Astro Boy & Osamu Tezuka news and art blog.
TOO MUCH CUTE
Nerd it Out is a channel dedicated to reviewing toys, collectibles, toy companies, artists, and makers. With some other stuff thrown in the mix!
https://www.etsy.com/shop/ModernSilhouettes This poster is of R2D2 ...
Just got home from one of my favorite vintage toy shows. It's an annual event that happens each January, which really seems like a lousy month for a toy show, coming as it does right after Christmas. This year I planned strategically: when my family asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said "money for the toy show please!" Here's what I spent it on: There were all kinds of toy treasures, including a tin litho grocery store playset made in the 1950s by Wolverine; a scarce (and creepy) Hugo, Man of 1,000 Faces from the 1970s; a two-headed Doublenik troll from 1965 along with a tiny vending machine troll; a Weinermobile whistle; a bunch of 1950s space guys; Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon newspaper comics from the 1930s-1940s; a 1960s Batman puzzle; Barbie's original convertible; and a 1950s tin wind-up robot. I'll post properly about them later, but here are some quick pics and sneak peeks. The robot has some rust, but he also has lots of character. 1950s space guys. A Doublenik two-headed troll from 1965, with its gumball prize friend. Hugo, Man of 1,000 Faces, was a bizarre toy made in the 1970s. It's essentially a creepy looking guy's torso and head, along with a package of "disguise" accessories, including false chins, fake scars and warts, various noses, glasses, an eye patch, and hair pieces. I'm guessing it was inspired by spy films, but who knows. It's weird and now rather rare. Hugo, Man of 1,000 Faces with some of his original accessory pieces. Barbie's convertible, made by Irwin in the 1960s, was her first car. The two shelf units on either side of this tin litho grocery store fold inward to close up the playset. Originally it would also have had a separate counter with accessories like a scale, but these are usually missing. The center span features great imagery of a 1950s supermarket. The iconic weenie whistle. The 1930s Buck Rogers newspaper comic above is complete, while the Flash Gordon strips below are only portions (but they feature a fantastic alien giant squiddy monster) : These two mechanical bears were made in Japan in the 1950s. When wound, the bear on the left turns the pages of his book, while the one on the right wipes his glasses before holding them up to his eyes.
Here's my most recent find, not yet arrived, but I couldn't wait to post it. It's an almost complete set of dollhouse dining room furniture made in America circa 1910 by the Star Novelty Company of Cincinnati, Ohio. The set includes 3 chairs (there should be one more, but it's gone missing), table, buffet, and china cabinet. The chairs have leatherette seats, and the whole lot is made of oak. It's in a large scale (the tallest piece measures 8 inches tall) almost sized more for small dolls rather than dollhouses. Can't you just picture this little one sitting here? With a little tea set on the table, and dishes in the cabinet....oh, I can't wait for it to come so I can play with it!
Iconoclasts smash the conventional icons of society that are outdated, biased, or detrimental to the progress of humanity
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. . . Ps. Happy independence day to fellow Finns!
My goodness, I have been getting totally carried away with the RSC color of the month, orange. I did not intend to make an entire quilt; however that is exactly what happened last weekend! I purchased this pattern from Kelly at My Quilt Infatuation several years ago when I first started learning how to quilt and have never made anything with it until now. It's called Courtyard Tiles. I love how easy it is and it comes together really fast. I will probably make this again in another colorway one of these days. So this is just the blocks up on the wall, not sewn together yet. I have to fix one mistake before I sew together. Can you spot it? I made a few more Scrappy Trip Around the World blocks . . . Here is an orange star block, using orange and fabric from a thrifted plaid shirt . . . Here are a few more of block of the month blocks for my Civil War Quilt And I completely forgot about THIS! I found an old ratty and stained one-patch quilt made with polyester fabrics that wasn't worth saving; but look what was on the back! I cut off all the old ties and freed it from the polyester and ripped batting and as you can see, this piece still has some pretty bad blue stains as well, but isn't this a fun cotton print? These flowers are LARGE. So fun. Knowing what I know about the quilt's origin, this fabric is from somewhere between the 30's and 50's. And last but not least I have developed a keen interest in learning about vintage fabrics and learning how to be able to date quilts. That stuff fascinates me. First step, read everything I can get my hands on that talk about antique quilts and fabrics. Here are my first two purchases and I'm having a lot of fun reading them. The Bibliography in the first one has a great list of books to put on my bucket list. Now don't laugh because I am learning things that many of you have probably known for years but one of the first things I learned from Julie Stocker at Pink Doxies is that in the 1950's fabric widths changed from being sold in 36 inch widths to the widths we are seeing today. I did not know that! I have found a kindred spirit fabric nerd in Julie and I know she is going to be a wonderful source of encouragement and knowledge! OK, here is another obvious question that is probably fairly common knowledge but I do not know. When did they start printing designer and maker information on the selvages? I would love to know the answer to that and any other fabric dating tidbits you care to share with me in the comments. I'll bet I'm not the only one interested in this stuff, so feel free to write an essay there if you wish! Linking to: Needle and Thread Thursday Midweek Makers Wednesday Wait Loss Confessions of a Fabric Addict
Well, that's one heck of a title, huh? Since school started, the blogging has obviously dropped! Just too much to do and not enough time....
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M38
An Australian quilter sharing her quilting, sewing, stitching, DIY and handmade journey. Free quilting patterns and tutorials available.
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While kitchen and baths are our main specialty, we can make a ton of other cool stuff in metal. If you can imagine it, we can build it. Check out our...
Lasergesneden cool stuff, zoals een houten stropdas, 3d geprint hart en een zwart schaap. Alle producten zijn gemaakt met een lasersnijder en handgemaakt.
