Thompson Family-Life

One Pretty Thing

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I caught this pretty photo on my contacts page on Flickr yesterday by photographer Kevin Russ and instantly fell in love. It feels like perfection in every way, from the girl's expression, to her peacoat in the perfect shade of blue, the light coming in through the window, the color of her hair, the cat's stoic pose, the old dresser and typewriter... and the kites. Those kites. 

You can just tell right away how gifted some photographers can be.

See more of Kevin's work here.

See more of One Pretty Thing here.

Vintage Find: Fairy Tale Wooden Sculptures

I mentioned that I would share with you what I purchased at YesterDaze in Tampa a couple weeks ago and here it is! I bought this set of vintage folky Fairy Tale dolls for $10. They are amazing and so unlike anything I've seen. I have no idea when they were made, but they look pretty old. They look German-made to me. I'm thinking 40's, 50's? I really have no clue. Need to browse around Flickr, I'm sure I can find a group dedicated to pieces like these.

I'm not even sure exactly what they are. They are attached to little wooden pedestals. I'm thinking that the little guy and girl on the left are Hansel and Gretal and then there's the Wolf, Little Red Riding Hood and Grandma (who lost an arm). The Wolf is my favorite!

Have you seen anything like these? Maybe they were just for display? I just love them. Oh! just had a thought, maybe they were used as puppets? Might explain the why they're attached to those long wooden sticks.

See the charcoal drawing up there of the young girl with the white headband? That is a portrait I found at an Estate Sale of an artist that lived nearby. That is another story I'll have to tell one day. It was 10 bucks! I love those kind of finds. More than anything, I love finding things that have a story behind them. I've stumbled onto two Estate Sales of former artists in the past six months. Truly a blessing. It was such an honor to see homes full of their original artwork, learn a little bit about these women from their family members and friends, and to purchase some of their works for our own collection.

The girl above swapped places with this blonde lady (above the bookshelf) who I found at a garage sale. They gave her to me for free. (I know, I think I used up all my vintage luck in 2011. Not feeling good about 2012! ha) She now resides on this wall.

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An update on what's going on around these parts:

- I've been working on a Needlepoint project/how-to for one of my favorite craft blogs over the past week or so. I'm almost finished. I can see needlepoint becoming a new obsession! I'll let you know when that is posted.

- I'm also steadily working on a big, big project. Something that's been in the works for a couple years now, and I've finally (FINALLY) made huge progress on it. Mostly because I hired the lovely folks at Aeolidia to light a fire under my booty! They are *fantastic* to work with. Truly a dream! This project is one of those game-changers. A life-game-changer. You know those? There's still lots and lots of work to do, but it feels good to be working on it almost every day, seeing progress made. I'm all butterflies and nerves but excited, too. I'll be sharing details over the next few months.

Hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Vintage Love: Thrifted Edition

pre-loved stuffed Calico Cat: $1 // found at Value Village // she's gonna hang out in my studio

set of amaaazing children's curtains circa 60's/70's (?): $6 // found at Last Chance Thrift Store //

These were such a find. I took out the metal pleat holder thingies so that they would lie flat and then put them in the wash. Not sure how I will use these. Maybe one of my grandchildren can use them in his/her bedroom? I fear that my boys are at that point where they want to have a say-so in the decor of their bedroom. sigh. Which I of course encourage, but you-know. If I don't hand these down to my grandchildren (yes, I'm only 36 and thinking about this!), I will cut them up for a quilt. Ya know, when I actually have time to quilt! Or maybe make some pillows out of them. For now I'll just gaze at them lovingly. : )

Paper Doll Sets, $4.99 - $6.99 // Found at Value Village

These were a bit steap for a thrift store. They were put behind the front counter so you know they must have thought they were worth a bit more! I'm glad they did because they would've been trashed in the aisle. Still a great deal for vintage paper doll sets compared to what you pay online or at a vintage store. Next time, I'll show you what's inside. : ) The "Trisha" doll and clothing have parts covered in turquoise velvet. Yes!! So cool.

What fun thrifting finds have you come across lately? Please share some links!

Thanks for all of the feedback on the Vintage Bookstore post I did last. I know that the folks at Atlanta Vintage Books read the post and your comments as well, so I'm sure your feedback meant a lot to them! I LOVED hearing all of your enthusiasm and excitement for these treasures! You also got me excited to start reading some of these old titles. Yay for reading, and pretty old books!

Have a lovely weekend!

Around Atlanta: Atlanta Vintage Books

Last week I got a Scout Mob for Atlanta Vintage Books. I had never heard of this shop before and that is why I love things like Scout Mob! They introduce me to fantastic local places that I wouldn't otherwise know of. When I saw the words "vintage" and "books" I e-mailed my school teacher Mother-in-Law asap to see if she wanted to go with me. She is an avid children's book collector herself, so she was game!

Luckily, it is located not very far from us! Score! So I can definitely see myself visiting there often. I contacted the owners before I went to get permission to take photos for my blog, to spread the word about their store. They were totally okay with it and were the sweetest folks! They are so warm and welcoming and you can tell they very, very much love books. 

It is quite something seeing all of these old books together in one place. There's definitely a sense of history when you walk around. And the shop has a lived-in feel to it, much like the feeling of walking around someone's attic or when you're looking for treasures at estate sales - you sense there's a story that comes with every book. If you are used to thrift store, flea market and estate sale adventures, you're used to that dusty, sometimes moldy experience when looking through old books. It is no different in this place. But I find that charming.

Fair warning though: as an allergy sufferer, I need to point out that along with some dust, there are also cats. Lots of cats hanging about this place! Yet another charming aspect. I'm pretty allergic, but my sinuses weren't bothered while I was there. Needless to say, I didn't sit down on any furniture that could be covered in cat hair, so that helped. As long as I don't touch those cute furry guys and gals, I'm okay. But if you are highly allergic, I might steer clear (my husband actually gets very asthmatic just being in the same room with a cat. His throat closes up, not even touching them. Scary stuff!)

I of course made a beeline to the children's section. According to their website, they have one of the largest collections of rare and out-of-print Children's books in the Southeast. I was especially drawn to the mystery series collections they had from the 60's, including the Nancy Drew series. Would you believe I've never read one Nancy Drew book? What a scandal, right? I loved the cover illustrations so much on the editions they had.

I don't really read a lot mostly due to lack of time. Since I'm a crafter at heart, I normally save my free time for making things, and of course blogging. ; ) But sometimes I feel like I'm really missing out not reading more. I always read the big ones like Twilight and Harry Potter (ha) and I'm even listening to the Hunger Games on audio. But truly, I need to read more. And honestly? After going to this bookstore, I'm really itching to read the Nancy Drew series.

Here's one of those charming kitties here... I think he was actually posing for me.

These were some of my favorite finds. I've seen books with these same kitschy puppet scenes. They are super cool. The covers had 3D holograms on them.

And this was the find of the day, a 1st edition printing of A Confederacy of Dunces, Ethan's favorite book ever. I have yet to read it, but people say it's a riot. A must-read.

As far as pricing goes at this store, it really depends on how rare the book is, what edition it is, etc. These aren't your thrift store prices folks. But they are deserving. These people know their books. The books that are priced really well, deserve to be priced that way, you know? So, no unfair mark-ups I don't think. I walked away with a cute little book for $5 that has some really cool illustrations by a Dutch artist, if I'm not mistaken. Will show photos soon.

What are you reading lately? Do you collect vintage books?

Be sure to follow Atlanta Vintage Books on Twitter, Facebook and they also have an online shop!

Travel: Furnish Me Vintage in St. Petersburg, FL

While in Tampa last weekend, we drove across Tampa Bay to St. Petersburg, this cute little artsy city with lots of great antique malls, vintage shops and boutiques. Most of the vintage shops are fun to look through, but kind of pricey. The last antique mall we went to before we drove back to Atlanta was Gas Plant Antiques, home of Furnish Me Vintage (which I found while researching Tampa online).

Gas Plant is HUGE. I browsed around the first two floors first and there were a few things here and there that I liked. It's kind of set up like your typical antique mall with a hodge podge of furniture and decor items from many decades. There's really no focus. But once I got to the third floor, my jaw was to the floor! I knew that Furnish Me Vintage had mostly Mid-Century Modern Stuff, but I didn't realize that they take up the entire third floor, all 7,000 square feet!

 The displays are gorgeous and the pieces are just incredible. I've never seen a collection this large of pristine Mid-Century pieces all in one place. I was pleased to see that the mark-up on price was not unreasonable. Especially if you are in driving distance. We came home with a small hutch for a great price, not much more than what you'd pay on Craigslist. Of course, the super unique and pristine pieces are a bit more, but still totally reasonable. I saw Mid-Century styles that I've never ever seen out and about. It was pretty cool to see these designs in person. Drool-worthy! 

Luckily, the shop sells about 80% of these pieces in their online shop! They have been shipping pieces all over the country. You can request a shipping quote and one of the owners told me they try to find the most economical way to ship depending on your location and purchased item.

Be sure to follow them on Twitter and Facebook and if you're ever in the Tampa area, Furnish Me Vintage is a must see. And if you tell them you found them through my blog, they'll give you 10% off! Very cool!