Miss Kitty's Babies

Here are some photos of Miss Kitty's tiny babies.  They are doing fantastic....I hardly ever hear them cry because Miss Kitty feeds them constantly.  Look at their adorable little toes!!



Vintage SEVENTEEN Magazines!!

On one of my recent trips to the swap meet I bought this big box of vintage 1960's Seventeen magazines.  I LOVE old fashion magazines from ANY decade.  These ones did not disappoint!!  There are so many photos that make you go "what were they thinking back then??"  Today I will share with you a few of my favorite covers.

(Below) Here is a photo of my entire stack of vintage 60's Seventeen magazines.

(Below) I LOVE this coat & matching head scarf.  This is an outfit that I would actually wear.  I wish I had this hanging in my closet! (P.S. to enlarge any of these images, just CLICK on them)



(Below) Girls were probably drooling over this lavendar dress back in March of 1967, but I think if you wore this today, you would get a lot of strange looks from people!!  Her hair and make-up are pretty though.

(Below) My eyes are torn and don't know which to stare at.....her dress or her hairdo?  They're not necessarily ugly, but you definitely need to be a 60's fashion model to pull this off!

(Below) Doesn't this girl look a little bit like Justin Bieber?  LOL!!!

 (Below) Here is proof of how important astrological signs were in the 60's & 70's.  They were featured on the cover!

(Below) Here is a cute TWIGGY cover!!  She looks like she should be walking the streets of London.

(Below) Here is my other TWIGGY cover magazine.  Play "I spy..."  Do you see the kitten?

Garage Sale Fun Today!!

I went to one garage sale today in the city of Orange.  I saw their ad on Craigslist and it sounded interesting.  I found many fun vintage treasures!  The woman running the garage sale was getting emotional and teary-eyed because all the items that I picked out belonged to either her or her brother when they were kids (she was in her mid 40's).  I felt like I was taking all their precious childhood belongings away from them, but she told me that she was so glad to see me get them because she could tell that I really appreciated how amazing these things were!  As they were unpacking, they kept bringing me anything that they found that was from when they were little.  After I paid for my treasures the woman gave me an emotional big hug!  That doesn't typically happen at garage sales!

Someday soon, I will be putting all these great things on Etsy!

(Below) My favorite thing from today's garage sale is this very large & heavy vintage plaque that is signed and dated 1974 on the back.  The woman told me that her mother made this plaque for her (I think it was something that you purchased unfinished and then could paint yourself).  I just love what this plaque says!  I wish I had this hanging in my bedroom when I was a child.  It would have been very comforting as there were many monsters that lived in my bedroom.



(Below) I was so thrilled to get this vintage cloth doll.  It is by Holiday Fair and made in Japan.  It is dated 1969.  It is a TWO-FACED happy/sad doll!! Is it strange that I prefer the sad face? I love the little tear drop coming from her eye. 

(Below) An adorable vintage boy sailor doll with a terry cloth head, hands, and feet.  His tag says "Dee Gee of California, Apple Valley California."

(Below) This vintage stuffed musical zebra just tugs at my heart strings because it is very similar to the musical stuffed teddy bear named "Jeremy" that I had when I was very little.  He is made by Eden Toys.  The song he plays I recognize from the Barney the Dinosaur shows where they sing "I love you, you love me, we're a happy family....." which I'm sure is not original to the Barney show.



(Below) Here are three more adorable vintage dolls.  On the left in the photo is a doll in red & white striped pajamas.  He is a Dakin Dream Doll.  In the middle is a vintage squeeze toy that is marked "Uneeda Doll Company, 1968 Taiwan".  There is a piece of masking tape across his back and it is handwritten, "Bam-Bam doll from Aunt Louise to David 1970."  The lady at the garage sale told me that her brother called this doll "Bam-Bam."  And on the right in the photo is a Cameo Kewpie doll with cute dress!

(Below) This is a vintage 1968 Kamar (Japan) stuffed pig.  These are very similar to the Dakin Dream Pets. If you read yesterday's blog, there is a link to a site where you can read how Japan was the true originator of the Dakin Dream Pets.

(Below) This is a vintage stuffed bunny rabbit whose tag reads "Animals of Distinction, Joy of a Toy, Knickerbocker."  He would be so cute out at Easter!

(Below) This super cute baby blanket belonged to the woman running the garage sale today.  I can't believe she would part with her own baby blanket!  I will make sure it winds up going to a great home!

(Below) This was also from the lady's infancy.  It's a vintage plastic caddy for the baby's room.  It holds 4 lidded jars.  The jars are labeled Cotton, Pins, Swabs, and Lotion. Very sweet!

(Below) This is a cute vintage vinyl purse, made in Japan.  I love the colors!

(Below) I bought this entire box of vintage books that all belonged to the lady's brother when he was little.  There are a couple Popeye books, plus Flintstones, Donald Duck, Space Ghost, Shazan, Woody Woodpecker, Pinocchio, Lassie, The Invaders, Sir Lancelot, Jim Bowie, and Daktari.



(Below) This also belonged to the lady's brother.  It is an old wooden box filled with various vintage trading cards including cards from the original Star Wars movie, the Mork & Mindy TV show, King Kong, a bunch of Topps baseball cards, and some funny Topps sticker cards that are very similar to Garbage Pail Kids.

  (Below) These are some cute vintage pattern books for making stuffed toys (click the image to enlarge).  Maybe I'll try making one someday!

(Below) This is a vintage Minnie Mouse messenger bag by Walt Disney Productions.  Cute!

(Below) I know this set of Seven Dwarfs isn't that old, but I love finding the complete set in the original carrying case.

(Below) And last, but not least is this super cute vintage toy bag!!  It is made of green burlap with a felt bear & felt lettering.  It has rope drawstring handles.  I can just imagine this filled with vintage dolls & toys!





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!!!





Russian animation: Cheburashka - Actually Part 4

Be sure to watch these in the right order!  Scroll down a bit to watch the very first cartoon (it's the 3rd video down) so you can understand the origins of cute little Cheburashka!

Russian animation: Cheburashka - Actually Part 3

For these last 2 cartoons you need to click on the "CC" (close captioned) button to get the subtitles.

Cheburashka - THE ORIGINS!!!

I have fallen in love with these adorable Russian cartoons from the 60's about little Cheburashka! These are the sweetest stories and Cheburashka is the cutest thing ever!!  This is earliest cartoon in the series that I could find (there is one more that preceeds this), but this will introduce you to the origins of Cheburashka and how he got his name (his name is a Russian colloquialism that translates to "tumbled" in English). The fruit vendor names him Cheburashka after seeing him tumble out of a crate of oranges.

For the next 2 cartoons, watch the ones that I posted above, because you can click the "CC" button and get the subtitles.

Our Puppy Pee-Wee

Every morning when I wake up, I let the dogs out of their kennels in the living room and I open the sliding door to our atrium so they can go out and do their morning "business" and get in some early play time.  This morning I let the dogs into the atrium and then started making the rounds, feeding all of our foster cats & kittens.  After about 20 minutes I heard the most desperate sounding screams coming from the atrium and I instantly recognized the voice to be our tiny little Chihuahua puppy, Pee-Wee.  I figured the bigger dogs were just bullying him as usual, and I took my time finishing up with the cats before I went to check on Pee-Wee.  When I finally looked into the atrium I BURST into laughter and immediately went to go grab my camera!  Below are 2 photos of Pee-Wee, and you can see the reason for his screaming.  He got trapped inside a stuffed dog toy called "Hide A Squirrel."  A better photo of the dog toy is also shown below.  Pee-Wee makes a very cute squirrel, doesn't he??

More Successful Adoptions!

Two more kittens adopted today!  The first was Clara, the gray/white/orange kitten.  She was the "runt" of the litter and the gentleman who adopted her for his grandchildren said that he liked that she was the runt!  When we first took in Clara and her siblings, we were very worried about her and unsure if she would survive.  She was one that we kept a very close eye on and we monitered her eating/drinking very closely.  She was so fragile and tiny and was not as strong as her litter mates!  But now she is a fiesty, healthy little girl who looooves food!!  Many times the runts wind up becoming unexpectedly huge cats once they are separated from the "competition" and have a new home all to themselves.  Just look at her sweet face.....It's no wonder I had so many people fighting over her today!

Then I posted photos of our Tortie kitten and within about 15 minutes I had someone emailing me saying they wanted her!  She got adopted to a nice young couple who was picking out their first kitten ever!  I'm so excited for them....pets can change your life forever!