Showing posts with label Dolls. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dolls. Show all posts

Thursday, October 31, 2013

The Second Life: A Halloween Doll Pictorial




This is the incredibly true story of how one peculiar doll found a second life. 
Well, it's mostly true...

One damp, dark day while browsing the Goodwill I came across a doll. In truth, I came across many dolls that particular day. But this one was especially sad. It looked as if she had long since expired. Her worn face, her heavy lids and ratted hair showed signs that she had, in fact, been played-with to death.

But there was a store special that day, in which one item below $4 was free. I gently picked up the doll corpse and brought her to the checkout counter, much to the horror of the cashier. 

So the ragged plaything came home with me and sat lifelessly with the other dolls. Until...one mischievous day, she came to life. Imagine my surprise!

In eager anticipation of Halloween, this doll wanted nothing more than to visit the local orchard for some fresh picked apples. 




So off she went, over the hills and through the forrest until she reached a lovely little apple orchard far, far away. 








She reached her tiny outstretched fingers and plucked the very best apples she could find from the tallest trees. Soon the entire basket was filled and she was ready to start her long trek home. 





And with her basket filled with shiny red apples, the determined little doll made it all the way through the dark forrest and down the hill. And as you might imagine, she was quite tired from such a long journey.


So she laid her head down in a pile of crisp autumn leaves and fell fast asleep. Soon it was dark and I was worried where my doll had gone. So I peeked through the curtains from my window. And who did I find peacefully lying in the backyard...but that same thrift store doll.

So, kiddies, the lesson learned is that all items...even the spooky ones...once salvaged from the thrift store, are given a wonderful opportunity for a second life. Happy Halloween! 

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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Just Gettin' Dolled Up



Anyone care to venture a guess on what I'm being for Halloween this year? 
...........

Well here's a sneak peek of the thrifted find that inspired the entire costume idea.




And once I get the whole ensemble picture-perfect, you thrifters will be the first to see the finished product. 

Now, don't worry. I have plenty of thrift-friendly costume ideas to go around. So if you're short on some cost-saving costume ideas, click back over in the coming weeks for my series  of Halloween-themed thrift posts.

Who else is planning on hitting the thrift for their Halloween costume this year? 








Saturday, May 12, 2012

Come One, Come All To....


...The Creepy Time Spectacular! 


Turn the volume up, the lights down and expand to full-screen for some frightful thrifted finds set to some equally creepy music. 

I may not have a stage or a studio to display my creepy collection of thrifted playthings. But I still have YouTube, damn it! And this is just the first of what will be many videos, slideshows and perhaps even podcasts from Let's Go Thrifting! I hope to feature thrifted collections, thrifty tips, thrift-spirational stories and more. Be sure to tune in to the Let's Go Thrifting YouTube channel again in the future.

So, if I didn't scare you all away...what thrifted finds would be cast in your Creepy Time Spectacular? 


Don't forget to enter The Really Cool Notebook Giveaway!! 

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Let's Go Thrifting recommends...

Remember these grade school scares? 

Wednesday, May 2, 2012

True Tales of Thrifted Terror

"Hi there! Wanna play?"


I've always loved horror moves. Don't ask me why crazed killers, mysteries of the macabre or demonically possessed playthings are appealing. I guess that, in most cases, the horror genre is such an elaborate demonstration of fiction. And maybe it's this totally false imagery and information that I'm attracted to...in seeing just how far the imagination can reach to scare the living crap out us. 

So it's no surprise that I've begun a little collection fit for just this occasion. Welcome to the True Tales of Thrifted Terror. 

And with this thrifted doll, the imagination doesn't have to reach very far at all. Just look at it. 

Oddly reminiscent of Hannibal. Am I right? 


Evil baby doll says, "I don't do tea parties." 



This porcelain doll was salvaged from the Montgomeryville Impact for $1.50

I don't know much about it except for it's off-set blue eyes, painted lashes and brows, creepy grin and...oh yeah...missing scalp!?!? Maybe it was attacked during some sort of zombie-doll apocalypse? 


Sweet dreams, thrifters. 


Until next time...keep those creepy dolls locked in the basement where they belong. Or just don't buy them in the first place. Leave that to the professionals. Now if you will excuse me, I have to install a new deadbolt on the bedroom door. 


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Let's Go Thrifting recommends...

Grace Kelly in Barbie form! Classy. 



Tuesday, December 20, 2011

What The Thrift!? An Army of Undead Dolls

Lately the 2nd Ave Value Store has been home to a veritable undead battalion of baby dolls. Planning to stage a coup at your child's next show and tell? You'll have no trouble recruiting a doll-at-arms here.

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What The Thrift!? is also linked to WTF? Tuesday at Sir Thrift A Lot. Check it out!

Saturday, October 29, 2011

And Now For Something Completely Different...

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While photographing some items soon to hit my Etsy shop, I decided for an impromptu shoot of another kind. Some of you may remember my dear sister Ashley buying me my very own Blythe doll for my birthday back in May? Well after a bit of searching on Etsy and eBay, I found some lovely little props for her. And since I've been working with creepy dolls, I've decided that it's high time for something cute. 

So please welcome Blythe in her first professional photo shoot. 

This is Blythe. And she's terribly busy!





Don't you love that little outfit? The red sailor shirt and polka dot skirt were bought on consignment from the official Blythe website. And yes, those are teeny, tiny little gold Converse shoes!

The vintage Barbie telephones were found on Etsy and the lovely little sofa, lamp and coat rack were found on eBay. 

I wish my local thrifts would start sprouting up all the vintage Barbie clothes and props I could use for future Blythe shoots. But either no one is donating them or all these goodies just aren't making it to the sales floor. Because all I seem to find are naked, knotted hair Barbie dolls. 

I guess this just serves to say that while the random miscellany of the thrift offers a lot of mystery and some big payoffs, it's nice to know that anything you ever could want is online.

Until next time, happy thrifting...and online bargain hunting!

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

The Thrifted Life...and Death

"Have you seen my little knife?"

Halloween will soon be upon us. But fear not.  Let's Go Thrifting! is back from the dead. Well, actually I just like to think as our temporary departure a mere hiatus due to technical difficulty. After a long and painful illness, my laptop was finally put to rest. And in its place I received the best gift of all, a MacBook Pro. Hurrah! Yippie! 

While I am still in the process of transferring files and getting accustomed to all of these applelicious functions, I have decided at long last to resume Let's Go Thrifting! 

I have, however, made an editorial decision regarding the scheduling of posts. Always favoring quality over quantity in my published writing, I've decided to expand my efforts in other areas of my life. And rather than than make quick, subpar posts to fit the 3x week editorial schedule, I will commit to updating Let's Go Thrifting! on an as-thrifted basis. I'm not going to force material to make self-imposed deadlines. While I wish I had the time and money to put into thrifting, crafting and flea marketing more often to make for better, more frequent posts I must say that there are other commitments that demand my time.

While I will post with some regularity, I think you'll find Let's Go Thrifting to be seemingly random...much like our real life adventures in the thrift. But do keep reading. I still have a few tricks and treats up my sleeve...just in time for Halloween.


What delightfully undead finds have you thrifted lately? 





Wednesday, June 29, 2011

The Thrifted Life: Oh! The Horror!

It has been a considerable amount of time since last considering a serious pursuit into writing fiction. I’ve spent so many hours in earning a byline with magazines, newspapers and online media that I’ve lost touch with the ability for suspended belief that fiction so gratuitously grants.

To honor the conscious decision toward a new career path in fiction, I’ve decided to dedicate a space here on the blog for some of the inspiration behind one of my favorite fictional genres.

For me the love for horror started early. At six years old I was a little too young to read H.P. Lovecraft or Stephen King. But visually, I was ready for a good scare.

The day I saw my first horror movie was monumental. Before my parents loaded the VCR with the rental from West Coast Video they sat me down on the sofa and explained to me that what I was about to see wasn’t real. It was just a story, they said. It’s fiction and that means it isn’t real. And with that being said we sat down for a family viewing of Child’s Play.

Chucky Doll Group
As you can see, I've collected a few killer dolls. The medium Chucky was thrifted for $2. The tiny Chucky was won in a crane game. Also note the plush Sadako from the J-horror movie Ringu. She was an incredible ebay find.

Of course I was terrified. But it the was type of fleeting reaction that was soon replaced with excitement and wonder. In the years that followed I came to write a few short stories and a half-attempt at a screenplay in the horror genre, all in trying to capture that same adrenaline I felt sitting in front of the TV screen when I six years old.

Lately I’ve been dreaming up a few nightmares I hope to one day share. But until then, thrifters, here are a few secondhand finds you may find a bit horrifying.


This thrifted Wolfman was $2.50.
His eyes are rather menacing.


I love this photograph of an abandoned family estate first built in 1908. Haunted perhaps?

 
I may love the personal description of the photo even more. Thank you Bill Osbourne from 1949.
 

Horror Books
I haven't quite mastered the art of hypnotism but I have enjoyed reading about UFO sightings, spirit photography and religious cults in the World Almanac Book of the Strange.


Worry Dolls
Guatemalan worry dolls. You are supposed to sleep with these little dolls under your pillow to ward off worries. I have 25 of them. I only worry that they will one day seek vengeance for carrying around my mental burdens...and maybe...the snoring.


Haunted Doll 2
Sometimes even my cute dolls can come off a little creepy given the right atmosphere. In playing with the shutter speed, I found this doll has a haunting quality. 

This familiar clown, however...He will ALWAYS be creepy no matter what the lighting concept.


And while my bedroom is surrounded with Chucky dolls and clowns and odd photography I don't  lose any sleep. Unless of course, there's a deadline. I'm just finishing this post now at 2:35 am on what is now technically Wednesday. Miss a blog post?

My God! The horror!  

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

The Spice of Life Part One: Dolls and Decor

 

Study Sign
Goodwill. $1.97

The last few weeks have proven quite fruitful when it comes to sweet secondhand finds. Sometimes it just happens that way, when everything you never knew you wanted was right there, ripe for the picking.

Dolls, decor, books, records, fashion. I found so many wonderful little treasures, in such great variety, I’m seizing the opportunity to divide the finds into two blog entries.

So let’s see here. First I will share with you the dolls and decor.

The sign pictured above I absolutely love. It’s a thick, sturdy plastic with a metal chain for hanging. It looks to me like a vintage sign for a school, library or hospital.



Hanging Frog Shell
Goodwill. $3.00

I also found this neat little hanging frog and shell at Goodwill over the weekend. It’s difficult to make out in this photo, but the color is a pale blue. And don’t you love that aged patina look? This will be hanging in my garden once the weather starts being more cooperative.

 

Vintage Western Decor
Goodwill. $.50
   
Ordinarily I’m not into Western decor, but this miniature plastic wall hang is kinda kitschy. And it’s only about 4” in length. So tiny!


Owl Win Decor


My last piece of decor to mention is my personal favorite. I was pleasantly surprised to win this lovely vintage piece of owl art from Sonya of Dime Store Thrift. Many thanks for such a wonderful prize, Sonya!


Owl and Pug


Pugsley must also have enjoyed this win, as he sneakily found his way into my photo staging area.

Well, that’s okay, as I figured he could stick around to introduce the doll segment of this post.



Pug and Fred
 Philly Aids Thrift. Cabbage Patch Kid w/original clothes, socks and shoes, $5.

  But apparently, that photo shoot wiped him out. There he is sleeping next to “Fred,” our newly adopted Cabbage Patch Kid.



Vintage Handmade Doll
Impact. $2.50


This little doll in a big dress is a vintage treasure. The maker hand painted “1971” on her neck. I love her long legs and torso in comparison to her tiny feet.



Doll Name

Her face and hairstyle bares a striking resemblance to my Aunt Gert, a lifelong crafter who passed away last year. So I decided to name this little doll after her in tribute.

Well, that’s the end of the “Dolls and Decor” segment of this exciting two-part variety special. On the next episode of Let’s Go Thrifting! read The Spice of Life Part Two: Books, Records and Fashion Finds.”