Each year thousands of new toys are released. For many, the shelf life be short and then they will be replaced by something newer and more exciting. However, there are some toys that just seem to make it through and continue to return to the shelves each year. These classics will never be replaced. Blickenstaff's has a wide variety of classic vintage toys that have been enjoyed by several generations! Here's our top 5 classic vintage toys....

5. Slinky
With over 60 feet of wire formed into the perfect coil this toy continues to be a hit with kids. Watch it godown stair after stair until it reaches the end!

4. Marbles
Giant shooters and lots of fun patterned marbles have always been popular. We've got over 30 different styles of marbles to choose from. Whether you enjoy the classic game of marbles or just like collecting, you will not be disappointed by our selection.

3. Silly Putty
Silly Putty has been around since the 1940's and continues to be a popular toy among youth. It's probably because there are SO many different things you can do with the putty. In fact, we've got a post dedicated to the many uses of silly putty!

2. Tin Lunch Boxes
Your grandmother took her lunch to school in lunch box and now you can too. Our selection of vintage lunch boxes have some classic image displayed on the front. Forget the brown bag and grab one of these for lunch!

1. Sock Monkey
One of the most beloved stuffed animals! The sock monkey has been around since the Great Depression and still continues to be a friend to kids and adults.

Stop by Blickenstaff's to check out some of our other great vintage toys and pick out your favorites!

? What is your favorite vintage toy

*We will choose (1) commenter to win one of our fun vintage tin lunch boxes of their choice! You've got until Monday to leave a comment below!

Silly Putty has been around since 1943. The putty is obviously known for it's crazy ability to mold into a variety of shapes, bounce, and if left alone long enough become a puddle of polymers. You've bounced it, shaped it and probably even used it to transfer images off from a newspaper. But let's not limit the poer of the putty to the simple silliness it was created for. Silly Putty can do so. much. more.

We're going to give you some ideas for ways to take your silly putty and put it to good use around the home...

1. Bling(less) Jewelry
Ok, so it might not sparkle. But who cares - it's custom! Grab some putty and shape it into a fun ring, or some cool earrings. Throw your putty in the freezer and take it out after a couple hours. You'll have the perfect putty jewelry for a warm summer day.

2. Putty Fur/Lint Remover
Silly putty has just enough stickiness to it that it can pick up light objects. Light objects like fur and hair. WHo needs a lint roller when you can pop out the putty and get rid of the pesky fur/hair/lint clinging to your clothes.

3. Custom Galaxy
Yeah, I bet you never thought you could create a galaxy with putty. Well, pick up some glow-in-the-dark silly putty and shape some pieces into stars, moons and planets and then stick them to your wall!!

4. DIY Dice
Create some cubes, throw the numbers on and you're good to go! Plus you'll get a little more bounce out of these dice!

5. Stress Ball
A couple deep breaths and some silly putty will help get you through even the longest of days!

6. Bait & Tackle
Don't want to get your hands messy with the worms? Roll out a thin piece of silly putty, attach it to the hook and you're ready to reel in the big ones!

Those were just a few of the many, many ways silly putty can be used. What's the most creative way you've seen silly putty used?

We love all of our neighbors here at the Shops at Riverwoods. We've had some great clothing stores, tasty restaurants and an awesome family entertainment center open over the past year.

And now.... (drumroll please) we are THRILLED to announce that our newest neighbor will be "Ike's Ice Cream Parlor". The ONLY place in Utah that will 16 glorious flavors of the greatest ice cream ever- Blue Bell Ice Cream!

We got to test out the homemade vanilla last week when the first shipment came in and it was divine. Literally the greatest vanilla ice cream we have experienced.

The ice cream will be made available to everyone on October 3! We are co-hosting the opening of Ike's Ice Cream and are so excited! Come by at 7 pm next Monday and the first 50 people get a free scoop of ice cream. Plus there are going to be some sweeeeeet giveaways!

We're going to be giving away:
silly putty
ice cream
hula hoops
vintage candy
and a GIANT 3 pound container of Blue Bell Ice Cream!!!

And because we love ice cream and love you guys we're going to do a crazy sale on our candy between 7-9 for anyone wearing an Ike's Ice Cream pin (available at the event for free).

Don't miss out on this awesome chance to get some fee ice cream, fun giveaways and huge candy discounts!

We love Eric Carle's famous book, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. The story of a little caterpillar eating his way through delicious fruits, vegetables, and eventually candy is something we can definitely relate to here at Blickenstaff's, and we're pretty sure he would have loved a little visit to our store before he became a butterfly! But it's not just the little caterpillar's sweet tooth that makes us love this story.

The story is filled with uniquely bold and beautiful collages to illustrate the little caterpillar's journey. This original style has become the trademark of author Eric Carle. At Blickenstaff's we like to celebrate this style with some of our merchandise. We have a collection of beautiful wall prints from The Very Hungry Caterpillar and some of Eric Carle's other beloved books. We also have cute plush caterpillars, a wall clock with the hungry little caterpillar, and the treasured book itself in our Book Nook!

This is the first post of our new series, Top Five Friday! Every Friday, we will be highlighting five of our favorite products in a specific section of our store. Today we're spotlighting our Art Corner!

We carry art supplies from Alex, Melissa and Doug, Curiosity Kits and lots of other great vendors. Here are some of our favorite products:

Melissa and Doug Watercolor Sets

We love the variety of beautiful, bright colors included in each Melissa and Doug watercolor set. At Blickenstaff's, we have three different sizes to satisfy everyone, from the casual artist to the budding Van Gough. Melissa and Doug paints are non-toxic and come in up to 21 different colors.

Melissa and Doug Paint Brush Sets

In an artist's tool belt, one of their most important tools is the paint brush. Melissa and Doug paint brush sets, each pack comes with four brushes (perfect for siblings or friends to share) in various colors. The brushes are made with natural bristles and have easy to clean plastic handles. We carry four different sizes at Blickenstaff's, from small to jumbo. The jumbo size is perfect for kids with little hands and big ideas. The smaller brushes are great for adding finishing touches and intricate detail to a masterpiece.

Curiosity Kits Swirl Master

This unique toy makes creating one-of-a-kind masterpieces easy and fun! Just add whatever colors you like onto your canvas (the Swirl Master includes black and white paper in two different sizes), turn on the Swirl Master, and watch art take shape! Each piece comes out different then the one before. The Swirl Master includes five vibrant colors and a plastic splatter shield to keep young artists (and their "studios") clean.

Alex Modeling Clay

Alex super soft modeling clay and dough are perfect for little hands eager to build and sculpt. The dough comes in a pack of six bold colors, each with an airtight container to prevent it from drying out between uses. The clay comes in a one pound package with five colors and it never dries out.

Curiosity Kits Pottery Wheel

This toy is actually a real, working ceramic wheel. This set includes a wheel, a foot pedal for speed control, two pounds of clay,  cutting and sculpting tools and six colors of paint. There are also thorough instructions on how to throw pots, vases, pencil holders and more. This is a great learning toy that will continue to be more fun as the child gets more skilled at using it.

Of course the above are just five of the many great products in our art corner. Have you tried any of the Top Five? Let us know what you thought in the comments section!

Last year one of our former employees made us an AWESOME video that highlighted just how fun our store is! Check it out!

What's your favorite part of our store?