A Quick Easy Project and Some Baby Boomer Musings

While I was taking time off over Christmas, I finally managed to complete a simple project I've had in mind to tackle for a long time. I was reminded of it this morning when I saw this item in my teammate Brenda's, Etsy shop, PorcelainChinaArt:

www.etsy.com/listing/213488455/vintage-brass-frame-filigree-oval-with

Some time back, I acquired a pair of very similar framed floral prints. I think I picked them up a garage sale. They were in so-so condition--nothing intrinsically wrong with them, but dust had filtered its way inside the glass and they looked dull. My idea was to dismantle them, clean them, and resell them.

A pair of needle-nosed pliers made quick work of pulling out the little brass nails that held the picture and domed glass in the frame. But even after cleaning, the prints just didn't grab me--the images were faded and yellowed.

Here's a picture of one of mine (glass removed). You can see how closely it resembles the one in Brenda's shop:

And here's what it looked like, dismantled:

(The red velvet oval is just the opposite side of the floral print, which is mounted on a piece of cork. This was made in Italy, by the way.)

I decided to be bold and make a change. My son printed off an enlargement of a photograph I'd taken last summer of my oldest granddaughter playing dress-up. Using the oval as a template, I positioned it over the enlarged photo, traced around it, and cut it out, and inserted it into the frame, over top of the original image. It worked perfectly, and looks quite magical with the curved glass cover, though it's tough to see that in this photo.

I still have one frame left, and will probably save it until I have a "just right" picture of my younger granddaughter to fit it. Another idea would be to use it to frame an illustration from a vintage picture book or calendar. In fact, I think I am going to re-do a lot of smaller vintage framed prints this way. Often the frames are much more interesting than the old prints they were made to showcase.

Do check out Brenda's shop; she has some great items. Here are a couple of my other favorites from her store:

www.etsy.com/listing/219184313/cupmug-aqua-and-white-black-cat-bird

www.etsy.com/listing/196796517/cup-mug-dandelions-design-coffee-tea

www.etsy.com/listing/192736657/vintage-beaded-satin-creme-collar

On another note, when I was off with my sister-in-law last week, I acquired a nifty lithographed tin toy fort/carrying case (I'll show it to you another time). I liked it because of its terrific graphics and its possibilities as decorative storage. But when I got it home and opened it, I found it has some neat old toy soldiers and other little figures in it, which makes it even better!

Here are some of the little soldiers:

 

www.etsy.com/listing/220847643/set-of-11-miniature-plastic-soldiers

www.etsy.com/listing/220845908/9-plastic-miniature-soldiers-world-war

www.etsy.com/listing/220845908/9-plastic-miniature-soldiers-world-war

Nowadays I've little doubt it would be considered politically-incorrect and downright morally reprehensible to allow children to play with--gasp!--war toys. But we baby boomers had no such qualms. I still remember how much I coveted my older brother's toy machine gun, which had a little red tip that went flashing in and out of the barrel to represent rapid fire, and which made the most satisfying stuttering noise when the trigger was pulled. Oddly enough, I wasn't transformed into a sociopathic mass-murderer as a result of such "dubious" youthful experiences. 

I do wish people today wouldn't take themselves so seriously! I saw on the news recently where a little boy was suspended from school after nibbling his lunch sandwich into the shape of a pistol. Good grief.

Has the whole world gone barking mad? 


But don't get me started. At least now now--I've got dinner to fix. 

In my next post I'll show you the tin fort and a few more items I found inside.