| Recently, my children received some vintage 70s catalogs filled with craft ideas. Jonah and Daisy had been pouring over them for days by the time I finally checked them out. Yes, they had some good ideas for rainy days as well as some interesting photos that I know you'll enjoy. Thank you, thank you, to the person who gave these to us. While the kids enjoyed the ideas, I had an enjoyable trip back to my childhood years. The goose covered dish on the left reminded me of the days when my mom and my aunt made ceramics together. My aunt had a shop across from the courthouse called "Family Ceramics and Gifts," and I remember my mother spending hours there making African violet pots, owl figurines, and turtle toothbrush holders. At Christmas time, she made a ceramic tree with working lights on the inside. This was an item that everyone wanted back in the 70s. As I looked through these books, I couldn't help but notice all the patriotic themes. People were making plastic canvas structures of eagles, flags, and the pledge of allegiance. 1976...what else was there to do? That was the year my grandmother's best friend Margie made me a pair of polyester shorts with the Liberty Bell all over them. Every woman felt the need to be crafty. Even my grandmother, a woman well ahead of her time, who preferred motorcycles to domestic pursuits, reluctantly knitted slippers for our family. These had yarn pom-poms on the tops. |
| Back in the 70s, my mother stayed busy creating macrame' art with yarn and beads. She used to make wall hangings with ceramic owl faces framed in orange or green yarn. Each decade has its own colors, and this was the era of avocado green, chocolate brown, and burnt orange. |
| And then, if you were especially creative, you could make your own purse. My mother did this. She had a purse very similar to this one. |
| The tilework in our bathrooms looks very similar to this, except ours is pink and blue...hideous leftovers from the 50s. I am always trying to tone down the colors. This bathroom raises many questions, like why would a person want a shaggy cover on their toilet lid? I don't understand... |
| I think the best part of the 70s is that my mom was home, doing things that impressed us all. Even my grandmother never let me forget that she once made slippers instead of just buying them. Thirty years later, I feel like a failure, having done nothing crafty to impress anyone at all. I'm afraid I don't have the patience for macrame' or the artistic talent for ceramic turtles. Confession: I had a subscription to Martha Stewart's magazine for years and had the best of intentions to transform myself into a domestic goddess worthy of my mother, or any other female of the 70s. I tend to relate more to my grandmother, who had a pantry full of top ramen and macaroni and cheese. She bought cookies from the store...to my recollection, she made only one batch of cookies and these were brutal little rocks that loosened the wire on my braces when I bit into one. But she didn't need to prove herself in the kitchen...she drove a big pink motorcycle and was a proud member of "The Motor Maids." Leave domestic pursuits to those who don't want to go on road trips...just don't forget that once, she did make slippers for everyone in our family! So, while you won't catch me wearing an apron or serving my family a casserole housed inside a goose covered dish, it was still fun to look and remember the days when women did such things. Have a great week. |