The Uncommon Valentine: Build a Miniature Cabinet of Curiosities for Your Special Someone

This year for Valentine's Day I've decided to revisit a project that I did years ago. While I was in college I briefly worked at the local art supply store with my then-boyfriend-now-husband (he worked there long before I did - that's actually how we met, sort of). Working at the Art Attack was a great experience. While waiting for the occasional student to wander in I would sit, surrounded by materials and supplies, and daydream about all of the wonderful things I could make.

Then, once a week, a group of artsy friends and I would meet after work on a Thursday evening to create/draw/illustrate/make whatever we fancied. Jeremy and I still do this to this day, Thursday evenings, with a very small group of friends, though Art Attack has been gone for years now (that was a sad, sad day).

At some point I started building boxes out of cardboard or foamcore and covering them in decorative papers. It wasn't long after that when I realized I could create small paper cutout dioramas in these boxes, and then I set out to make an entire series of them. Many of them have been lost over the years, and I gave some of my favorites away, but this year I would love to revisit them and to show you how they are made so that you can share them with your loved ones as three dimensional Valentines!

Anyway, before you get started you've got to gather some things. I usually flip through some old clipart books (Dover is great!) or look through my boxes of vintage papers and magazines. If you haven't got access to this sort of thing you can always find it readily available online! Find more images than you think you'll need. It's always fun to have options. I also like to look around for actual objects to use. A rooster feather, a seed pod, vintage fabric, an interesting bit of string – small things like this are perfect to use to embellish your cabinet. The differences in texture will make a much more interesting visual experience!

Since this is going to be a Valentine, you could collect things that you know your significant other will like. You could even brainstorm on a piece of paper about the person the cabinet is for... Some of the words I came up with were: skulls, fish scales, mermaid, mermonk, etc. Obviously I am not gearing my Valentine for the average bear.

I'm going to do a much more traditional Valentine style for my tutorial box, but I'll post a picture of the finished Valentine for my husband as well so you can see what I came up with.

You will need:

• Thick Cardboard or Foamcore (I prefer foamcore!)

• A strong liquid glue (archival, if possible!)

• Flexible and lightweight decorative paper and/or paint (tissue paper or lightweight handmade papers work well for this - nothing too stiff!)

• Images/objects of Curiosity (feathers, string, sticks, dowel rods, paper cutouts, stamps, leaves, seed pods, etc. Try browsing your local craft store's scrapbooking aisle!)

• Cutting tools: Scissors, X-acto knife, Box cutter (be careful with these things!)

• Cutting mat (or some surface you can cut on)

• Your Imagination!

Before we get started, let me mention that I seem to have lost the photos from my box making day! I'm going to do some searching and get them up as soon as possible. Sorry, folks!

Step One: Decide on the dimensions of your box and cut out the pieces.
This will either require some serious math, or some whimsical eyeballing. I like to start off with math for the back (base) of the box and then just eyeball the sides by laying them out along the back piece. This is also when you decide how deep to make your box. If it's not deep enough, you won't be able to "set" things on your shelf. If it's too deep, it will be difficult to put paper over. Once you've decided on how big you want the box to be you can add shelves or compartments by gluing in additional bits of cardboard. The joints don't have to be 100% perfect, but they should be close enough that they glue soundly. 

Step Two: Glue the box pieces together.
Take your time and glue the four sides onto your box. If things seem like they're slipping around a lot, I like to let my glue dry a bit and get "tacky" before really expecting the sides to stick. Let these dry firmly (patience, young Padawan). If you have shelves and you plan to cover them in decorative paper you may want to cover them before attaching them since it will likely be easier.

You can also use an existing box for this and save yourself the trouble! I still have a sort of Curiosity Cabinet that my cousin made years ago out of Swan Brand matchboxes! 

PICTURE

Step Three: Cover (or paint) your box.

Covering your box with paper is the hardest part of this project. If you prefer to paint the box, I totally understand. I've done some painted, myself! I love to use metallic paints for this.)

In order to cover the box I've made thus far, I am tracing around it to create a paper shape to envelop the exterior of the box. For the interior I am using a paper that is very lightweight and easy to mold into crevices and corners. The interior can be tough, but the easiest way I've found to do it is to cut a strip of paper that is the width of the interior and long enough to be pressed up against the sides. 

PICTURE

I then cut two smaller strips that are the height of the interior and glue those to the remaining exposed areas. This takes some finesse, but what I've found is that you can just kind of wing it a bit and push and shove the papers around until they're in place. Carefully spread a thin layer of glue over the entire area that you intend to cover. Make sure the glue is thin and even, or you may get bubbles or bleed through.

PICTURE

I also wrap my "shelf" pieces in glued decorative paper at this point, and firmly glue them into place. You could probably also use a spray adhesive to do this part, if you happen to have it around. It's great stuff for delicate paper layering!

Step Four: Prepare your Curiosities!

This is the most fun of all of the steps, in my opinion! Prepare the objects that you want to showcase in your box. This could mean gluing a hat on a paper dog, painting a seed pod metallic gold, or writing out your favorite quote in a loopy script. 

Go with whatever strikes your fancy! This is the time to be adventurous and imaginative. Be BOLD! Curiosity Cabinets were private collections of things that fascinated their owners. Keep that "fascination" in mind!

Step Five: Mount your Curiosities.

If your curiosities are three dimensional objects, simply find a way to glue them into your shelves. A dollop of good adhesive will hold small objects to your shelves without letting them rattle around. If your box is cardboard or foamcore you can even use pins to pin your objects into place similar to an insect specimen case.

PICTURE

When I use flat paper pictures in my boxes, I like to create little "supports" to ensure that they won't get bent or tilted once they're glued in. You can also use these supports to give the illusion that they're floating in space. Glue a small dowel or a piece of cardboard to the back of your flat picture and then put a drop of glue on the other end. Let this glue set up and become tacky before installing your picture, as you don't want it to smear around on the back of your box! Once it is tacky, simply glue it where you want it to be!

You can also use various methods to add depth to your box. I've used dowel rods to give the appearance of cage bars, and I've even used string to add a bit of dangly movement. Seriously, folks. Let your imagination run wild!

Step Six: Enjoy, and Repeat!

PICTURE

Voila! You have your own little Cabinet of Curiosity to give to your loved one. But why stop at just one? Once you start making these, you'll realize how wonderful it is to showcase little bits of beautiful and bizarre! Make another!

PICTURE 

Ah, and here is the final Wunderkammer I made for my husband!

Vintage Children's Primers & Readers

As you already know, I am a vintage ephemera and graphics fiend. One of my favorite sources for my artwork and art journal pages is artwork from old primers & readers. The New England Primers date back to the 1600's and have a mostly protestant slant, mixing in religious hymns, prayers and morals among the consonants, vowels & reading lessons. Made by fixing thin paper to a wooden board, these primers lasted well into the late 19th century.

I love the well worn covers and pages included in the primers in my possession and enjoy the way they look and feel in my art journals and collage pieces.

Readers were a series of graded primers, used as textbooks in American schools from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century.  The few readers I have are mostly from 1920s and 30s and are filled with beautiful full color plates to go with each story. Some of these pages would make nice prints for a child's nursery or library.

All of these books are wonderful to page through and read the stories and whimsical lessons for the younger children, my favorite being this set of thought and discussion-starters for a classroom and the list of "Funny Things to Do".

While I look through these vintage treasures, I can't help but imagine what it would have been like to be a child in a small schoolhouse in the mid 19th century or even early 20th century, and using these for my lesson plans daily. What a delight!

Below is a scan from one of my readers to give your creativity a jumpstart on a winter project. If you do use these graphics, we'd appreciate it if you would post a link to a photo either in the comment section below or on our Facebook page.


—Nancie

Vintage Style: My Fashionable Family in Hats

I have so many family photos that I am just dying to share with you all. The people in my old family photos certainly seem fashionably keen, so much so that I don't know if it was just a reflection of the times or if it was really just that I have some seriously hip ancestry.

This first photo I want to share with you today appears to be from the mid 1910's. You see it has examples of some of the typical Edwardian formality and yet you don't yet see the practical changes that came about after the first world war (did I mention I'm a history geek?). Still, I'm inclined to say this is approaching (or even early) wartime because of the shorter skirts and lower, slightly more practical shoes, as well as the large pockets.

To be honest, a lot of my knowledge of clothing history is more British-based, and I'm still learning about the early 20th century American styles. My family was almost certainly already in North America by this time, though I don't really know who these women are. I'll have to ask my mother. :)

The thing I love about these old photos is that everybody appears to always wear hats, out of doors. The first photo is a great example of the silhouette of the Edwardian hat, while this next one shows the changes in silhouette to a more sleek cloche form. The hat material is also different, where a few of the earlier hats appear to be straw or lightweight fabric, the bottom shows a much heavier woolen-type hat.

Now this photo really makes me smile...

These ladies are posed next to a beautiful automobile (does anyone know the car make? There's a logo but I can't quite make it out...) with a 1930 license plate. In both photos, you can see that the elder women are dressed more conservatively while the younger women wear lighter colors and more modern cuts. In addition to the great cloche hats in this photo, make sure you take a peek at those shoes! I'm a sucker for 1920's cutout and t-strap shoes, and the pair on the right just makes me squirm with envy.

I've got plenty more where these come from, and I'm sure I'll be sharing them as we roll along here at Seven Magpies.

Do you have old family photos? What era are your favorites from?  

Paper Ephemera: A Vintage Wintery Print

Today I wanted to share with you one of my favorite vintage prints in my collection! This was printed in 1946 and depicts Central Park ice skaters from 1862. It's the perfect wintery inspiration scene for all the snow we've been getting here in Michigan lately! Here's a detail with the publishing date and place, and a hardly readable description stating what the piece depicts.

I love the typography used by the publisher, the block letters make this perfectly adorable. Couldn't you just imagine living in 1946 and dreaming about the days it was 1862? It's almost the same difference as us dreaming about the days it was 1946!

The details in this print are fantastic. Overall it has a fairly soft look - almost like a watercolor wash was put over the ink! There has definitely been some careful attention paid to the clothing and people in the print, too. I love the little hat worn by the man in the yellow jacket and look at that woman being pushed in a sleigh-type chair! There are also quite a few people that have fallen flat on their butts - little details that give the print a very relaxed and fun feel.

The whimsical wintery details make this print even more enjoyable in my eyes - we get to see a 1940s perception of the perfectly terrible ice skaters of the 1860s.

Prints like these are some of my favorite vintage items, I love collecting and displaying them everywhere. Even though the wear and tear on this print is pretty visible, I think that it gives it a little extra character!

Do you have any vintage prints that look even further back in time?

Ellen

Christmas Past...

Good morning and a very Merry Christmas to you! I hope wherever you are today and however you choose to celebrate that your day is filled with love, health and happiness.

For today's post, I wanted to share with you some glimpses of Christmas past. I have a bit of an obsession with old greeting cards (as my paypal account will attest to!) and my favorite has to be old holiday cards. I collect these and use them in my scrapbook paper designs as well as use them to create digital collage sheets in my etsy shoppe. But, mostly, I like to just look through my stash and enjoy the colorful vintage graphics, beautiful old typefaces and the worn, vellum paper of a time long gone.


Here are just a few of the old holiday cards I have collected over the years...

Isn't the whimsical artwork and detail wonderful? You don't see that much these days. And I just love the hand lettering.

Here is a sample of one of my vintage cards for you to download and enjoy! If you use this card to do some crafting or any kind of creating, we'd love to see it! Feel free to post a link here in the comments section or over on our Facebook page.

From everyone at Seven Magpies— "Season's Greetings! Wishing you Health, Wealth & Happiness in Every Way".

Nancie

Paper Ephemera: A Late Sixties Baking Guide

About a year ago I was exploring some old papers and photographs with my grandma when we came across a baking guide for making Cut-Up Cakes for celebrations. This little booklet is dated 1969 and is perfect for baker and non baker alike. (And I practically squealed when I first saw it!)

At first glance, I was completely struck by the typeset and cover design, the colors and bold patterns set the pamphlet back in time and made it the object of my envy. Even the design pun titling it "Cut-Ups!!" with a cut out first page made me giggle. The cake names will get you too - we have Cannonball Express, Honey Bunny and, my personal favorite, Turkey-Lurkey. While I've never been a huge baker, every time I flip through this pamphlet I am completely desperate to make one! 

The Cuckoo appeals 'specially to young
and middle-aged children!

The pamphlet is full of puns in its attempt to get you interested and, of course, show you just how mature a Cut-Up Cake can be. As the pamphlet says: a Cut-Up Cake turns an ordinary occasion into a super celebration! These little bits of added personality totally get me because they're just about as cheesy as I am.

I've included a few pictures of my favorite cakes - they all have whimsical details and neat little explanations. But I am in love with this "zany" cuckoo (even if it does far exceed my very sad baking skills). It even includes a cloud of dust and vaguely reminds me of the famous Road Runner! I can just imagine how excited I would be if my parents pulled one of these out for my birthday party as a child.

My second favorite out of the bunch is this mildly creepy hot air balloon that includes its own set of miniature dolls! I love the little licorice details in the balloon - the strings are just so clever.

I have yet to try any of these cakes yet - there are eighteen of them here! I am hoping to take a stab at one next time I am feeling adventurous in the kitchen. 

Has anyone else seen baking pamphlets similar to this one? It seems like it may have been a kitchen staple or mailed out in bulk.

Make sure to stay tuned to see some of my vintage baking mishaps and other findings! 

- Ellen