Polaroid Friday. . . KitschCafe

hey folks. . . it's Polaroid Friday.

this week i felt in a "kitschy" mood. . . and who better to highlight than Drew from over at KitschCafe on Flickr?
his photostream is FULL of kitschy/retro goodness and sure to make your inner mid-century child scream for more! ;)

go and check out his AMAZING Etsy shop. . . KitschCafe.
it's CHOCK full of vintage goodies that any decent kitschy lover would HEART to display in their home. . . it's a terrific mix of vintage, ephemera, hand made goods and granny-licious home decor.
love it.
so make it a *fav* shop. . . your gonna want to go back more than once!

so without further ado:

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*awe* nothing like kitsch to slap a smile on the face. . .
thanks Drew for the kitsch eye candy! ;)
oh. . . forgot! check out Drew's blog. . . "Drew-O-Rama"

Chalkware and Mr. Limpet

as a child i grew up on classic films such as Pollyanna, That Darn Cat, Private Eyes, With Six you Get Eggroll, The Ghost and Mr. Chicken and of course. . . The Incredible Mr. Limpet.
the sixites had some great films. . . and actors.
Haley Mills.
Doris Day.
Tim Conway.
and of course. . .
Don Knotts.

i love Don Knotts.
always have.
what a glorious man. . . and what incredible acting chops!
he is funny and goofy without even trying. . . it may have something to do with the fact that he does look like a fish (why he was the PERFECT man to play Mr. Limpet!) and why he is so charming and "human".
not perfect, but human just like you or me :)
well. . . in the Incredible Mr. Limpet. . . Don Knotts turns into a fish.
a big lipped, four-eyed fish.
i always thought that Mr. Limpet made the CUTEST fish!
that is why when i came across Chalkware fish i knew i must have some. . . and it became one more thing i MUST collect!
my "Mr. Limpet" collection. . . if you will!

we recently moved into a new rental home and it has been nice to make this place our "home". . . but along with that came MUCH painting. . . including an unsightly downstairs bathroom!
the owners painted the bathroom a flat, dull gray.
GRAY.
FLAT.
WHAT!?!
it was like walking into a dark alley or wolf's den.
just horrible and quite ugly. . . and not "cute" ugly. . . UGLY, UGLY!
so. . . we painted. . . (as in Pace painted! ha! thanks honey!)

we chose to paint the bathroom around my first chalkware fish acquirement.
{mint green and warm tan}
it has turned the bathroom from an ugly, ugly bathroom into a "cute" ugly bathroom. . . a mixture of granny and kitsch. . .
just how i likes it! ;)
(we have lovingly nicknamed it our "ice cream parlor" because it seriously looks like a turn of the century ice cream parlor)

so. . . here are the fish of the "Mr. Limpet collection". . . all hung proudly in our granny, kitsch ice cream parlor bathroom! ;)

ABOVE: the inspiration for the bathroom colors and my VERY first chalkware fish. . . she is in "loved" condition. . . but that is what made her more appealing to me :)



can you not see the "Limpet" resemblence?
i love it.

next to find. . . chalkware mermaids! ;)

telling a Yarn

everyone is gaga over yarn.
yes, yarn.
you know it . . . and i know it.
i admit. . . i am now gaga too.
it took me AWHILE to get on the "yarn" bandwagon. . . but, here i am. . . two steps behind the trend. . . buying up all the yarn i can find! ;)

it's colorful.
it's fun.
and SO versatile.

you know it. . . and i know it. . . i am not telling a yarn! ;)
(gheesh. . . i am lame. . . and SO lame that i can tell that i shouldn't have made that last pun!)

p.s. i have been SO busy lately that my craft room has become a MESS! *gasp*! the shame of it. . . so, here. . . you can see! ;)
and, yes, i am very lucky!
i get a whole room just for crafting and filling with junk. . . lucky indeed!

pandas, foxes and freebie. . . oh my!

attention. . . attention. . . ATTENTION!

Danielle is offering a *freebie* over at her blog. . . it's kitschy. . . its kawaii and oh YES!. . . it involves pandas and foxes!

look. . . it's *oh so* ADORABLE!!!



have your eyes had their cuteness level overloaded yet?
i know.
i know.
i love it too :)
i loved it SOOO much i had to make a digi scrap page. . .

so go and get your kawaii fix. . . and maybe, just maybe. . . all of your Valentine's cards are taken care of too! ;)

p.s. Danielle also included printable personalized envelopes people!
the thrill of it all!
translation. . . i love this freebie ;)

Mini Blythe Valentines. . .still for sale

just wanted to let everyone know that their is still Vintage Blythe Sized Valentines for sale in my Etsy shop. . . TheGnomeHut. . .
order soon to get before the big day of LOVE! ;)


speaking of Valentines. . . check out this adorable wreath made by Kaylah over at The Dainty Squid. . . i want one for my front door! ;)


very inspiring. . . holy deer, yes!

Tag. . . i'm "it"

lovely Katrina from puglypixel has tagged me for my random 7.
since everything about me is random. . . this should be quite simple :)


1. if i had it my way. . . i would live at Disneyland.


2. i listen to these bands on a daily basis. . . the Beatles. . . the Beach Boys. . . and Elvis.




3. i am an OCD clean freak.
i didn't always used to be this way. . . don't know what changed.
getting married?
having kids?
who knows. . . but it happened.
i like things organized and clean. clean. clean. clean.
maybe i should have been a fifties housewife?



4. i am a {hard core} geek at heart. Nintendo. *sigh*
my heart gets all a flutter just thinking about Mario! ;)



5. i have started a new TV obsession. . . The Vampire Diaries!

i know! don't laugh. . . i already know it's ridiculous. . .
a teeny bopper show with vamps, and i like it!?!
the shame of it all.
(you should watch it too! ;)



6. Harrison Ford is my hero.
(well. . . anyone who is in Star Wars is my hero. . . i don't keep my "Warsy" love on the down low)
i named my kid "Indiana" for crying out loud!
so. . . i guess it's not a HUGE secret that i happen to like Harrison ;)



7. i love kawaii.
i love japan.
pose dolls. blythe. paper dolls. big eyes.
if something means "cute". . . how could it not be?




all images are designs by Yuki Koi. . . check out HERE.
bought some of her postcards when in Disneyworld (the Japan Land). . . fell in love and never went back! ;)

Polaroid Friday. . . i heart the 80's

what can i say. . . i am a sucker for the eighties.
it's not just that i was born then. . . they really had something going.

kids toys were. . . well. . . just phenomenal. so imaginative and different. . . hey, they are copying them to sell to tots of today. . . so they must have done something right!
movies were weird, strange, perfect and TOTALLY surreal.
the clothes were very imaginative. . . can you say layering?
and the music rocked.
all in all. . . what a great decade.
here's to you eighties. you treated me right.

Kitschy Digitals. . . *new* kit!

brand spankin' *new* kit from Danielle Thompson (aka: Kitschy Digitals). . .
vintage Cabinet Cards!


so vintage and lovely. . . they remind me of Daguerreotypes. . . and anything vintage photo/camera-y is mighty FINE in my book!

Danielle is now going to be selling Kitschy Digitals kits at JessicaSprague.com. . . go and check out the site. . . worth your trip!
here are a couple projects i did with the cabinet cards. . . many, many, many more to come. . . (i am sure). . . they are SO versatile and can pretty much be used for anything (and they fit pretty much ANY style!)

digi layouts:

scrap page:
you can go and check out the kit HERE. . . and did you notice Danielle's new logo?

can you say RAD!
it makes me *swoon* every time i see it :)

Blythe {sized} Vintage Valentines. . . now in my shop!

now for sale in my Etsy shop. . . The Gnome Hut. . . Blythe {sized} Vintage Valentines!
remember how i mentioned that i was working on some things that dealt with Vintage Valentine ephemera?
well. . . this is one of them!

i am REALLY excited about these. . . they turned out JUST as i envisioned. petite. cute. vintage.

mini Valentines perfect for your Blythe(s) to trade with her friends or send to that *secret* crush of hers!
all Valentines are miniature reproductions of real Vintage Valentines and are super retro sweet!
see for yourself:



if you are interested. . .
check out my Etsy store to purchase.
{high quality printed on heavy card stock. . . hand cut by me!}