Children's Crafts: Seashell Jewelry from 1950

From Crafts for Everyone, by Louis Newkirk, 1950.  A way to use some of the souvenirs you brought home from the beach.

This book is available as a one-hour borrow from the Internet Archive. 
 

Other Crafts - A Leather Shopping Bag from 1950

 

A shopping bag to make from leather scraps (with very little tweaking, you could turn this into a clutch or a wallet - just line it so small items don't fall out).  From Crafts for Everyone, by Louis V. Newkirk, 1950.  This can be read for free online at the Hathi Trust site, but you will need a library or school account to download it.

Vintage Crafting - A Hot Mat from 1951

 This ... interesting little craft from the February, 1951 issue of Workbasket magazine falls in the category of "we can't do it anymore."  Separate rubber canning rings haven't been a thing for at least forty years, if not longer.  I wonder what you could substitute?

Children's Crafts - "Fanciful Felt Bookmarks" from 1960

 

From McCalls Golden Do-it Book, 1960.  Left-click to enlarge, or go to the copy on the Internet Archive.

Dig that smug-looking cat.

Vintage Leatherwork - a Belt from 1938

This is the sort of "make do and mend" craft that was popular during the Depression and then later when people were enduring rationing.  Although nowadays you could certainly haunt thrift stores for old leather purses or ponchos, probably the most reasonably priced way to create this would be purchasing a bag of leather scraps online.  From Mechanics Illustrated, Deember 1938.

Children's Crafts: Paper Animals for 1917

 From Handicrafts for the Handicapped, a set of paper animals for a sick or invalid child to cut out and play with - in the days when Mamma was not only cook, housekeeper, washerwoman and seamstress, but also nurse and occupational therapist.  The book can be found on the Internet Archive.  

Happy Year of the Horse

 

The year of the horse represents bravery, energy and independence (all of which we are going to need in the coming 11 months).  Instructions and the pattern to download from the Canon Creative Park. 

Vintage Jewelry - Brooches and Pins from 1949

 

left-click to enlarge

From the UK magazine Hobbies Weekly, designs for jewelry to be fashioned out of wood or sheet plastic.  Complete instructions and a downloadable issue from December 21, 1949 can be found at the Internet Archive.

Vintage Woodworking - A Folding Bookshelf from 1915

 

From The Boy Mechanic, Book II, published in 1915 and available as a free download from Project Gutenberg.  Left-click to enlarge.

Vintage Children's Crafts - Milk Carton Toys from 1976

 

From a great and fun book called The Woman's Day Book of Gifts To Make, published in the mid-1970s (which is when I think home crafting with humble supplies really peaked in this country.  So many craft magazines after that rely heavily on stores and kits).  Left-click  to enlarge.

Milk  in cartons is hard to find now, but orange juice is still around.  This book can be borrowed from the Open Library site.  It is free, but an account is required.  

Other Crafts - "Frilly Lacy Jewelry" from 1973

 

From Make it From Odds 'n' Ends, published in 1973 by the Pack O' Fun people, a variety of jewelry, pendants and earrings to make from string and acetate (a suggested source of the acetate - the lids to holiday card boxes).  Available as an online loan only at the Internet Archive. 

Vintage Furniture Crafts - a "Costumer" from 1915

 

From The Boy Mechanic: Book II, a free download from the Internet Archive, dating back to a time when your house might have one or two small closets - if you were lucky.  This is a grand book, full of interesting projects that in those dear dead days were considered simple enough for a boy 12-16 years old to make.  

Children's Crafts - A Clothes Peg Boat from 1949

From Hobbies Weekly, November 16th, 1949.  A British publication from a time when toys, and materials to make toys, were in short supply.  A better picture can be found at the Internet Archive. 
 

Jewelry - A "Wall of Jericho" Necklace from 1957

From Workbasket magazine, October, 1957.  Where the name came is anybody's guess.  The entire issue is available as a free download at the Antique Pattern Library.

 

Vintage Woodworking - A Whatnot from 1943

 

This is an example of what boys were expected to be able to accomplish, perhaps with a bit of help from Dad or the shop teacher.  From Popular Mechanic's The Young Craftsman, available as a free download from Archive.org.

Children's Crafts - A PaperDoll from 1925

 

"Hildegarde Lives in Holland," a paper doll from Good Housekeeping magazine, January 1925.  The entire year's issues as a bound copy to download can be found at archive.org.

A Vintage "Model" Dolls' House Sink from 1938

Finding stuff to put on the blog on Tuesdays gives me a great excuse to burrow around on the Internet - and here courtesy of Pinterest is a dolls' house project from the April 30th, 1938 issue of Hobbies Weekly, a small (fewer than 30 pages) publication that looks as though it was done rather on the cheap.  Still great fun and some wonderful person has scanned several issues from 1938 to 1944 and put them up on the Internet Archive.  Enjoy.  EDITED TO ADD:  left-clicking to enlarge the image above results in reduced legibility but if you enlarge from the Internet Archive page, the font is still faint but readable.  The pattern pieces on the center of the booklet are quite clear.

(The sink is 6 inches tall so, not to scale).

 

Vintage Doll's Furniture - A Mission Bedroom from 1912

 

From Boys' Make-At-Home Things by Carolyn and Marian Bailey, a set of bedroom furniture in "Mission Style."  A free download from Project Gutenberg.

Diagrams and instructions can be found on p59.

Vintage Holiday Crafts - Easter Designs from 1949

Some designs for Easter eggs from the April, 1949 issue of Workbasket magazine.  The entire copy can be downloaded from the Antique Pattern Library.

Vintage Woodcrafts - "Boogle Belts" from 1947

 

"Boogle Belts" from Easy Crafts by the magnificently-named Ellsworth Jaeger.  Left-click to enlarge or, the book is available as an online loan only from the Internet Archive.  Lots of fun stuff.