Thursday, December 2, 2010

2 December 1956 “Castro in Cuba and More Homemade Gift Ideas”

castro Fidel Castro and 82 of his men (including Che Guevara, Raúl Castro) land in Cuba. Most were killed and around 28 were able to escape to the country side and were hidden and aided by the country people. In the coming year he and his followers will begin to wage their war against Batista and American control in Cuba. It is the end of Cuba as an American destination of fun and frivolity.
Many here in the 1950’s know Cuba as a fun vibrant place much like the current popular actor and husband to Lucille Ball, Desi Arnaz.
Continuing with our month long theme of Home-Made Christmas, I thought I would share more fun ideas from my vintage magazines.
I think this a darling idea and even the most basic sewing would result in a darling set. If you can sew a straight ling on a machine you can do this. This is also greatly aided by the design of the fabric you used. As you can see here, this wonderful fruit fabric with printed squares works wonderfully.napkintableclothpattern To go along with that is the little idea of an apron. I suppose one could even buy a plain apron and the fabric, sew up the cloth and napkins and use the scrap to make the matching apron. I think most homemakers would be happy with this gift.apronpattern   And let us not forget that men also need aprons. Here is a great one for the Barbeque fanatic.mansapronLook how cleverly they have cut it from the piece of fabric, waste not want not. This would also make the trip to the fabric store or digging through your own fabric surplus a dream, needing this one piece of fabric.
And for the crafty builder with little ones, why not make this adorable bunk bed?dollbedpatternI believe we even have some ladies who collect dolls who would love to see this under their tree. The best part would be to find some vintage 1950’s crib decals and adorn it with those, making it new and home-made but with a vintage twist.
Happy Homemaking.

7 comments:

  1. One year my Papaw built baby doll cribs for his granddaughters. Mama painted our names on them and Mamaw helped us put those little decals on it. That was such a fun Christmas! Even though we knew what we were getting, it was still wonderful to see that cradle under the tree when we got to their house. My sister and I still have ours.

    The cradle he built for us to use at their house was really cool! It was a combination rocking chair cradle.

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  2. Great dolly bunk bed pattern. Thanks for sharing Donna.

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  3. These are lovely gift ideas. When I was small I loved dolly gift such as this and aprons were a welcomed gift.

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  4. My 7yo daughter is asking for an apron for Christmas. She doesn't know I bought her a child size apron that matches mine! I can't wait to see her face when she opens it on Christmas morning!

    Mary Ellen
    The Working Home Keeper

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  5. THANKS!!! My daughter has two 18" dolls and is getting one more for Christmas. She has asked for bunkbeds for them, but I didn't have a clue where to begin to make them. One of her dolls is an American Girl, but the other two are 'off market'. I cannot justify spending $100 on a doll that I can buy off-market for $35. There is VERY little difference in the dolls.

    I must get to the lumber yard and get busy...Thanks again!

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  6. Oh Lori, I am so glad you are going to use these plans. When I saw them I thought, "So little girl really deserves to find this wonderful item under their tree". Having it hand made makes it much more wonderful, in my opinion.
    Mary Ellen-How fun, child sized apron, mummy and daughter. I loved how many mothers dressed their daughters in matching little girl versions of their mother. My own mother ( a 1950's homemaker) always dressed my three eldest sisters in matching outfits that coordinated with her own. I, of course, did not come along until the 1970's when these daughters were grown and that no longer seemed the fad, as my 70's outfits really didn't match mothers then. Now it seems adults dress like teens and little girls dress too 'grown up' and by grown up I don't mean business suits!
    Jenny-I thought of you when I found this too and thought, how lovely your wonderful dolls would look displayed in these. Is your husband or you crafty with wood and hammer? Perhaps you could offer a hand made bed for local sales? But, I suppose your hands are full enough as it is.
    Jeanne-I loved the simplicity of taking an existing apron and adding squares of fabric and then matching a hostess set of tablecloth and napkins. Perhaps if we enliven such gifts as these we will be more apt to entertain on lovely cloths and less plastic throw away bowls with corporate logos on them and chips. A small step towards civility is always good, in my opinion.

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  7. Mother-daughter aprons are the best! I love the fruit fabric.

    Sarah

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