Last year I posted scans of 20 little girls from this undated vintage paint book by Mary Alice Stoddard, and I mentioned that I would also upload 20 images of little boys from the same book. I forgot all about this until yesterday, when I received an email from Wanetha, who included a photo of…
Month: June 2011
Bridal Shower Invitation
Yesterday, I literally spent the entire day designing this shower invitation from a sheet of vintage 1960s wrapping paper. Although the wrapping paper is in good condition, there are the usual fold lines and some slight discoloration. The main problem was how to position the little shower girls, who are scattered randomly over the paper,…
Let’s Play House — Lois Lenski, 1944
I was excited to find a copy of this Lenski book because, although I have seen the title in her bibliography, I’ve never seen any of the illustrations. I don’t remember having any Lenski books as a child, but I bought “The Big Book of Mr. Small” for my son, Elliott, when he was little,…
Crepe Paper Wedding Flowers
For the past few weeks, I have been learning to make crepe paper flowers. Gordon is constructing 12 pvc posts to place down the aisle, which we will use to hang the fabric pennants and then tie one of our crepe paper bouquets to the top. We will have real flowers at the wedding, but…
Here Comes the Bride Banner
Emily loves Martha Stewart wedding crafts, and this banner was one of the first things she asked me to make. This worked well for us since we just happen to have two adorable little boys in our family, so Maxwell will be the ring bearer and Oliver will carry the banner. A printable file meant…
A Gift From Pratima
Yesterday I received a beautiful gift from my friend, Pratima (peepsatthepeepaltree). On a trip to India, Pratima purchased an assortment of hand block printed fabrics, and she shared some of these lovely prints with her readers. Pratima made an amazing quilt with her fabrics, and wrote about hand block printing and her quilt here and…
Retirement Gifts
Yesterday was our school’s end of the year party, and we celebrated my retirement. My favorite part was a hilarious skit of me teaching one of my first grade computer classes. I laughed so hard I was weeping. Fortunately, I’ll still get to see my friends, since the school is only 4 blocks from my…
Vintage-Inspired Apron – #23
Today I made one more apron — not for the shower, but for Judy, who is the PE teacher at my school. She wanted an apron for her mother, Rose, who just happens to love pink and yellow roses. Every year I’ve worked at that school, Judy has given me her delicious homemade raspberry jam…
Alice Brooks Pieced Butterfly Pattern
In a couple of posts here and here, I have talked about this pattern and shown a couple of blocks. I have finally managed to scan the entire original pattern. You will notice that my butterfly is different, having 4 D pieces in each wing, as opposed to 3 in the original pattern. It was…
The History of Martha Dellasega – Volume III
I love all three volumes of my History, but I think this may be my favorite. The History of Martha Dellasega, Volume III Written & Illustrated by Mary Dellasega, 1967-68
The History of Martha Dellasega – Volume II
Several of you asked about my younger sister, Mary, who grew up to be a college professor teaching mostly English and Speech. She received a PhD in her favorite field, theater, and she also works at a Seattle theater. Mary doesn’t draw much anymore, but she is still a wonderful and witty writer. I want…
The History of Martha Dellasega – Volume 1
I love these books so much, and they make me laugh every time I read them. This is the first volume of a three-part series written by my little sister, Mary. Mary was about 14 when she wrote this volume. The History of Martha Dellasega, Volume I Written and Illustrated by Mary Dellasega, 1964-66
Mosaic Flower Pots
My niece, Jennifer, volunteers at her sons’ school helping the students create art projects, and her latest idea was decorating clay pots. Her son, Maxwell, made this cute pot and gave it to me for my birthday. Originally, there was a sweet Gerbera daisy in the pot, which I transplanted outside. Now I use the…
Handkerchief Quilt
When Moda released these cute reproduction handkerchiefs in their own little case, I immediately thought of using them to make a quilt for my sister, Mary. This is probably the closest I’ll ever come to making a sampler type quilt, and it’s really not that close. I guess the one thing that makes it a…