Gym-Dandy Surrey - Recommended by Art Linkletter

Roger found this Gym-Dandy Surrey on Craigslist last fall and couldn't resist it. It was made in the 1960s by the Gym-Dandy company, who also made jungle gyms! This particular surrey was owned by the same woman since it was new and was played with by her children, too. Unfortunately, the family were the victims of a house fire. The surrey suffered some fire damage, and they decided to sell it.

The entire things was taken apart and repainted. Roger replaced the tires, pedals and handgrips, then put it all back together. He cleaned and repainted the seats, as well. He was even able to find a source for the original style graphics!

 Sally and Connor took it for a test drive through our living room! Not super easy to pedal (I tried it myself), but Connor did a great job!

 Sally, on the other hand, is going to need longer legs before she's ready to be the driver!

We're still working out the logistics of the canopy, but we certainly have the perfect fabric.

Don't you wish everything were?

Head over to Her Library Adventures for more great vintage finds!

We get questions all the time from others asking about restoring their own Gym Dandy Surreys! Roger uses Cowboys and Kidillacs as a major resource for his pedal car restorations. Here's a link to their Gym Dandy page.

New Wheels

Roger had the last couple of weeks off at work, so he used the time to finish up and start and continue several projects in his workshop. This is my favorite completed project! Another rusty car turned into a treasure! Love the red and almost aqua color combo.  

And, there's a place in the back for Minnie to ride! Sally and I are still working to convince him that a pink car would be just the thing!

See more great vintage finds at Apron Thrift Girl!

Giant Masher

We went to a white elephant exchange party at the Redenbaughs' last night. All kinds of goofy gifts, but I think I came home with the best one! This giant potato masher! I've never seen such a thing, but it seems to have a little bit of age to it. I had to take a picture of it with Sally, so you can truly appreciate the size and scope of this thing!

I'm not sure what size of potato this is meant for, but I'm pretty sure we don't grow them in Kansas.

Rusty Cars

Roger and I both managed to do a little picking last week, but Roger is the only one who managed to get his act together to take pictures, so you get to see some more mantiques! This is the front end of a 30s-something truck. He dug it out of a pasture down by Beaumont, Kansas on Friday. Now, he gets to figure out what to do with it! I suggested a chair, but that kind of freaked him out. He's not really an upholsterer. Might end up as a desk! For now, it's sitting in the driveway that we don't park our cars in. In front of the garage that we don't park our cars in.... (I will become more bitter about this as the weather gets colder, and I have to start scraping my windshield every morning.)

This is also a piece of an old truck. Just a smaller piece. The sellers of the first one threw this in for free, since Roger drove all the way south of nowhere to pick up the other one. I'm sure he'll come up with spectacular new lives for both of them!

Linking up with Her Library Adventures and Apron Thrift Girl!

Team Effort

Blue June's Retro Deco is truly a team effort. Roger and I (Becky) do this vintage thing together. In fact, I think that's why it works. We keep each other motivated, and it's nice to have something special to share with your significant other. You know, other than the kids...

I handle the online stuff, the marketing stuff, the girly glassware stuff. Roger deals with the graphic design, the fixing stuff and the restorations. In fact, get ready to be blown away by the restoration stuff! I'm so stinkin' proud of him!

This is a 1964 AMF 508 Hook & Ladder fire truck before Roger worked his magic. (Actually, I think this was after he blasted all the rust off it.)

And this is the same truck after. He made those ladders and put the nice oak panels in the back. He couldn't find a supplier for the decals, so he used his graphic design skills to recreate them from a vintage ad.

A 1973 AMF 501 before.

And after!

A 1950s Murray Sad Face - before

Roger thought it would be neat to create an old farm truck out of this one.

Mission accomplished.

This is my favorite one of the three.

These are impressive results in my book, but I can't say I'm ever going to be too thrilled when he brings another rusty car home! Just like he's going to roll his eyes at some of my finds!

Barn Sale Finds

Roger and I spent Saturday at a fabulous outdoor craft/vintage/antique show. I'll tell you more about it later in the week. But, while I was there, I certainly couldn't resist checking out the other vendors! And I got some great things!



This chicken immediately caught my eye! I believe that it's a candy dispenser. I need to find some gumballs or marbles to try it out. It's marked 1964 Ideal Toy Corp.



I also picked up this great hand-embroidered Christmas tablecloth. The details are amazing. There is also a pair of plastic purse handles, a metal water pitcher, enamalware saucepan and cup and some soda bottle stoppers. I expect these will all be headed for my Etsy Shop soon!

Find more vintage goodies at Her Library Adventures!

Last Week's Finds

Not a lot to share this week. I think auction season is winding down, and even if it isn't, our bank account is! I still managed to get out to the thrift store last week where I found this cute little tray. I love that it has a those six depressions to hold drink glasses and each one is decorated with a different botanical motif.





Found both of these puzzles at a yard sale on Saturday morning. Of course, I love vintage toys and the graphics on these are just great. I'd love to see these framed and hanging on a wall.

All of these items (and more) are listed in our Etsy Shop!

Oh yeah!! We finally have a logo! Meet June!



Roger (my own personal graphic designer) made it for the shop. Can't wait to show her off at the Barn Sale this Saturday!

Linking up with Her Library Adventures.