Valentine's Etc....

It's been busy on and off since Valentine's Day. Here's just a few things I've been working on, and I'm currently awaiting a shipment from Japan again for the shop!

 I bought two prints "Dance Time" and "Play Time" via Etsy by August Albo, Helene Pessl New York, 1957. They are vintage Litho prints without their frames. I picked up these light off white frames from the Goody Store and spray painted them pink and blue. They would've have fit the litho perfectly with the exception of the sides being narrow. Sadly, the frames metric size is off of the US standard. Oh well, still they turned out nicely and I can admire them along with my collection. Play Time is the one I discovered first, seeing it from another collector's photo. I love that it's of a cute little girl playing with her dolly and her dog beside her. Then, I discovered, there are other prints in the same series, like Dance Time. Lovely Ballerina and the colors too in pink and blue hues, great to place in a Nursery or Dolly room! The others are called, "Party Time" and "Bath Time", there are four in this series.

 Yes, a lot of pastels. LOL I also started slowing, selling off some rare cuties here and there. I've decided not to announce it and instead, if you have updates to my Etsy shop you will see it. For Valentine's Day, Sam got me a box of chocolates and a lovely card. I shared about it, through Instagram. We decided to have our Valentine's dinner a day early because we both knew uptown on the actual day would be crazy. So, I was glad we celebrated early too! I hope you all had a great one as well?

 Red fun with my red girl from Japan and the heart lights. I had forgotten that it was President's Day on Monday, and the US Post was closed. So, on Tuesday, I was able to get all of my customers boxes in the mail. It was a great weekend for sales too. Thank you all so much for your lovely support. My family and I truly do appreciate it. As mentioned earlier, I hope to have some vintage Japan items in the mail next week. I also awaiting a few vintage plushies to add to my collection and to my shop soon too!

Have a beautiful week y'all!!

Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls

Anticipated Online Haul from Japan!!

Whoo hoo! It was like winning the lottery, okay, maybe not. But, this much anticipated haul arrived from Japan today and I'm thrilled to say, you will find some rare cuties in my Etsy shop later this week!! So, here's what came in...

My new online finds, here's what I was able to get from Japan... I found 2 more Swimmer Japan fawn mirrors, a brown one and a gray one but this time with a pink bow. I usually find the gray one with a teal or aqua bow. So, this pink with gray is rare. I also found a lot of 3 with 2 coin banks, and a Rune mermaid, the boy Ado M. coin bank and bunny coin bank. A cafe door curtain with lovely artwork by Junichi Nakahara, a Lot of Rune pendants. Most of the items will be added to my Etsy shop later this week. Not shown, a Lot of two flocked angel ornaments, a dark girl figurine, and a trade of a vintage Twiggy head bust. These Swimmer fawn mirrors will be the last I will try to locate for now, as many are sold out, and finding them in the secondary market is getting harder. So, if you are interested in any of these, be sure to look for them in my shop. These will be the last two for awhile.

 I've seen this cute blow mold poodle a few times during my searches and must say, I love her. Also by Swimmer Japan, it is used to hold or neatly hide your toilet bowl brush correction duster. There is a bunny too, but they can be quite expensive, sadly. This one I found at a nice price, mostly because she will need touch up on her paint. I won't be using it for a toilet brush duster! LOL Her head can come off, she's just adorable! Now, here's a closer look at the Rune Naito pendants. I've had a few of these before and sold them years ago in shop's early days. I will add some black ribbon to make necklaces, since these came without chains. Just unique and adorable, don't you think?

 This lovely Cafe door curtain, as seller described it. Reminds me a lot of Junichi Nakahara's silhouette art from her fairytale books. Lovely anime girls, and I hope to hang this up on my window. I also found this lovely dark haired sexy figurine girl, similar to my red one. Both have the golden hair, and in a nude pose. I will keep the two girls together as a set. She is lovely and I may just add a bow to her bun?! Both a part of my collection for now... Next, I was able to find, not long after I sold the first ceramic Ichigo Chan coin bank, a plastic version of the same Ichigo chan character. She also has the stamp 1997, Create Co. on her backside, sadly missing her stopper. I will need to find a replacement too. She will be added to my collection as well.

 This lovely Rune or is she Ado Mizumori mermaid girl figurine in blue, is a lot rarer to find. I have not found another since 2016. I used to own a set that had a pink and blue, then found a pink separately later. All have since been sold. This one I will add to my Etsy shop, and will announce via Instagram when and what time. So, be sure to check via IG for my announcements on her. She is in lovely condition, no chips or crazing, but her hair is a bit matted and needs a wipe down, and probably a few touch ups on areas of her body, but she is just beautiful and very hard to find indeed...

 The mermaid from a Lot of 3, including these items, this vintage Chalkware boy with his dog waiting for the Post coin bank. In lovely condition and just needs a stopper. Also, this cute Bunny holding a gift coin bank, still has his original stopper. All three will be added to my Etsy shop too. I have been searching for more cute girl vintage ornaments that are flocked. I found a set of two girl angels on ebay and they also arrived safely. I think they are made in China and not Japan. They both feel light, sadly both their wings are bent. I may have to fix them. They will be added to my collection.

 I traded with a fellow collector and good friend, via New Zealand for her lovely vintage Twiggy head bust. I have been wanting one for ages, since I discovered them back in 2000, while searching for dolls from France. Oh my Gawd, to own one is just a dream come true!! She arrived quickly and safely to me along with my Japan haul. She has some paint touch ups needed, but otherwise, she is simply perfect. Larger then my repro Twiggy, as you can see behind her. She has nude hair with blue earrings and eyes. She feels light, and I expected her to be a bit heavier in weight, but that was my guess for an original one. A great addition to my vintage collection for sure! Thank you Kendyl!!

 Over the weekend I took Sara uptown for a bit of shopping mostly for things she needed like, panties. Haha, she asked if we could stop by The Underground Dungeon, our local costume, craft, etc. store. So we did. She came out with the rest of her updated Ink Bendy costume parts for this years Halloween, and I found these LED heart lights that are battery operated. When I got home, I had to test them out and had fun with the Snowmonster mug I got from my bday out. What do you think? These LED heart lights are great for photos and if you just want to light up a room or bottle! At $6, you can't go wrong!

 Be sure to look out for my updates on the listings of the items I will add to my shop via IG. Have a great week you all!

Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls

Recreated Vintage Unicorns!

We are in the age of reprinted creations! Since 2016 or maybe earlier, when I've search for vintage items, it was more and more prominent that reprinted products were being created. Many in miniature form.  Last year, an Etsy shop was selling miniature 3D printed pyrex, fireking, and corning miniature bowls, etc. That's great, and in miniature form too for those of us who collect items to redecorate a dollhouse, etc. At first, I didn't think anyone could afford a 3D printer. Then I was told a few years ago, you could go to a library within the States and use their 3D printer to print things if you knew how to create the files, that the printer uses to print the created from. It all sounded complicated and a lot of studying up on and work, let alone, finding someone who owned a 3D printer to use or rent from. These days 3D printing has become more and more affordable, and people are buying them.

A fellow collector via IG, was able to get someone reprint those lovey vintage ceramic unicorns from Japan, that are ornaments. She shared with us on IG that the process was long just to create them. After printing, you had to sand them down. Then, prepare the plastic to allow it to be painted and then a seal coat after the creation is painted. It was quite interesting to read and hear her share with me the process. Now mind you, this is 3D printing, so there will be lines you will see regardless of how many times you sand them down. That is just how the 3D printer creates them. But, to be able to make them in plastic, and much more affordable and easier to find then the real Mccoy?! Is well... worth it, if you don't have the budget for the 'real' thing. Whether or not, it may affect the price of the vintage version? Is a good guess. Then again, maybe it won't, because you have, those collectors who want a genuine unicorn and not a reprinted copy, and that's okay too.

I purchase one of Angela's recreated unicorns, in blue via IG, and I'm so glad I did. Mostly because, I saw she was also selling a set that would help the American Heart Association, so for me, that was a win-win situation for Angela and for American Heart Assoc.! Yippee! Awesome idea too!! And I'm very much inclined to purchase also knowing that it is for a good cause, thank you Angela. My unicorn in blue arrived to me Yesterday the day after my birthday and here is my review.

 This recreation uni is just adorable, Angela painted him in a lovely baby blue hue. She did an amazing job too, and very close to the likeness of the original. You can see the 3D printing lines, but that doesn't take away from the fact that he is plastic and if you drop him, he won't break as easily as ceramic would. Also, he's small enough to fit in your purse or bag for easy travel as well. For my little cutie, I added a pink satin bow to him. He now lives with my other original Uni's in my display cabinet. But, I will often take him out with me on errands and around the island for adventures. If you get a chance, visit Angela's instagram page and look out for her sales on these cuties, if you don't have the budget for the originals. I will definitely be back for one of her larger versions!

Thank you again Angela for affording us the chance to own a rare kitsch cutie!

Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls

All Day Celebration!

Sam and I decided that we would do errands and just spend the day uptown for my birthday. It was nice to all be together for the day, and there was a lot we had to take care of in the process. We first went to Sam's eye appt. and afterwards, we had lunch at Lieng's Vietnemese Restaurant in Tamuning. Sam ordered wonton soup, lumpia, sweet and sour chicken, fried chicken, and beef salad. We enjoyed lunch and afterwards decided to take care of passport renewal for Sara, and then insurance for our cars. There was quite a few things to do since it was his day off from work and Taby's too.

He wanted to show Sara the truck he had decided on getting, since one of our vehicles was down. After, we went to Payless Shoe Store, to buy me new walking shoes and house shoes. Yay! Next, we headed to Snow Monster, because I wanted to try their Cotton Candy Burrito and the Butter Beer drink they offered since last year!!

 While Sam was at his appt. we went to Kmart for a few things, and I saw this Hello Kitty wine, especially for Valentine's Day too. Cute! No, I didn't buy it. Ha.

 The Butter Beer, was basically butterscotch and cream soda, I believe. Very tasty too! it is supposed to be based on Harry Potter. You get to keep the mug too! Yippee! The Cotton Candy Burrito, was awesome!! You get to choose three flavors to place into the burrito along with toppings. So, Sara chose Unicorn ice cream, Taby Birthday Cake, and I chose Rocky Road. The two toppings, was Oreos and Fruity Pebbles cereal! It was delicious and not as sweet at you might think! So many flavors too! Definitely something to try if your fave dessert place has em'! In the photo, that is Unicorn ice cream you see first.

 By early evening, we headed home on the West side, a leisurely drive through Santa Rita, Agat and then Umatac. These are the beautiful after sunset photos, I captured along the way. When we got home, we had ate dinner, and Sam bought the movie, "Bohemian Rhapsody". We watched the movie in the comfort of our home on Apple TV. We all enjoyed the film, and loved hearing all the songs all over again too! It was definitely a great birthday, and my little family spoils me rotten and I love it! Thank you so much Sam, Taby and Sara!!

Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls

More Hang Arounds Discovered!!

While doing my usual browsing through IG, I came across a fellow collectors post, about some cute rubber figures she had and wondered if anyone knew where they came from... Low and behold, they were two soft vinyl creatures, one bee and the other was a butterfly. I knew immediately after seeing their eyes, that they were from the Hang Around mobiles, similar to my Angels here!! You see back in February 2018, I was able to snatch up the cute Angels from Kitschandkawaii on Etsy. This time, I was able to help lotuslinaa, get some info. on these cuties since I had some. After messaging her via IG. Lindsay is so sweet, she even offered them to me. I was like what?! OMG, Yessss please!! Haha.

She even gave me a little background story of how she came to have them. She shared that her father often finds vintage toys, etc. at the local Goodwill, and thrift shops. He found the butterflies together, and then the bee at a different shop. He hopes, that after retiring he could open up a shop to sell the vintage treasures he discovers. I truly enjoyed reading their story. Collectors stories are fascinating to me, and I hope he does open up a shop! I will definitely be looking out for it. Lindsay and her Dad are truly kind and allowed me to adopt them all! Thank you dears!!

 They arrived to me safely, though the box they came in was crushed. Ugh. But, here they are!! Yippee! Above, are the before photos, they just needed a wipe down, but otherwise, so cute and adorable. I love their eyes most! They were all missing their wings and their hanging knobs. I will have to find the replacement knobs a bit later. But, I was able to fix their wings. I have a lot of leftovers from my Angels, and in different colors too. So, I put some blue wings on the butterflies and a pair of yellow wings on the bee. According to the MIB photo at the top, there are supposed to be four cuties, two of each. Sadly we are just missing one bee, if my calculations are correct.

 I know the wings seem a bit small, but if I put the larger wings, they might be too big on them. Still they are just adorable and I'm glad that they will be a part of my collection. Around the same time, I was also was able to snagged three mini posedolls, that KitschandKawaii had in her shop!! They too arrived to me today, and here they are... Christine, even gave me stickers, thank you dear friend!!

 You can't tell from the photos but these tiny dolls are about 3 inches tall. So teeny tiny and delicate too. I don't recall if I've ever seen em' this small, except for maybe chenille dolls. Just lovely and they were worth it too! I will have to add them to a display or something... More on them later.

I'm currently awaiting a large shipment of goodies from Japan to add to my shop soon.
So, stay tuned!!

Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls