Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm a sucker for old valentines. They have the cutest graphics and the sweetest sentiments. I snagged a box of them at the auction this past weekend. Just in time to share them with you!

 I love these two stand up cards. So easy to display and the little kids and puppies are too cute! I especially love that the ballplayer is a girl. How adorable is her uniform?

 It looks like this one originally came with a lollipop inserted in it.

This little fella's arm moves, but the best part is that message! "Let's 'hook up' and be valentines". And we thought that was a modern phrase!

 Cute little grocer valentine.

And, a soldier with a wounded heart! Don't worry! That sweet little nurse can mend it!

Hope you have a sweet and happy Valentine's Day!

Auction Deprivation

It's February. I haven't been to a good auction in months! And, I'm definitely suffering from auction deprivation. And, so was everyone else at today's auction. The place was packed! And stuff was not going cheap! We managed to spend a little money today, and I'm pretty proud of what we picked up. We were under some time constraints, though. I would have loved to stay to the end! It was hard to leave at our 12:30 deadline.

I am completely in love with this tin bread box. I'd like to use it to store craft supplies. Roger says I need to sell it. Silly Roger!

Some old ice picks. One is in good shape. The other two are a little rough

Vintage Christmas! The top piece is an Irwin plastic toy. One of the reindeer is missing an antler, but, otherwise, it's perfect. The second piece has a few issues, but it's just so kitschy Christmasy cute!
Two very cute Santa dolls. The guy on the left has a very soft beard, and I think he has a very sweet expression.

There were several scales on the auction today. We bought the first one on the block, and the prices skyrocketed after that!

Sometimes, I just like something a little weird. Especially if it's cheap. So, I bought a wooden foot. Okay, it's shoe mold of some sort, but yeah. And it's got that handy rope for hanging!

This is for Lil' Kay's collection. We're trying to get him interested in the world of antiques and vintage. We needed something for him to keep an eye out for when we are "forced" to take him to auctions and antique stores. He's very into hunting and fishing right now, so we are keeping an eye out for vintage outdoorsy stuff. This metal sign is perfect! He's been shooting Nerf darts at it all evening.

This is a big metal box. It's got pretty graphics. There were lots of tin boxes at this auction. I decided I needed one.

It's so good to be back in the auction action. We had a good time and learned a little. I love making friends with the other collectors around us and joking with them. We had good company today.

I bought some more stuff, but I'm saving it for future posts. A Valentine's Day post, and a "What the heck is that?" post. So, stay tuned...

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!