Hiss & Spray, From My Books, Please Stay Away

I love these vintage cast iron cat bookends — their snarling faces and their wide-to-the-side ears are a warning to those who would handle my books without purr-mission or without great care.

The seller, wheelboy antiques, says these bookends are by Snead Co., and are marked with the date of 1925 — and apparently, some people [...]

Whatjamacallit Wednesday: Waste (Can) Not, Want (Can) Not?

In response to my Gadabout post (about a vintage composition dog), Laura (of Doodle Week) said, “I really like how you know all this stuff about old things and how they were made. But how do you manage to keep all these collections without running out of room for yourself?”
Well, Laura, here’s the painful truth: [...]

Whatjamacallit Wednesday: Myrtle The Turtle

My mother is the one who started it, this tradition of making up silly songs to sing to your kids. I’ve twisted it onto singing songs about my children, usually silly rhymes sung to melodies from television themes songs — like Hunter’s Boo-Bear, Meet The Boo-Bear based on The Flinstones.The kids used to love it, [...]

Whatjamacallit Wednesday: The Flirty Red Retro Octopus

Check out Miss Flirty the octopus, a retro sawdust-stuffed red velveteen plush toy from someone’s past:

Wearing nothing but a jaunty hat, a seed bead choker necklace, pouty lips and a wink, she’s just dying to get into someone’s bed… Hey, and some of her tentacles have wires, so once she wraps her arms around you, [...]

Is Fabric Swatch Friday Throwing In The Towel?

Even though I skip a week every now & then, Fabric Swatch Fridays is still alive and well — but this week, we’re looking at vintage & retro kitchen towels from Rickrack.com:

Whatjamacallit Wednesday Is Nearly Cheap Thrills Thursday

Shopping in an antique mall, there are many charming things to distract one from one’s mission — if one had a mission. Which I usually don’t. I just let serendipity direct me in the real world (while online, libraries, etc., are for dedicated, obsessive, researching). So I walk along, taking as much as I [...]

Whatjamacallit Wednesday: Your Dreams Explained

Straight out of the 1940’s, “Your Dreams Explained.” There’s no copyright, printer, company or artist information on this small vintage booklet; but it smacks of the greeting card slash humor gift variety. In any case, it’s cute ephemera.

Click each image for a much larger scan.

Cheap Thrills Thursday: The Bear Facts

I got this vintage mechanical wind-up bear toy at a rummage sale at an old folks home senior living center; I paid a whopping 10 cents for it.

When I grabbed it with glee, hubby thought it was A) in bad shape & B) a modern reproduction. (Like for a dime it matters?) But he was [...]

These Penguins Are Peachy!

OK, I know I’ve posted a couple of times already today; but while unwinding from writing a really in-depth post of the non-frivolous variety (hence the necessary unwinding frivolity), I spotted this 1930’s dress with an amazing vintage penguin print & I just had to show it to you! How could I not?

Fabric Swatch Fridays Is Becoming A Circus

I’d love me some Braemore Le Cirque Sky curtains — but an apron is more likely.

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