Stamp-a-Faire 2014: Exploring the 1940's
August 23, 2014
Happy Stamp-a-Faire day! Lot's of fun happening over at Papertrey Ink this weekend. This year's theme is time travel and you've now arrived in the 1940's...
This era finds much of the world engulfed in war. The war effort is the main focus of the first half of the decade. Here in the USA, with many of the young men away at war, for the first time women left the home to join the work force. Single women were the first to be recruited to the work force, followed by married women in 1943, when most single women were already employed. Life everywhere was difficult. Supplies were hard to come by. Many things, from sugar and shoes, gasoline to wool, were rationed. The motto of the day was “Make-do and Mend”. People were encouraged to recycle goods that could be used for the war effort. The “Keep Calm and Carry On” slogan that has made a recent revival had its origin just before 1940. It was originally a British slogan meant to boost the morale of the British people after mass air strikes.
Not all of 1940s history is war-related, however. The film industry was beginning to flourish and several epic films were created during this time…Disney’s Fantasia, Dumbo, and Bambi, Casablanca and It’s a Wonderful Life, just to name a few. The radio waves were filled with crooning from the likes of Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra. Jazz became popular with stars like Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday.
1945 saw the end of the war. Men returned home from the war. Women relinquished their jobs and returned to the home. The baby boom began. There was a strong focus on home life and a general sense of happiness and contentment. Fashion was feminine and décor was bright and colorful. There was economic growth here in the United States. It was the time of the first computer, the television, the slinky, Tupperware, tinfoil, and tv dinners.
You can view my entire 1940's PInterest board HERE.
I just had to share some photos of my grandparents from this era. I love the photobooth strip...I don't know the history of where they were taken, we found them in my grandmother's things after they had both passed away. My mom thinks they were probably taken while they were dating, which would have been around 1947. They met when he came home from the war - his father had taken over the ministry in my grandmother's church while he was away at war. He came "home" to a place he had never been or even seen before. The middle photo is my grandfather and his brother walking down a city street somewhere...we're not sure where...sure wich I knew more of the history of these! The last one is my grandmother sitting on her front steps in 1941.
So how about a few stamping and crafting challenges based on some 1940s inspiration?
My first video shows you how to create a felt flower corsage. During wartime, supplies were scarce and the essentials were rationed. This meant that new clothes were hard to come by. So women would “make-do” and spruce up an old dress or hat by creating a flower pin or brooch out of scraps of felt and fabric. It was their way of breathing new life into a tired, old outfit. In this video I’m going to show you how to assemble a felt flower brooch using the flower and leaf dies found in the 1940’s Stamp-A-Faire era set. I’ll also show you a pretty way of presenting it as a gift. They would also be the perfect way to dress up a package, or even add to a card. If you didn't purchase the SAF kit and are choosing dies from your collection, you will need a small flower and a leaf.
Your challenge is to create a small corsage from felt, paper, or other material of your choice using the technique shown in the video. You can upload a link to a photo of your project on the InLinkz list on Nichole's blog on the 1940s era post HERE.
Here are a few projects I made. The first is the one shown in the video. I added a pin back to my corsage and stamped a Boutique Accessory card to go with it for a cute little gift.
Here is a second project using the same technique, except this time my corsage is made from cardstock and I adhered it to a card.
I diecut everything from white cardstock, then inked the edges of the flowers with Aqua Mist ink. I added a bit of glitter too.
My second video is maybe not so much of a technique, but more of an inspirational piece. I love to build patterns with my stamps and I also love the brightly colored tablecloths that were popular in the 1940s. I have a pretty good-sized collection of my own. They were the inspiration for the stamp set I created for the SAF kit. I’m always inspired by the bright colors as well as the symmetrical patterns on these tablecloths. In this video I’m going to show you how to take several different elements and build them into an elaborate, symmetrical pattern. I’ll give you some tips on where to start, how to line things up, and which stamps work best for this technique. So grab some stamps and ink, and let’s start stamping! (I’m using the 1940’s era set, but if you’re choosing something from your collection, a set with symmetrical images as well as a mix of large and small elements will work best.)
Your challenge is to build a symmetrical design or pattern using various stamps. You can choose to use the 1940s Stamp-A-Faire set, or get creative with a set (or several!) from your collection. You can upload a link to your project to the InLinkz list in Nichole's 1940's era post HERE.
Here is my project from the video...
I hope you're enjoying all of the festivities today! I'm wrapping some things up around the house and then I think I'll be ready to settle in and join in on the forum. See you there!
Supplies not linked: Stamps, dies, patterned papers and flower stamens from the Stamp-a-Faire 1940's era set (not available now, but will be made available apart from the kit at a later date), floral tape and wires, optional pin back.
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