Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Baby Dolls and Pinwheels

I worked on two more memories trading cards today. I am having such a nice time with these cards and the memories. Each card I do seems to stir up more thoughts of things from the past

Tonight I was surfing looking for things that were popular in the 1950s. This brought back more special memories. I remember in the 60s that my mom used to make log planters from cans and plaster of Paris. She put the cans together and put the plaster over them forming what looked like a log with cut branches sticking out from it. She would use a fork and make texture in the plaster and then paint the logs. They were really quite attractive and she sold a few.

Another time she made these wall hangings from some bendable sheets that were like screening. She formed them to look like frames then attached dried cattails, flowers, cotton pods, etc to make a floral arrangement. Then they were sprayed with a gold paint.

Another hobby she did was making those resin grapes that everyone had on their coffee tables in the 60s. They had a wooden stem and a cluster of the resin grapes. The last set of them mom had was tossed thru their television by a burglar who trashed the house while looking for money.

The hobby that was most useful to me was her flower making. I'm not sure what kind of material they were made of (some kind of paper but thicker like cloth), but they had stems wrapped in green floral tape, leaves, and just about any kind of flowers. She made the boutonniere and wedding corsage for our wedding. My request was carnations and the deepest red...so they looked almost black. Very pretty when done.

My mother didn't work outside the house and she didn't even drive until I was a senior in high school. She was always home when I came home from school and most days I would walk in the door to the smell of fresh baked yeast rolls, cinnamon rolls, cookies or a fresh pot of beans cooking on the stove with cornbread in the oven. It was always such a nice greeting and made me feel glad to come home.

4 comments:

Donna said...

Wasn't it nice to have a Mom to come home to? If something happened at school that upset me I knew I could always run home to Mom for comfort. Kids don't have that these days. I've enjoyed reading about your memories!

Laure Ferlita said...

It is easy to see that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree! You apparently took after your mom with your love of arts and the various mediums that you use. Thanks for sharing!

Teresa said...

My Mom worked at home (during that time England had a large cottage industry going and lots of Moms saw it as having the best of both worlds... make money, be home for the kids) so I often came home to the smell of freshly baked bread. I remember I could smell that wonderful aroma before I even got into the house. Kids these days miss so much.

Robyn Sinclair said...

It is such a treat to read your memories, Jeanne. I can't make a better comment than Laure. Thanks.