Instead of joining in on NaBloPoMo I didn’t post once during November…in all honesty that wasn’t my intention! I have had to keep telling myself ‘the blog is for me’ ‘don’t stress’ ‘it’s meant to be fun!’ to try and ease my anxiety over not posting. I am just not very good at short quick diary like snippets of interest!

I did complete my Christmas Postcard Swap, and although 10 of these cards are winging their way around the world I fear some may not arrive at their destinations in time. I am crossing my fingers and toes! I have a good excuse though….I had a little drama and I decided it was the perfect time of year to get my wisdom teeth yanked out in the hospital….really NOT NOT good and I still cannot feel my chin over 2 weeks later! (Is that normal? It is driving me a little crazy!)

I don’t think the photos do the postcard justice as you can’t see the subtleties and textures in the papers. The doll is printed on some translucent paper and she is holding a little book attached with a split pin that contains five pages of vintage Christmas snippets from my collection of greeting cards and photos. I love the sentiments in the old style verses.

I unearthed an interesting book in my local secondhand bookshop the week the postcard sign up was announced, so I have had ‘vintage cards’ on my mind for months! It’s a fascinating book called ‘The History of the Christmas Card‘ by George Buday and was first published in 1954 by Spring Books.

That’s it for tonight! I may not have been blogging but I have still been thrifting so I will post about some of my favourite finds over the next few days. I also want to share some of the gorgeous swaps that I have received including the most delicious bundle of goodies from the lovely and talented Pyglet who must be very close to giving birth!! Thinking of you Dani and thank you so much for the unexpected treats!

Ohhhhh how excited was I when I found these in amongst the patterns in my local op-shop!?? Those of you who are familiar with my blog are probably aware by now that I love collecting vintage imagery of fancy dress costumes (like this)…so yes…I was just a wee bit giddy to find three vintage fancy dress guides! The ‘Weldon’s Fancy Dress’ is a bit tattered and I think it’s missing a few pages…but for 60c I don’t care! Just look inside…

I did buy a lot of sewing patterns as well, including some great Weigel’s patterns (they have the best illustrations on the front) and various craft orientated patterns including dolls, doll clothes, Christmas crafts and Easter crafts. I also scored an Enid Gilchrist ‘Toddler Clothes‘ pattern book!

During September I collected the books below from various op-shops. Some for their ideas/content and some for the illustrations.

‘What Can I Do Today?‘ by Linda Nichol, 1973. ‘Over 100 projects for girls 6-12’

‘Daily Sketch Modern Girls Annual‘ with articles such as ‘Breeding Budgerigars for Pocket-Money’!

‘The Sleeping Beauty‘ Illustrated by Arthur Rackham, Told by C.S.Evans. (New edition 1987. Original edition 1920) Gorgeous silhouette illustrations.

‘Our Favourite Story Book‘ 1940s or 50s. Illos such as this and the price tag made it find it’s way into my basket…

‘May I Bring a Friend‘ (orange cover/no dust jacket) by de Regniers/Montresor 1964. Lovely graphic black line illustrations and strong flat colour.

‘The Children’s Party and Games Book‘ compiled by Joyce Nicholson, 1979.

‘Children’s Parties‘ by Tessa Webb, 1973

‘Educational Origami‘ (no imprint/publisher/details available) Very simple graphic instructions.

‘Colourcraft‘, 1976 (red cover, no dust jacket) — Various crafts including pet rocks, fabric painting and other decorative ideas .

‘Woollen Dolls‘ by Madeleine Banier, 1974. ‘Knit them, crochet them, make them from skeins!’ This amused me, as did the ‘wedding dress’!

More September Thrift Challenge to follow…

Thrifting again today. It’s too much of a temptation when I have to go ‘up the street’ for groceries anyway. Rohan’s been on leave the past couple of days so besides catching up on some sleep (day light savings ending has been a killer in this household… ‘Eloise 4.45am is NOT time to start the day!’), it has been a good opportunity to get out without the little one in tow!

Look at this fabulous book I scored!

‘Ideas For Decoration‘
by Robert Seguin and Marthe Seguin-Fontes
Published by Evans Brothers Limited
Great Britain, 1977

It’s a wonderful resource and gives very detailed ‘step-by-step analysis of the decorative artist’s progress’.

Have a peek here at the contents page for more of an idea of what’s inside.

Motif themes include flowers, leaves, trees, birds, butterflies and insects, fish and houses. It talks of how to research and create motifs and patterns of your own and possible decorative applications for them (eg. bags, pendants, tiles, ceramics, fabrics, quilts). It is bursting at the seams with inspiring content, ideas and gorgeous motifs.

I will try and pop up my other thrifty finds soon. I’ve had a bit of a good run lately and it has left me on an op-shopping high! I am making the most of it as no doubt one of these days described in this post by Hillary on Thriftcraft is lurking just around the corner!

I feel exhilarated! For the first time in years I set up my paints and other paraphernalia on the table and started making some painted textured canvas backgrounds. Of course eventually they’ll find their way into the digital realm as part of my background stock. But I am proud of myself! It’s been too long and I have missed it more than I realised. The smells, the mess, the randomness…and no ‘undo’!

I am working on three small canvas’s and am using three different techniques. I’ve been reading Claudine Hellmuth’s ‘Collage Discovery Workshop’ to get me inspired. Her techniques are similar to those I have used before, but it’s so nice and inspiring to see them all laid out with beautiful images and handy hints to boot. It’s also a wonderfully designed book which makes it a pleasure to flick through. Her work is full of vintage imagery, rich texture and colour. I thoroughly recommend it and can’t wait to get my hands on book number two.