The Teddy Bear: 1980s icon?

When one thinks of the 1980s, one naturally thinks of rainbows, hearts, maybe even unicorns and Pegasus (or an iconographically implausible amalgamation of the two, as discussed previously). But let us not forget the other unusual obsession of the eighties: teddy bears. This obsession is reflected not just in the occasional teddy bear sticker...

...but also in its many variants.

Also, teddy bears were dressed up for action shots in the 1980s, not just for stickers but for magazines, posters, calendars, etc. Nobody does this anymore.

Stickers did, however, make it easy to dress a bear yourself:

I loved bears, but I wonder even today about the iconographical relevance of a bear on a zeppelin.

Then there were entire lines of stickers devoted to bears and their daily activities.

Seems that bears, much like many others at the time, were obsessed with ballet, aerobics, and even dancercize. And they were non-threatening enough to be appropriated for religious purposes. So marketable! But why bears? Does anyone know?

Does the Bialosky Bear have anything to do with it?

 

Special effects stickers

There were all kinds of special visual effects that stickers offered in the 1980s. They quickly evolved from two-dimensional decorative seals to collectors' items with a range of sensory bells and whistles: puffy, fuzzy, scratch and sniff, shiny, sparkly...

And the eighties were a time of special visual effects. You could get sneakers with "oily" rainbows on the side, wear fluorescent clothing, and affix glow-in-the-dark stars to your ceiling. The time was ripe, I think, for stickers that could be marketed as "opalescent":

So pinky and pastelly, too. And let us not forget holograms!

A scientific brainchild of the 1980s [note: actually 1968], holograms combined rainbow and 3-D effects in one. So cool. We've got balloons, unicorns, bears, James Dean, and Marilyn Monroe...

The greatest special effects stickers were probably liquid crystal (or "oily"). Some of my oilies have aged; you have to periodically massage them to keep them fresh.

Finally, check out the awesome heart--I am not sure what you'd call it, if it's not holographic. Here is the view at an angle:

The three-dimensional pattern appears to extend into infinity; the image actually changes with the viewpoint of the observer. Such a space-agey, computer-graphics inspired take on your classic heart sticker. Like Tron meets Hallmark or something.

Sandylion addendum

I just came across some more very cute holiday stickers by Sandylion and needed to post them.

 

Countdown to Christmas: Sandylion (part 2 of 2)

Reason number two why Sandylion made the cutest Christmas stickers: their activity sticker sets. I know you remember "dress a bear." They made about a jillion other sticker sets like it, including an array of Christmas designs, each one as cute as the next. A sampling:

Yes, I *will* adorn a Christmas unicorn, thank you very much.

Even I could not leave this one in pristine condition. Look at the dog in the window!

 

A detail from "On Christmas Eve Would you Believe the Forest Gave a Party?"

Dying from the cuteness.

I am not even showing you all of them. There is also Dress Santa for Christmas, Design a Wreath, and Create an Ornament. (Or maybe it was Create a Wreath and Design an Ornament.)

Remember the frolicking sheep?

 

They go, more or less, with these guys.

Wait for it...

Yes, they did. Happy Cyber Monday!

Countdown to Christmas: Sandylion (part 1)

Santa Claus ushered in the Christmukkah season at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, and it's a winter wonderland of holiday sticker selections from now until January 1. Which is exciting, because no matter what your religious beliefs, I would maintain that Christmas stickers are super-cute and beat out all the Hannukah and Kwanzaa stickers combined. I don't say this lightly; as a Unitarian, I respect and acknowledge all faith traditions, but as a sticker collector, I am securely biased towards Christmas. 

I pondered recently which sticker company made the cutest Christmas stickers, and I decided it was Sandylion. Their designs are adorable, as demonstrated through their little fuzzy Santa heads and opalescent bears.

 And the fat little Christmas tree, stockings, and holly.

Then there are these full-size Santas and fuzzy bears:

And OMG the reindeer heads and the snowmen...

You get the picture. Sandylion made some other, Very Special Christmas Stickers as well, which you may remember. To be continued...

Stickers to soothe the soul

Since holiday angst is upon us all, I thought: what better remedy than to post some super-cute stickers to assuage frayed nerves?

Sanrio is good to start with...

 Frolicking sheep are always calming.

 Breathe in, breathe out...even the football is smiling!

Don't you feel better now?