I Love Treasure Hunting!!

Today I have decided to share with you some of the treasures I found at the local flea markets the past few weeks.  Some of these things I remember from my childhood, and some I have developed an appreciation for while growing up in a household where antiques & collectibles were constantly coming and going.

All of these things will be for sale in my Etsy shop once I finally get it started.  As I am typing, our kitten, Eep is laying on my lap, competing for my attention and making it very hard to get any work done!

(Below) A couple of vintage Dakin Dream Pets!  The story of how Dream Pets were born is so amazing (we owe Japan the thanks!) and the Dakin company has a very tragic rollercoaster of a history.  If you are ever interested in reading up on it, go here:  http://virtualpet.com/vp/virtualpetsblog/?p=21 and scroll down just a little bit to where it starts, "Dream Pets had their origins back in 1957....."

(Below) The CUTEST bee ever!! He's not a Dakin Dream Pet, but he's very similar.  He was made by Russ Berrie & Co and he's dated 1970.  Russ Berrie also made Smurf toys!  Can you believe I paid only 25 cents for this bee at the Irvine Antique Market?  I didn't know you could get anything for just 25 cents there!

(Below) This is a very recognizable vintage squeeze toy by The Edward Mobley Co.  He's from the early 1960's and he has awake/asleep eyes that still work.  He is pretty BIG compared to most squeeze toys.  He's a little bigger than Pee-Wee, our real life Chihuahua!

(Below) This is a vintage 1950's stuffed dog made of REAL fur.  He has a red vinyl leash and my favorite kind of eyes.......GOOGLY EYES (props to Christopher Walken!)  He has that real hard kind of stuffing in him that I think is straw or something similar.

(Below) This is a really cute vintage Hawaiian hula girl doll.  She is fully dressed, including a plastic flower lei.  Her body is fully jointed and she has awake/asleep eyes.

(Below) Oh, how I love mice!!  I found quite a few vintage mice things on my last buying spree.  I always seem to find them digging through Christmas decorations.  This is a felt angel mouse (complete with wand), and a furry Josef Originals Christmas mouse with original paper tag.

(Below) Here are a couple more vintage mice.... A wooden skiier mouse ornament with knit ski cap and pipe cleaner tail (these are very hard to find without any broken skiis or ski poles!), and a REAL fur mouse ornament whose paper tag reads "Original Fur Toys, Made in W. Germany."

(Below) The last little mouse....A ceramic mouse holding a pine cone, which I believe was meant to hold a candle.  He has a made in Japan sticker on the bottom.

(Below) And to chase the mice (pun intended....think about it), this is a vintage ceramic Maneki Neko cat, made in Japan.

(Below) Here is a vintage furry squirrel with REAL fur tail!  He is holding his treasured acorn.  There is a Made in Japan sticker on the bottom (you know all the cutest stuff came from Japan!)

(Below) These are ceramic Enesco figurines from 1980.  They remind me of the "Frosty Friends" Hallmark ornaments that came out the same year.  My sister would want these!

(Below)  I call these little ceramic animals "pink rose animals" because they always have pink roses on them somewhere!!  They were made in Japan in the 50's. 

The size of this photo makes it hard to see the roses, but if you click on the image, you can see a larger photo.



(Below) Do you remember pet rocks??  Definitely one of the kitschiest items to come out of the 70's!  I particularly LOVE these ones because they are OWLS!!  And there's even a baby owl on the right side of the driftwood.  This piece is artist signed.

(Below) This is a FABULOUS vintage metal bunny bank that wasn't cheap to get, but I had to have it!! It is made by Napier, who was a very prolific costume jewelry manufacturer during the 50's & 60's.  The rabbit is very well made and he even has prong set amber color glass cabochons for eyes. 

(Below) I love old Disney records, and these are some cool 45's from Jungle Book!!

(Below) It's always exciting to find vintage toys that are still sealed in their original packaging.  This is a Bugs Bunny Bubble Gun from 1980.

(Below) This is definitely from my childhood era!  This is a vintage Strawberry Shortcake "carry-all" fabric bag with zipper.  All the girls in school carried their pens, pencils, erasers, etc.. in these kinds of bags.  I love that this too, is still sealed in the original packaging (amazing no one used this).

More to come tomorrow!!!