Aqua Blue Heaven Friday? Make That Halloween Friday!

Attention, please. Attention, please! We interrupt this program to bring you breaking news! Aqua Blue Heaven Fridays has been temporarily cancelled! It will be replaced with what is now being called "Halloween Fridays". Please do not be alarmed. There is no need to panic! We come in peace and bring you tidings of great things to come! We'll now return to your regularly scheduled program. That is all. (And buy war bonds!)

Welcome to what used to be Aqua Blue Heaven Friday! OK, so don't freak. It still is, but starting today and for the next 4 fridays, I'm going to be swapping out the aqua theme and doing all Halloween-themed fridays! I'll still be showcasing vintage items, just ones that have to do with Halloween. You know me: I love themes! I love making lists! I love collections! And I love this time of year! So it only seems right to get a little wacky this month. Calm down, I'll be bringing back aqua starting the first friday of November and all will be right with the world as you know it again. Change is good, right? So they say. I dunno, I fear change but somehow this one is gonna rock! Or so I say.

So let's move on with the very first Halloween Friday! Today's Halloween theme is the pumpkin and the jack o-lantern, because, of course it should start out that way. Enjoy, boils and ghouls! (Ha! And just think: it only just begun. The bad puns only get worse from this point, and you have a whole month of dealing with them! You're welcome.)




Vintage Autumn Pumpkins Novelty Print Blouse.





Vintage Corocraft Rhinestone Pumpkin Pin.





Vintage 50's Autumn Harvest Novelty Print Tablecloth.





Vintage Mini Halloween Cake Toppers.





Vintage 60's Electric Jack O'Lantern Lights.

1970's Spiegal Walks The Line...Fembots Not Included

You know I can't resist a good vintage catalog to mock. Usually Spinnerin mags are my game but I don't know, Spiegal (of all things!) is starting to raise in ranks on the scale-o-cheese. I never really gave the history of Spiegal a second thought. Or a first, really. But apparently their roots go back as far as the late 1800's (I did not know that) and are tied to Eddie Bauer and Newport News. I look about as normal wearing that stuff as a PTA mom dressed in head-to-toe patent leather catsuit and a matching ball gag. (Note to self: Start death metal band. Name it "Sado-Masochistic PTA Moms".)

But that's neither here nor there. The fact is, Spiegal has had mail order catalogues around for a long-ass time and this is the first I've ever run across one. Behold the majesty and wonderment Spiegal offered the masses in 1971:



Wow. I mean...good god, man. It's a bit like a car crash, isn't it? So horrifically gruesome yet you can't stop looking. Those are some...sigh...hot ensembles you ladies are rocking. But now we see where the inspiration for Austin Powers came from. "Always a step ahead", you say? Umm. Suuuure. We'll just go with that.


But I wonder what sort of exotic fabrics and luxurious details the suits have?...



Acrylic and elastic waists, because, of course they are.


But wait, there's more! Spiegal has so much more to offer than just ladies' casual lounge slacks! Spiegal is tops when it comes to the modern hi-fi record machines and super hep to the rock and/or roll sounds of what the kids are into these days! See?...



A Johnny Cash record album AND a red, white & blue patriotic home turntable? Oh, Spiegal. You had me at "Stereo-Phono"...

Wait a second...before I hand over my Diners Club card, lemme just read the fine print here...



Johnny Cash for your "mod mood"? Say WHA?! Oh, Spiegal. You don't know me. You don't know me at all. Looks like I'm a one-Spinnerin kind of gal after all.


(Thanks to Camp Vintage, who currently is offering this vintage Spiegal for sale!)

Way-Out Wednesday: Upcycling Gone Wild

Time for another Way-Out Wednesday, kids! I've talked alot about upcycling lately, and figured I should probably give a quick lesson on what it is before I keep going on about it, for those who aren't quite sure what it is. Upcycling is basically taking something that isn't perfect as a whole anymore but has perfectly usable bits & pieces to it. So you salvage what you can from it and use those good parts for something else. It's a very WWII 1940's-esque way of living: use it up, use it out then turn it into something new and use it again. (Taking off the buttons from a trashed dress that can no longer be worn and using them on something else is an example.) So I think it's safe to say we're all for that, right? Recycling is good, upcycling is grand, yada yada yada.

BUT. And this is a big "but" (hey-yo!): there's a limit to which one should upcycle. Can it go too far? This writer says "hells yes!". At what point do you say enough is enough? When you make small children cry is probably your cue to stop.

I have big love for people with imaginative minds and hands that need to create. I like wacky, twisted and bizarre art as much as the next guy. I appreciate it and I can "get" where they're coming from. But even this has me a little uneasy. Brava, crafty chick Vintage Meg, you rocked it....





Why yes, that is a doll's head mounted to an old trumpet surrounded by skeleton keys, clock gears, tape measures, parts of a child's toy, old typewriter keys and doll parts, thank you for asking.


Perhaps a closeup will clear things up a bit...






Nope! I think it just blinked at me... Go to a safe and happy place...Care Bears and puffy stickers...Care bears and puffy stickers....

And The Winner Is...

...Lizzie AKA Fuzzylizzie! Step right up and claim your fabulous vintage angora sweater from last Tuesday's giveaway! Lizzie, just drop me an email with your name & address and we'll get this show on the road. Mucho thanks to everyone to played along!

I'll be running October's Vintage Giveaway a little early in the month (most likely in the next 2 weeks), so you have plenty of time to use it. Here's a hint: it's vintage Halloween-themed. *enter creepy organ music here* Get ready to rock, kids. So stayed tuned!

Atomic Tuesday: Telstar

Welcome to a very late Atomic Tuesday!



Did you ever wake up with a song on your mind and you can't get rid of it? It just keeps replaying over and over in your head, like a scene out of Groundhog Day, only not funny and more annoying. This morning I woke up with "Telstar" playing in my noggin'. Why? No clue! Just one of those things. Not that I mind, I love that crazy little instrumental. Just not on a loop for 12 straight hours. I figured maybe if I write about it and put it out there in the universe, it'll leave me the hell alone already so I can move on to getting another song stuck in my head, only next time it'll be something putrid like the Macarena or some equally dumb crap.


Great.



Well that sucks.



Now I have the Macarena stuck in my head.




While cruising around on Etsy, I found a crafty seller who makes these atomic necklaces in era-correct colorways like olive greens, oranges and mustard yellows. And just like the song Telstar, how very 1962. The seller is Psychotic Reaction and makes each one with copper wire. She'll probably even make one in a specific color if you ask nicely. I like 'em. I like 'em alot!





A necklace tree!