When I found this little booklet at an antique store I couldn’t resist. It’s a truly fascinating step back in time. I’ve gathered a bit of a collection of vintage woman’s magazines and journals so this fitted in quite nicely to that genre. Within the bright orange printed pages Miss Murray gives us many tips and tricks on how to stay….well simply ‘lovely’!

Miss Murray tells us that ‘grey hairs are the enemies of youth’, that you can ‘overcome quite a number of defects in the shape of your face with the clever use of rouge’ and that ‘you could win the man you love by simply understanding certain peculiarities of male psychology’ (apparently one such peculiarity being their desire for a woman with ‘glorious hair’!). She also explains that lovely lips can be yours if you ‘practise blowing out a candle…to firm and mould them’ and tells how not to ‘mar your personal daintiness’ by using a ‘deodorant lotion’.
Sagging neck? No problems. ‘…slap the under chin with the backs of your hands until the flesh really tingles.’ Apparently ‘this greatly braces up tired tissues and prevents that scraggy neck which gives one such a haggard appearance.’ And you should ‘never be too tired to do this slapping night and morning.’ Also included are a clothes colour chart, list of four complicated weight-reducing exercises and detailed notes on how to apply correct make-up.

This little booklet is an advertising brochure for Dearborn, who manufactured ‘refined toilet essentials’ used and ‘recommended by the worlds most famous Theatrical Stars’. According to the brochure they manufactured ‘scientific Toilet Preparations…designed by experts for the universal use of refined womanhood’ that were ‘guaranteed harmless’. Seemingly their most fabulous product was ‘Mercolized Wax’ a face cream containing mercury!! Oh how I would love to slather mercury all over my face just like Miss Gladys Monicrieff, Princess of Pless, Dame Clara Butt, Miss Hetty King and all those other ‘wonderful women and beautiful girls’ who used and recommended it that are listed inside this booklet. It sounds delightful!

It sure is hard work being a girl!

Browsing through a local antique store I came across a box of old lace trim and ribbons at ten cents a piece. What a find! These will be perfect additions to my collages. They look like samples from an old sales folder. I got a bit excited and I bought a bag full! I like the fact that many already look a little aged and distressed. Now to make something…

Late last year I purchased four small boxes of glass negatives on ebay, almost sixty slides in total. I was beside myself with excitement when they arrived and I stayed up late into the night scanning them in to uncover their mystery contents. I wasn’t sure what to expect and it was such a thrill to see the images appear. The bounty included images of children playing with toys, and bush walks in the rainforest (the Dandenongs?). So rich in history and like a puzzle to piece together. This one of two little girls playing in the sand with an old teapot is one of my favourites.

OK, so to a true ‘coffee geek‘ this would be all wrong. But it’s just the way I like it including the addition of some extra indulgence (currently sipping ‘Swoon’). I admit, my ‘milk frothing’ abilities still need a little fine tuning and my coffee ‘art’ is a bit skewiff. But hey, give me a break and let me have my espresso fun!

It’s raining here and I am taking a little moment to ponder my next move. The whirlwind that is Eloise has a cold so has been particularly clingy (read: whingey) this morning, so while she has her nap I am just kicking back sneaking in some ‘me’ time.

As an aside, years ago I added some coffee cup rings to a project I was working on with a cafe/coffee theme, but the client thought it ‘devalued the product’ so I had to remove them. I am just not good at ‘clean’ and simple!! That’s the beauty of this little place…I can ‘devalue my product’ as much as I want!

Ahhhh!! The silence is broken! ‘Me time’ over…

One of the things I want to do here, is share my collection of vintage photographs and ephemera with people who might appreciate their worth. I want others to value their importance in our cultural history and see the magic I see when I look at them. Often these items are filled with history. Stories involving humour, heartache and love. It sounds clich?d but they really are like a window into another era and open up the imagination. I look at them and wonder what the people were like, what their lives were about. Often the backdrops are breathtakingly beautiful and the costumes worn are elaborate and with fine detail, unlike clothes of today. Sometimes it’s something as simple as the look in someone’s eye or a phrase on the back of a postcard. I often use these items as a basis for something creative (NB: I always keep the original preserved).
It seems such a shame to keep these beauties hidden away and I am hoping some of you may enjoy them as much as I do! So here is the first instalment!

Featured Gem 1
Real Photo Postcard

‘The Bee, The Sailor,
The Clown and The Gypsy’

Date: Unspecified
People pictured: Unidentified
Postcard Back: Blank

Notes: I have a passion for collecting photographs of people in fancy dress. Often the costumes are incredibly ellaborate and sometimes the images are quite humorous. I wonder what kind of event these people were going to (if any!). What was their relationship to one another. I imagine what fun they must have had getting dressed up. The lovely thing about some of these fancy dress images is that they are usually of people having fun, having the time of their life. Would any events on this night change the course of their lives?

I like the fact that the girl dressed as a bee (well I think she is a bee??) is slightly blurred, as if she is ‘buzzing’ !