It's going to get pretty hot here over the next couple of days, so how about cooling off by thinking of Christmas - as seen in Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas for 1962. (My previous post, seen here, covered Part One).
Let's get right to it:
"Designers show modern ways to do old things" the magazine declares. Guess that was the explanation for covering a pine with "rich purple spray paint".
I thought these figures were kind of whimsical: old flash bulbs made to look like people. Bits of cotton balls were used to form ears, noses and chins, then covered with crepe paper and painted over. Sections of cardboard egg cartons were used to form the bases.
Like I'd said, whimsical - but I've not seen old flash bulbs around lately, so I won't be trying out this idea.
Being a greeting card crafter, I took note of this project: "With only two folds, eleven clips with your scissors, and some embossed gold paper tassels, you can quickly make cards in quantity".
Indeed, the card would be easy to craft, but the cost of creating it would be another story. For each card, you start with a piece of green paper that measures 10 1/2" square. After the two folds are made, you end up with the card that's 10 1/2" long and 5" wide. You'd need to buy mailing envelopes big enough to hold these, which would add to the expense. But hey, they're easy to make, so why not, right?
"Just wrap with foil you're set!" After gathering up long cylinders (wrapping paper core is one suggestion), metal foil paper and small Christmas tree balls, that is. The two objects on the table below the decked-out cylinders are treated in a similar manner, to become a place card holder and a napkin ring. I like the idea of metal foil paper, but using it to wrap cylinders seems a little weird to me.
A round of DIY gifts:
"A felt record carrier that will attend every party". Gee, does the girl with the carrier get to come along too?
The handcrafted placemats feature contrasting fabric inserts with embroidered appliques. Not only would it have taken some time to craft that set of four, but three of the four are shown in off-white fabric. (Why only one is shown in blue - the placemat in the back - is beyond me!) Yet it's suggested that these can be used at barbecues. No way I'd want to use these at a potentially messy meal!
At first glance, I'd thought that this "Snowball centerpiece" used styrofoam, but no, a mixture of ten pounds of sugar and a half-cup of egg whites is packed into bowls, then hollowed out for easier handling. Once dry, they're adorned with various trims. Sounds like a variation of those sugar eggs one sometimes sees at Easter.
More kitchen ingredients, but this time with an edible purpose:
For a holiday dinner, a frozen cranberry sauce-cream cheese/whipped cream concoction. I bet this would still go over well enough in a genteel setting.
And for the children's table:
Marshmallow Men decorate a chocolate cake. On second thought, this had better not go to the children's table: as cute as these little figures are, they're not edible! The eyes and noses are made with colored glass-head pins and sequins were used to suggest buttons. The marshmallows themselves are stuck together with glue. The hats are made from paper. I'd rather see these made to be eaten. Martha Stewart, are you listening?
Now check this out:
"It's a time for the boys to entertain. Holiday time is as good a time as any for a stag". Where are the women? Out holiday shopping? Spray painting Christmas trees purple? Buying more metal foil paper? The magazine doesn't say.
By the way, does this look like a "boy" to you?
Didn't think so; looks like a man to me! And speaking of men, he's manhandling the main course of this "Bachelor's Feast", Deviled Bones. These are barbecued beef rib-roast bones. "Allow about 1 1/2 pounds beef bones for each hungry man. Snip between bones. Eat in Henry VIII style!"
Whatever that means. Don't think that Henry VIII also had Hot Mulled Cider with Orange Buoys, 1-2-3 Cheese Spread, Assorted Crackers, Can-can Baked Beans, Red Slaw, Green Slaw, Garlic Bread, Neiman-Marcus Apple Pie and Coffee to go along with those beef bones.
A lot of food for "the boys", yes? But no worries: "To complete the meal, call on wives for finishing touches". So much for it being a Bachelor's Feast!
I've come to end of this post, so here's one last bit from Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas 1962:
"Give ideas for happier living" - and what are Mom, Dad and young Janey holding up? Why, books produced by Better Homes & Gardens, of course! An all-purpose cookbook, a handyman's book and a gardening book are shown. Not shown are the other books available, which include cookbooks for holidays, desserts, barbecues, casseroles and more food subjects. Topics such as money management, decorating, first aid, babies and more are also covered.
(The girl doesn't actually have a name in the ad; I just made it up for her.)
Better Homes & Gardens must still be proud of these volumes, for recently they've come out with facsimile editions of some of these publications. But why pay today's prices for copies of yesterday's books? The originals, just like the ones Mom, Dad and Janey got for Christmas, show up often in thrift stores, for far less money!
My two-part post on this magazine showed off several Christmas ideas, but I was tempted to include even more. It was a very entertaining magazine and I was sorry when I finally came to the end of its 163 pages. So much fun!
Yeah, I know that "Christmas In July" is a thing, not "Christmas In June", but if you read my previous post, you know I bought a bunch of vintage Christmas magazines recently.
I've been looking them over this past week - sometimes with approval, other times with horror. And the best examples of both emotions were found in this issue:
Better Homes & Gardens Christmas Ideas for 1962. There's enough of the good, the bad and ugly to get more than one post from this magazine!
In reference to the two ornaments shown above, the magazine asks "Do these look like anyone you know?" Thankfully, I can answer no. These were made by decorating plain ornaments with various trims. Not a bad idea, but why these were supposed to look like actual people, I have no idea!
"This paper sculptured star can be made by anyone who can cut paper with scissors!" So I guess that means that I can make these, and that I may some time. 9"x12" construction is folded twice and cut. Several of these are stapled together to make a "star".
Above, a large chicken wire cone is covered with tissue paper sections that have been poked through the holes. Not sure why pink, blue and white tissue papers were used. I guess I'm a traditionalist; I'd prefer to see something like this in shades of green.
Now here's something I haven't seen before: a "tree" made by hanging tortillas on it. Tortillas are "corn-meal pancakes", we are informed, and they've been decorated with "red Mexican beans".
Okay, here's something I thought was bad. The poster board tree shapes aren't bad, although the blue one looks more like a rocket ship to me. Well, it was the "Space Age" after all. But the stick-like objects you see on each tree are Q-tips. Ugh. No.
Another modern interpretation of a Christmas tree, but I like this better: triangle shapes of wood displayed on wooden dowels and spool bases. Blue and pink show up again though!
This angel would take a lot of time to make: "angular swatches of self-adhesive cloth arranged in symbolic design of an angel". The background shown is black felt, but "Your background can be anything from felt or burlap to an old window shade". I'm not sure what "self-adhesive cloth" is, having never used it, but this is a project that looks like it could be worth the time.
Skipping gears a bit, the next two photos show off handmade toys.
Small boxes are covered and decorated with adhesive-backed, plastic coated papers (another material I'm not familiar with) to resemble a family. A shoebox is decorated in a similar manner to look like a house.
I think this is a cute idea, but small boxes and a shoebox - just how durable would this set be? I'd be inclined to use different sizes of wooden blocks for the family myself.
Another less-than-sturdy toy:
A lion made from paper-covered cardboard. More Q-tips again: here, the tips have been dipped in paint. But really, another toy made of cardboard? How long before someone would have flattened that thing by accidentally stepping on it?
So, I could see making this for fun, like on a rainy Saturday afternoon, but as a Christmas present? If I'm going to craft a toy, I'd want to make one that's going to last!
Two more photos for this post, both related to gift wrap ideas:
A gold metallic paper paint palette, colored ball "paints" and a gilded paint brush. Suggested for an artist friend.
And for a music lover:
The gift is wrapped in old sheet music, with the use of balls again to form part of the notes. (The instructions don't say what the rest of the notes are made from; I assume some sort of black paper).
All for now, but I'll be back in my next post to show off Part Two!
Hello! Summer reading is a thing, I think. Some folks sign themselves and their families up for summer reading programs sponsored by their local libraries. Others may look forward to "beach reads" or stock books at the cottage in case of rain.
As for me, I found some summer reading at an estate sale earlier today:
A grouping of vintage magazines. Most are Christmas-related (crafts, decor, recipes), but there's also a couple of home interior issues as well. The oldest magazines came out in 1960, while the newest of the bunch dates from 1967.
I loved the Santa on the cover, visible at the bottom left row. Here's a close-up:
This Family Circle magazine is from December 1962.
Another Family Circle, this time from December 1965:
These two covers are from the same artist, Gyo Fujikawa, which explains the Santas' vague similarity. The 1962 issue mentions that the same artist had also illustrated the past three years' December covers.
And also from 1965:
Woman's Day Best Ideas for Christmas. Rather than being an illustration, this Santa is a Christmas card holder designed by Hallmark. "...available in major stores everywhere..." the magazine informs. It was made from printed cardboard pieces that were punched out and assembled. Then, the card holder cost $1.25. Now, according to the US Inflation Calculator, it would cost $9.94.
All the magazines I bought were in good condition, priced reasonably, and what's more, the estate sale wasn't very far away either. What more could you ask for?
The only reading I've done thus far was looking at the table of contents page of the two Family Circle magazines, because I'd noticed the covers had similar artwork and wanted to see if I could learn why. But I certainly look forward to reading all these issues from cover to cover. Between the ads, weird or wonderful (sometimes both) craft and home decor projects, recipes and even some sappy holiday fiction, I know I'll enjoy this estate sale haul.
Yep, it looks like I have some great summer reading lined up!
Hello! The local tulip festival has just ended, so now it's time to show off some scenes from this big annual event. Although a myriad of activities take place during the festival, all my photos are from the three parades: Volksparade (open to anyone in Dutch costume), Kinderparade (local schoolchildren march in Dutch costume while using props with Dutch themes) and Muziekparade (emphasis on marching bands; the biggest parade of the three).
So here goes!
Street scrubbers in action.
Yes, there's even Dutch costumes for dogs!
The Holland High School marching band struts down the street in wooden shoes.
From the Kinderparade:
A "Dutch Art" theme: the sunflowers represent Van Gogh's famous painting.
This class is carrying banners from two of the 11 towns on the 11 Town ice skating race.
And lastly, from the Muziekparade:
Our vantage point for watching the Muziekparade is along one of the city's "Tulip Lanes" (miles of tulips planted along select streets), so these beauties were right in front of my curbside seat. Nice!
A magnificent set of Clydesdales from the folks at Employment Express.
Always a crowd-pleaser: the Petoskey Steel Drum Band!
Another crowd-pleaser: one of several old cars that appeared in this parade.
And speaking of older vehicles, this cart-like wagon was recently restored in time to be pulled in the parade. The Holland Furnace Company was an early sponsor of the Tulip Festival.
I believe this was a new entry in the parade: Sam the Wheeler. Somehow, this guy flipped up and down on this contraption as it moved down the streets of the parade route. Don't know how he managed to avoid falling off! This was pretty cool to see.
More views of the local high school marching band:
The color guard, in Dutch costumes - and wooden shoes, of course!
Another view of the marching band. By now (they're in all three parades), I imagine they're a little tired of marching in wooden shoes.
Well, like I said, now the Tulip Festival is all over, so they can put away their wooden shoes - until next year!
Hello! The local tulip festival begins at the end of this week, so I wanted to create a garment honoring that flower by using this thrifted pattern:
A trio of floral designs for sweatshirt applique. The tulip pattern is on the right. This "It's Bloomin'" pattern (#133) is from the Bloomin' Minds company out of Iowa. Would have cost me $7.50 from their website, but I paid a quarter for it. The original purchaser had selected this pattern from The Pattern Hutch in Pigeon Forge, TN.
This time of year, it took some doing to find a plain sweatshirt at the thrift stores - the few I came across were either zip-up or had designs on the front. But finally I found what I wanted, in a pretty sky-blue color to boot. I thought that would look especially nice for springtime.
The applique is worked by cutting the pattern pieces from fabrics, then affixing the fabric pieces to each other with fusible interfacing. The five panels that result are fused onto the sweatshirt, and lastly, the edges of all fabric pieces are finished off with blanket stitching.
It took a little time to pick out the fabrics I wanted to use for the petals, leaves and background, but finally I was pleased with my choices. So I grabbed my fusible interfacing and ironed away.
And that's where my crafting failure was! Not thinking, I grabbed a type of fusible interfacing that was too heavy for this project once all the layers of fabrics were fused together. When it came time for blanket stitching, I could only get my needle in the outer edges of the whole design. And as far as putting the sweatshirt on my body - well, I tried that to see how it would hang. Of course, the stiffness of the appliqued panel resulted in that part of the sweatshirt not draping well at all. Definitely not the look I wanted!
So, a waste of nice color-coordinating fabrics, a pretty sweatshirt color and my time? It would appear so, but then it hit me: I could use the stiffness of that appliqued panel to my advantage and turn it into a Tulip Festival wall hanging! All I had to do was cut out the panel and sew a backing onto it.
Decided to make things easy by using the sweatshirt for the backing. I just cut off the panel and the back of the sweatshirt together, then blanket-stitched the edges closed. I left a small part near the top of the short sides unstitched. I slit those parts open, slid a dowel through, adding a matching cord, and voila: my wall hanging was done.
Here's out it turned out:
And a close-up:
Like I'd said, I thought I'd done a nice job in selecting the fabric colors for this project, so I'm glad I was able to turn my crafting failure into a save!
Hello! A bridal shower is being held in a couple of weeks for my nephew's fiancee. Since the event is several hundred miles away, I'm not attending, but I did send out a gift.
Now, the gift itself is present-day, chosen from the happy couple's wedding registry. But I went back to the 1960's with vintage wrapping paper and a greeting card with a detail from the same decade. (I think. I couldn't find dates for either item.)
First, the card:
Materials used:
- white card stock
- piece of pastel floral print card stock
- piece of blue art paper
- front of vintage bridal shower invitation card, from an unopened pack found at an antique store
- floral ribbon trim affixed to front of card
A close-up of the bride:
A sweet rendering, I thought.
I went through my modest collection of vintage wrapping paper, which I'd purchased at estate sales or thrift stores. And as luck would have it, I found a package of unopened bridal shower wrapping paper in colors close to those of the vintage bridal shower invitation!
This wrapping paper was produced by American Greetings.
Here's how my greeting card and the paper looked together:
A close match, I think!
Oh, and here's a better look at the wrapping paper design:
I have to admit, it did give me pause to think how my present will look at the bridal shower, surrounded by gifts covered with, well, more current wrapping paper. I won't be there to see the juxtaposition, but wondered if the bride-to-be would puzzle at the unusual appearance. So, along with offering my congratulations inside the card, I added that I like to use vintage things whenever I can.
And yes, if that means going back to the 1960's for a bridal shower gift, then that's what I did!
