Vintage Vacation "Fairy Garden"...Yellowstone!

Yellowstone!

I have been in love with Yellowstone since I was a little girl. My memories of the family vacation we took there are like an old post card... worn on the edges, a bit faded and in soft focus. Yellowstone was the topic of my first Vintage Vacations that I posted on this blog.  The link is on the sidebar under Featured Post if you would like to travel there again.  There you will find some of the post cards and vintage souvenirs I have collected over the years.

Currently, my favorite things to make are Fairy Gardens...those fun and magical miniature landscapes found all over the Pinterest Galaxy.  My versions, however, don't use live plants and aren't found in my back yard or garden.  Because I cannot be trusted with living plants...they would die of neglect! So I use quirky containers and fake flowers and greenery to create little vignettes.  Last spring about this time I made my daughter Sascha an Alice in Wonderland fairy garden in a giant teacup and saucer.  Find it here: Alice's Merry Un-Birthday!  

Yesterday I came across this plaid Ohio Arts lunchbox that was a gift from my friend Tammy.  I had used it for a Christmas vignette, but like a bolt out of the blue I "saw" in my mind what it could become.  I am so grateful for these kinds of moments...my "crafting mojo" has been a bit on the fritz.

Who knows... if you like this one, maybe there will be a series of vacation fairy gardens in the future.

A Miniature Vintage Vacation!

Yellowstone Fairy Garden.

The trailer and chairs were a gift from my daughter Missy!

I used a post card graphic to line the inside of the lid.

A rustic pole gate is the entrance to the camp ground.

Side View.

I found the trees at Hobby Lobby on the aisle where they sell train miniatures.

They have quite a variety of trees, plants and greenery.

Back of the lid is a collage of Yellowstone graphics.

I prop the lid open with a rustic "log."

Don't Feed the Bears!

This little bear is one of a pair of souvenir shakers from Yellowstone.

He seems sad to find that sign on his favorite tree stump.

View from above.

It doesn't take much to create this simple vignette.

Fairy Garden Wreath

Fairy Garden Wreath from a Walmart wreath.

The mossy wreath was covered in pretty good fake succulents.

I added a few flowers and a rustic "measuring tape" ribbon.

It only took a few minutes to glue a little fence to the back.

Then I added dotty red mushrooms,  Seven Dwarf cake toppers and a wee bunny.

I adore these little fellows.

Circus Cloche

Circus cloche.

My crafting group made chicken wire cloches to put over plants.

Mine showcases a circus elephant.

The cloche joins the summer circus that will be on display for most of the summer in my living room.

Hope you enjoyed this miniature Vintage Vacation!

Repost...Vintage Vacation: Yellowstone!

Holiday Road...

Next week George and I are leaving for a trip to the Grand Canyon along with my sister and her husband.  I love visiting that wonderful place...and I plan to continue my "Vintage Vacation" series when I get back.  I have a couple of post ideas...one possibly titled, "Vintage Vegas!"  So today I thought I would repost my first Vintage Vacation...Yellowstone.  My blog was still quite new when I posted this in the fall of 2011.  I have a lot more followers now than I did back then...so I hope you enjoy it!

Vintage Yellowstone!
What are your memories of Yellowstone? My memories look like vintage postcards. When I travel, I don't buy postcards. I wait until I'm home then I look for vintage postcards. I don't buy souvenirs...I go thrifting to find the ones that make me feel like a child again.

My Parents packed us all into an old station wagon with our pillows and blankets and a ginormous chest full of Shasta. On our way to Yellowstone we stopped in Jackson Hole at a Drive-In that featured picnic areas shaped like wigwams. The carhops were dressed as Indian girls. It was so politically incorrect... but totally wonderful! The city park featured archways that were created from hundreds of antlers.


We were renting a cabin for the weekend, but first we stopped at the Old Faithful Inn. It was as magnificent as a log palace! We followed the ranger's directions to a place where we could watch Old Faithful erupt.

We were amazed that something so powerful could be predicted almost to the minute. We returned to the old wagon and began the slow drive to the cabin area. The reason why the going was so slow was that every 500 yards or so, the people ahead of us would stop to feed the bears. Did we feed the bears?.....of course we did! When we ran out of cookies, the bears scratched at the windows. I was tempted to push my brother out the door...but alas...he was not Yogi chow that trip.




After our adventures with bears, bison and elk...it was like driving through one of those animal parks...the Devey clan got settled into the musty little cabin. It was damp and smelled like feet. Mom wandered off to find the showers and bathrooms. She was gone a long time. We finally heard a squawk and the sound of garbage cans falling over. Mom was trapped inside the bathroom while several large bears rooted through the trash.
She looked so funny in her robe and curlers, telling those bears what was what!


Since those days I have loved bears...especially Yellowstone bears. I have collected quite a few kitschy souvenirs that remind me of those long ago days when family vacations in the West were endless roadtrips with stops at places like Big Rock Candy Mountain, Monument Valley and the Grand Canyon.

Chalkware Bear, Napkin Holder and Cute Little Indian Children.

Two Vintage Handkerchief Boxes.

The bears are crying because the sign says "No Hugging Allowed."

This must have been before the signs read "Don't Feed the Bears!"

Souvenir Pillow Cover

Navajo Indian Dolls.

I bought a pair like this on my first trip to the Grand Canyon.

Old Chalkware Ashtray

Salt and Pepper Shakers from Jackson Hole.

Display shelf made from an old pepsin gum box.

Cute old salt and pepper shakers and an old Smokey Bear shaker.

What do vintage souvenirs look like from your neck of the woods?

Morning Glory Pool

One more Yellowstone memory. My dad was a big tease (still is). He liked to pretend to throw me off things like the overlooks at Grand Canyon, etc. We were on a boardwalk over some bubbling mud pits. After telling us some horrid tale of a little boy who fell in and had the meat cooked off his bones...he picked me up and pretended to throw me in! If I had bad dreams later, I don't remember them. All I remember is how much I loved those Vintage Vacations.

 

"Looky here, Boo Boo! I'm smarter than the average bear!"

Have a wonderful day!

Post Script: After I posted this, I found out that Grandma Zetta spent two summers in the late 1920s working at the Old Faithful swimming pool to earn money for school. She was attending the University of Utah.