Rock-Paper-Scissors

Rock-Paper-Scissors, collage on old Lippincott's Physiology book cover

We play rock-paper-scissors all the time in our house to make decisions on this 'n that. It's an ancient game of strategy and such fun trying to psych out your opponent ;) Wanna try your hand at it? Play against the computer right here.

Vintage Game Boxes

 

Been meaning to share this collection of vintage game boxes that I listed a couple weeks ago. They're currently en route to Istanbul, Turkey (I love the international community on Etsy!). My family played a lot of games when I growing up and now we play a lot of 'em with Lizzie. This past week she's been perfecting her Checker skills and almost beat me. One of these days she will.

 

Les Cubes Amusants

Much to my delight, I unearthed some lost treasures during my annual studio purge/clean/organize binge this past week. These French prints are from an old exquisite corpse game of sorts, Les Cubes Amusants. 

Our family is gearing up for an exciting year as we prepare to enter a new chapter of our lives....the 'Life After Grad School' chapter (hip-hip-hooray!!!). Patrick will complete his degree this Spring and we'll be moving soon after. Don't ask me where 'cuz it is yet to be determined as we're currently in the 'Full Swing Job Search' chapter ;)

Needless to say 2013 is bound to be a year full of adventure for our family. I'm not making any concrete resolutions but am embracing the changes head-on and preparing for them by simplifying 'round our home and in my studio so that we're ready to move when it's time. Due to the aforementioned purge/clean/organize binge I've got bins and bins of goodies just waiting to be photographed for the vintage shop. And....big changes afoot at Sushipot as I'll be switching gears a bit. More on that soon. For now I just wanna say from one cast of characters to another....Happy New Year!

Fun & Games

Thrift score last week--a box full of old croquet paraphernalia. Perfect for clown assemblages I'm thinkin'!

Miss Lizzie has been helping lots 'round the shop. This week she's been putting together vintage puzzles for me to photograph. Notice we're patiently waiting for some front teeth!

Just a baggie full of game piece goodness--thought you'd like 'em too :)

Another bit of retro packaging from The Embossing Company.

See I told you Lizzie was keeping busy with puzzles! These will all be in the shop over the weekend. Most likely as an "instant collection". We shall see.

Dontcha hate it when you put together a puzzle and the last piece is MIA?

Wishing you a weekend full of fun and games (no missing pieces allowed!!).

Clown Tiddly Winks

Tiddly Winks, Whitman Publishing Company, 1958

A while back I blogged about The Bargain Barrel, a favorite local thrifting spot. I had mentioned I kinda wanted to head back over there to retrieve this game of Tiddly Winks. Lucky for me, it was patiently waiting in the case when we stopped in last week. So...it looks like I'm heading into a serious clown phase...what with the clown finds last week and now this. I've even got a clown-y piece coming together in the studio. Talk about inspiration!

Flying Colors

"A game for table, floor, porch, lawn or beach" states the box top of this old game. The game, Flying Colors, was manufactured by the Embossing Company of Albany, New York in the early 20th century. They are also the makers of the color cube design blocks I've posted about a few months back. I wish games with wooden parts and pieces were still the norm--everything's plastic these days! This amazing (and quite rare) set is available here in the shop.

Vintage Snap Cards

This adorable set of vintage Snap cards, published by the Austrian company Piatnik circa 1940's, was recently acquired on Ebay. The box is marked "The Happy Children's Game" although now it's makin' one grownup very happy indeed! The graphics on these cards are so vivid they seem to have been printed yesterday. My favorite image is a tossup between the clown and the sailboat. If I had to choose, I'd probably pick the sailboat if only for that crazy lookin' moon face. What's up with him?!

The Uncle Wiggily Game

A highlight this weekend was a spontaneous outing to our favorite local thrift shop. My top find was this 1961 version of The Uncle Wiggily Game for a $1.50. The board game is a classic and will make for a fun family game night I'm certain. Happy Monday folks!

Color Block Designs

You can build some amazing color block designs and patterns with these old color cubes by The Embossing Company. Believe me--these are going to be hard to part with. The set is available right here. Enjoy!

Picture Dominoes

I couldn't resist sharing these cheery, vivid graphics in the middle of winter. This winsome set of vintage picture dominoes by Spear's Games of England is available in the shop.

Bozo The Clown Puzzle

Another vintage changeable block puzzle, Bozo The Capital Clown, is available in the shop. He's a mighty fine clown of many different moods--according to the box there are 1,048,576 possible ways to arrange the blocks. You'll have to take The Gaston Manufacturing Company's word for it 'cuz believe me I didn't try!

Animal Dominoes

This recent find of Victory animal dominoes was posted in the "parts" shop yesterday. The set is gently used although the box itself has seen better days. Enjoy!

1950's Toy Catalog

With the recent onslaught of toy catalogs arriving in our mailbox (only eight weeks until Christmas!) I thought I'd share one that I truly enjoy pouring over. Sometime last year I purchased this circa 1950's toy catalog. If I remember correctly, I paid around thirty dollars for it--more than anything in the catalog was originally sold for. Don't forget that you can click on any of these pages to get a closer look as some of the descriptions are priceless. For instance on the image below..."dolls are more fun than people". Enjoy!

I Love Turning Pages

One of many benefits in starting this blog nine months ago has been the connection to designers and artists around the globe who share an analogous fondness for the little things in life. For instance, I love Turning Pages, a blog by the talented Ellen van de Sande, a graphic designer of North Holland, Netherlands. Ellen's blog is full of wonderful design finds and from time to time she shares images from her amazing collection of vintage games. When you visit Ellen's blog be sure not to miss the side bar filled with her doodles--they are a definite treat!