It’s December 1st, and time to announce the results of the Hit Clips song cartridge giveaway. Unfortunately, I didn’t receive any entries for this particular giveaway. So there’s not really anything to announce, except that the giveaway has officially ended. Hopefully, I can find some time in the midst of all my holiday preparations to post something more interesting in the near future.
Signed, Treesa
The Hit Clips brand was launched by Tiger Electronics at the start of the New Millennium. This line of digital music players and song cartridges was meant to be an alternative to the bulky MP3 players of the day. Hit Clips were specifically geared towards kids and teens, and they became extremely popular for a time. However, the line was also short lived due to rapidly improving technology in the field of digital music players. The release of Apple’s iPod, with its sleek design and superior hard drive in comparison to its competitors, is credited as being the death blow to the Hit Clips craze.
I was aware of Hit Clips when they were at their peak of popularity. The line sort of reminded me of the Pocket Rockers mini cassette players that Fisher-Price put out in the late 1980s. However, I bought my Hit Clips player secondhand, after the initial fad had passed but before the nostalgia factor could kick in. My particular music player has the Boombox shape, but Hit Clips also produced an MP3 player shape. Some of the song cartridges that I own came bagged with the Boombox player when I bought it, while others came from a second bag lot that I picked up from a flea market.
At least one of the past owners of these cartridges must’ve been a big fan of boy bands, because one of the lots contained a Backstreet Boys song cartridge, a song cartridge by O-Town, and four NSYNC cartridges. I also ended up with two Britney Spears song cartridges, because odds are that any early 2000s music collection will include some songs by Britney Spears. In addition, I later bought a sealed “Madonna Hit Pack” from the thrift store that contained a set of three cartridges. What can I say, I’m a bit of an 80s girl.
What I find really fun about these song cartridges is that each one features miniature album cover art on the front. Plus, each cartridge comes with a metal clip very similar to the ones that Basic Fun Inc. used for their later keychains. So technically, each song cartridge could sort of qualify as a keychain.
Since I own an actual Hit Clips music player along with the song cartridges, I thought it would be fun to take a little trip down music memory lane by testing out the cartridges and player. I’ll start by sharing some general observations I made about the Hit Clips technology and how it worked. Then I’ll move on to some short, personal notes that I made about each of the songs.
Hit Clips Music Player and Cartridges:
My particular Hit Clips player required 3 triple A batteries to run, and the back panel had to be unscrewed to put the batteries in. I did have a little trouble getting some of the song cartridges to play. Odds are that either the batteries I put in weren’t as fresh as I thought, or that the contacts inside the player or on some of the cartridges need cleaning. The volume on the player wasn’t adjustable, but it was factory set to a decent level. However, the tracks did have a fuzzy sound quality, some more so than others. Maybe the cartridges haven’t aged well, materials-wise. Or maybe, as I suggested before, the contact points need to be cleaned.
The Songs:
This I Promise You by NSYNC:
The song sampling used for this track came across as a decent length, but very repetitive. As an aside, any differences that I noted in the lengths of the tracks turned out to be solely a matter of perception, since all of the Hit Clips song cartridges were produced to be one minute long.
Its Gonna Be Me by NSYNC:
I personally felt that this track had a more fun tempo going for it than the previous one.
Girlfriend by NSYNC:
The song clip selection used for this one gives listeners more of a full play experience, in my opinion.
Bringin’ Da Noise by NSYNC:
In Hit Clips format, the background instrumentation on this track seemed to blend together into an indistinct, hissy drone.
Larger Than Life by Backstreet Boys:
This song still has an infectious beat after all these years. I couldn’t help bobbing my head along to the music.
All Or Nothing by O-Town:
This particular track seemed to have a clearer sound quality than the previous ones. Maybe the actual cartridge just aged better.
I’m a Believer by Smash Mouth:
In my opinion, the fuzziness of the sound quality was compensated for by the strength of Smash Mouth’s rendition on the song. There’s a reason why this cover was such a big hit back in the day. However, the Hit Clips version did feature some odd editing towards the end of the track.
Mirror/Mirror by M2M:
I’ll admit, I wasn’t at all familiar with M2M before preparing for this post idea. Apparently, they were or are a Norwegian, two person pop group. However, when I listened to the song cartridge for Mirror/Mirror I thought it sounded ‘very Radio Disney’, with a stereotypical pre-teen pop sound. As it turned out, M2M did perform the song for a concert at Epcot in Walt Disney World, so I guess I wasn’t too far off. The group also performed the song on television episodes for the Nickelodeon channel.
Overprotected, Darkchild Remix by Britney Spears:
Coming to this song from an outside perspective, as someone who didn't remember it from back in the day, I found the subheading of “Darkchild” appropriate. The track comes across as very angry sounding, especially the opening. However, the overall presentation still has a touch of what I’d call ‘a Disney Channel hangover’, which does make some sense when considering that Britney Spears was a cast member on the early 1990s reboot of The Mickey Mouse Club.
Stronger by Britney Spears:
Aside from the music having a slightly brighter mood, this track was a little hard for me to distinguish from the previous Britney Spears song. The Hit Clips rendition of Stronger also suffered from repetitive editing.
Material Girl by Madonna
This song is a straight-up classic by this point, and the Hit Clips format mostly did it justice. However, the fuzziness of the sound quality seemed harder to ignore on this track, possibly because the song itself is so iconic.
Cherish by Madonna
I was already familiar with this song, although it had been a while since I’d heard it. But I don’t remember the opening sounding like some sitcom theme song the way it does here.
Lucky Star by Madonna
The opening notes sort of sound like classic Whitney Houston or Gloria Estefan to my ears. Whether that’s a good or a bad thing is a matter of personal preference.
I will conclude my Hit Clips review as follows.
Good Points:
Hit Clips are a true product of their time. And despite the technology being outdated, the music selection, product designs, and even just the concept in general dial the nostalgia factor up to 11. Also, the song cartridges, with their clear CD jewel case look and small-scaled album covers, will have a lot of appeal for fans of doll-sized miniatures.
Bad Points:
The sound quality is not the greatest, though whether this is due to an inherent flaw in the technology or aging of the components I’m not sure. I also find it a bit inconvenient that the player requires 3 batteries, when most handheld electronics I’ve encountered use only 2 batteries at the most.
Final Verdict:
Since the player and the song cartridges are going into my keychain collection, I probably won’t be using them to play music that frequently. So, the fact that the technology is a bit sub-par by today’s standards shouldn’t be as much of an issue. And I just love the look of these products, from both a nostalgia standpoint and as someone who appreciates detailed miniatures.
The Giveaway:
Now comes the fun part. I happen to have an extra Hit Clips song cartridge of NSYNC’s Bringin’ Da Noise. Heathersmoo on Livejournal suggested having a giveaway here on the blog. And since November 3rd marks the 6th blogiversary for Grab The Brass Keyring, that’s exactly what I’m going to do. If you don’t happen to have a Hit Clips digital music player of your own, the cartridge can also be used as a keychain or purse charm, or hung on your Christmas tree. Or the clip and the strap can be removed and the cartridge can be used as a fashion doll-sized CD case. You could even put the cartridge on a necklace as a nostalgic, or ironic, fashion accessory. The possibilities are out there.
Here are the rules for the giveaway. All you need to do to enter is leave a comment on this blog post with whatever name you would like to be publicly known as if you win, as well as an email address where I can contact you if you are chosen as the winner. All of the comments on this blog are sent to me for approval, rather than being automatically posted, so no one but me will see your contact information. The entry period extends through the month of November, beginning now and ending on November 30th, a Thursday. One the following Friday, December 1st, I will randomly choose a winner. The winner’s entry name will be posted on the blog, and I will also personally contact them using the email address that they provided with their giveaway entry. The winner will then have 2 weeks to email me with arrangements to send me a mailing address, so that I can mail them their prize. If I receive no contact from the winner after 2 weeks, another winner will be chosen.
Feel free to spread the word about this giveaway to anyone that you think might be interested. I look forward to receiving your entries.
Signed, TreesaSince I uploaded a post on Harry Potter keychains around this time last year, I decided now would be a good opportunity to share a couple Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them keychains. ‘Fantastic Beasts’ was a companion, prequel series to the Harry Potter franchise.
First, we have this Niffler Pocket Pop Keychain by Funko. Nifflers are furry, magical ‘beasts’ that are attracted to shiny objects. A Niffler named Teddy appeared prominently in the Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them films.
I also have a keychain featuring the “Stupefy” spell, with Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them branding on the tag. Stupefy, the Stunning Spell, causes a person hit with it to become unconscious, according to the online resources I found. The keychain itself was made by Bioworld.
That’s all for now. Apparently, I have a lot more regular Harry Potter keychains than I have keychains for ‘Fantastic Beasts’, although there could be a few more lying around the house here and there. I’m not always the most organized person.
Even though this was a very short post, I'm hoping you enjoyed it regardless.
Signed, Treesa
The release of the Barbie live-action movie has made “Barbiecore” the ‘latest fashion craze’, to borrow lyrics from the song “The Barbie Touch”, which was featured in “The Magical World Of Barbie” live stage show performed at Epcot in Walt Disney World during 1994. Considering the current popularity of Barbie inspired fashion, I’ve decided to share a little keychain DIY project that I crafted a few years back. Are there Barbie shoes lying around your house that no longer have matches? If you are a parent with young children, then there’s a good chance that the answer is yes. So, why not put those shoes to good use by making yourself a keychain or bag clip? I’m a fashion doll collector as well as a keychain collector, so I’ve found my share of single Barbie shoes in bag lots of doll clothing I’ve purchased secondhand. They say that necessity is the mother of invention, and I originally came up with this keychain idea because I had a bag of mismatched Barbie shoes that I didn’t know what to do with.
To make a keychain similar to the one shown in the photo, you will need a short piece of chain with a split ring or some other type of keychain or clip finding at the top, to use as a base. You will also need some Barbie shoes, some jump rings to attach the shoes to the chain, and some jewelry pliers or other small pliers to open the jump rings.
The easiest way to get the shoes onto the chain is by using shoes that have straps, like the light pink, solid colored high heel used in the sample keychain. Just hang the shoe by the strap using a jump ring, and then attach the jump ring to one of the links of the chain. You can fasten all of the shoes to a single, larger jump ring at the bottom of the chain like I did. Or you can hang each shoe from a separate chain link, positioning the first shoe higher up on the chain and then alternating the placement of the other shoes on either side as you work your way down the chain.
If you would like to use a shoe that doesn’t have a strap, the transparent pink glittery high heel seen in the photo is a typical example, then you will need to find something to poke a hole through the shoe, near the top, for the jump ring. Something sharp but on the thinner side, like a thumbtack or a sturdy sewing needle, could work well for this, depending on the thickness of the plastic as well as the flexibility. Some of the plastics used to make Barbie shoes are somewhat rubbery, while others are firmer. In you are very careful, you could heat the end of a long, metal sewing needle with a candle flame before poking the hole, to make puncturing the plastic easier. I would not recommend letting children do any of the shoe piercing, even without the added element of heat.
Also, be careful with the placement of your hole. If you poke the hole too close to the top edge of the shoe, you might end up tearing the plastic, instead of making a hole. If you poke your hole too far down, you might have trouble finding a jump ring with a large enough diameter to attach the shoe to the chain. If the plastic shoe seems just too hard to pierce, I would recommend finding a different Barbie shoe for your project, unless you have sufficient experience with a craft drill. In any case, once you have a hole in the shoe that goes all the way through, you'll need to thread an open jump ring through the hole, so that the shoe can be suspended from the chain.
Here’s another example of a keychain made from a doll shoe.
This shoe is from the Monster High doll line. To make the keychain, I threaded some jewelry wire through a gap behind the heel of the shoe. I then used pliers to shape the wire into a wrapped loop before attaching the snake chain with snap end.
I hope that you enjoyed this post, and that my timing in posting it didn’t come across as too ‘click-baity’.
Signed, TreesaYes, you read that date in the title right. Last year, after the Halloween season was over, I went to Spirit Halloween and picked up a few keychains during their post-season clearance sale. But I kept misplacing the shopping bag with the keychains in it before I could get them photographed. I finally did get the pictures taken, and now I can share my finds with all of you, almost a year late. But hey, better late than never.
Today, I will be discussing the Disney Figural Keyrings line by Monogram International Inc. I didn’t originally plan to collect these “Keyrings” specifically. In fact, thanks to the flood of blind bag toys and collectables that came surging onto the retail market in the 2010s, I don’t think I was really aware of this line until I came across several “Figural Keyrings” secondhand at a thrift store. I can’t remember now exactly how many the store had or which characters they were, since I wasn’t that impressed with the figures at that time. They seemed a little too stylized for my taste.
So I can’t really explain why I decided to purchase the Kristoff keychain pictured above. I think I must’ve felt a little sorry for him. He did seem a bit forlorn when I found him in his used state. I’ve always been the sensitive type, as far as my personality goes, and I don’t think I ever really lost that childhood tendency to read emotions into inanimate objects with faces. Seeing the first two Toy Story films probably didn’t help with that. The fifty cent price tag on this keychain made it appealing as well. And as a general Disney fan, I was at least aware of who Kristoff was, even though I hadn’t seen the movie Frozen. As it turned out, I may have had a good eye for keychain selection. According to online research I did for this post, this specific “Kristoff Figural Keyring” is listed as an Exclusive on the Series 5 packaging. However, I don’t know if this actually means anything in terms of its rarity.
I found the Anna keychain, without her packaging, some time later in a clearance bin at a Michaels craft store. I bought her because I thought Kristoff could use some company. Toy Story syndrome strikes again. Still, I didn’t see myself as a collector of Disney Figural Keyrings. You have to have more than two of something to call it a collection, or a sub-collection in this case.
I guess the
primary theme of this post is to demonstrate how my keychain collecting
obsession can sometimes override my common sense. This story begins at the
Columbus Flea Market in
For anyone who doesn’t know, pin trading is a popular pastime at the Disney theme parks. The pins are sold exclusively through Disney, or you can trade with park employees or other park guests for both new and previously released pins. The pins can also be purchased on the secondhand market, sometimes at a considerable markup depending on the rarity and desirability of the pin.
I do love all things Disney, and over time I’ve managed to build up a small collection of Disney pins from yard sales and thrift stores. The woman at the flea market had separated her pins by asking price, and I had just enough cash left on me to purchase one pin from the lowest price bracket. I quickly zeroed in on an Oswald The Lucky Rabbit pin.
Oswald was an animated character created by Walt Disney for Universal Studios in the 1920s. The Walt Disney Company arranged to buy back the rights to Oswald in 2006. I’d actually wanted an Oswald pin for my collection for a while, so buying this pin should’ve been the obvious decision for me. However, before I paid for my purchase, I made the mistake of checking the rest of the table, to see if the seller had anything I wanted more. That’s when I saw a previously ‘blind bagged’ Dory keychain from Pixar’s Finding Nemo film. Blind bag toys had become quite popular, and so were being sold in a wide variety of stores across the country. Of course, the problem with blind bags is that you’re not supposed to know which toy in a series you’re getting until you open it. Dory specifically was from “Series 5” of the “Disney Figural Keyring” line by Monogram International Inc.
So, on the one hand I had the Oswald pin, sold exclusively through Disney and their theme parks. While on the other hand I had the ‘blind bag’ Dory keychain, most likely sold at just about any retail store that featured toys. As you can see, Dory came home with me. I guess I decided that the convenience of knowing which blind bag item I was getting, without having to pay online shipping costs, was worth losing out on the pin. Sometimes I feel like kicking myself for not getting the pin instead. But then I look at Dory’s sweet face and decide that it was money well spent. Besides, Finding Nemo is my favorite Pixar film.
Signed, Treesa
Moriah Elizabeth, for those of you who
may not know, is an art Youtuber who is probably most well-known for
popularizing the idea of “Squishy Makeovers”. Squishies, or squishy toys, are
typically made from either foam or silicone. According to my online research,
squishies originated in
Youtuber Moriah Elizabeth posted her first “Squishy Makeover” video in 2018. The whole squishy makeover concept involved taking worn and faded, or just cheaply made, squishy toys and repainting them using fabric paints, to give them a refresh. Fabric paints tend to be more flexible than acrylic paints, so they’re less likely to crack or flake off over time. Also, the flexibility of the fabric paint helps maintain the original squishy-ness of the toy.
Moriah Elizabeth started out her squishy makeover series by simply repainting squishies, but over time she honed her skills to incorporate more advanced techniques. These techniques include attaching smaller squishies to larger squishies as accessories, repairing damaged areas of a squishy with fabric glue, and even replacing missing parts of a squishy with memory foam before repainting. I’ve been watching Moriah Elizabeth’s Youtube channel for some years now and, since I’m easily inspired by craft projects that I see in books and on Youtube, I wanted to try a few squishy makeovers myself. However, I didn’t want to use any full-sized squishies for my projects. The last thing I need right now is another useless collection that I don’t have space for sitting around and collecting dust. I also reasoned that a smaller project would be simpler to accomplish and would take less time to complete. So, I purchased a sampling of squishy toy keychains on clearance at Michaels craft store, planning to add the finished projects to my existing keychain collection.
This Orb Odditeez macaron was my first attempt at a squishy makeover, and it’s pretty much as basic as they come. It’s not even a full repaint. I just repainted the cream filling and added a painted chocolate drizzle on top. I did have a bit of trouble creating a consistent drizzle with the fabric paint. But trying to fill in the gaps with a dotting tool just made the paint job look worse. I may attempt to do another touch up later on.
I also added my own ‘artist signature’ to the bottom of the squishy, just like Moriah Elizabeth does in her makeovers. I came up with the signature design back in my schooling days, after I was inspired by a book I’d read. Unfortunately, I no longer remember the book’s title, or the bulk of the plot for that matter. But all in all, I think this makeover turned out decently for a first attempt. And since I still have a number of other squishy keychains left, you may be seeing more of these projects in the future.
Signed, TreesaI received the keychains shown below in a package from Livejournal poster Heathersmoo in August of 2022, after our in person meet-up that July. Life being what it’s been, it’s taken me this long to get around to posting about them. I’m so sorry Heather. I know it may not seem like it, but I really do appreciate all of the keychain goodies you’ve sent me.
Heather
emailed me in the beginning of August because she’d found a duplicate, souvenir
keychain from
In addition, Heather also sent me a kumihimo keychain that she handmade with wire. Kumihimo, in case anyone has either forgotten or missed a previous post on this blog, is a Japanese braiding technique. Heather has made gifts for me before using this technique, but with embroidery floss rather than wire. So this particular keychain is definitely unique.
I want to send out another thank you to Heather for her thoughtful gifts, along with another apology for my tardiness. I will try to do better in the coming year with sharing things on this blog in a timely manner. But we’ll have to see how that goes.
Signed, Treesa
Ok, so the items pictured above aren’t technically keychains. At least, they didn’t start out as keychains. I had to add a split ring to the original metal clip on each one of them before I could justify calling them keychains. Cheating? Maybe. However, when I first started buying these items second-hand, I had no idea what exactly they were. I just knew that the Disney fan in me thought they looked really cool. And that some of them were obviously souvenirs from the Disney parks, and as such must’ve been pricey at original retail. Never underestimate the lure of a perceived bargain. Anyway, it wasn’t until I found one of these at a thrift store, with the original backing card, that I learned what their intended purpose was.
Disney lanyard medals appear to have been marketed to visitors at Disney’s theme parks as accessories for pin traders. The basic construction on the medals is very similar to the Disney park pins, but on a larger scale. Also, the medals in my collection are marked on the back as “Official Pin Trading” products. As the name “lanyard medal” implies, these items were intended to be hung on pin trading lanyards. They could also be clipped to pin trading bags. In my opinion, a lanyard loaded down with metal pins tends to be heavy enough without the extra weight of a lanyard medal. Maybe that’s why lanyard medals don’t seem to be very common on Disney’s official online shopping site anymore. At least, they weren’t the last time I checked. The last lanyard medal I purchased, shown below, was found on clearance at a Disney outlet store quite some time ago. Brick and mortar Disney stores themselves have become a rarity in their own right.
That’s all the information I could find to share on the subject of Disney parks lanyard medals. However, I would like to pass on a warning to other collectors who may be considering seeking these items out. I bought the Stitch lanyard medal, based on the character from Disney’s Lilo And Stitch franchise, used at a flea market. After I bought it, I ended up having to glue some of the enamel bits back into place with strong craft adhesive because they’d come loose and fallen out. I don’t know if this is a common problem with lanyard medals as they age. But I wanted other collectors to be aware of it. So, my secondhand shopping tip for today is, always examine used lanyard medals carefully to check for missing or loose enamel. I currently have all of my lanyard medals stored in individual, sealed baggies, just to make sure that none of the enamel pieces get lost if they start loosening and falling out.
Signed, Treesa Before my in person meet-up with
keychain collecting, email pen pal Heathersmoo in July of 2022, which I previously
wrote about on this blog, I’d only ever been to Sesame Place once in my life.
Though, no doubt like countless other children of my generation, I was
practically raised on PBS,
I didn’t get any keychains on that particular outing. I was still rather young at the time, and I don’t think I was actively collecting yet.
You may therefore
be wondering how I ended up with several
As for the
Anyway, as far
as
