Collecting Cats and Dogs

Look at what I found at an estate sale this weekend for $3! 

It's a framed vintage Buzza motto and I love the sentiment and the fitting artwork: a faithful friend awaiting a loved one's return.

According to the Hennigan County Library in Minnesota, "George Buzza founded the Buzza Company [in Minneapolis] in 1907. The company started out by selling college advertising posters and posters for retail clothing stores. When the market for these disappeared, he decided to manufacture greeting cards".  Framed mottos like this one were added and by 1927 sales reached $2.5 million. The Buzza Company continued in business until 1942.

Although the little gem pictured above is a "keeper" for my own collection,  I do have quite a few more cat and dog treasures available for adoption right now in my other Etsy shop, CurioCabinet.  Here are just a few to wet your whistle:

Scotty Dog Tie Clip

A classic retro tie clip or money clip for your favorite Scotty Dog Dude...This unique Art Deco piece features a reverse painted image of a Scotty Dog under convex glass set on goldtone metal.

I have black cats on the brain, thanks to the recent arrival of our little foundling, Inka, so I am particularly fond of this little glass plate: 

Black cat glass plate

This is a vintage bent glass dish or ash tray by Houze featuring a black cat and the words "Have a purrfect birthday . The L. J. Houze Convex Glass Company was formed in Point Marion, Pennsylvania in 1914 by Leon J. Houze and his son, Roger J. Houze. In 1952 the company developed the ‘smoked glass’ product line of screen printed trays, souvenir items, and even a line of formal dinnerware under the ‘Houze Art’ trade name. 

Here's the perfect something to help organize the desk in a pampered poodle home:

Poodle Pen Holder

 This vintage faithful friend will keep your vintage pen at hand whenever you need it (pen not included..It doesn't write anymore anyway).

Check out all of my treasures currently for sale here:  CurioCabinet.

Thanks for visiting!

Grandma's Doll Wants To Find Her Name... Vote For Your Favorite!

Grandmas's Doll and I want to thank everyone for the many beautiful and old-fashioned names that were suggested in the "Doll Who Lost Her Name Giveaway"! Actually, I loved ALL of them but had to whittle it down to my five absolute favorites, and here they are:

• Emmaline
• Isadora
• Viola
• Adelaide
• Evangeline

Now it's your turn to vote for your favorite and help this dolly find her name!  You'll find a poll at the top of the right hand column of this blog here you can make your preference known.  The poll will be open until Wednesday at 9 p.m. PDT.  There will also be a poll on my Facebook page-- you may vote once here and once there.

In the mean time, I've drawn THREE winners at random from all of those who suggested a name.  Each winner will get to choose a set of 5 bookmark/gift tags.  The winners are: Queen B, Paddy's Katy R., and Erika. Congratulations!   I'll be contacting you shortly to find out your prize choice and your mailing info... 

Thank you  to everyone who participated!!! You can read all of the wonderful suggestions at the end of the original blog post.

The Doll Who Lost Her Name [A Giveaway]

This charming cat lady has a story or two to tell. Her fragile china head, now 125 years old, has survived the love of many little girls, but like many older heads, it sometimes loses track of things.  Like places. And dates. And worst of all, names.  

This much she remembers:

 

In 1887 a little girl was born to the Cornwell family in Louisiana, and her name was Mabel Lavancha.  Mabel had four older brothers and two older sisters and somewhere along the way this beautiful china-head dolly with the blue eyes became hers, a precious hand-me-down.  

Mabel made a beautiful necklace of cast-off glass beads for her dolly, with two bright red beads that matched the dolly's stylishly red high-top "shoes".

Decades passed and Mabel became a mother, and then a grandmother, and she came to live in the corner room of her daughter's house.  The dolly sat in a place of honor on top of the oak dresser and when little granddaughter Susie asked nicely, she was allowed to hold grandma's doll and pretend to be the little prairie girl's loving mother. 

Many more decades passed and little Susie became Susan Faye and Grandma's Doll now sits in a place of honor in her home, with a little adopted Steiff cat to keep her company.

But somewhere along the decades, the dolly lost her name! Perhaps Grandma simply forgot the doll's name in her later years.  Maybe Susie just never asked. To Susie, she was always referred to as "Grandma's Doll" or "The China Head Doll".

It's time for "Grandma's Doll" to have a REAL name again!  What do you think her name is? Leave your suggestion in the comments section of this post.  Next Sunday, July 15,  I will pick my five favorites and we will put it to a vote.

 

Each person who suggests a name will be entered into a random drawing.  On Monday, July 16, I will pick THREE names and each will receive their choice of a set of 5 bookmark/gift tags from my Etsy Shop.

Garden Cat Gift Tag/ Mini Bookmark Set

Please make sure that I have a way to contact you if you are the winner, such as a link to your blog or e-mail address included in the comment.

Summer Garden Gift Tag/ Mini Bookmark Set

 You may send the info directly to my email if you don't want to make your contact info public.

Also, if you encounter trouble with the Comments feature, please contact me by e-mail. If you visit www.susanfaye.net , you will find an email link.


Grandma's Doll and I thank you for your help!!

Dreaming of Summer Seashores

Clear skies, cool breezes and soft sunbeams have been flirting with me. Lately this is my favorite color combo: the tranquil aqua blue hues of the surf, the pale golden tan of the sand. Hmmmm, summer must be just around the bend... 

Etsy is one of my favorite places to surf, and here are some beautiful things that caught my eye recently: 

Click here to visit this Etsy treasury

I hope you enjoy this treasury, and if you do, please click on the images, comment, favorite it, tweet and share it... it it would be SO much fun if it were to make it onto the front page of Etsy! Almost as much fun as dreaming about summer seashores... 

Enjoy!

Collecting Cats and Dogs

Cat Lady Rose Gates wears many hats. Not only is she a founding member of Angelcat Haven Feline Rescue and a Petfinder phototographer, she also writes the "Kitty Corner" column in the Pet Day section of the Sun Chronicle Newspaper in Massachusetts. I was thrilled to be mentioned in this week's column about collecting cats! You can read the article here: Cat Items Purr-fect Gifts for Collectors


Speaking of collecting cats (and canines too!) here are a few of the offerings direct from my storage shed that are for sale this week as I continue in my quest to thin down my own collection:

TEAK CAT AND MOUSE BOOKENDS

These cool cats are from the 1960s and are up for auction on Ebay! But you'd better act fast-- the auction ends tonight, Friday March 9th. Click here for more information and to place a bid: Teak Cat Bookends

RUNNING DOG FRIENDS VINTAGE PLANTER

This happy duo are off to find mischief, no doubt. The auction for this vintage pottery planter ends tomorrow, Saturday March 10, at around 6 p.m. Pacific Time. Click here for more info: Running Dogs

BONZO DOGS ANTIQUE SALT AND PEPPER

Bonzo the Dog was a fictional cartoon character first created in 1911 by George Studdy, and he became wildly popular. His likeness adorned all manner of things, including household goods like these salt and pepper shakers. These are currently for sale in my Curio Cabinet Shop on Etsy for $12. Click here for more info: Bonzo Shakers

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Do you collect the collectible kind of cats or canines? We'd love to see photos of your collection! Here are some of the figurines I've collected over the years, and below is but a small sampling of Cat Lady Rose's collection of sparkly and fun vintage cat brooches! Show us photos of your own collection of vintage cats, dogs, or other animal collectibles on my Facebook page and with your permission, I'd love to feature them in future blog posts. (you must be a "liker" of my FB page before you will be able to post pictures there...)

Happy Collecting!

Do You Collect Cats or Canines?

If you collect the REAL kind of kitty or canine, it's good to remember that Tuesday is World Spay Day, an annual event of The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International to inspire people to save animals' lives by spaying or neutering pets and feral cats. If your pets are already spayed or neutered, you may want to make a donation to one of the agencies providing low-cost services, to enable someone else to spay their pets at a low cost. You'll find lots of great information here, including a locator for finding low-cost spaying and neutering: WORLD SPAY DAY 2012


If you collect the collectible kind of cats or canines, we'd love to see photos of your collection! Below is but a small sampling of Cat Lady Rose's collection of sparkly and fun vintage cat brooches! Show us photos of your own collection of vintage cats, dogs, or other animal collectibles on my Facebook page (you must be a "liker" of the page before you will be able to post pictures there...)

Cat Lady Rose is one of the founders of Angelcat Haven, an all-volunteer, non-profit organization dedicated to rescuing the homeless and stray cats in the vicinity of Plainville, MA, who are in need of a HAVEN while waiting for their loving new homes. Find out more about their participation in low-cost altering of cats as part of Spay Day, and vote for Simon Gates in the Spay Day Photo Contest here!

Here are a couple of "keepers" from my own collection of collectibles:
salt and pepper shakers!

A couple of svelte and winking twins

And some of Disney Figaro Cat's long, lost cousins...

Currently up for adoption in my Etsy Curio Cabinet: DOGS IN HATS SHAKERS

These little lustreware cuties are looking for a new home and are ready for any climate in their jaunty caps! See what else I have for sale in my Curio Cabinet here.

Thanks for visiting!

Collecting Cats

In kindergarten I was taught the virtues of sharing. So as I continue to unearth treasures from my storage shed, I am very determined to share the wealth. I am sorting my kitty and canine collectibles as either "keepers" or "adoptees"...some for me and some for you!

Here is a vintage Valentine "keeper", something a kindergartner might have received back in the 30s or 40s. At first glance it looks mighty sweet, but upon closer examination it would appear that having your heart pierced with an arrow might be a little bloody. Sheesh! I'd sleep with one eye open too if I were that kitten!

Another "keeper" is this Kitty Cucumber Clown Juggler ornament from 1985. It was a gift to me that year, the first year that Kitty Cucumber hit the gift shops. It has been on my Christmas tree for over 25 years now.

According to the Smithsonian Institution Reasearch Information System, "Kitty Cucumber (a cat character) first appeared in 1985, in a die-cut booklet produced by B. Shackman & Company, Inc. This firm has sold toys and printed materials since 1898. The Victorian-style Kitty's name was invented by the daughter of the president of the company for a favorite doll. Her mother [Mary Peters Lillemoe] designed the Kitty Cucumber now used on a variety of products, such as books, paper dolls, and art work."

I have two different Kitty Cucumber "adoptees" in my Vintage Etsy Shop this week. First is a collectible revolving music box from 1989 featuring a cat doctor and kitten. It plays "You've Got A Friend". Wouldn't this be a cute gift for a veterinarian?


The second adoptee is a Kitty Cucumber dealer's sign from 1987, one that a gift shop owner would put out with a display of Kitty Cucumber figurines.

Click on either image for more details.

And may you have a lovely day filled with chocolate, fun, and love (and NO arrows!)

The Poodle-Pup-In-Pink Mystery

As mentioned a few days ago, I have a penchant (a nice way of saying crazy obsession) for collecting small vintage cats and dogs. Among my favorites are several Steiff miniature animals from the 1950s. These mohair cuties are each 4-5 " long with movable heads and glass eyes and I adore them.

They are keepers.

So last summer, when I got to tag along with the menfolk and go to The Great Oregon Steam-up (a country fair devoted to steam-powered antique machinery!), I was thrilled to find this darling little poodle at the flea market there:

I knew by her detailed features that she was a Steiff poodle from the 50's or 60's and I was amused that someone had taken such care to dress her in a pink taffeta and lace skirt with a bejeweled ribbon around her neck.

When I peeked under the skirt, I found a very professional tag that said "Helen Ratkai is my Couturiere". Who was Helen Ratkai? Was she somebody's funny grandmother? Was she a ditzy doggy dame? Was she a famous designer? Was it time to call the History Detectives?

No, it was time to do a little Googling. After a bit of research I discovered that Ms. Ratkai was a fine art artist in New York who also dressed hundreds of different Steiff animals back in the 50's and 60's and they were sold through Lord & Taylor and FAO Schwarz. And apparently these little creations are now highly collectible! A very informative article can be found at The Teddy Bear & Friends website:
Helen Ratkai Is My Couturiere...But Who is Helen Ratkai?


Now we all know that due to space limitations I can no longer keep all of my keepers and I am thinning out the menagerie. So I have put this little cutie up for auction on Ebay, and the auction ends tonight at around 9:30 PST. Click here if you would like to check out what the bid is currently at. Will it go sky high or will somebody get a real deal? I'm on pins and needles and can't wait to see what happens!

(And if you happen to find this little poodle-pup-in-pink completely irresistible, you are certainly welcome to throw in your own bid!)

Thanks for visiting!

I Have A Problem...

There is more than one way to earn the distinction of being called a "Crazy Cat Lady."

The most obvious, of course, is to have a lot of actual cats in your home. The kind that meow and purr and charm their way into your heart.

Another way to qualify as a Crazy Cat Lady might be to paint several hundred paintings of cats, often with their people.

I've discovered yet another way to enjoy cats of every kind in one's home-- but this technique does not involve loose fur, allergies, annoyed neighbors, or shredded armchair arms. Which leads to my problem:

I collect cats of the collectible kind.

Old ones, nostalgic ones, curious ones, tiny ones, retro ones.

They must be vintage, charming, small and very inexpensive. I adopt them from yard sales, flea markets, rummage sales, and estate sales. I have been doing it for 25 years. I can't stop.

You might notice that there are also a few canine cuties in the mix. Yes, I also collect dogs. And here is my problem: This box of collectible curios is only but a small fraction of my little darlings. And I have moved into a new house where I have fewer places to display my magnificent menagerie. And I have a deep, dark, secret fear that the producers of "Hoarders" are going to show up on my doorstep any day now. And that's where you come in.

I'm hoping that you might find it in your heart to give some of these treasures a new home. Over the coming months I will be putting a lot of my collectible felines and canines up for adoption. A few on Ebay, but mostly in my Other Etsy Shop: Sweet Sue's Curio Cabinet. If you choose to adopt one or more, you must promise to love them and cherish them and most of all, to keep them dusted.

Here are a few items that have already been listed (click on photo for more info):




Stay tuned, and thanks for your help. (And don't you dare breathe a word of this to "Hoarders")

Can You Say "Scherenschnitte"?

It's a German word that means "scissor cuts". It describes the beautiful folk art tradition of cutting paper into elaborate designs and silhouettes; one that began in Switzerland and Germany in the 16th century and is still practiced today.


One of my favorite treasures in my house is an exquisite example of this art form. I spied it at the bottom of a boxed lot of miscellaneous frames and art at an auction twenty years ago. Keeping my fingers crossed that no one else would recognize that it was an original papercut, and not just a print of a silhouette, I placed my bids. I was delighted to get the entire box for only $25!

The silhouette is a single piece of black paper that has been cut into a charming and intricate storybook image. I love everything about it and I'm fascinated by the amazing details. I could look at it for hours! In the lower right corner is the very faded signature of the paper cutter: Lotte G___ (can't make out the last name), Berlin.

What do you think that whiskered kitty has on its mind?!?

(By the way, "Scherenschnitte" is pronounced Sharon-sh-net, if German or Sharon-sh-net-ah if Swiss).

I have an even greater appreciation for paper-cutting now that I've begun to make my little dioramas. My paper-cutting skills are crude at best when compared to Lotte's, but I'm having great fun nonetheless. Here is my latest endeavor-- it features garden cats Mario and Bella, enjoying the beauty of Mother Nature, now available in my Etsy Shop:

Thanks for visiting!