{Vintage Finds} 50's Red & Blue...

It seems I've been drawn to the same palette & time frame when it comes to vintage treasures lately. It's all about the 50's/ 60's & - I'm lovin' the reds & blues. I think it all started with this cool little jacket that I found at the fuzzymama's Etsy Shop. It has a great Rockabilly feel to it. Then these vintage toys followed... 

{Queen Buzzy Bee 1959, Humpty Dumpty 1957, Perky Pot 1958, Sports Car 1959}

I'm such a sucker for the old, wood, Fisher Price toys. I found all but the Perky Pot for the hutch etsy shop. I need the Perky Pot in my studio- particularly today!  What are some of your favorite toys from the past? Do you have a palette or time period you gravitate towards?

{Four Fun Finds} Favorite Vintage Inspiration...

Some of you may be aware of my vintage book & toy love. I've been collecting vintage treasures for a little while now under the guise of gifting them to Sayer. However, it has become very apparent that I may need to start sharing my collection a bit. Particularly when I start finding doubles of my favorite things (that applies to mostly books). So, my new outlet for my findings will be the hutch etsy shop & these four finds were just added! I really do enjoy the idea of sharing things that delight me so much, with others & these particular finds are among my very favorites.

1. Pink Pig- 1955 Fisher Price 

2. The Red Balloon - Albert Lamorisse - 1956 (a favorite in our house along with the movie)

3. Dick Bruna Picture Cubes (with 6 illustrations) -1980

4. The Happy Lion - Louise Fatio & Roger Duvoisin -1956

Hope everyone is having a nice weekend!

{Vintage Fisher Price} Barky & The Happy Hauler...

Ever since I saw that a new little junk store opened up downtown, I've been just itchin' to give it a browse through. Today I snuck down for a quickie look & found two little vintage fisher price toys calling my name (for mere pennies). 

Barky & the Happy Hauler just had to come home with me. They've definitely seen better days, but I love that about them. The Happy Hauler even has a tulip on it so how could I pass it up, given we live among so many tulips? I get so excited when I find stuff like this & can't wait to see Sayer's reaction to my finds. One of my favorite things to do is show him these treasures for the first time, when I'm behind a camera. 

Because honestly, as much as I love finding cool vintage toys- I love watching Sayer play even more. So it's extra fun to document both. Tonight Sayer put the Happy Hauler in his firehouse garage & Barky is now the firehouse dog. Safe to say that he is as smitten with these toys as I am.  He can even do a nice Barky expression. Hey wait, is that Barky on his tee you ask? Quite possibly... 

Hope everyone is having a terrific weekend! 

{Vintage Fisher Price} Welcome to my studio Dr. Doodle...

Dr. Doodle was under the tree for me this year & he made my heart go all a flutter. I had spotted him at my favorite antique mall about a month ago and told Chris all about his wise ducky charm. I was just thrilled to see his eyes peaking up at me from inside my Christmas package. He appears to be a perfect studio companion - all eager to offer up inspiration & help remedy any creative conundrums I may find myself in.

This addition to my Fisher Price collection called for some re-organization. I decided that the FP toys that were made before 1970 would go in my studio. And the ones from the 1970's could stay in Sayer's room. This need for re-organization also came in part from the playmobil explosion in Sayer's room that came with Christmas.  So I cleaned off a spot for my collection of old friends in my studio - but they appeared to need another friend in the group to make a true collection.  So, I decided it was time to visit my many FP "favorites" on Etsy.  

{jalopy photos via here}

I found this guy a long time ago- he was way at in the middle of my favorites and rather than buying him right away, I created a whole circus treasury around him. Thinking that filled the void, I went to bed. However, it didn't & I bought him the next afternoon- adding another cool circus find (an awesome vintage pop up book) in it's place. Can't wait to see this old jalopy in my studio. In my mindless Etsy cruisin' (in an attempt to relax) I did happen to stumble on a few more VERY tempting FP toys that I have been thinking about ever since. I will have to practice restraint for now- I sort of go on the whole toy fate thing. If it is truly meant to be... it will still be there when I'm ready. 

View "Take me to the circus" Etsy treasury here if you need to take a circus break like I did.

What sort of things do you like to collect?

{Vintage Inspiration} Winky-Blinky...

Oh, I have been just itchin' to show you this vintage Fisher Price find. I found Winky-Blinky Fire Truck 200 about a week ago in an Etsy Shop called lovinglola and I really couldn't get it out of my mind. This fire truck was manufactured in the US in 1954 and it's so unbelievable cool. I knew Sayer would go nuts for it as well because he loves firetrucks. So, I went ahead and purchased it. It wasn't my $6 bargain that I usually find, but it's charm & history made it worth it. We just received it and Sayer has been playing with it ever since I opened up the box (which included a sweet, handwritten note). 

Sayer is really into details and loves all of the illustrations on the side of the truck & I love the old Fisher Price logo & face.  Now, you may have noticed that Winky (who Sayer has named, Bobby) is being parked on a circle. It's the firetruck's turntable that all of Sayer's firetrucks use. He made that one at his grandma's house and it has traveled here. The minute "Bobby" was ready to play, the turntable came out.  

So, it is official - my Fisher Price toy collecting has reached a new level. When "Bobby" is not in use, he will sit next to my cool old 50's FP register, on top of my parent's old hi fi console that sits in our living room. But I have to ask (as my dear friend Catherine asked me), is it really a "toy collection" if the toys are being played with?

{Part II} Fisher Price Love...

Do you remember the post last week about my love of vintage Fisher Price toys? Well, this is Part II.... there's more! 

I'm lucky enough to have had my path crossed by a very special woman, Janet. She has become one of my husband's favorite customers at hutch studio and is a huge supporter of everything that is created for hutch. Through him, she has become familiar with some of my designs for klt:works and owns many of my original thread drawings. Her dog, Macy, is even one of the dogs on my, "Chasing Tails" mobile. From reading my posts and comments on FB Janet honed in on the fact that I love vintage Fisher Price toys and she very generously sent me this INCREDIBLE register via hutch studio!

This  register has been in Janet's family since 1959 and she wanted to give it to someone that would appreciate it. She was a little concerned that I wouldn't like it because it was old and showed years of love. However, for the record, this is my favorite Fisher Price toy - hands down! I love the worn paint and everything about it. I appreciate this gift for a number of reasons and my plan was to keep it in my studio for inspiration.

But that means that I would have to get my hands on it first. Sayer seems to be very intrigued by this register as well. He loves the 2 little wooden coins in the drawer and his favorite thing to shout out is, "no sale"! Which really doesn't sound good for my klt:customer service guy to be shouting. I guess one of the things that I wanted to point out by this post is that there are truly wonderful people out there in the world and you never know when something extra sweet is going to come your way. I do believe, "what comes around, goes around...".

{Vintage Inspiration} Fisher Price love....

I have a source... a cool, local spot where I am in nostalgic heaven. There is an antique store downtown where Chris and I go to find treasures & inspiration. Chris searches out interesting items for the whirly gigs that he makes for hutch studio & I  head straight  back to the vendor that carries vintage toys & books. This Spring, I found Sayer a Fisher Price TV and that is how it all started. I had such a strong reaction to it. I know my brother must have had one - or maybe a friend of mine did. But, I knew I wanted Sayer to have it and he loved it!

Since then, my collection has grown. I found a cash register (like the one my brother had), a very cool camera (so Sayer can assist me on klt:photoshoots), a little clock radio,.... and one that I couldn't resist- the Jack-in-the-Box. The cash register is set up for Sayer to play "milkshake stand" (& he is also the klt:cashier). I think it's one of his favorite toys. The radio & TV are are fun music boxes too - the handles are a just a bonus. 

I admit it, the Jack-in-the-Box was really for me. I thought about it for awhile and bought it for myself today with the thought that it would serve as inspiration in the studio. However, Sayer latched right on to it. It appears to crack him up as much as it does me. One of the funniest things about it, you will have to take my word for it,  is the very odd squeeeaaaak that comes out of the little Jack's mouth.

It is a toss up as to who enjoys these toys more, me or Sayer. It is fun for me to watch him play with these pieces of history. Not to mention, I get a lot of inspiration from them. Most of these treasures were under $6 each - so really, how could I go wrong? I have to mention as well, that not only did I find the awesome Jack this week, but I have a stash of cool books to share with you soon too. Also, did you notice that sweet little plaid jacket? That was delivered yesterday- another fun vintage find from one of my Etsy favs, 3ringcircus. Sounds like the milkshake store is in full swing, better go order one now...