cathy of california

for mods and moods, 1970

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

handcrafted home accents, 1970

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

cape cod + riviera, 1970

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

south of the border, 1970

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

pillow talk, 1970

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

still life I + study in pink and blue, 1970

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

serendipity in hi straw, 1970

"fabulous fashions or festive decor to embroider, knit, crochet or weave"

here's the cover shot of one of my latest finds and new favorite craft book of all time (well, at least for this week). this one's all about all the stuff you can make with "hi straw" (that's what columbia-minerva called ribbon straw). many of the projects feature "hi straw perforated motifs" - better known as plastic canvas.

(from serendipity in hi straw published by the columbia-minerva corporation, 1970)

cluster beads in 16 glorious colors, 1968

ad for craft house boutique design trims, 1968

"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)