August

Oh dear, I'm three days late with my vintage children for August.  However this is the last one.  Yes, can you believe it!  All twelve images from my old picture book Children Month by Month have now been posted.  I hope someone somewhere will want to use them.  They'd make a sweet addition to a photo calendar or a scrapbook page and of course they can be used for personalised birthday cards for children or even "baby boomers" who may remember a 50s childhood.  And how about a set of 12 cards made as a gift.

I made three cards this morning with the images printed out on thin card.  Fairly simple affairs - which is how I like it.  Of course it all depends on your taste in cards but I was thinking just the other day while in WH Smiths, before I started making cards I was always drawn to something simple - just a beautiful painting, photograph or illustration and not much else.  I really can't be doing with fol-de-rols!

 

As in all other posts, you can right click on the image, open in a new tab, enlarge and save to your computer.  Looking back I see I haven't tagged the posts and I'll try to get that done tonight so you can find the images easily. 

June

Another new month and a look back at the old.  This time I've stuck with Carina Gardner's design for June instead of adding my own background and elements. I really like this lime and aqua page...... ok - I didn't have time to be original, but I really do like the look of the June page from the Design a Year digi kit.  Its not too late to catch up if you want to design your year and the kit is discounted by 40% at the moment!

And if you are looking for the next in my series of pages from Children Month by Month, here is the July design.  In March we were able to go paddling here in the UK but since then it has all been down hill weatherwise!

Jubilee

I do remember 2 June 1953 - vaguely.  I was 5 years old and I remember a flickering screen in a darkened room where friends and neighbours of my parents were gathered.  Like many other families we acquired our first television set for the occasion.  My Mum said she was not impressed when Dad brought the set home.  She said "why would I want to watch that - I won't have the time!"  But my sister and I loved Watch With Mother - Andy Pandy, The Flowerpot Men, and all the other puppets.

As well as the Coronation, 1953 was the year the National Eisteddfod came to Rhyl.  Dad was involved with the preparations on The Maes (the field) as he worked for the electricity board MANWEB.  I found this photo amongst his negatives - its The Queen arriving at the Eisteddfod.  She was on her Coronation Tour of Wales.  I remember her car was to drive past our house and we all stood in the front garden to wave.

Our family had another celebration in 1953 - it was the year we became five instead of four.  My sister Elizabeth Jane was born in December. 

If you are celebrating this weekend I hope the sun shines for you.  I'm sure we'll be watching The Queen on television at some time over the next few days - just like we did 60 years ago.  Oh, and Mum did eventually change her mind about the TV!

I missed out posting my vintage children for June yesterday so here they are - hmmm..... not sure about that rhyme!

Happy May Day!

Will anyone be celebrating May Day today? Its not such a special day for children in 2012 (apart from a day off school next Monday) and I rather think little girls of today would run a mile rather than dress up in satin, flowers and silver paper crowns.  But in 1932 mid-Wales my Mum and her friends were chosen to represent their school at the May Queen Festival in Llandrindod Wells.

The programme of events included maypole dancing, music from the orchestra, a folk dancing competition and the entrance of the retiring queen's court (with a sword bearer, pages, Robin Hood, John Bull and Britannia amongst others) as well as the judging of the queens and crowning ceremony.  The winning Queen took home the Challenge Shield for her school to hold for 12 months and was presented with a gold brooch.  Mum came second and had a silver brooch, which I still have but can't put my hand on today.

The day came to a happy close with a May Queen Dance at the Grand Pavilion.  Dancing from 9.00 pm till 2.00 am to Macadam No 1 Dance Band.  (Refreshments at " moderate charges") :o)

And here is the May page from my vintage picture book series.  Today the blossom is still filling the trees but the daffodils are long gone - is this an indication of a changing climate?

Edit: Mum's just informed me I've got the dresses the wrong way round in the photo - the yellow should be green and the green should be yellow!   RATS!  Not changing it now though!

April Showers.........

Well I hope we do see some April showers as I don't think a drop of rain fell in March if my memory serves me right.  As this page from Children Month by Month hints, April should be a time for sowing seeds and I don't fancy lots of watering this early in the year!!

 But, can anyone explain to me how all ...................

THIS happens without me doing anything at all!

And it will happen again next year, and the year after, and the year after that.  The miracle of non-intervention!

Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus a Llongyfarchiadau! (to my Mouse Winners)

 

Bore da a Dydd Gŵyl Dewi Hapus i chi. 

(Good morning and Happy St David's Day to you) I was hoping to have a jug full of our national flower on my table today but would you believe there wasn't a single bunch to be found anywhere yesterday afternoon when I got to the shops - I was too late, they were all sold out!  So its just as well I like to bring out my collection of Macmillan daffodils every year - they are much too pretty to throw away and I always wear the newest one to celebrate our patron saint's day.

And llongyfarchiadau (congratulations) to my three mouse winners who have been drawn by that reliable but rather boring chap, Random Generator as Number 1 - Lissy Lou, Number 2 - Emma, and Number 8 - Sarah-Jane.  Sorry I didn't get this done yesterday - I really don't know where the day went!  I'll email my winners this evening for their addresses....... and as I feel rather bad for you other 7 commenters (there were only 10 of you who entered my little giveaway) I'm thinking of having some runner-up prizes - I'll get back to you all when I've thought of something.

The first day of another month already!  Here is the March page from Children Month by Month, my vintage picture book.

1st February - and January in photos

I've been inspired by Godelieve's excellent digital page here but there is no way I would be able to fill a page with my blog posts in just a month!  However I'd really like to use the templates to record 2012 in photos so I'm going to jump in.  January has been a lean month but I've managed to find enough images for my page and of course it will get easier as the year goes by.  I've used the same digital kit from Jessica Sprague, and as has Godelieve, I've changed the page background and elements to suit. 

And as another month has begun, here is Miss February from my vintage book "Children Month by Month".  I hope we won't be sliding and gliding about too much!


Digital kits: Design 365 A Year of Layouts 2012 by Jessica Sprague;  Snow Yesterday by Kate Teague for Two Peas in a Bucket

Happy New Year!

Happy 2012 to Us All

No snow here - a rather grey first day of the year.  But there was a sunset so I have hopes for tomorrow.  

And thank you all for the lovely comments on yesterday's post.  I should have added a couple of links - the slipper pattern is from Francine Toukou altered a bit to fit the bigger feet of my nieces.  The cherry stones I got loose from Aura Essential Oils.co.uk - the stones have an advantage over other hot pad fillings as they stay warm longer and unlike any other filling, can be washed. 

I found this paragraph about their therapeutic origins somewhere on the net:  

"Cherry stones are a natural by-product in the manufacture of Kirsch liqueur and the Swiss have been experiencing the benefit of warm cherry stones for years! Tradition has it that the distillery workers would tie cherry stones in small bags, place them on top of stoves to warm and, after a hard day's toil, use the soothing heat pads to treat their aches and pains."

And yes Mrs A, those tree baubles are more than 50 years old. I  remember them all, especially the plastic snowflakes and stars, decorating the Christmas trees of my 1950s childhood.  You can see a snowflake catching the light above my head in this photo taken around 1956.  Like many other baby boomers of similar  age, I seem to be drawn to anything that brings back happy memories of my mid 20th century childhood - blimey don't I sound old!!

December

The last couple of weeks have been all about craft fairs and I wouldn't like to tell you how many very late nights I've had getting my stall ready.  But even though there is still one fair to go I have just about enough stuff to keep me going and from now on I'm going to concentrate on my Christmas list - luckily its not huge as we are a small family.

I made some more peg dolls for last weekend's Christmas fair - snowmen, angels and fairies. I'd been looking for the peg stands for my dolls for ages.  I couldn't find them for sale without their pegs - and I already had lots of pegs.  But at last I've found a really excellent supplier.  If you're in the UK and looking for crafty supplies at reasonable prices, you'll probably find what you are after and more at littlecraftybugs.co.uk.  There's loads and loads of ideas for kids' crafty activities too. My happiest childhood Christmas memories are of sitting at the kitchen table making decorations and pegs are easy for even the most uncrafty child (or adult) to attempt .  Or what about a peg doll competition at a Christmas party.

Gloomy November?

Another month and another charming image from Children Month by Month.  We don't often have foggy weather here - except when the clouds are low on the hills and we have to travel through them.  However it really doesn't seem like November - I can still walk out without a coat and the garden really doesn't know what season it is......

The hollies think its already the festive season and are covered in bright red berries.........

but underneath there are fragrant pink sweet peas still flowering!

The leaves on the young maple are coloured ready to drop.............

but there are still alpine strawberries everywhere if you look carefully - and still some flowers!

But there's no escaping the long shadows mid afternoon and dusk by teatime when lights need switching on and the curtains have to be drawn.  Oh well, I'll just enjoy the last signs of summer and get on with my Christmas crafting!

October already.....

.........just where did September go!!  Two posts today as I want to fit in the October children from Children Month by Month, the old book I wrote about at the beginning of September.

Now children, please don't try burning leaves on the garden path yourselves.... this looks a very dangerous occupation and I'm sure this illustration would not be published in a children's book today!  The book comes from the stock of an old publishing house being sold on that well-known on-line auction site recently and is in mint condition. I was interested to see a printing error on this page. The stick or poker the boy is holding isn't there! Probably why the book didn't get to a book or toy shop - bad for the publishers but good for me.  Look out for the next page on 1st November - it will be here before you know it!

We've had another glorious day here in the UK. I spent most of the morning making this mobile, which I want to enter for the Papertrey Ink Make-it-Monday challenge.

That clever Erin Lincoln made some lovely chipboard accents using cutting dies and cereal packet cardboard recently and this week's challenge is to make a project using the same technique. Now I was hoping my September release goodies would have arrived by today as I had an idea for a Christmas mobile - but they haven't dropped on the doormat yet so I decided to make an Autumn mobile instead - after all it is only October!

So here it is - I've used leaf and fruit dies, 5 layers of cereal box cardboard and stamped cardstock for the fronts and backs. I found a suitable stick in the garden and tied it all together with hairy twine. I'll hang it in the window tomorrow.

Oh, and does anybody need any cooking apples! Free to a good home but must be collected - any takers!!

Stamps: Papertrey Ink's Leaf Prints, Fruit Fusion Apple and Pear plus the matching dies.
Cardboard courtesy of Dorset Cereals!

September

This pretty children's book illustration is from a small picture book titled Children Month by Month, published by Birn Bros Ltd in, I would think, the 1940s or early 50s.  Its perfect for posting this first day of September, which has been absolutely glorious here in the UK. Perfect because there is so much fruit on the apple trees this year the branches are bowed down with the weight and I'm wishing I had a little apple store shed like this in which to keep them. I'll be trying to keep as many as I can to use over the Autumn and Winter but I expect the garden wildlife will be feasting on windfalls over the next few months. So I never fret that they are going to waste because they won't be.

The other months in this book are just as charmingly illustrated and I thought I'd try to post one each first day of the month if I can remember. They'd make a lovely nostalgic calendar.

It seems Blogger has had a bit of a makeover and I'm trying to get to grips with it here - it looks like we can post LARGE photos now. And there's a preview screen - which is a big improvement too.