Interview with Joujoukawaii!

  Interview with a Collector - ggsdolls blog Series

Here's my monthly series on my blog where I share some of the most amazing collectors, sellers, and creatives, that have become friends of mine and what they collect and why?

    For the month of November, my blog interview is with the sweet, kind, and one of the masters of cuteness on Instagram and owner of the Etsy shop LePetitCheriShop, also known as joujoukawaii on Instagram, Alvina.

I was originally from Hong Kong and moved to Vancouver, Canada with my family when I finished elementary school. I proudly call Vancouver my home, and am currently living with all boys at home. 
Hmmm.. I initially fell in love with the Rushton Happy Bear and my dream bear was the pink happy bear! I began searching on eBay around 4 years ago in 2018 when rubber face plushies were still popular but not as popular as it is today. At the time, I saw adorable Rushtons photos mostly on Japanese collectors account and I searched for hashtags on IG to admire others’ collection.    

As many already know, I actually started collecting kitschy ceramics (mostly just animals), in 2017.  The Japanese big eyed figurines won my heart. The ceramics are still a big love of mine, in addition to Easter bunny plushies, vintage wind up bears, and of course rubber face plushies! Ohhh! Forgot to mention kitschmas decor too, with pink Santas being my favorite thing to collect! As you can see, I love too many kitschy things! 

Oooo.. I would say my collection is the happy place for me. I could spend all day admiring my collection, not knowing where to look first. I love rearranging displays for different seasons, but I must say that bunnies are  always in season in my home all year round. Seeing the sweet faces at home make me happy, and thus, all collectibles in my home have happy cute faces. I am a very happy person who is always positive about life and people.. and as such (you guys may also notice), there is never a crying face in my collection. (Despite how cute those crying rubber face plushies are!)

I think it’s the amazing fun colors and unique style. One can mix and match anything kitsch in any way and they will still look cute and pretty altogether. I also love romantic shabby chic style and I am just amazed by how well kitschy cute matches with my shabby chic decor. 

I remember it all began with me browsing at amazing kitschy collection photos of our fellow friends on Instagram. Many fellow members started collecting way earlier than me. I have always loved all things cute and Japanese my whole life especially because I spent my childhood growing up in Asia. And one day in 2017,  I decided to purchase a few vintage ceramics and it was how it all started.  I remember I got this girly bunny ceramic from thevintageunicorn which was my very first. And then I had a few pairs of kitty lovers.  Believe it or not, my other first collectibles were rubber squeaks… Sun Rubber kids, an Edward Mobley bear and Japan Iwai baby squeaks!

I am the ONLY person in my family, and extended family who admires vintage. I have always been collecting toys and kawaii Sanrio and Disney goodies since I was little. This kitschy cute hobby of mine never surprised any of my family members! My mom used to say… my vintage goodies would come alive at night and they would freak me out. Whereas, my dad he is a very nostalgic individual and he appreciates my love for vintage toys. (He is actually glad that I am not into brand names fashion. But then he knows I am into expensive toys… lol) I often show him my vintage 50s wind up bears, saying by the time I pass these to my boys, it will be amazing if they still work when they are 100 years old! My brothers think I am insane, and they think my rubber face toys are freaky to the max. I cannot persuade them in any way to like my rubber face plushies… My mom and my mom in-law were both born in the 50s and they used to have kitschy ceramics in the form of piggy banks. So the kitschy faces are no strangers to them. 

I used to have many packages mailed to my old office. One time I put this Rushton Cowboy Bunny on my office chair facing out to the door.. One of my colleagues would always be freaked out by that bunny upon entering the room. He wanted me to "take that thing away” but that bunny sat there for at least two months before I took him back home. We always had a good laugh about that bunny. 

My favorite item, is my pair of Meyercord running bunny planters. Meyercord cuties are one of my top favorites. I collect the vintage decals like Gigi and I just think it’s amazing how ceramic manufacturers made ceramics based on those decals. So yes, the ceramic running bunnies are definitely my favorites at home. I was very lucky to be able to trade for them years ago. To date, I have never came across them for sale online. 

Knowing I am a queen of junk myself, my Etsy shop mainly sells vintage ceramics and collectibles from my downsizing collection. Since most items in my shop are from my own collection and some thrifted. They all tend to have cute happy faces. Yes, I have occasionally sold a few of Rushton rubber face plushies from my collection and that was a time when Rushtons weren’t as popular as they are now. Nevertheless, those rubber faces sold instantly at reasonable prices. Sometimes instead of listing plushies in the shop, I love reaching out to fellow friends and collectors on IG whom I thought would enjoy those plushies. It certainly means more to me that the plushies are heading to friends who cherish them. That also means that I will see photos of them posted which make me happy to see those plushes being enjoyed by others. 

Best selling items for me have  always been rare ceramics like the polka dot deers, and the sweet Lapin bunnies. 

 The most unique, I would say it's a pair of lover bunnies someone listed on Craiglist a few years ago. They have been on my ISO list forever. The lady who sold them to me was the original owner and her mom bought them for her at a gift shop in our local Chinatown! I must say I have some luck finding dreamy bunnies locally… as I have found 4 other large tall Lapin bunnies locally... and they are my favorite ceramic bunnies to this date!

Another unique find of mine is the Rushton Duckie. I bought her on a buy it now listing on eBay. And the seller whom I bought him from was the original owner. He was telling me that the Duckie survived hurricane Katrina. He lost everything in that storm but the Duckie survived that storm. The house was gone but this Duckie was mint and intact inside a storage box found in the debris of his home. I am so honored this Duckie is now in my collection.  I think what makes an item unique is its history, and having the opportunity to talk to the original owner helps us cherish the collectible even more! 

If any item could just land on my lap… If that item is a ceramic, it would be finding a furry ceramic in the wild. I always imagine how I would feel finding one in a thrift or antique shop, of course, that hasn’t happened yet! If that item is a rubber plushie, then I wish it could be the Rushton smile face easter bunny! It’s one of those dream plushies for many, I am sure. It has the happiest rubber face so I would love to find one, one day to add to my collection. 

 Yes of course, I noticed the recent popularity of vintage rubber faces. I believe the popularity was mainly driven by Melanie Martinez and the appearance of vintage Rushton dolls in her music video. However, I think apart from star power, vintage rubber faces really have their charm on collectors. I started collecting before Rushtons became this popular and I fell in love because I saw these plushies being featured by many Japanese collectors. Rubber faces vary from being happy and cute, to silly, sad and sometimes creepy or creepy cute. There is always a face that appeals to each collector, making each and every one lovable, unique and special.

Rubber face plushies are also found in all kinds of conditions too, some can still be very minty and well kept by their original owners... or ones that were very well loved and need freshening up to be loved again.  But in whatever condition, each plushie is unique and has a story, and always have that potential to be loved and appreciated by a collector.

Lastly, I just want to say that every vintage collectible is unique although they may “look the same” just because they are the same model or series. Sometimes people don’t understand why a collector wants the same item in different colors or even in the same colors. Truth is, each piece is different! Since ceramics were hand painted, I find that each piece has its own personality. This is what makes vintage unique and interesting, and also fun to collect.

Also, I love how vintage collectibles can be junk to some, but treasures to collectors like ourselves! It’s the best of both worlds, really...  Giving second lives/chances to these vintage cuties, and also making sustainable purchases too!

Thank you for taking the time to interview me for your blog and for sharing my love for all cute things vintage! ~ Alvina

And with that, thank you Alvina for sharing with us your take on vintage kitschy cute collecting and the love of rubber faced plushies as well. I truly enjoyed reading your thoughts as a collector!

Until our next blog interview with a collector, I am ggsdolls... Happy thrifting!

Thank you for stopping in! ~ ggsdolls

Keep Creating and Recent Finds...

 Oh my goodness, it is already November!! The past month leading up to now has been busy, and the good kind too!

I finally finished a commission project for a customer! Whew! She is a Rushton Daisy Belle cow that used to be white with brown spots, but her owner wanted her to be a white and strawberry pink spotted cow. So, back in mid October I began, working on her yarn hair, felt parts and the lovely strawberry spotted fur!! She turned out so lovely, that even Sara told me she wanted one! Haha! Aww, thank you my girl, that means a lot to me!

Above, just the last few touches of sewing her back up after restuffing her with her original cotton batting. They were perfectly good quality and I wanted to put something original to her besides her udders and face. I also remove the straw that was in her hooves and replaced it will cotton wool that will hold up better. I added a vintage cow bell and yellow satin bow along with a pink daisy with blue leaves. TaDa! She was done! No sounder inside her as per owner's request. I am very pleased with the way she turned out. Now, to work on 2 other bambies for her! Ha!

While waiting to begin on the next project, I received these cuties in the mail as well...

This wild red and black striped tiger made in Japan arrived. I have seen him in an Ayumi Uyama book! I didn't think I would want to get one, but in the end did! He's just adorable and mid century modern to me! I also found this lovely Whitman 1947 Baby's Own Story book with box unused and is fabulous condition. I love the graphics inside too! There's even a Family tree page! The box is just too cute and adorable. Mostly the reason I bought it!

From Japan auctions, I got this lovely anime girl make up case. In amazing condition too! Has a mirror and lock closure. I also found this lot of 2 vintage Iron on Bear and Elephant. They will be added to my collection of iron ons.

Next, these vintage Ribon Japan books and mangas above and below rattles. I already have a few of the books listed in my shop and the rattles as well. My fave is the yellow in the middle, and I kept her! She actually quite large too and just the cutest thing!!

I also received this lot of Gimmick miniature pencil cases. There are 5 sets. I love the girlie ones best! Each even comes with tiny pencils and erasers or even protractors! Too cool! A commissioned Gund Bee I found for a friend, and is already on it's way to her too! He arrived in amazing condition as well. No need to do any major cleaning to him either!

Than, this adorable large posedoll with box arrived too. Lovely red dress and boots, she is already listed in my Etsy shop. This huge version of the Ado Mizumori's mermaid figurines is actually a coin bank! I found her with her original box! So cool. I've only seen the smaller ones that are just figurines, so to find this one was dreamy. I listed her in my shop and she sold very quickly!

I don't often find a patchwork Elephant plushies, but this one was hard to resist. Just adorable and probably made closer to the 90s than 80s. Still had its store tag on it too! LOL The happy mail that arrived from Japan below, showcasing a few more of the items I found.

The bento tin with Miyako Maki art work I will keep. I did list the white ceramic poodles and they sold really fast as well! I'm glad to see these items go to good loving homes too! The brown fawn plush, was a surprise to find! In lovely condition as well and I just added the yellow satin bow. She is already on her way to her forever home in Japan!

Next, I found this adorable rag doll bear or is it a puppy? Not sure. He is already listed in my shop. The ceramic blue kitty, I will probably list as well. Still deciding... Haha!

I was truly blessed to find this adorable Princess doll by Rushton, with just some minor flaws. She has been washed and slightly restored, with just a touch up of her face and added a bow. She is a pajama bag. I have only seen her in pink so far, so to find her in blue, was a lovely surprise!!

Next, I also found this adorable Play Girl Bunny by Rushton, in practically perfect condition!! She just needed some blush and a bow! She is exactly as the catalog photo! I was surprised that no one adopted her. And she is huge! I mean as large as my Granny bunny also by Rushton. I will need to do a side by side comparison. Definitely 29" tall. Perhaps a store display? Love her to bits! She will be awesome come Easter!

Last for this post, adorable reproduced decals by Merrybee in Japan. I bought a few to use. They are just as awesome as the Meyercord versions, but a bit trickier to use. If you do not cut them as close as possible to the edge of the decal, than the edges can show on the item you place them on. Also, you have to work quickly and swiftly to get the decal on while trying to make sure it is not folding up on the sides. So definitely takes a quick hand to use them. Haha!

I tried them on some adorable buckets I found and painted from my local Daiso. Not too bad. They are cute! What do you think? More projects using these decals to come!

I hope you all have a pleasant November! Happy vintage treasure hunting!

Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls

Have a Safe Halloween!!

 

 

Enjoy your Halloween!!

Be safe, ggsdolls

Interview with KewtKitsch!!

  Interview with a Collector - ggsdolls blog Series

Here's my monthly series on my blog where I share some of the most amazing collectors, sellers, and creatives, that have become friends of mine and what they collect and why?

    For the month of October, my blog interview is with the gorgeous, funny, and creative human behind the best and only website for The Rushton Toy Company Rubber Faced plushies of Mary Rushton's creations, KewtKitsch on Instagram. 

When I asked KK where she was from she said this, "Living that old people, sweaty all year, Florida life!" KK works at a bakery, and she gets paid to eat sweets and punch cakes with her fist before they throw them away. She asked me if I've ever punched a cake, and said that I should try it sometime! LOL I asked her what her age was...

KK: "I'm in my flirty 30's! The first time I ever saw a Rushton toy was probably a decade ago. While browsing for my kawaii, pastel 90’s toys on eBay, I saw this really ugly, bizarre, weird looking fish. I totally didn’t want it. Little did I know what my future would hold. I think I remember watching it and it sold for around $300. That was too much for me to be spending on toys. BUT OH BOY. IF ONLY MY YOUNGER SELF KNEW WHAT I WAS GOING TO START SPENDING ON TOYS IN MY FUTURE. 

I never imagined I would now want these ugly, weird toys in my life. Staring at me at all hours of the day while I lay in bed and sleep. And that I would sell my soul and sacrifice food and water to have them. Just kidding, It’s not that extreme. I just gave up buying my 90’s toys and switched over to 50’s toys instead. Speaking of my other collections, yes, I still very much love my Japanese kawaii toys, girly 90’s toys. I also collect 50’s nursery planters, bathroom mermaid plaques, and of course, the rubber face plush toys. Can I throw in antique furniture, things with cats on them, and my cats whiskers that fall out?"

Gigi: How do you describe your relationship with your collection? What attracts you to it?

KK: "My toys and I have a pretty good relationship. As long as they do their part of the house work, which is looking cute 24/7, I don’t kick them out of the house. But no really. I actually answered the next question first, before starting this one. So I feel like the magical part of my toys is mostly described below on Mary Rushton’s amazing, realistic work. That’s the magical part of it to me. 

 

Also, I guess another thing that makes them magical is that these toys survived this long and that I have the honor to own them. When they are as original as possible (a little dirty or not) as when they first were made, is so great to me. And that, makes it special. 

 

My relationship with them has grown over the past few years. I use them in my art and use their realistic expressions to express my own struggles or joy in life. It’s like they are all a part of me. When I am sad, I am “Scrappy” bear. When I am happy, I am “Happy” bear or “Laughing Pup”. Rather than taking photos of myself, I’ll use my little, spawn, toy children to do the work for me in my art. All of us can relate to these toys and become them. But overall, I am their mother and they are all just my babies. They do as I say or else they get the hose again."

Gigi: What is it about the vintage Rushton's that distinguishes it from other Toy Companies?

KK: "I guess, to me, it’s really more about Mary Rushton’s work and talent that separates her toys from the rest of the other rubber face brand toys. Mary didn’t just make toys, she was a skilled artist. She made the faces (at times) so realistic, so human like, that they really stand out to people. People who have never seen these kind of toys before, the first time they see one, it can freak them out. It’s creepy to them. And I think a lot of that has to do with because the facial expressions are so human like, it’s just weird. 

 

You aren’t used to seeing that on an animal toy. Lots of people have smiling teddy bears and no one cares or even thinks about it. The My-Toy company and Knickerbocker made toys showing human emotions (or just anthropomorphic) but they are more cartoon-y looking. Mary’s work isn’t like a cartoon. It’s like a real, alien kind-of-creature from another world. Her work was the best when it came to her talents and especially the quality of the bodies (pre 70’s production). She was toy queen of her time and I (and others) still worship her work."

Gigi: Tell me a bit about your collection, how it started, what your first items were and how it has grown?

KK:  "I always loved toys in some way. I never grew out of them. Just what I collected would change over the years. At first, when I became a teenager and knew what I wanted to collect, it was creepy dolls, BJDs, dark, goth looking stuff. Then I wanted everything pink and Hello Kitty. THEN, Japanese modern kawaii toys + 90’s American, pastel toys. I started buying simple “soft plush” (not rubber face) vintage toys and 50’s nursery planters. THEN! That’s when I started my rubber face toy adventure and beyond! 

 

I’m fixated on having only vintage or (reproduction) vintage looking items right now. (I still make some exceptions for my kawaii stuff). But my theme and what I always look for is = pink, cats, desserts, cute, baroque, vintage, and if I can make room for it in my house. I now have to be very selective or else my room will start looking wacky."

Gigi: What has been the reaction of your family, friends and coworkers on your passion for your hobby?

KK:  "One time my sister saw my Rushton cow and said “Whoa….”  The guy I live with loves all the 50’s stuff I have. It’s probably his favorite. So, I know if I buy 50’s kitsch, he won’t be mad I spent more money on 50’s stuff, haha. 

Not many people in real life (who actually see me) know about my collections. Everyone will think it’s weird, I already know this. I try to stick to my online world when it comes to sharing my collection because I know no one in real life will really understand anyway. It’s cool. At times, I really so think I prefer to keep it a secret from anyone who isn’t connected to me online. If people want to know, I will share. Otherwise, I’m perfectly happy locking myself away in my room with everything I’m in love with."

Gigi: Tell me about your favorite item and why it is so special?

KK:  "Girl, you know I have too many. But if we have to pick, it’s my “Diaper Baby” bunny who I just call “Baby”. Because she was my first and started it all. I would be halfway in my closet putting on my “cake-punching” work clothes and shoving my fat, chocolate loving, butt in my work pants and just stare at her face while doing it. I’m sure she didn’t love that. But I would constantly think, “Her cheekies are so cute and dumb, wow, she is so cute!”  Then I bought 346843 more rubber face toys after her. But she’s still and will always be my babyyyyyy!"

 

Gigi: If any item could just land in your lap for free, what would it be and why? 

 

KK:  "For many reasons, I'll keep my wishlist a secret. I will fight amongst the many, anonymously, for what I want (So if I don’t get it, y’all don’t know I’m over here crying) But my cat lands in my lap free of charge daily. So at least I have that to enjoy."

 

Gigi: Have you seen an increase in popularity or demand for what you collect? If so, why do you think that is so?

KK:  "It’s like Voldemort, the one name we do not speak of who has brought the kitsch community more attention. If you know, you know. When you love someone influential, sometimes you want to become them and have what they have. I think that’s part of it. But it can bring in the wrong kinds of people which is something we’ve had to deal with.

 

Otherwise, some of the people who are into kitsch/rubber face toys, show it off very well with their art, aesthetic, ideas, photography, etc. And I think because of this, it brings more attention to that person and what they are showcasing because it’s all so well done. It introduces people to something they didn’t know about before. So if it’s a collection of rubber face toys in a nicely done setting of their aesthetic and style, people like that and want to replicate that in some way in their home or in their art. And it just spreads from there. 

 

I think that applies to anything, not just toys. So now we see other parts of communities (some that weren’t kitsch at all) making kitsch toy art and selling it on clothes, key chains, etc, to match their style and aiming it to their already large audience. Which then, introduces more people to these toys. It’s a chain reaction. It will probably die down eventually. That’s just my guess. Every trend dies. Rubber face toys have been around for decades and no one payed much attention to them until now. Peoples interest change. Us, more dedicated toy fans, hope that our toys will be forgotten again and we can continue to collect without having to fight with everyone and spend multiple paychecks for one toy."

 

(Above, KewtKitsch also sculpts her own adorable Rushton Style Animal wall art! 

You can find them and purchase here, KewtKitsch shop on Etsy!) 

Gigi: Is there anything else you might like to add?

KK:   "Watch out for all the fake bidders on eBay! And Rushtons that sell on eBay getting relisted on Etsy by zero feedback sellers. I see it all the time. I always report them. Rushtons are that popular right now that there are many scammers. Sometimes, if it seems too good to be true, it is.  Be careful of who you make friends with in this community as well. It’s sad to say, I don’t even want too. But some people out here are selfish and will literally steal a toy from underneath you if they can. You don’t always need to clean your toys! Sometimes we have somewhat dirty toy children and that’s okay! Not all toys will be beautiful and shiny like they used to be. Some people like that look. If you are not experienced, you can destroy the toy and an important part of history. 

But most importantly, do not forget the woman who created our toys!

! Mary Rushton !

For she, is too often lost, forgotten, and over shadowed by others in this rubber face toy world."

Well said KK! Thank you to the wonderful KewtKitsch for sharing her story and collection with us! If you want to learn more about Mary Rushton and her creations be sure to visit The Rushton Toys on wordpress. A special thanks to KewtKitsch for creating this website and providing us a place to go for the history and information of our Rushton toys!! 

See you next month when we talk with a fellow toy artist and collector from Canada!! Until next time for another installment of ggsdolls Interview with a Collector!

Thank you for reading! ~ ggsdolls

To Restore or Not To Restore, That is the Question?

 

Restoring vintage items can be a labor of love, but sometimes from my recent experiences, not all things need or must be restored. I was inspired to write this post to share this one bad experience, that I have had. Special thanks to KewtKitsch and OldSoulVintage for encouraging me too. They both had discussed with me about their thoughts on restorations. So my hope is that this post will give you some 'food for thought' when deciding whether or not you need to restore something that is vintage... 

Now, if you are thinking about restoring anything, first decide whether this is for yourself? 2nd is it to be resold or 3rd is it for a customer? Because if you are restoring something for yourself, than if there is a mistake, it is okay and it is not something that will hurt another person. If you are restoring something to be resold, please make sure you are honest and share that in the description of your item, because it is only fair to the buyer that will be purchasing the item. Now if it is the latter, than extreme precaution should be taken to make the customer understand fully what you will be doing and how you will go about doing this to restore their vintage item. 

The photo above, is an adorable sleepy kitty I was given the opportunity to trade for from a dear friend, post here. She was honest with me in that the kitty had issues like plastic degradation on the face, and the body needed cleaning and some patches were needing to be resewn along with some fur loss. So since she was to be mine, I took into consideration, what I was up against and how I was going to get her looking decent again. I tried washing her first. I removed the sponge stuffing inside her and after being washed, much of her original fur came off from age. Ugh. Even with handwashing, the fur can be so delicate, it still slowly came off. So, I tried making her a new body, post here. 

Which was nice, but she was not how I expected her to be in pink. So I decided after a month to put her original body back on her. It was difficult because her original fur was still coming off, and even as I began to sew the parts back together. Why was it still falling apart? Well sadly, the orange sponge that these types of plushies have are basically were like the glue that held most of the fur in place. I also had a hard time putting her ears back into the proper placement and I had her arms sewn too low on the body. I think I had resewn her like 3 time by now! Darn it! In the end, this is the way she turned out in photo above. I felt gutted, angry at myself for even trying and even more upset for making it worse in my eyes. Sleepy kitty's face was repainted and fine, but her body was as if she had been starved to death, even with added cotton stuffing. UGH!!!

A LESSON LEARNED. Period. Sometimes not all restoration are good ones no matter how hard you may try to fix the issues. Take it from me, sometimes it is okay for a plush to look vintage, because it is.

I also wanted to add, that I've been saddened by some 'so-called' restorations that are happening in numbers by collectors as of late, mostly because they want to think of themselves as being experts or perhaps just to make a video. It takes research, experience, and understanding of what you are dealing with to even begin to try to restore something. Even a seasoned collector like myself, is still learning. 

Friends, when making a video and calling it a restoration when it really isn't one can be damaging to those who may watch it and get the wrong impression. Especially if you are going to share with others that you are using any kind of soap. People will get the sense that any kind of soap is okay to use, not realizing that soaps with perfumes may damage the plush or vintage rubber further. Also, sometimes not all original stuffing is bad. Some are still perfectly good, and tossing them out isn't restoring, but rather being wasteful. These are things that I've learned the past few years myself. Another example is that there are seams on the back side of a plush, and you could use a seam ripper to open the fur up without having to use a scissors to cut a new hole. These are just some things to note.

Well, thank you for reading. I hope that sharing my learning experience with even a rare plush may teach you something. I'd rather you know about it now, than to ruin your vintage plush in the future...

Thank you for listening! ~ ggsdolls

Rare Rushton Finds!!

 The past month have been some of the most amazing finds since I've been collecting Rubber Face vintage plushies. I'm somewhat shocked honestly! But, definitely feeling blessed.

In my last two posts, I shared with you the adorable Clown by Rushton, which by the way thanks to Savannah of Oldsoulsvintage, I now know his name! It's "Bobo" the clown. So cute and fitting too! The Rushton poodle, Fifi, a sleepy bunny named, "Tipsy" who is now living in Germany with the sweet Sui there. Now, these I've added to my list of Rushton finds...

This amazing "Mother Goose" Rushton came to me nice and minty, with bright lime green fur. She still has her original tag, purse and bonnet. I was definitely surprised at how pristine she was. Though, I must admit, she was not an ISO. Now, she's grown on me. Haha! I also won this sweet Scarecrow Sam via auction and he was actually owned by the seller's grandmother and decided to sell him because they were moving. So, I was very pleased to adopt him and give him a home. I actually didn't do much of any restoring on either of them, because well they didn't really need it.

With the exception of Sam, just needing a few seam fixes and his hat to be sewn in place. His bowtie is not original, but it came with him so I will keep it on him. He's perfect for Halloween as well. Now, if I could just find my vintage ceramic pumpkin Jack. Ugh memory loss... LOL Just as with Mother goose, I didn't realize I would want Scarecrow Sam...

Above, I also was able to find both of these adorable large baby rattle dolls. I didn't realize how big they were until I got them in the mail!! Just adorable and precious. I will keep the pink and the blue one has already sold in my Etsy shop. Than, I also found these Disney Kokeshi dolls via Japan. They were in a lot which included Cinderalla with four mice, Lady and the Tramp, Dumbo with two crows, Three little pigs, and even what I thought was the mice from the 'Rescuers', but instead they were 'Bongo and Lulubelle'. I listed most of them earlier this past week and most were sold with the exception of Lady.

I found these adorable pastel colored mini pumpkin Halloween buckets. Just too cute! They were also in black and white. But I opted for these instead, and great for display too! I received my large plush diaper baby made by icecreambear10 shop from Mexico. Too cute and she giggles too! Just look at how big she is compared to my Rushton diaper baby!! Haha!

Another adorable child's pink suitcase with a Scottish Terrier pup on the front. I have a black one with a pink poodle as well and thought both are just kitschy cute to me. Lots of wear, but I just had to have it. If you noticed, the lining inside is similar to Margaret Holbrook painted cases. Silver painted stars inside. Perhaps these were common in child suitcases of the 1950s? It's very worn, but I love the coloring best!

Finally, I had some postcards made of my photos Diaper Baby taking a nap, and the adorable ceramic Bunny couple. I hope to make more. These are blank on the other side for you to send to family or friends! Already available in my Etsy shop! Well, that's all for now. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Happy treasure hunting!

Thank you for looking! ~ ggsdolls