Vintage
I love old stuff!
Memory Lane: Kitty Cats
It’s so interesting to compare the different ways these vintage cats have been rendered – each one quite easy to attribute to the decade it was made. They come in all shapes, sizes & styles, but these 20th century cats are all unmistakeably kitty-esque… Read the full story…
How to Make Giant Christmas Balls
Is it too early to make Christmas Balls? That’s the question on everyone’s lips, isn’t it? Look at this glorious creation – a Giant Christmas Ball from a book I picked up from a secondhand book fair a few months ago, Fun With Wool by Michael Joseph… Read the full story…
From the Archives: Mirror Writing
I thought you might like to see this fabulous example of mirror writing on a postcard I have from 1908. People used to find ingenious ways to make their correspondence difficult for the postman to take a peek at, including writing backwards… Read the full story…
My Vintage Postcard Collection #1
I have a big collection of Victorian & Edwardian postcards, mainly collected in the ’80s when they were cheap & plentiful. They’re so pretty! I keep them in vintage postcard albums & nice boxes & take them out of the cupboard every so often… Read the full story…
Rummaging Pays Off Yet Again!
Well, I set my alarm for an indecently early hour on Saturday morning (& promptly snoozed through it) because it was the opening day of an annual secondhand book sale, held every June long weekend, that I never miss… Read the full story…
End of Summer Already?!
Yep, one more week & we’re into autumn…it feels like only yesterday that I was “celebrating” the New Year with a poorly-timed bout of the flu (is there a good time to get the flu?) Anyway, I thought I’d better dust off my blog… Read the full story…
Happy (Belated) Holidays
I really really wanted to make an extra special Christmas post on my blog, but alas, last minute wholesale orders & Etsy craziness meant I didn’t have a minute to spare. Sadly, I missed out on doing a December giveaway! Read the full story…
Jumping on the Holiday Bandwagon
We don’t really do Halloween here in Australia, although I wish we did. I love ghost stories, folklore, costume parties & lollies (that’s candy to you Americans) so it sounds like the perfect holiday to me! Here’s wishing you… Read the full story…
I Love…Mary Blair
Hands up who’s a lifetime member of the Mary Blair Appreciation Society (if there is such a thing)? Meeeeee!!! I’ve loved Mary Blair since I was little & first read I Can Fly. Isn’t it funny how kids study things so intently? Read the full story…
Before & After
People sometimes ask me about my photo manipulations – how much of them is real, & how much is digital trickery. I thought I’d post a few before & after pics…I don’t know about you, but I find them interesting to look at… Read the full story…
Little Things
When I was a kid, I used to collect little treasures such as toys from cereal boxes, Christmas crackers & vending machines, & keep them in a tin toffee box which I called my ‘Little Things Box’. I’d spend hours… Read the full story…
A Walrus Ghost with Fancy Moves
Now where are you ever going to see a spectacle like this other than in a bizarre Max Fleischer cartoon? In the lead up to Halloween, here’s one of my very favourite cartoons from the 1930s. Betty Boop runs away to a haunted cave… Read the full story…
Sunday on the Lawn
Check out this voluptuous little number…it’s from a 1950s outdoor setting that I made my friend buy last week. I’m really good at convincing people to buy things…I’m that little cartoon devil that sits on your shoulder… Read the full story…