Flickr Favourites: March 22, 2014

{The Fairy and The Child ~ Wendy}  


{Bluebells ~ yossarian6}  


{Fairy Godmother ~ Crafty Dogma}  


{Fairy wand cookies ~ Bubble and Sweet}  


{The child and the fairies ~ saltycotton}  


{Bunny by Sharon Montrose ~ blackeiffel}  


{Fairies of the Garden ~ redrickshaw}  


{Freshness of dew ~ Vicktor}  


{Mushroom Cha Cha ~ Kristin L}



{Around Fairyland with Alice ~ Tania Covo}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}
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Most of us, when we look back over our childhoods, have deeply fond memories of certain books that our parents (and/or other family members) read to us aloud each night before bed.

There are quite a few titles that fall into this camp for me (interestingly, though probably not overly surprisingly, several are timeless vintage classics such as Blueberries for Sal, Goodnight Moon, and Bread and Jam for Frances), one of which I think of at least a few times a year: Come Follow Me by Gyo Fujikawa (whose wonderful illustrations are, to my mind, amongst the most darling even created for children's books).




This book, whose complete title is Come Follow Me to the Secret World of Elves and Fairies and Gnomes and Trolls, is not a tome of fairy tales of the Hans Christian Andersen variety, but instead is an exquisitely illustrated collection of stories about fairies (and other similar wee folk) themselves.

It's probably eighteen or twenty years since I last turned the pages of this book, but I can still picture it with vivid clarity and find that as spring returns once more to nature's realm, my mind becomes enchanted with the idea of tiny fairies prancing through the garden, convening under toadstools, working industriously inside (hollowed out) fallen logs, and dancing in the moonlight.

People from countless cultures the world over have thought that fairies, sprites, pixies, gnomes, trolls, leprechauns, elves, and similar itty-bitty beings shared the earth with us for thousands of years now, though it's a belief that has all but disappeared from many in more recent times. That said, it's not entirely unheard of for wee folk to make the news still, with the Cottingly Fairies case being one of the best known in the last hundred years.

Much as I may have as a small child, I can't claim that as a scientifically minded adult, I think there's much of a likelihood that fairies and the charming ilk are real (awesome as that would be!), but that doesn't mean one can't daydream about such being the case and if it were, what kind of enchanting world they would call their own.

As we slowly thaw out from another bone chilling winter and the first beautiful signs of verdant life return, part of me feels like I'm four or five years old again, peering under fairy rings on our lawn, watching ever so closely between the crocuses and rhododendrons in the garden for signs of minuscule winged beings, and frolicking in the first gloriously warm rays of sunlight in several months, imagining all the while that I'm holding hands with a party of pixies.

Spring's return itself, though perhaps not quite as much so as it was for our ancestors in centuries past, remains a bit magical unto itself. Life starts anew in so many ways, the world is draped not in ice any longer, but in delicate dew. Suddenly the palette of the day is filled with soft pastels and vivid hues alike. Newborn animals step into their place in the circle of life, rain replaces snow, only to both vanish under the golden light of the glistening springtime sun.

It is a lively time, one of happiness and renewed hope, and where - swept up in the profound beauty of it - one cannot help but think how resplendent it would be if they were a fairy, down at grass blade height, to see this amazing changing of the seasons quite literally at ground level. As that's not possible, I'm more than happy to just get outdoors and soak up all the loveliness of this crisp, sweet, gorgeous season.

Perhaps I'll buy a copy of this book that I still love dearly all these years later, tuck it under my arm, and head out to meadow of wildflowers for an afternoon of carefree fairy filled stories of the sort that helped bring an extra dose of imagination fuelled joy to my earliest days. Care to come follow me?

A charming 1930s house fit for a fairy tale

✯ Day 231 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

There are many books from my childhood that I look back on with immense fondness. From Robert Munsch's entertainingly delightful Pigs to the endearingly sweet Bread and Jam for Frances, by the husband and wife writing and illustrating team of Russell and Lillian Hoban.

I was very fortunate that my parents filled my earliest days with great books and that they read to me often. One title that I simply could not get enough of was a whimsically charming book of stories about fairies and other similar fictional sprites called Come Follow Me by Gyo Fujikawa.

Though not a vintage book (it'd earn the title of retro at this point though), there was a timeless quality to the sweet, gorgeously illustrated stories that this hardcover book abounded with.

As I grew up I really did not retain a passion of fantasy stories (veering more towards non-fiction genres, especially history instead), however anytime I see something that reminds me of one of the stories in Come Follow Me, I'm transported back to being a five year old again, a mythical world of fairies dancing on the pages before my young eyes.

It was, of all things, the November 1938 cover of Better Homes and Garden magazine that swept me back through the years and brought memories of a childhood storybook to the forefront of my mind.

 

With its bay window, rusty brown hued tile roof, and pale brick walls teaming with verdant climbing vines, there's something so perfectly fairy tale-ish about this wonderfully pretty vintage home (the image of which comes by way of paul.malon on Flickr).

I could imagine a sweet old woman living there who put out saucers of milk for the neighbourhood cats each evening, unaware that it was the "little folk" who were coming to lap it up, living there.

Or perhaps a young woman with a wicked step-mother, waiting for her prince to come dashing into town on a white horse.

While I don't profess to be an expert of architecture, I can usually peg a house's style well. This darling home leaves me a tad baffled though. Is it English countryside (a style I adore), mid-century Connecticut? The longer I look at it, the more I feel it has vague Tudor elements. No matter what style you call it however, there's no denying that this beautiful 1930s house would make an amazing home.

I could so easily picture myself tending flowers in its garden, stringing laundry in backyard, setting a row of pumpkin against those lovely bricks come august, building a snowman on the lawn come winter.

It looks like a house with a sense of whimsy and elegance. And the longer I gaze at it, the more I adore it. Perhaps that's because, if I try really hard, I can just about see a fairy or two fluttering around those stately climbing vines, beckoning me to come follow them.

Paper Dolls of the World fabric is too cute for words!

✯ Day 147 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

A few days ago I was reflecting on some of my favourite books from my childhood and vaguely (but very fondly) recalled a series of young children's books that were shaped like figures dressed in national costumes from various countries around the world (and each title disused various elements of a certain culture/country).

…Or at least that's what I think they were - there's an even less likely chance that they were in the shape of, and about, people in various careers.

I fear my memories of these books are very, very murky, but I would love to find out what they were called and perhaps add some to my present day classic book collection. To that extent, I started combing the internet high and low (I actually sort of enjoy shot-in-the dark challenges that take a bit of sleuthing, last year I found two other unrelated books I had distant memories via some creative search terms and online elbow grease), but haven’t lucked out yet.

While I do not remember any specific titles, I do recall that one of the books featured an Inuit girl  (she was likely called "Eskimo" in those days, a term which is now generally seen as being derogatory) on the cover (I think she was sporting a fur trimmed parka).

It was when I was a very small child during the 80s that this series of books was read to me by my mother, however the books themselves may have been from the 70s (or even earlier). It's ever-so-slightly possible that they were from the UK (and there's a slight chance they might have been published by Ladybird Books, though I tried searching via that avenue and came up very empty handed).

In the midst of cruising around the web in the hopes of turning up these charming retro children's books, I came across a rather adorable fabric featuring images of vintage paper dolls (drawn in much the same way as the iconic Campbell's Soup kids) sporting traditional costumes from various world nations.

 

There are so many splendidly delightful uses that one could have for this Paper Dolls of the World fabric (which retails for $5.27 per 44" wide panel over at Fabric.com). You could turn it into throw (toss) cushions, decorate a skirt/blouse/apron/purse/book bag/etc, cut out the cloth paper dolls pair them with an equal sized backing, stuff them, and transform them into actual tiny dolls or even brooches.

You could snip them out for use on cards, scrapbook pages, and other paper craft projects. Frame one or more squares and use them as decorative art. You could even cut the panel into two rows of four squares and sew the two together into a small table runner for use at a potluck, ethnic foods gathering, Thanksgiving table, or other festive meal.

Of course, as fabric collectors the globe over know, you can  always just buy some of this fantastically sweet vintage paper doll patterned cloth and enjoy it exactly as is, too.

While I'm happy to have stumbled upon such a splendidly precious fabric to share with you all (and add to my craft supplies wish list!), I'm still on the prowl for that mysterious line of figure shaped children's books. Should they happen to ring a bell with anyone, please don't hesitate to let me know.

In the meantime, every now and then when a  new keyword combination springs to mind (or flicker of a memory that might reveal another clue), I'll keep hunting through sites like Flickr, Amazon, AbeBooks, and Google, in the hopes that these fun children's storybooks from the earliest days of my youth will spring up once more.

The exciting adventures of Cherry Ames, mystery solving WW2 nurse

✯ Day 82 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

All right vintage lovin' gals, hands up if you read Nancy Drew detective stories as a youngster? (*Enthusiastically thrusts hand in the air*) Now, hands up if you read Cherry Ames stories?

While perhaps not as famous as Nancy Drew, Cherry Ames was another beloved fictional female youth who broke onto the literary scene in the mid-20th century. Written by Helen Wells and Julie Campbell Tatham (each authored different books as opposed to collaborating on a story together),the myriad novels these ladies penned chronicled Cherry’s exciting adventures, and were favourites of mine as a youngster.

Though both Nancy’s and Cherry's tales were ones centered around mysteries, Cherry (whose full name was Charity) was a young nurse (the first two books in the 27 title series cover her time spent in nursing school) who held nursing positions in a variety of places, always ready and able to solve any strange conundrum that befell said medical establishments.

Though Cherry Ames books were written until 1968, they began during the war-torn year of 1943, and thus many of this bright and ambitious young nurse's first escapades deal with the world war that was in full force at the time. While these days few would raise an eyebrow at the idea of a female character in a girls' storybook series being a go-getter of a career woman, back when Cherry burst on the scene such fictional characters were relatively few and far between.

Cherry Ames' stories always struck me as being a bit more mature (though still entirely child-friendly in every sense) than Nancy Drew. It was fun to run around the house pretending to claw through cobweb covered attics and find clues in old clocks alla Nancy, but Cherry was a character I felt more like I wanted to emulate when I grew up. She was as much a role model to me as a girl in the (comparatively progressive) 80s and 90s, as she'd been for those in the 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s.

Whether you spent your youth thumbing through Cherry's tales or are just hearing about her for the first time today, you can quickly add a serious dose of vintage medical mystery charm to your (and/or your child's) bookshelf with the immensely lovely boxed sets of Cherry Ames books that I just discovered this week on Amazon.

Though recently manufactured, these delightfully lovely stories have been packaged with their original vintage cover art, and come housed in elegant boxed set holders that makes it instantly easy to place anywhere you'd like around the house.

A great place to start off your Cherry Ames collection is with the boxed set above, which contains the first four stories in this entertaining series. Comprised of a quartet of hardcover books, this wonderfully old school looking Cherry Ames boxed set is quite a steal at $26.37.

Whether you'd like to help Cherry solve exciting medical detective stories yourself or think you know a budding youngster with their eye towards becoming a nurse or doctor, these absorbing mystery novels are a seriously fun way to lose yourself in a great vintage book.