little survivor

4 May 2014

Some of you might remember this clockwork elephant?

I won it on ebay for £4.90, listed as not working, missing one eye, one ear and a tail.
She is circa 1950s and is made by a company called Alps, in Japan.
Well at long last her hospital appointment came up, an operation for ear and eye transplant in the clockwork medical shed. She already had an intravenous drip (sewing machine oil) and does actually move, very slowly as elephants tend to do.


I managed to find some tiny glass eyes so she will look a little more 'balanced'


operating table

it was a quick job, the only fabric I had that was nearest in colour was some grey wool felt. I drew a rough shape, sewed it, cut it out and turned it inside out and pressed it with iron and...

all bright shiny eyes and nice flapping ears. The other ear had to have some new card inserted as the metal was coming through the skin (velvet). They now stick out.

and a felt tail...

here is a rough clip of her plodding along...


34 comments

  1. how wonderful...he really is adorable...on a charity table top sale i brought a donkey like that but without the clockwork pieces~ my daughter stuck a drawing of a tail on him like Eeyore's ;0)

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  2. Brilliant job. She looks so happy now.

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  3. Such a clever girl to give him a new lease of life. xxx

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  4. Wonderful and so nice to see her working too xx

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  5. Oh this is so adorable. My little boy would love this. Well done on breathing life back into her.. She's so cute :)

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  6. So sweet, worth the wait!

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  7. oh my she is simply beautiful xxx

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  8. Wow! Now you can do surgery as well! Is there no ends to your talents!
    I am in awe! X

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  9. What a heartwarming tale! Are there any more patients in the toy hospital waiting to be patched up?

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  10. Such dedication to your little elephant. A labour of love. X

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  11. Nice see something being fixed instead of being chucked out and replaced replaced by a new one. Well done. Regards Sharon

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  12. Wonderful. The clip reminded me so much of Bagpuss from years ago. Whata treasure. Well done x

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  13. This is what chaplaincy (what I do) is all about!. Taking end of life people and helping them get ready for new life, to be loved again!! I do this with old furniture, too, and you have done this with this lovely little elephant. It is surely ready to be loved again and thus has a new life. Good on you...well done!!!

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  14. How fabulous that you've 'saved' this little guy....good on you.

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  15. Aww!! This is a really lovely treasure! See it in motion is so cute!! Thanks for share. ♥

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  16. i just wanted to let you know how much i enjoy your posts!

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  17. Anonymous4.5.14

    She even looks like she's happy! Great job :) And how very very cute she is <3

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  18. Ahh this is the cutest!

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  19. Good Job! Wonder what Pehr and Plimsoll make of her?

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  20. Very, very sweet... thank you so much for saving, restoring and most of all loving her... hugs Cass x

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  21. Anonymous5.5.14

    Really love to see such care for a small otherwise discarded object

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  22. How adorable! You clever thing!

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  23. Anonymous5.5.14

    Your heart and values are exactly in the right place. Love everything about this!

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  24. You are awesome.

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  25. Aww I love the little video clip at the end! So lovely. I love elephants!

    ellenunderwater.blogspot.co.uk

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  26. You are seriously a superwomen! That elephant is probably one of the best things I've seen, well done for keeping it alive!

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  27. Awww. this made my morning...
    she's one hell of a lucky donkey..
    Does she have a name..?
    Hugs Maria x

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  28. I love that you mended her. It made me smile this morning.

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  29. Anonymous16.5.14

    So gorgeous, what a lovely story :-)

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