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Well, At Least The Cat's Eyes Are Closed
Todd Left To Get Liquid-Plumr
The Little Kitten That Came Back
Pedro Didn't Mind Being Pink
Butts In The Air, Like They Just Don't Care
Vintage pottery animals with their butts in the air and holes where their tails ought to be.  I only have two, so it's not a collection yet. The cat is a rather popular planter motif and typically they had cactus planted to be their kitty tails. But the dog is more of a mystery -- despite a partial label on the bottom.  The hole is too small for the pup to be a planter; hubby suspects it had a bobble-tail which wagged. The tag reads Little Pete (or, it could be Little Peter), but exhaustive searches have turned up nothing. Know something about Little Pete or his missing tail? Let me know. Meanwhile, I keep my eyes opened for a third vintage pottery animal with it's hole-y butt up in the air. Labels: collecting, dogs, kitsch, kitties, pottery, vintage
Sitting Pretty With Boo-Boo Kitty
Thanks, But I Prefer Bald Condiment Dispensers
OK, so you know I collect these figurines with pasted on rabbit fur; therefore you might not think I have the right to mock these retro S&P kitties...  But honestly, who wants to shake salt or pepper from them, knowing full well that dust & whatever else sits in the rabbit fur will also be shaken, not stirred, onto your food? Labels: collecting, food, kitchen, kitsch, kitties, retro, weird
Pussy Doesn't Love The Canary For Its Song
Pixies On Toadstools & Whiskers On Kittens
Hannah not only made them, but offers pdf instructions.  Nothing goes better with pixies on toadstools than whiskers on kittens (I know you're singing along!). We'd prefer you had your own cats who would brush their whiskers against the toadstool doorstops, but if not... Here's a vintage kitty -- with whiskers -- pattern; some assembly required. Labels: brownies elves imps whatever, crafting, free patterns, kitties, retro style
Homeless Photos: Girls & Cat
The only thing sadder than this old photo of adorable girls in pjs with their cute cat, is the fact that no one wanted to keep it in the family and it still can't find a home.  The littlest girl's toes are so cute, I might just have to ask them to re-list. Labels: children, collecting, homeless photos, kitties, old photographs, retro, vintage
Dogs a La...
Hot pads!  Wouldn't want to burn the pooches with hot pots, but they are cute! (And there's a cat there too.) From a 1944 Star Potholders Book. Labels: cool, crafting, dogs, ephemera, kitchen, kitties
Place Your Used Gum on My Kitty-Cat's Tum-Tum
Winky Wanky Do? I Didn't
 Winky or Wanky, the safety cat was spotted by hubby and one of the kids. One time I should have run errands, huh. Labels: free patterns, kitties, the automobile, vintage ads
Snotty French Tricks
The French are always up to something... Like this vintage hanky which has "Pour Le Rouge De Vos Levres" printed on it.  Pour Le Rouge De Vos Levres means, "For The Red Of Your Lips." Yeah, put your lips to what I blew out of my nose here. No, no, it's fine. Would this sweet little kitten fool you? Labels: handkerchiefs, kitties, retro, snot funny
Crazy Cat Cutouts
 I found this classy ad in the February 1959 issue of Home Craftsman -- get yourself 110 different jigsaw patterns: Have Fun - Make Money selling these amazing NEW UNUSUAL Novelties, Gifts, Lawn Figures...Animals, Bar Implements, Door Markers, Plaques, Wall Shelves, etc. Easy...Trace, saw out, and paint. $1 brings you these EXCITING and DIFFERENT 110 fill size BIG patterns. Order now! When they say UNUSUAL, EXCITING, and DIFFERENT -- they mean it, if the rest are anything like their best examples from the ad. Stepping away from the cute and homey patterns that usually came in jigsaw pattern books , these are right out of Mad Magazine:  A wacky buck-toothed cat, tongue lolling out, saliva splattering off it? Was this supposed to be for Grandma to put up in her garden, or Mom to hang over the kitchen sink? It has a very grubby, loose style associated with underground comics (or "comix" if you're not a square like me). There's something very familiar about these two examples, but I can't quite put my finger on it.  Is there anything remotely cute or endearing about this duck? He's got some headband with leaves or feathers in it, leaning forward menacingly...and I like him. These two examples have some life to them, something that separates them from the generic style in most ads. They're not sweet, they're not traditional -- they're art. It's too bad the illustrator isn't named in the ad: the address for this "Trans Plans" company isn't some fancy office building -- according to Google Maps it's a residential area in Yonkers, sandwiched between Lincoln High, Yonkers Raceway, and Hillview Reservoir. It'd be easy to make a joke about drawing crazy comics while living in mom's basement, but, well, that's where some of the best comics came from. Labels: comics, kitties, retro style, vintage advertising
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