Summer, picnics and ginger beer, leapfrog and hopscotch...

Ah the long days of summer, picnics and ginger beer, leapfrog and hopscotch...

Ok, so here in the UK summer so far has been pants! This was a rare sunny evening at Granny's where shunning the TV they went outside and played :) 

Summer went on forever when I was a kid, hopscotch drawn on the road in the turning circle was my game of choice, if I wasn't off den building with my brother (pretending to be swallows and amazons or the famous 5!)  What were your favourite childhood summer games / memories?

All this rain has meant I've had plenty of time inside sewing, you can check out my creations at  here or here

Lil Vintage Makes is  also on Facebook and Twitter too

I'd be ever so chuffed if you could join me!!!

{How to Guide} Vintage Jelly Moulds and How to Turn out a Jelly!!

Image Source

I bet you've all wanted perfect Jellys like the ones above haven't you? No problem! You just need to pop to the antique market/ car boot sale / Granny's house and pick up  one of those darling glass moulds you've spied right? 


You'll probably leave it til the day before the party too yes? Make a packet up and turn it out onto your plate just before the guests arrive perfect housewife style! Umm no. 

I bought a lovely fluted jelly mould on my last trip to Devon and couldn't wait to use it! I knew they were tricky so i did a bit of research and greased the glass inside with veg oil before filling with jelly. It didn't work. In fact it didn't work so badly that the centre of the jelly plopped out whilst the outside clung to the edges still *grr* Take two , and a lot of research later I came up with the ultimate guide to turning out Jelly from a glass mould...


1. Wet the mould before pouring the jelly in, (swirling some water around the mould then emptying out should be enough)


2. mixing the jelly at 1 and 1/2 tablets to a pint of water instead of 1 tablet per pint. 


3. When you want to turn out the jelly dip the mould into boiling water for 20 seconds first. 


4. you might need to run a knife around the rim to release the top edge! 


5. Don't forget to wet the plate you are turning it out onto so you can adjust it to centre positon!! 


Hope that helps you achieve your perfect vintage jellies, if not and you still want that mould in your life...Give up - and get one of these lovelies....

Candles

Lights

What I did in May....

You'll have to forgive me for the lack of posts recently, I've been working on a little special something! You'll have to wait for the official announcement on that, but if you can't wait you go like my page over on facebook and you'll get lots of pictures of it all coming together....

Meanwhile hers a few photos of what I got up to in May...

Cooling off in the scorching weather....

Preparing for the Queen's Jubilee, i'm loving all of the 50s styling out and about in the shops at the moment - i hope it doesn't all disappear again after too quickly!

 Parties and celebrations at School - practicing my face painting for daughters Jubilee mufti Day!

 Being Blue - no not like that! We took part in a record breaking attempt of the World's largest Human olympic rings display in Bath.

Welcoming the new season, with lots of Summery (homemade) goodies!!

Gardening - Enjoying the flowers and Digging a new Veggie Patch in the garden...

While others merely watched!!

Family Picnics - this one was enjoyed at the Vintage Nostalgia Show, Wilts.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing what we got up to, i'll blog a little more in depth on a couple of them soon, but its half term here, and we're off on our holidays so you'll have to wait.......again. (sorry!)

There might be some updates here if you're lucky

{Tutorial} How to make a Hair Rat for Faux Bangs / Rolled Fringe

I'm always on the lookout for a good vintage hairstyle, and the faux fringe is one I've dabbled with in the past a couple of times Previously, I've use a shop bought dughnut sliced open to create the rat , but the colour doesnt go with my new hair and truth be told its a bit on the chunky side. 

'I know' I thought this morning, 'It can't be that hard -I'll make my own!'  And do you know what? 

It wasn't! 

You too can make your own Hair-Rat with this tutorial

Hair -Rat Tutorial

You will need :~

* Old pair of tights

* Scissors

* Neeedle and thread or Sewing Machine

*Cotton Wool, Wadding or a big ball of your own hair (saved from your brushes)

1.First select your tights, normal everyday tights or stockings,  in a colour that matches your hair closest.  This is a great way to recycle those holey ones!! Mine were 'Barely Black', good for darker hair,  for blondes choose 'Natural' shades.

2.Cut a section from you tights approx 7" long.

3.Starting 1" from the one end, sew a seam along one shorter edge and after 1 1.2" turn and sew along the length of the tight. 

4.Cut away excess tight material and turn tight inside out.

5. Fill the tube (leaving 1" gap at open end) with your filling and manipulate until stuffing is even along the length, and tube is  'sausage shape'.

6. Sew up open end so you have 1" flat piece of tight between seam and end of tight material. These extra pieces of flat material will enable you to pin the roll into your hair.

7. If you are using a sewing machine selecting a stitch where the needle sews to one side of the foot will help get a good result. I selected option 5 (see below)

You should now have a homemade Hair-Rat!!!!

Roll your fringe around the Rat and finish with a pretty flower!!!

 

If you need a hand rolling a fringe  you can check out these videos...

Fleur rolls a faux fringe ...

What will be vintage?

Its no secret at all that my favourite vintage period is the 1940s and 50s and that our children join us on our 1940s reenactment adventures, infact it seems one of the most favourite vintage periods for people of my generation!

I often wonder if, my children will continue with this love of this period or as they grow if they (along with another generation) will embrace a new vintage period.

Putting aside other factors the 1940s / 50s is a period when alot of our parents were born and grew up.

So, how much of that has influenced our enthusiasm for the period? Our parents nostalgia influencing our subconcious, rose tinted stories of  'the best days of their lives' increasing our love for the period.

There is alot being asked these days about when is vintage? how old does something have to be vintage? Well, experts will quote anything over 25 years can called Vintage which takes us to the 1980s.  Fastforward 25 years till my daughter is the about the age as I am now and the 70s and 80s will be 50/60 years ago.  not too far away from my 60/70 years since the 1940s and50s!

70s without the fancydress!!

Although we wouldn't rush to dress from the period -(the above piccy might change that!!)
hubby and I definitely embrace the nostalgia of the 70s. Often buying original childhood games for the kids and rewatch our GoodLife DVDs with them!!

And there'll always be a babycham or snowball offered to visitors on xmas day, before dinner....

So will they jump into the 70s and 80s (the decades I was born and grew up) with as much enthusiasm as I have for the 40s and 50s or will those post war years always remain the desired vintage period?

Your Vintage Life in a Pocket....

At the weekend before hubby put away his Jacket, he emptied out the pocket.

Tickets for a steam train ride, A programme from a vintage night at a local cinema and WW2 ID papers.  I looked at him and smiled......those three items really summed up his vintage life!

In my handbag today....Pearl earrings, bobby pins and 1940s ration amounts scribbled on the back of an envelope. All thingas I use most days!!!

So what do you keep in your pocket that kinda sums 'vintage you up' in one glance?

The artist And Vintage Mondays

Last week for a special pre birthday treat, hubby took me to see The Artist. I was so excited! I'd wanted to see this film since I first saw the trailer. A double super thrill was that he was taking me to see it at the Little Theatre in Bath for one of their Vintage Monday showings!

Creative Bath write up
Bath’s Little Theatre Cinema will shortly be inviting the public to take part in a time travel experiment. Although we’ll be showing the same brand new films as usual, we’ll be turning the clocks back around the cinema, back to a time of gentility and refinement. Staff in old-fashioned uniforms, ice cream tray sales, intermissions – you thought these were things of the past, but on Monday nights from 16th January, the Little is bringing them back and resurrecting the truly great days of cinema.

Martin Jennings-Wright, manager of the Little, said: Lots of our customers miss the days when a trip to the cinema was a real event, and we are delighted to revive that atmosphere. We hope we can jog a few older memories, and perhaps open a few younger eyes to how cinemas used to be, at the same time as playing the latest films via state of the art digital projection.

Customers turning up in 1940s or thereabouts costume will be treated to free refreshments on the night!

Little Theatre Website

Usherettes, ice cream trays, the sound of the wurlitzer... every Monday from 16 January, come along to the Little for what made cinemaging in the 1940s and '50s so great.
You can even spend the intermission enjoying an in-cinema cigarette (of the sweet variety).
We'll be showing the same line-up of films as during the rest of the week, but all done with nostalgic flourish.
Do come in your best period outfits - if we like the cut of your jib there'll be ices or refreshing drinks on the house.

When we arrived, we were very pleased with the entrace - red carpet no less!! But unfortunately  thats where the magic stopped for us...

All the props were there but there was no feeling or sparkle.  Maybe we'd hyped it up in our heads too much? Maybe it was just the service that was lacking. To me there was no atmosphere of the 40s, Noone make the evening feel special, I had too call the usherette back for my order because they didn't ask our row, and repeat my choice twice to her before I got it. And no, even though we were head to toe in authentic and reproduction 1940s garb we did not receive it free! The cinema itself was very comfy and the building was cute. But I don't think we'll return unless its the only place showing a film I like. We'll be heading back to the westway in frome for our Independant Cinema fim watching. 

The Film was AMAZING and eclectic ephemera has done a great review here you can read. I loved every minute of it and really really hope they make more of this type of film.

{Beginners Guide) to Vintage Gloves

  

 Audrey Hepburn

 
Rules of Glove Wearing


There are many rules to be observed in the art of Glove Wearing, here are  the main ones:-

* Gloves should be worn when shopping, dancing, visiting and outdoors as well as to a place of worship.    (Basically whenever they would look pretty!)
* Gloves should  not be worn whilst eating, drinking, applying make-up or smoking.
(This is common sense , don't wear gloves when they may get dirty!)
* If gloves get soiled, remove and do not wear until washed.
* Remove your right glove  before shaking hands. If not possible then you should apologise by saying 'pardon my glove'.
* When gloves are removed they should be placed directly in your bag and not carried.
* Remove rings before putting on gloves

I hope they're going straight into your handbag Audrey dear!

Marlene Dietrich 

Image

Types of gloves...

There are many types of gloves and several lengths availablefor you to choose. A general rule of thumb is that  
            "the shorter the sleeve the longer the glove"




Opera Gloves

Image Via

 

Three-Quarter (or Coat)  Length Gloves


These are approximately 14" or six-button in length. These may be worn with any length sleeve, tucking under longer sleeves.

 Image via

Gauntlet Gloves

Image via LottieLoves

Suitable for most sleeve lengths, the armpieces are worn over the sleeves.


 Day Gloves

 Gloves

Short gloves finishing at the wrist. Made from cotton or later nylon, also popular were crocheted gloves.
 

During the 1950s gloves were the finishing touch to any ladies outfit, giving a polished, groomed look. Although cream or white were most popular choice, gloves were now available in a whole range of colours


Choose colours that match compliment or contrast your outfit see my colour post for help



How to find your Glove Size

• Measure all around your hand with a tape measure. Place tape around the knuckles of your hand (indicated by the red line in the photo below). 

• Measure your dominant hand - the right if you are right-handed, and the left if you are left-handed.
• Compare this measurement on the chart below to find your correct glove size!

Note: some manufacturers indicate glove sizes by inches and others by Small, Medium, Large, etc. . Use the tables below to find your size.

Named Size	Inches	Cm

x-small	6	15
small	6½	17
medium	7	18
large	7½	19
x-large	8	20

If you manage to get yourself a pair of vintage gloves that need a little freshening up,  you can find a guide on how to wash them here

{Beginners Guide} Buying Vintage versus Reproduction and modern

Original 1940s Hat!!

Right so now you have your invitations I'm presuming you'll be buying something to wear. Which way do you decide vintage or reproduction?

When I was 19, back in the 90's I bought myself a little 1967 mini cooper. A real classic I loved every inch of that mini!
Where am I going with this you ask? Bear with me.....

Well although I loved the cooper to pieces it wasn't exactly practical for everyday use, however beautiful or authentic it was. So after a year I sold it for a modern car.

Ten years later I found myself yearning for another mini, being a bit cash-strapped I bought an old beatup 850 "Bluey" I loved every minute of it, but it soon gave up on me *grr*
 No problem, my dad told me of a customer (80 years old lady driver!!) who was selling hers! A mini sky, ten years newer that Bluey and in perfect condition I bought it without a second thought! I regretted it ever since!!

It still looked like a mini but it had changed over the years, it felt sterile all of the fun gone out of it.

Compare these minis to the clothes available for you to choose when dressing vintage....


Original Vintage Clothing -The Cooper 

Etsy

Original clothes dating from 1920s - 1980s can be sourced from various places, ebay, vintage clothes shops or vintage fairs. They are often very well made and have been loved and cared for and have visited many a grand occasion in their several decades of use!

Pros
Definitely the dream buy!
Its authentic you are wearing a piece of history
You're likely to turn heads of both those in the know and others alike
A lot are unique
Well made, better quality

Cons
Rare not always easy to find
Limited options (sizing / colours etc)
Precious (may easily tear, get moth-holes etc)

Reproduction Clothing - Bluey

 

Heyday Dress

There are several companies that offer clothing designs based on earlier patterns, the owners are often passionate about their eras and i have found the clothing to be very well made! These clothes are available in sizes to fit modern bodies and suit modern lifestyles.
There are lots of these companies out there, some of my favourites include

Heyday
Rocket Originals
Puttting on the Ritz

Pros
Original styles or designs
Modern Sizings
Easier to care for (Often machine washable)


Cons
Often only availble on short runs
More likely someone will be wearing same dress



Modern Vintage Inspired Clothing - The mini Sky

{High street}

New Look

We are very lucky here in the UK at the moment that the 40s is 'in' so lots of 40s inspired clothes are in the shop. If you are able to spot them then these are great for bulking out your wardrobe, cashmere cardis anyone? They also are a great way to ease your way into wearing vintage, so you don't feel you are putting on a costume or standing out like a sore thumb.


Pros

Easier to find
Can be Cheaper
All Sizes


Cons

Quality
Watered down Versions
Common

{Speciality companies}

 Trashy Diva

There are several  speciality shops in this area too  including

Pin Up Couture
Trashy Diva
Bernie Dexter and
Bettie Page Clothing. 

These offer a certain look I find, often PinUp inspired always glamourous! If you need a knock out dress then these should be your first port of call!
If you are lucky enough you'll have a  fabulous boutique locally  that will have a range all in the one place (don't worry - they do online too!)

 Deadly Is The Female

Others  online include stoptrafficclothing,  Pin Up Girl Clothing



I really do think there is a place for all of the above in your life , a good modern vintage wardrobe can take the best of all of these and blend them together.
I am ever so useless at looking after clothes and have alot of couldn't wear vintage activities, so alot of my dresses are reproduction or vintage inspired. Also I'd never fit in those teeny tiny waists of the 40s! I do buy alot of authentic vintage accessories though, bags,hats gloves.....

Which type of clothing do you buy most often?

Tea Parties and Stocking Stuffers

I love Tea Parties, who doesn't?!! Cake, Tea, Dancing , Music and good company what isn't there to like?

I've been after a vintage tea set so I can recreate it at home for aaaaages, but have never found the one that's 'just right', until last week, when I became the new owner of this lovely set of trios (cup, saucer and plate) from Ebay.....

Of course, because I haven't bought a full set I'm still on the look out for the perfect TeaPot, SugarBowl and MilkJug!! But its a beginning and aren't they lovely!!!

So with all this lovely tea party-ness about the place I've come up with some fab tea party inspired christmas gift ideas for you all!

Earrings

TeaCup Ring

Chestnuts and Sugar Scented Candle

If you fancy making these yourself check out Betty Bee's Tutorial!

Tea Party Bunting

Amazon

Wouldn't this make a fab activity!!

Amazon

Go click over there not here - it won't work! I'm hoping to do a review of this book so keep watching!!

Hope these give you some inspiration, till next time my lovelies!!