The holiday in the Winnie

we live in a vintage '73 Winnebago Brave. really. and in a house, but our Hearts are in the Winnie.

welcome... the dinette is set for tea....a card game and matches to light the candles,  nostalgic day,  looking over childhood pictures.....

the sun was fading in the early afternoon......snow was predicted....

a tiny little hippie Santa hanging out.... and his pal up in the bunk...

twigs in a big Mason jar....
our Winnie has all its original lights and that delightful original faux wood.....

vintage Pyrex bowl hold vintage silver..... 50s vintage Christmas tablecloth with snowflakes and holly and cute presents wrapped in red and white striped paper........

a little Winnie in the little kitchen....

Irish sweater, a troll...... sitting atop the refrigerator. It's like a real house.......only smaller with big wheels........

a nook for daydreaming......and comfy pillows and a rag Santa.......

vintage Pendleton tartan wool robe, a sunny spot....

sunny before the snowy day......

California dreaming..........

Overalls....... for working all the live long day...

When Johnny went marching off to World War II, the ladies went to work in factories and farms in positions they had not been allowed to in the years before. Making airplanes and bombs, and running farms and growing potatoes and onions.

Here's a co-ed from Mt. Holyoke College working in the college farm fields, as a member of The Women's Land Army. Farm boys went to war, and the gals went to work the fields. Here's a gal chatting with a farmer.

Great picture of The WLA with their anklets, saddle shoes and Bass Weejuns, their overalls and rolled up jeans, with buckets, hoes and shovels. Their hair is covered with tied kerchiefs and scarves, and wearing over sized shirts for comfort.



These gals are working on making B-29's at Seattle's Boeing Plant.

Here's more women working to sort chicks......or are those potatoes??

The US Government encouraged women to go into the work force, and encouraged their middle-aged husbands to be supportive.
Honestly, working class women had always been in the work force. Only middle class and wealthy women ever had the luxury of staying home to raise the family.......but all women had been made to feel guilty for working. For many many women, WWII brought opportunities for work outside the home, and once the war was over.........some women went home and TV and Ladies magazines encouraged them to go home and buy washing machines and have a lot of children.

Here's Norman Rockwell's tribute to Rosie the Riveter.....who was a real person......we are completely familiar with her!

" The Depression and World War II pushed more women into the work force than ever before and inspired increased organizational activity. The New Deal both improved working conditions for women, encouraged a high level of women’s participation in organized labor, and overcame some racial prejudices against non-white women workers.  Despite these gains, sexism and racism continued to plague women in the labor force and in labor unions. "


More gals in The Women's Land Army.

After the war, Josephine the Plumber stayed on working in a "man's world". Trying to straddle the gap, to market to formerly working women, the domestic gal, and the women working and running a home.... Comet cleanser stepped in to sell a product to keep your sink and bathtub sparkling clean!

pics from Mt.Holyoke archives, archives.gov/publications, and Library of Congress


funkomavintage has an authentic pair of WWII, 40s vintage women's overalls. These are by J.C. Penney, and are labeled Women At Work. 

40s Can't Bust 'Em overalls.....

2 classic pair of vintage Overalls.......from Key workwear, most often found at feed stores, and a pair of vintage Redrock overalls, from Big Smith, the makers of denim jeans.
 

5 Fun Quick, Cool and Easy Presents!

I work for a living.... and so do you. We still want to make really neat projects and wow! it's fun to go and take a peek at gals who have blogs and projects that they post.
These can all be presents, or just cute things to give the home a quick jolt of cute!

I think these are really neat projects! these bloggers have A Lot of time to do these things, take pictures, write up a blog post.....and so, instead of  wondering what to do.... Christmas is only 5 seconds from Today!! no worries. I've rounded up 5 cool and quick projects for ya.
Each one will take about an hour or less....and you probably already have the stuff you need to make them sitting in the closet or out in the garage. If not, all the stuff will cost very little at the craft store, the dollar store, or even at a thrift store.

You're welcome!

This one is from Bubbly Nature Creations.
Here's a project that uses glass stones from the craft store, your printer and an hour or so...and glue. Always glue. Refrigerator magnets are so cute and doesn't everybody's frig need some new magnets to hold all the pics and notes and kids artwork that collects?! yes! in the modern family home, the frig is the place for family notes, sentimental pics and so...make it cute.  Here's the link to the blog for complete instructions.   Easy peasy.

What you need.....you prolly have this in your house right now!
white paper with letters printed out OR thick white paper or cardstock with alphabet stickers placed on top: 0-$2.00
2 bags smooth round glass stones- - $2.00
26 Magnets optional: $3.50- $6.00
other items---
Silicone sealer

Total Cost:  $2.00- $10.00

Spray paint, and labels you print out.... can make beautiful canisters. From plastic jugs and bottles. You heard me!
take a peek here.....for the tutorial about the plastic jars and lids.... and then....
 the tutorial for the labels. Cute. Cheap. Just how we like it! 

Need some Wowsie envelopes? got a party.... a reception? a wedding? a really cool letter you want to send to someone? Grandma needs to hear from you with an old-fashioned letter....you know. Vintage Email.

Take an envelope, print out a cute picture and gluestick it inside so when the envelope is opened....you get a big surprise..... yeah!
Here's the deets... it's too easy I tell ya!       from KatesCreativeSpace

and this one is so easy! Cover your light switchplates.... 

this really adds a pop of cuteness to a room.... In years past I've covered the plates with leftover Contact paper. And also used Elmer's Glue to cover them with any old thing.......magazine pictures...... thin fabric...... and of course, wallpaper.

here's a link to a project that does that..... and a list of what you need, which isn't much! 

This link shows you how to cut around the holes..........another way is to wrap the holes with your fabric/paper/wallpaper......
The only tricky part is cutting delicately around the holes, but even that is no prob, once you see that it's only a series of cuts, like cutting a pie... and then gluing them to the back, and then holding them down with masking tape if need be......once they are screwed back in place, no one will know, and you will look like a crafty decorating Genius! 

Oh this one is toooooo easy! Got an empty glass jar? I bet you do. Run out to the recycle bin and bring in those spaghetti sauce jars, those jelly jars and a few of those pickled vegetable jars.......and run up to your friendly craft store for a White  Paint Sharpie pen, for a few dollars. Or maybe you already have a white Sharpie laying around.
here's a tutorial from  Craft and Creativity.....

yup. draw some snowflakes on clean clear glass jars and let them dry for a day. Plop a small candle in and oh boy!  you can wrap some wire around the top, and make a handle for a little lantern......or.....Tie a ribbon and make a bow over the jar threads and enjoy a pretty sight....for about a buck or 2.

A Sharpie from Michaels.  if you smudge or make a mistake on the glass jar try this:   I found it easy to make corrections. I simply dipped a Q-tip into some nail polish remover -- and carefully cleaned up (or re-shaped) edges, where necessary.

You know what I like? Nature. 
I love to gather leaves and pin them to the drapes. I love to collect sea shells and put them in a bowl. I love to pick up feathers off the ground and arrange them in a tiny jar like a bouquet of wildflowers......and I like wildflowers too.
I like twigs and branches. I have twigs stacked in the corner, I have twigs arranged like flowers..... and in one house I used branches for curtain rods...... so yeah. I like twigs. so does this lady! 

Here's her tutorial on how to make a sunburst or , a rather wreath-like thing to hang on the wall......looks good at summertime.......and also I think it looks rather Christmasy and Wintery.