Monday, March 30, 2009

PHOTOSHOP FUN



Yeah, I am having tooooo much fun with Photoshop.
Here is are two I worked on this weekend. Still experimenting!!
I need to name these two. Suggestions anyone?

Hope you are having a creative week.

Thursday, March 26, 2009

MORE COMFORT DOLLS

Okay here are the Comfort Dolls I made this week for the Comfort Doll project hosted by Patricia Winter.
If you are not familiar with this project dolls are made and sent into Patricia Winter and she distributes them to Battered Women s shelters all over the world. If you are interested in participating click on the icon at the right of my post.



"BELLE"


This lovely young thing is one of my "Hair Cards". I think I will make her into a 12 x 12 Collage and also note cards and of course an ACEO. What do you think?

Monday, March 23, 2009

PHANTOMESS OF THE OPRA?

This is an ATC I did. I was trying to paint her lips more red and in the process I messed them up really bad so I just made her mouth look funny! Isn't this the funniest thing!

Though you all could use a laugh this week!

Oh and by the way, since my computer was sick for 2 weeks I missed getting emails on the comments on my posts so to all of you...thanks for the comments and the encouragement.

Lydia, the little journals are just small notebook size.
Nita, thanks for thinking of me "Grandma"
Love you all

Thursday, March 19, 2009

DO YOU LIKE ALTERED BOOKS?


http://artistbrendasalzano.blogspot.com

My friend Brenda at Save The Artist Hand Made! is having a give away of this beautiful altered book.Go take a look at her other art. She does paintings, altered books as well as jewelry. She is an amazing artist and takes her work so seriously.

Just go to her blog and leave a comment and then mention this site on your blog or on Twitter (How many of you know about Twitter?)

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

SEND HER A TEXT MESSAGE!!


Last year when my Mother passed away I came to my niece's house where I was staying while in Idaho and as I walked in the door it was pretty late at night and there kneeling down in prayer with her Daddy was little Addy, the girl on the right and her sister Emmy on the left. She asked me to kneel down and pray with her. She was the sweetheart that said "Dear God, I want to send Grandma Great a Text message" It was such a sad time but she brought a smile to my face.

My niece Mandy has always been very close to me and her family is just so special to me. These two little sweeties are my grandnieces so let me introduce you to
Addison Kate and Emmy Lee St Clair. Emmy loves me so much she told her Mom that she would not answer her unless she called her Emmy Patricia!! What a cutie!

I am so blessed with the love of this family.

Monday, March 16, 2009

HAPPY ST PATRICK'S DAY


Happy St Patrick's Day to all my blogging buddies!

Friday, March 13, 2009

HAPPY DAYS ARE HERE AGAIN

Well for the past two weeks I have had major computer problems. Having to get a new hard drive installed and backup all of my files. Then there is the problem with WILDBLUE Internet Service...I fired them and now have a reliable fast affordable service with great customer service and a reasonable Fair Activity Policy, HUGHES INTERNET SERVICE.

I was lost without my computer. You really don't know what you've got until you lose it!
Anyway while I was without a computer I stayed busy.


It snowed last Monday here in the banana belt of the Oregon Coast but melted by noon.



The boys just stayed in the warm house.

My newest 12 x 12 collage



Note books for our battered women's shelter (one of the items on their wish list). I intend to make more for the children and am thinking of creating a network for this cause. I am sure all of you talented artist could pick up a small note book or day planner and create on it for donation to this shelter, right?


My latest "Comfort Doll"



ACEO's using the Victorian ladies idea by saving their hair, using sheep wool


These were done for a challenge our Etsy Team had. I used face cabs made by Linsart on two of them.



A collage I did with an old book page. this one being an ad for Elgin Wrist Watches from a 1923 National Geographic Magazine. This was for a Challenge on Etsy Cottage Style

Yeah, I stayed busy but I am so happy to have my computer back. What a companion it is to me!

DID YA MISS ME?

Saturday, March 7, 2009

I HAVE PASSED MY THRESHOLD!!

It has been brought to my attention by my wonderful internet server WILDBLUE that I have exceeded my threshold of uploads. Due to this, my computer has slowed down to a dialup speed. Needless to say I am very upset about this. I will get my speed back in a month. WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO IN THE MEAN TIME!??

We have the highest upgrade through WILDBLUE and still, it does not give me enough threshold.
My computer will be slow until our next billing cycle and that is about 25 days away!

The problem is that where we live we are limited to what server we can use. In CA we had DSL which is terrific but here no such animal exists. We have to rely on satellite or cable and cable is good but the area we live in of course it is not available!

Soooo, if I am not posting as much as I would like to (with pictures) that is why.
I am going to try something here ...if I can copy and paste that is not downloading right?

NOPE it doesn't work. UGH!!!

I can still read all your posts though so maybe that will be a way to catch up!


Thursday, March 5, 2009

THE BOB

The Bob
by Michael Warner

Hairstyles of the 1920s created more controversy in hair fashion than in any other period of American culture. And one hairstyle, known simply as ¾ “the bob,” would be at the center of this great debate. First introduced during the Great War, the bob haircut would eventually cause a revolution in the way women would wear their hair ¾ forevermore.

It all started in 1915 with the debut of the Castle Bob, named after the celebrated ballroom dancer Irene Castle. While cutting her hair for convenience, little would she know that she would forever be associated with triggering a revolution in 20th-century hair fashion. The Castle Bob would be the first indication of things to come ¾ the rage of short hair.

The bob haircut was simply a blunt cut, level with the bottom of the ears all around the head. It was worn either with bangs or with the hair brushed off of the forehead. It was a simple look but a drastic departure from the long feminine looks created by Gibson and Marcel.

The free-spirited youth of the day readily accepted the new look and made it the forerunner of many fads and fashions which eventually led to new curling, perming and coloring methods. When a woman had her hair cut short, she grew bolder. Soon she began wearing ‘long beads, short skirts, rolled stockings, and rough on her knees,’ an expression synonymous with ¾ the flapper. The rebellious change in hairstyle was just the beginning of a major change in societal norms and values seen during the 1920s.

On May 1, 1920, the Saturday Evening Post published
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s short story "Bernice Bobs Her Hair." This infamous tale depicts a sweet-but-dull young lady who submits to the barber’s shears and is transformed into a smooth-talking vamp by her fickle society-girl cousin. The heroine would become a role model for many young women.

By 1921, following the lead of fashion designer "Coco" Chanel and actresses Clara Bow and Louise Brooks, young women everywhere took the plunge and began bobbing their hair.


Clara Bow


Louise Brooks

As the younger generation eagerly embraced this latest fad, women of all ages would soon find themselves having to face a critical decision – to bob, or not to bob. Many were fearful of taking the plunge only to discover that long hair would quickly be back in vogue. In fact, professional hair publications predicted an immediate return to long hair. However, it was difficult to ignore the continued popularity of the bob.

Tears and smelling salts accompanied the sacrifice as shorn cascades of crowning glories tumbled to the floors of barbershops. Men raged over the female invasion of the barbershop but at that time, the-cutting-of-hair was still a male-dominated occupation. In some cities, long lines of women were reported standing outside barbershops while inside, many women patiently sat on floors waiting their turn to be bobbed. In New York City, reports of up to 2,000 heads per day were being clipped.

Overseas, it was reported that while King George took no official position to the controversy of bobbed hair, her majesty, Queen Mary, preferred if ladies with short hair would in some way conceal that fact at court functions or royal ceremonies. Hair additions, as depicted in this 1920s advertisement, were commonly used to conceal the shingled back. Many women actually saved their long locks just so they could use them to conceal their new haircut!

Hairdressers were forced into accepting the bob after losing so many clients and profits to the barber. As hairdressers became more skilled at their craft, other more sophisticated cuts were introduced. Women eventually wore their hair bobbed in waved or shingled styles.

By 1925, the bobbed hair controversy still raged. A teacher in Jersey City, New Jersey was actually ordered by her Board of Education to let her hair grow! The Board claimed that women waste too much time fussing with bobbed locks. Preachers warned parishioners that “a bobbed woman is a disgraced woman.” Men divorced their wives over bobbed hair. One large department store fired all employees wearing bobbed hair.

And to make matters worse, the bold and daring flapper pushed the envelope even further when she subjected herself to the shingle bob causing even more controversy. In a letter to the editor of a professional hair publication, one parent deplored this newest version of the bob: “From the rear, it is hard to tell a girl from a boy, since the advent of the shingle bob.” And, “I’ve raised my girls to be women and my boys to be men, but since the advent of this shingle bob, I have to look twice at my own offspring to tell which is which.”

Shingle Bob

The shingle or the "boyish bob" introduced in 1923 featured hair which tapered into a V-shape at the nape of the neck with either waves or spit curls at the sides.

Bobbing-related Articles Published in the 20s

Shingle headaches - According to a 1925 article published in a New York City paper, "some devotees of the hair-bobbed fashion are complaining of ‘shingle headaches.’ " The medical profession believes this is nothing but a form of neuralgia caused by the sudden removal of hair from the tender nape of the neck, thus exposing it to the blustery winds. In any event, a new medical term — shingle headache — was coined from the bobbed fad.

Economic Effects of Bobbing (from the Washington Post, 1925): The bobbed hair fashion has started a new industry, or at least set its wheels to whirling much faster--the beauty industry. Five years ago, there were 5,000 hairdressing shops in the United States; at the end of 1924 there were 21,000 established shops and several thousand transients. These figures, be it noted, do not include those barber-shops which do a rushing business with bobbing. Bobbing has led to the adoption of other aids to personal adornment, and the result is that beauty shops flourish everywhere throughout the land.

In time society would be more forgiving and by 1927, the shingle bob would no longer be a big controversy. The severity of the style had been tested and women were now experimenting with softer more feminine looks to usher in the 1930s

Did you know?

Bobbed hair prompted the invention of the bobbie pin!

Hair Memorabilia from the 1920s

1920s Advertisement and Commonly Used Hair Product


Advertisement for Golden Glint Shampoo from 1925

Package of Golden Glint Rinse from 1920s
1920s advertisement for Colgate's Brillantine.

Advertisement from the Milwaukee Barbers' Supply Company. Note the Valentino look in the bottom right-hand corner!
Courtesy of http://www.hairarchives.com

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

SAVE YOUR HAIR?

During the Victorian Period, the hair receiver was commonly found on a woman’s vanity. After brushing her hair, she would remove the hair from the brush and place it through the opening of the receiver for storage.


Once enough hair had accumulated, it could be used to construct hats, or could be woven or plaited and put into lockets, left visible through cut-glass windows of a brooch or even made into watch chains, bracelets or jewelry. Hair receivers were usually made from ceramic, bronze or crystal. Hand-painted ceramic receivers are commonly found in antique stores.


The mourning brooch was a common piece of jewelry used to preserve the locks of a loved one. This brooch was made in the form of the Prince of Wales' feathers, embellished with seed pearls and gold thread.