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!

Comments

[Katrina]

I took a little trip to do some shopping last week and here's what I uncovered in southwest Florida :D http://tinyurl.com/75zax22

[Amy]

I LOVE your little fairy tale finds! They are so wonderful and you're right, I don't think I've ever seen anything like these before either. Lucky you!

I'm so excited and anxious to hear what your new big project is! :)

[Lexy]

Oh my gosh! I'm so beyond jealous! They are too cute!

[rae]

i love those! the wolf is my favorite too

[Hristina Petkova]

Hello, I'm just passing by and saw the puppets. I think they all are from the fairytale Little red riding hood. Henzel and Gretel are just the mother and the hunter. So you have the full set of puppets to play the fairytale. You only need a something like paravan (I'm not sure about the word) to hide and play. Enjoy them!
P.S. Excuse my poor english.

[robbie]

omigosh! i love them so so much. i'm at the very beginning of a great big "game changer" as well! it's so exciting... and terrifying.

[Bluebird]

I have just found your blog and it is wonderful, love all the vintage lovliness and your outfits too. Immediately added you to bloglovin!
Take care and happy 2012
Have added you to our blog love list, hope that is ok with you x

[Bric-a-Brac/Angie]

Those are so cute! I'm inspired to try to make something similar to those out of polymer clay sometime:)