And Even More Ole! (From Stanley Furniture)

Here I go again, with even MORE photos of the glorious vintage "Ole" furniture made by Stanley Furniture Company back in the late 1960's.
This yellow set was offered for sale a while back at a place in Southern California.
Would that I could have driven down there, purchased it, and brought it all back home.
Alas, I could not - so these photos will have to suffice.
First we have a corner grouping with a hutch on top, four pieces in all their astounding yellow glory with green, orange and pink painted detailing:

 Here are two photos from a Stanley advertisement that show a  different corner unit set-up, with larger pieces on either side:

 As you can see, the cabinet on the left above is like this one, below:

 And I did find this one photo that has the same type of corner set-up as the one featured in the advertisement:

Here's a nice dresser:

And the nightstand - oh, how I LOVE this little piece!
That cut-out detailing, with the sort-of Moroccan style just kills me:

Here's the gorgeous headboard:

 And here's a photo of that same headboard from an old Better Homes And Gardens magazine :

 This isn't a good photo, but here's one more, featuring a pair of them:

You can see how those differ from the bed I found:

 Extreme close-up:

And here's another picture I found that IS like mine:

And I'm assuming this is an armoire, below - I rarely see photos of this piece:

 Last of all, I'll just throw in two more (poor) photos of Ole pieces in yellow, since that color is the focus of today's post - a different nightstand, with one drawer:

And the low dresser and mirror combo:

And there you have it, the latest in my series of Ole furniture posts.
Because I love it, and yes, I am obsessed with it - in ALL of it's colors, more than mere pictures and words can express.
Call me crazy if you like; I care not a whit.
I love it; I always will - and that is a fact that you can take to the bank.
(And if you're headed to the bank, take me with you, if you don't mind?
 And pull out enough money for me to buy one of these sets the next time I see it for sale - no matter where in the country it is located.
 Pretty please?
 Hey, you can't blame a girl for trying.....)


Please Note: If you are interested in this furniture, then I am happy you are reading my post(s). But this is just my personal blog, and I am not set up for trying to sell any Ole pieces you might have, so please don't try to contact me regarding furniture for sale. Unless you live in northern California, I wouldn't be able to buy it from you (and even if you are, I may not be able to afford it), and I'm not a furniture broker. I would suggest listing your pieces on eBay or Craig's List in your area to find a buyer.
 However, I certainly DO appreciate any comments from fellow lovers of Ole like myself, but comments including e-mails and/or phone numbers may not be published, or are subject to deletion.
Thank you.

Patterns From The Past: Simplicity 7456 A Cute Little Hand-Me-Down Dress & Shorts

Today's vintage pattern is Simplicity number 7456:

You could choose the dress alone, with or without pockets, or you could make the version with the epaulets at the shoulder, and the matching shorts to go underneath:

My sister Lori chose the latter version when she made this for herself back in 1967 or so.
 I'm sorry this photo, below is not a very good one - but I simply had to share it because she is wearing her dress!
The epaulets and pockets (and I think, maybe the shorts?) were a solid bright green, which matched the green in the adorable print fabric.
 That's me in the hat, and we are with our Mother.

I was delighted when Lori outgrew the cute outfit, because then it came to me!
And I am pretty sure I loved it as much as she did.
I mean, I remember wearing it until it simply didn't fit anymore, or it was falling apart - or maybe kind of both.
I even chose to wear it on class picture day, as you can see in my last photo, here:

And that talented little seamstress , whom I used to PAY to sew for me, because she could whip things up, while I seemed to spend agonizing hours at the sewing machine, making mistakes?
She happens to be celebrating a birthday today.
And I am headed over to see her, and my sister Tina, too!
Happy Birthday, Lori!!

The Fabulous Ole Furniture By Stanley, Once Again

I have more photos of the fabulous vintage "Ole" furniture from Stanley that I ADORE to show you today.
I think these pictures may have been from eBay, a while back?
The furniture was for sale, and you have to know that I'd have purchased it all, had I been able!
A dresser:

Desk with hutch top - oh, be still my heart!

Headboard:

The bed and a nightstand:

The nightstand alone:

And  the nightstand again, below - because it isn't possible to have too many photos of this insanely fantastic set of furniture:

A low bureau:

Along with the mirror that is meant to top it:

And the double dresser:

The two together:

And a chair or stool that is truly too cool for school:

And we will leave you with reflections on the absolute furniture of my dreams.....

.... my childhood dreams that remain intact, to this very day - and always will.

Make Some Old-Fashioned Valentine Cards With A Kit

Who remembers making Valentine cards when we were kids?
I do.
And I think I may even have one or two around here someplace that I made!

 Does anyone do that anymore?

 Well, I was hoping somebody might want to when I put together these kits.

 My kits include stickers, paper, envelopes, heart doilies, Victoriana-style postcards, and a few color copies of vintage Valentines, plus a couple of tiny original vintage unused Valentines
and some vintage, unused Love postage stamps.

 Each kit varies just a little.

 Pink and red and white paper, and lacy heart-shaped paper doilies in a variety of sizes.......

They are available in my Etsy shop Cool Paisley Cat, and if you purchase one and let me know that you found it through my blog, I will throw in one of these vintage mechanical Valentine cards with your kit.

This offer is limited to the first four kits purchased, as I have a limited quantity available - and you must let me know.
(Please do not do so by leaving a comment on this post.)
 You can do this either by e-mailing me (click on my name HeidiAnn under "Contributors" in the right side margin of this blog page), or by adding a message when you make your purchase on Etsy.

Paintings By Mr. Collins, Part Two

I'm back today with Part Two; I wanted to show you some more paintings done by Mr. Tom Collins, father of my dear friend Colleen, and principal of our elementary school Gold Oak Union in Placerville, California, where both Lori and I attended school from Kindergarten through eighth grade and Tina from 2nd through 8th.
Mr. Collins was there from 1963-1968.
(Oh - and the names of the principals before and after Mr. Collins served, were Claire Carter (prior), and then later, after they'd moved to Washington, Neil Armstrong. Please if I have misspelled either of their names, someone let me know and I will gladly correct my error. I remember both of them well, also - and Mrs. Carter was a friend of our Mother's.)

We'll start with this lovely painting, below - I can't even tell you how much I love the colors in this one!

 That sunset sky, and the reflection!

More favorite colors in this lovely scene, ahh .. serene and majestic in blues and greens:

A snow-covered countryside and a fabulous old farmhouse and outbuildings - love!

More greens and blues again, here, and a mirrored surface on the water - this one's a beauty, too:

He must have loved the mountains, yes?

And what prettier settings to paint could there be, I ask you?

I think every single one is gorgeous.

It was so nice to catch up with my childhood friend, and she may be able to come to California for a visit, some time before too very long.
I certainly hope that it happens!
Here is a portion of our fourth grade (Mrs. Ashley's) class photo from the same yearbook as the faculty page I shared yesterday (1966):

That's Colleen in the back, at left, and me in the front on the left.
Our other classmates seen in this partial (cropped) class photo are, from the back to front, and from left to right: Jean Ernsdorf and Judy Martin next to Colleen, Gary Harp and Rick Linson in front of them, Keith Windell and Gael Newman in front of them, Tom Sarette and David Quigley, and next to me in the front is Mona Vanderlinden. (If you're reading this - hi everybody!!)
And here is a picture of Colleen and me, taken by Lori this past May:

(She had taken us out to breakfast at The Buttered Biscuit in  Sumner, Washington - which was another fantastic dining experience we had on that trip, by the way! 
I mean, just take a gander at this plate of food:

Thanks again for everything, Colleen and Bruce; we enjoyed our stay SO very much!)
And I'll leave you with this lovely recent photo of Colleen and her adorable grandson, Snowden (what a great name!):

And this picture, below, which I took of the beautiful double rainbow that greeted us as we were walking toward the movie theater the evening we were there.

  What a delightful sight that was, and how fitting, you know?
It was if the skies above were also celebrating the wonderful time we had getting together again after so many (far TOO many) years!