cathy of california

A few years ago it became apparent that my mom couldn’t stay in her house anymore. She was forgetting that she left the stove on, not paying her bills and stuff like that. With my dad no longer around and being the only kid it was up to me to move my mom into an assisted living facility and sell her house.

My mom was pregnant with me when they moved into the little 1940s bungalow in suburban San Diego. The house was filled with stuff so there was a lot to sort thru. My mom was always really into crafts and very active in the PTA, Girl Scouts and her church group. If there was a craft fair, church bazaar or event to decorate you’d be sure that there was some Aleene’s Tacky Glue in use in the spare bedroom that she used for her crafts and sewing.

There were tons of craft supplies and fabric stockpiled at the house. Unfortunately, since most of my mom’s crafts were either decoration, gifts or sold at a craft fair/church bazaar there really weren’t any actual completed craft projects. All I found was one little holiday decoration - a reindeer made from 2 Chinese hot mustard cups, brown pipe cleaners, googly eyes and a tiny red pompom. It made me smile. I especially love that she used a a bit too much glue for the nose. I now display it proudly on the shelf next to my desk along with some other things I find inspiration in.

Of course growing up in such a crafty environment rubbed off on me and is what in part lead me to doing this blog. I hope that my little musings about crafts of the 60s and 70s provide you with some inspiration or maybe bring back a happy little crafty memory from your past. I lost my mom a couple of weeks ago and it's my wish that her crafty legacy (and by extention that of all of the other crafty moms and grandmothers out there) can live on through my blog. I think she would have gotten a kick out of that.

i know it's a commercial but.....

this makes me very happy! i can't stop watching it.

"night garden" by lejeune whitney, 1972

it just so happens that i often end up with duplicate copies of the vintage craft books i collect. so not a problem because sometimes the content varies from one edition to the other. one of my absolute all time favorites is swistraw and the studio twelve looms by lejeune whitney. i have run across oodles of copies of it and you might remember seeing one in my flower loom kits (more on the way real soon). well anyway i just got yet another copy and was so delighted to see some projects i had not yet seen. pictured here is "night garden" by lejeune whitney. i just love the colors and all the different variations of flowers made from the same loom.

(from swistraw and flower looms by lejeune whitney, published by lejeune incorporated, sunnyvale, california, 1972)

"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)

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)

aleene's trim your trash, 1967

i think my favorite thing about the vintage crafts i blog about is that they were intended for everyone. you didn't have to have alot of money or special training, just the desire to make something and have a little fun. and i think for many women (like my mom) their craft projects were a way for them to channel their creative energies into projects that they could use to decorate their own homes or give as special gifts that the recipient would (hopefully) treasure because it was made especially for them. and in some cases i think crafts gave many of these women a well deserved diversion their (maybe not so happy) day to day lives.

my other favorite thing about crafts of the 60s + 70s is that many of the companies that developed and sold supplies as well as published the "how-to" books were run by women (in the 60s most women still did not work outside of the home let alone run their own business). i think that's what must have spawned all of the independently run neighborhood craft stores that i remember my mom shopping at when i was little.

it's no wonder why i was so excited when i discovered the "how-to" books written and published by aleene (and for those of you reading my blog for the first time, yes it's that aleene of tacky glue fame). i had finally discovered my mother's muse.

so in keeping with the crafty holiday spirit here's a few of aleene's chrismas projects from her nifty little trim your trash book. going clockwise from upper left:

"plastic cup kissing ball" using 40 plastic pill cups
"plastic hair curler tree" that's 84 curlers there
"facial tissue christmas tree" pastel colored tissue was suggested
"tissue box niche with foil tray angels" 3 TV dinner plates were called for
...and my favorite
"ice cream cone wisemen" those cones were spray painted pink, lavender + green and that's curly angel hair for the beards

if you're making any holiday crafts this weekend i hope aleene's crafts inspire you and just maybe help you find your crafty muse.

(from trim your trash - a crafty "how-to" create book by aleene published by aleene's inc. temple city, california 1967)

bazaar boutique, 1967

my friend danny has been driving around the past few weekends in search of church holiday bazaars. he's found a few good ones and picked up everything from angels made with macaroni & glitter (a classic!) to a felt navitity scene and even a music box that plays "born free". my favorites are the ornaments he bought made with corn starch that's been mixed with water into a paste. they are really beautiful little houses and the detail is incredible. those church ladies are quite talented!

the church bazaar was a really big deal for my mom. she'd spend almost all year getting ready. there were always plenty of walnuts on hand because she needed the shells to make those ornaments that were decorated wigglie eyes and pipe cleaners. she was very proud of her creations and actually quite competitive with the other ladies. she always wanted to make the most popular items that would help raise the most money for the church.

pictured here are some of the examples of crafts that mc call's magazine promised would "make your next bazaar both exciting and profitable!". they suggested that you set up a "boutique booth to show off your luxury items - all to make a surprisingly little cost". there's just so much here that i hope inspires you. it's really hard to pick a favorite but i think those gremlins (center) are pretty special and i'm pretty sure i'll have to knock off that papier-mache bird ornament (way down there at the very bottom).

(images from "mc call's needlework and crafts" fall-winter 1967-68)

yuletide project book by aleene, 1962

yep it's almost that time of year again! here's just a little sneak preview for you of some of the vintage holiday crafty stuff i'll be sharing with you from my ever expanding collection of craft how-to books from the 60s + 70s.

don't you just love the illustration of that tree? i just found a HUGE stack of some of the most wonderful publications by aleene at a thrift store. i just about passed out.

but for now i'm totally swamped at my "regular job" getting all of my clients ready for the holidays. see you real soon!

(cover of "yuletide project book" by aleene, 1962)

vintage kitchen motif fabric

a couple of years ago i had to clean out my mom's house because i was moving her into assisted living. my mom sewed almost everything she wore and had quite a stock pile of fabric. i boxed most of it up, brought it back to my house and was just finally able (both emotionally and because i had the time) to really go through it. i have been using bits of it in craft projects here and there, but the majority of it i found i couldn't really use. i am saving some of it for sentimental reasons and decided that the rest should get into the hands of those who could really use it. the larger chunks i have given to some friends and to charity. there were alot of scraps of some interesting prints that i cut into fat quarters and some smaller sizes. i'm bundling them up and will be selling them at the next felt club on nov 18. the money i make from the sale of the bundles will be donated to alzheimer's research. here's a little flickr set i created with some shots of the fabrics.