa tulips” and “faerie lanterns”. The butterfly tulips have large goblet-shaped tulip-style flowers, often marked with spots and bobbing in the breeze above their cohabitating grasses like the insects they appear to mimic. The more diminutive faerie lanterns have closed flowers on slender overarched stems and could easily be imagined to light the nighttime activities of elfin woodland inhabitants. Our tiny namesakes open fully wide and close to the ground as if they were stars scattered across the forest floor! The alliteration of “Star Tulip” and “Stuffies” was just too tempting to pass up!
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