cathy of california

bright + beautiful paper ornaments, 1967

hope you have a nice holiday!

i'm taking a mini hiatus and will return in the new year.

(from los angeles times home magazine december 10, 1967)

table settings of note, 1963

there's a house down the street from me that an older gentleman lives in. he decorates for almost every holiday and there is often a handmade component. his displays are always very heartfelt and this holiday is no exception. there's a little tree near the edge of his lawn that is festooned with ornaments that are in the shape of cups (kind of like the ones you made as a kid with a gum wrapper) that are made with tinfoil. and of course the sign post a few feet away has been wrapped in tinfoil. i smile everytime i drive by.

i just love this angel centerpiece. not only does it remind me of those restaurants that wrap up your leftovers in foil that they then shape into some kind of animal (usually a swan) but also that it's shows that even some tinfoil and paper plates can make a special table setting for your holiday celebration. it all depends on where your heart is.

(from today's woman christmas ideas 1963)

here's a new idea in gift-wraps, 1966

"these beautifully wrapped packages lead two lives: they present your gift handsomely and then (here's the bonus) become decorative storage boxes. the secret's in the wrapping - the box lid and bottom are covered separately, then lavishly decorated. any pretty gift-wrap will do, but the elegant flocked papers are especially suitable. color-cued velvet ribbon, dime-store flowers, yarn pompons, gift wrap roses - even a tiny bird - do the trimming."

(from christmas helps: 1966, a family circle publication)

"you'll be delighted to learn that now you can make use of all those lovely greeting cards you've saved year after year", 1974

my collection is mainly vintage craft books and magazines as opposed to the actual crafts themselves. but sometimes i do pick up a little something. i spotted this little "recipe or card file" box (below) while thrift shopping last summer in portland with cathy pitters, sister diane and susan beal. i'm sure it must have been made by someone who read hazel pearson's greeting card creations.

(greeting card creations from hazel pearson handicrafts, rosemead, california, 1971)

never were tablecloths sew-easy to make, 1959-62

the candle, snowmen, and bell motifs could be made with mc call's transfer patterns for appliques. anything look familiar? please see yesterday's post.

(ads for indian head brand all purpose cotton from mc call's needlework and crafts fall/winter issues 1959-60, 1960-61, 1961-62)

mc call's pattern #2458, 1961

a couple of weeks ago jenny had a few ladies over for a little craft night. we all brought along whatever current project we were working on. wendy whipped out a recent ebay score and i could hardly believe my eyes! yep, it was the pattern for the very same projects that i was about to blog about! how about that?

(pattern from wendy's collection and images from mc call's needlework and crafts fall/winter 1961-62)

pickle snowman, 1963

yep, that's 2 cheeseballs decorated with dill pickles that form the hat, arms, face and buttons. this makes me very happy.

(from today's woman christmas ideas 1963)

thank you very much

i just wanted to thank everyone who purchased a bundle of my mom's fabric last month at felt club. i just made a donation of $180 to the alzheimer's association in honor of my mom. thanks for all of your love + support!
xo

happy hang-ups made with studio twelve flower looms, 1971

"use all four sizes of our flower looms to make these christmas trees and trims."

studio twelve offered the "mini-fleur" (1 1/4", 1 row of pegs), "multi-fleur" (3 1/2", 2 rows of pegs) , "magni-fleur" (5 1/4", 3 rows of pegs) and the square (4 3/8", 2 rows of pegs) flower loom. i'm still slowly gathering as many of these i can get my hands on to make more of my vintage ribbon straw flower kits. please stay tuned.

(from flower loom projects from studio twelve volume lll by margaret weymouth published by studio twelve, costa mesa, california, 1971)

pincushions, sachets and christmas tree ornaments, 1971

"use designs shown or your own imagination to create a whimsical peasant effect by combining lomed flowers with embroidery stitches." i think those birds are super cute.

i have a pretty big pile of studio twelve loom instruction books sitting right in front of me here at my desk. they were all written by margaret weymouth (pictured below). i've been trying to find out more about her but my google searches direct me to my own blog (ha!). but i think it's safe to assume she was the in-house craft expert at studio twelve and perhaps even the head honcho.

(from flower loom projects from studio twelve volume lll by margaret weymouth published by studio twelve, costa mesa, california, 1971)