The Vintage Doll for a Vintage Christmas Dream

Can't we all just get along?




A 1946 combination live-action and stop-motion animation film by the Czech brothers Borivoj Zeman and Karel Zeman. Originally titled Vánoční sen, it was dubbed in English for international audiences.

via mentalfloss

Decor, vintage style.

about the only thing I really miss about having a shop ....is...display !

It's all junk...old boxes, milk crates and old books...leaves, acorns, sticks, cookie cutters,vintage photos, bones...just  making displays with my junk and the things of the daily life..... My kids will back me up on this...I love the old wood crates! I never "moved on" and bought new furniture except for a new couch from time to time and mattresses....I love using what I find on walks, and finding free stuff and shopping the yard sales and junk shops.

"If it ain't junk, it ain't much" 
the display started like this... and then it grew...

The light up snowman  seems pretty rare in the holiday blow-mold light-up universe.
Here's a flickr stream of lovely wacky blow molds....I'm far from the the only one who loves them like crazy.....

Union Products of  Leominster, Massachusetts, was known as the "Plastics City", hired Don Featherstone to create fun blow mold decorations starting right after his graduation from Worcester Art  Museum’s art school, in the mid-50s. We know him best as the creator of The Pink Flamingo in 1957. Union Products closed in 2007, and the flamingo molds were bought by HMC International LLC and are now made in New York.
Polaron, Union, Bayshore and Empire were some of the best known American companies that made the weird and wonderful light up blow mold decorations.
Reaching its hey-dey in the 60s and 70s, the blow mold decorations were in every middle class home. Easter bunnies, Santa, snowmen, angels, and the rare Candlesticks...a pair of which I had at the shop. This faded Santa was a fancy part of my "Jews in Miami Beach" theme I used in my 2009 xmas display in the shop on Broadway, and now sits in my front yard ....
I never wanted you to mistake FunkomaVintage for an ordinary boring store....I like to say " I'm a dinner and a show!"

here's how he started life...

2 light up toy soldiers....from my shop display....

crazy Easter bunny...and also from a shop display....

and of course, my pride ! Dracula by Don Featherstone....

and 2 Don Featherstone pink flamingos ...flamingii....

 and an Empire Pumpkin and cat.....

Using my stacked crates, I keep the few cookbooks I use, a few gardening books, and my bird identification book, with binoculars handy. There's a stack of Polaroids, a Mercedes hood ornament I found in the yard when I was digging a patch for sunflowers last spring.....maybe the whole car is buried in back yard!

The old canning jar was a beach find...it's covered in sea dirt and tiny barnacles. The white ironstone bowl is full of beach glass and other sandy finds, with a square of old barkcloth.
There's a Santa I made about 15 years ago.....and I think 2012 will find me making dolls again. Rolled up is a length of rustic canvas punched with grommets and cords.......I'm pretty sure it was used to cover a furled sail on a boat's boom. Helms alee !

What have I made for you lately?

wellllllllll.
gingerbread people ornaments made from burlap, with button eyes, and a hand embroidered ......Eat Me.
everyone loves that!

yes, thatyountvillegirl has a bad holiday attitude...........
this is another thing I searched around for on the interwebs to see if there were  already examples of  this design.....hand-made hand-embroidered gingerbread ornies....I saw a LOT of cute things.......

..................

tshirts...
gingerbread bunnies and cats.....awwwww!

gingerbread teddy bears...

and lots of fantastic gingerbread houses too..
YuM!

inspired by this....of course.....Alice and her eating problems.

I made this design from burlap...I like burlap.....a bit messy to work with.....
a lady....

I embroidered the words free hand.......if you want one that's custom...with a name or a date......email me......

Anyway, another iconic image, and/or ubiquitous thing...that I can warp for you

.....happy to do it!

Not humbug! more like....homebaked. real home baked.

Meanwhile, here's Thomas Keller's gingerbread cookie recipe......from EatMeDaily.http://www.eatmedaily.com/
(of course)
chow.........

Thomas Keller's Gingerbread cookies

•    3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
•    1 tablespoon baking powder
•    2 ¼ teaspoons baking soda
•    ½ teaspoon salt
•    3 tablespoons ground ginger
•    1 ¼ tablespoon ground cinnamon
•    ½ teaspoon cloves
•    ½ cup +  2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
•    1 ¼ cup dark brown sugar
•    1 ¼ cup molasses
•    2 eggs
•    2 ¼ Teaspoons vanilla extract
Icing:
•    2 cups powdered sugar
•    2 egg whites
•    1 teaspoon lemon juice
•    Food coloring.
Method:
1.    Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices.
2.    Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and the sugar together on medium speed until light and fluffy.
3.    Add the molasses and vanilla extract and mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
4.    Add the eggs and mix on low speed for one minute.
5.    Add the dry ingredients in three parts, mixing just to combine after each addition.
6.    Refrigerate the dough for 1 hour.
7.    When the dough is thoroughly chilled, remove from the refrigerator and roll it out to ¼ of an inch.
8.    Cut into shapes using cookie cutters and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a non-stick liner.
9.    Bake at 325F for 12 to 18 minutes, depending on the size of the cookie.
10.    Cool the cookies on a rack.
11.    To make the icing, sift the sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the egg whites and lemon juice, and using the paddle attachment, start to mix on low speed then mix on medium speed until the mixture is smooth.
12.    If the icing is too thick, add a few drops of water. If it is too loose, add a little more powdered sugar.
13.    Divide the icing between small bowls and color as desired.
14.    Use your imagination to decorate the cookies!

Set that Holiday Table!

and eat....vintage style....Wacky Christmas Candy dish....
Bayberry Pyrex vintage serving dish....
Green vintage candy dish...Just a few things here in the shop....






vintage Huge Holiday Candles and Berry Tablecloth...vintage Green Grapes Tablecloth (an unconventional choice, but green!)...
Come to Brunch vintage invitations....neato graphics...

USA and groovy movies and Happy Birthday Aleks !!!

I love the movies ! and I love this link to rotten tomatoes that gives you 50 movies about the 50 states that make up America...and since this is the US of A's birthday...

(and my oldest granddaughter!)...here it is.

Each movie features a sweet or daring or scary and exciting vignette about a state...what creates the culture.....Because though we are all Americans by birth or design, we are not interchangeable....
Diversity !

Singles (click the full cast and crew for some funny surprises!)
was chosen to represent Washington...well fine. Everyone is looking for love and we're still talking about good public transportation......in 1992 the Mayor of Singles/Seattle TOM SKERRIT ! dismissed the Great Train with Coffee Idea....ha ha .....now for 120 billion trillion dollars...I guess we get it now......

yeah, 1992...let's do some math....17 years ago. Seattle and the Northwest .you are slow. That's your culture. But not slow in the good way. Sorry.

Here's a cover of Lucinda Williams' Metal Firecracker by Bright Eyes ..Conor Oberst...



Blow something up and be safe!

Luxury .......Vintage Style with Silk Velvet....

Textile historians don't really know the date when silk velvets were first made and traded but they were carried along the fabled Chinese Silk Road that ran to and from Italy in the 12th century.

Romans likely first encountered silk in an expansion campaign against the Parthians in 53 B.C. The Romans kept exploring into what we know today as China. Trade was brisk between Asia and Persia and also with Egypt and around the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.

Chinese silk fabrics were traded in Venice as early as the 9th century, and the velvet manufacturing center of the world eventually became Florence, Venice and Genoa. These city-states dominated velvet manufacturing, as did Siena and Lucca until the 19th century.

In Persian textile history during the 11th and 13th centuries, silk brocades and velvets were used for clothing and home decoration elements.

We likely all know that blue "jeans" takes its name from Genoa, which made the wonderful indigo dyed cotton fabric. Velvet is an Italian word made from "vello", meaning fleece, and "velluto", meaning velvety or fleecy.

The way velvet catches the light, and seems to change color with every movement, it captivates royals and servants alike. When we think of festive fabrics and clothes, velvet always comes to mind. Silk is a traditional fabric of luxury and silk velvet is an especially alluring combination of shine and softness exuding drama and splendor.

Before WWII silk was quite common in American fashions because of our trade with China and Japan. Silk fabrics were produced in New Jersey during the 1800's. The US industry then had to look for silk substitutes, leading to the invention of nylon, as well as the increased use of older "synthetic silks", both rayon and acetate.

Silk velvet is a rather sheer and luxurious fabric and a joy to see, to feel, and to wear. Featuring design elements of the late 30s and early 40s, these 2 silk velvet dresses are in wonderful large sizes!


30s 40s Ruby silk velvet party M L dress

30s 40s Blue sapphire silk velvet XL gown

It's Vibrant on Antique Row !

Buying Vintage....acquire locally.....you know, a Locashop.......

that's us! A huge shout out to our customers.....Thanks for buying local ! We have the Urban Village you bought a Condo for....we are the experience you wanted.....
You can furnish your home, buy gifts and clothe the family body...Right here, right now.
Well, we're open till 6 or 7 every day....we can't pull up downtown all by ourselves.....you gotta help us...

Buying vintage is THE GREENEST ! No need to buy something from another country...trust me folks.....we scrub and spank and search the West Coast to find you all the things you need for your home, your wardrobe and

Yes!! & for the HOLIDAYS !
a small sample of what's inside Amocat and funkoma vintage......







































from the News Trib.....
The downtown retail environment might well be better than it was even just two years ago – as an indication, a collection of shops has sprung up near the University of Washington Tacoma campus. The other end of Pacific offers a few retail stores. But more must be done to make it a vibrant shopping district, said Dominic Accetturo, associate vice president of the commercial real estate agency GVA Kidder Mathews in Tacoma.
....When he looks to sell in Tacoma, Accetturo talks about the qualities of running a shop downtown, including a good amount of foot traffic. But the problem is, barely any of that foot traffic happens after 5 p.m. or during the weekends, times that need to be busy for retailers to prosper.

“Some retailers have looked downtown, but they are frustrated that others aren’t open after 5 p.m.,” Accetturro said.

But there have been improvements, including some businesses and bars opening late and other businesses renovating. Tacoma has potential, and retailers and landlords need to work to realize it, he said. Until then, it’s hard to compete with other areas, and shops rely on the strengths they have.....

So a happy, helpful face behind the counter is not enough. Putting low prices together with service is how locally owned shops downtown hope to compete to get shoppers who are already planning to spend less.

Dragonfly’s Shellenberg recently returned from a trip to Shanghai and brought the question straight to her vendors half a world away.

“I went to the vendors, and they knew about the economy,” she said. “I asked, ‘I have 20 bucks, what will you sell me?’”

The answer is what her new store will be stocked with for the holidays: Asian jewelry for cheap, including $15 pearls.

-- 2 -- 2 Fun things in one...

One of my favorite blogs..Lulus vintage..did a lovely post about buying vintage for Christmas.....great advice for any holiday or birthday.....
Now on to Biba ..one of my favorite clothes designers....here's a vid..



And by way of Senorita Hollywood comes word of an article on Biba in this month's BUST ....

and take a trip to 60s London.....

Water Water Everywhere ...

Now I don't have 10 feet of water over me....
The Tacoma Escape Clause....otherwise known as I-5....
But because someone didn't admit that the basement will flood at funkoma worldwide headquarters......we were caught with our waders off...and our basement flooded.
Small irritant...we didn't lose our home like so many in our area, but it's enough of a Peezer.
So, if you need a funkoma fix, check my ebay listings...Heres a peek....

40s Beaded Wool Coat

50s Beaded Bombshell Knit Dress

60s Mod Faux Fur Tiger Coat