The Tyco Flower Makin' Basket ( or Flower Making Basket ) was an accessory for Tyco Super Dough (like Play Dough) that was designed to create sweet smelling flower-shaped creations.
Features and Design
Originally released in 1987 (#4300), this 1990 version was updated to include birds.
Styled as a light pink flower basket, it held several play-dough style molds (and a bird) that could be loaded with Super Dough.
Then, lifting the baskets handle so that it was straight up in a lifting position would squeeze out the dough through each mold, creating intricate flowery designs that were really quite cool, even for an old bloke like me!
The bird added in this 1990 version would grow feathers, as can be seen in the features poster, taken from the Tyco Toys 1990 Toy Fair Catalog.
From the Tyco Catalog
With 6 Scented Buds. Now with Birds too!
Fill a wicker basket with a bouquet of colorful Super Dough flowers and smell the roses. Create beautiful birds, too. Set includes wicker-styled flower basket, 6 scented buds, 2 bird eggs with heads, spatula, vinyl playmat, and 4 containers of Super Dough.
Here’s how it works
Stuff piston with dough and lock bud or bird into piston
- Tyco Toys 1990 Catalog on the Flower Makin' Basket
Swing basket handle…
… and flower blooms!
… and birds feathers grow!
(smudge is my ham-fisted attempt to hide the page crease)
TV Commercial
I have restored the best copy of the TV commercial I could find, using state-of-the-art AI video restoration software. Sadly many of these commercials have been sitting on magnetic tape in someone's garage for several decades, and so we increasingly rely on technology to breath new life into them.
United States version
Availability and Collectability
Flower Makin' Baskets were highly popular, and one of the most memorable toys of the era for many women.
For this reason they are valued by toy collectors generally and tend to get snapped up pretty quickly when listed on eBay - you might visit one day and there's a few listed, but the next they're all gone. Individual flower mold sets have also been seen online, to replace incomplete sets.
Like so many of the popular but rare Tyco toys, using a Saved Search on eBay may be the best way to find one, that is unless you've got a regular stream of garage sales where you live, often the best place to buy any vintage toy for a reasonable price.
Update December 2024: A Brand New NIB (new in box) just sold for $179.99 USD. Clearly the Flower Makin' Basket has joined the ranks of desirable collectables which now sell for many times their original price.