Decorating and Gift Ideas

If you ever acquire a candle holder and want to do something

different with it , try putting the icicle ornaments in it--the kind

you get in a package of 8 at the dollar stores. This is a candle holder

someone gave me, and I finally found a way to display it. Wall

space is a problem, with big objects, and they have to be put out

of the way so no one will brush against them. I had seen round

ornaments in candle holders, but did not care for them as much

as the icicle type, which actually looks more like taper candles.

If you have gotten way behind in house keeping, and things have really

piled up, I would like to suggest a very effective way to motivate you. Make

before and after photographs of small areas of your house, and exchange

them over email with a friend, or put them in a slideshow.  It really does

work much better when you know you are preparing that corner, or that

piled up area, for a photo-shoot. 

If you give gifts, there are still a few ideas that might help:-

-Keep a box of things you are tired of or do not care for.  Someone else might enjoy what

you cast off.  They can be make special by packing them with glittered tissue wrapping paper, or put in a basket or box.

-Find things to make, such as snowflakes (I can include a pattern later). Once, a girl

made me a dozen glittered  paper snowflakes, which I kept in a tin for a long time, getting

them out to hang up in winter.  It makes a nice gift, when packaged in a special way

-Give away a bowl with a home made mix. People love scone mixes and other kinds of mixes

in zip-lock bags with recipe instructions

-Have someone over for a cup of tea and a snack, and give them a tea bag inside a

hand made card.  Most people absolutely love a cup of hot tea and the chance to sit in

someone else's home.

 An old fashioned centrepiece using an old silver bowl,, a glass jar, and ringed with a wired branch, set on an antique doily.
Most people have enough things around their homes to make interesting vignettes and centrepieces.

Gift Tag or Ornament

Cardstock ornament or tag, displayed on a piece of silver-flecked fleece fabric that I got from the fabric store.

If you like, you can enlarge this drawing and make a bigger ornament.

Here are the instructions for this tag or ornament. You can also enlarge it and use it as a card.

1. Print the pattern on cardstock, or, print it on regular paper and glue the paper to cardboard from a cereal box, for a template.

2. Cut out the pattern from the cardboard, and trace around it on the desired paper.  The various types of heavy scrapbook papers work well with this. I used a cardboard insert from a package of socks, because it was white. There is a use for everything.

3.  After tracing around the shape on the kind of cardstock you like, draw in the lines at the sole and the blade of the skate. Use a hole-punch for the eyelets to lace through.

4.  Paint the shoe area  only, with a glitter glue of some kind, or a glitter paint, or just plain glue. The glue in the stick does not work on this. It has to be more of a liquid. 
5. Lay the piece on a page torn from a magazine and sprinkle white glitter on the shoe area. I used crystal glitter that is characterised by the round flakes, made in USA, from Walmart, but you may be able to find it elsewhere. Other white glitters might work just fine.  If you want a pair of pink skates, just use pink glitter.
6. Shake off the glitter on to the paper and make a funnel by folding the paper and pouring it back into the bottle.
7.Now paint the blade area with glitter glue or plain glue, and shake silver glitter all over it and shake off the glitter onto the paper. Then pour it back into the bottle.

8. With Polymer glitter paint, outline the eyelets where you will lace the shoe, and outline the sole of the shoe and the heel. I used  bright-silver -glitter for the eyelets, and pink (with glitter in it) for the sole.
9. Place both pieces on cardboard and lay in front of a heater for awhile until it is dry and clear.
10. Wind narrow silver wired ribbon through the holes and around to the next shoe.

When you hang the skates, position them so that one is slightly lower than the other.  That is the way a pair of skates look when you hang them up.

Use your creative ideas and find other things to make this craft with: curly ribbon, children's glitter paints, (the kind that has silver stars in it is fun), or sparkly eyelash yarn for the laces. Try using pink shiny paper and adding the white glitter, or just cut the whole thing out in glitter-paper.

Sometimes there is a problem in getting these patterns to print. It might work if you darken or highlight the skate pattern, and then push your ctrl button at the same time as the "c" and then go to a blank page and click ctrl and "v" at the same time.  For most computers, you should be able to right click on the skate and then click "print."

Delights of the Season

For those who do not care to have a tree in the house this time of year, you might enjoy just filling a silver bowl, perhaps one inherited or bought at a second-hand store, with ornaments of your favorite colour, and adding some of the soft sparkly snowflakes from Dollar Tree. It gives a delightful bright spot on a table in your home.  I do not keep many seasonal things in my home. I like all my things to be useful all the time, so if I want things to be more up-beat and bright, I just add lights or something glittery.

You can see where the trim has been torn away from the entry way to the dining room, and the floor has been installed up to this carpeting. I tried to work around it when cleaning up the house for company the other day. The walls will be painted, also, but in the meantime, I wanted to cover an especially unattractive scratch on the wall, so I hid it with this little box, and topped it with an electric candle from the dollar store, which has a candy-light pink bulb in it. You can get these silicone dipped scented, colored bulbs from several shops online.

An ice-scape, from a table-top birdbath. In water, I placed green branches, a few silver plastic bells, a large plastic ornament, nd soft flexible snowflakes, all from from the dollar store.

Another part of the floor, so far. The walls will be wallpapered or painted.

Here is that pre-lit tree, without the lights,( the lights are already wired around the branches,and it can come apart and be packed in a narrow box, easily stored) showing  the styrofoam ornaments from the dollar store. 

Festive Ideas

Ice-Scape

 Dollar Tree ornaments

The birdbath idea would work even in a warm climate. Just float flowers in the water, and place it on your porch. It is a way to decorate without spending. If you need a front porch decoration and do not want to spend money or have  no time to do any thing elaborate, just fill your birdbath in winter and add greenery and shiny balls or bells. Let it freeze overnight or snow on top of it. The next day its a lovely greeting for your guest.

The ornaments on this tree came in packages of 3 for a dollar. They are glittered styrofoam shapes, and can be used in a bowl or basket, if you dont use a tree. (The flowers are hand made, from a friend). The butterfly topper also came from the dollar store, and comes in other colors.

I am currently working on some cardstock ornaments that anyone can make with the simplest materials.    I want to tell how we used to make glitter, when we didn't have any. Has anyone else done this?  We would take aluminum foil,  and clip it into tiny pieces. Then we would use hand made glue from flour and water or flour and cornstarch, and paint it thickly on an area and sprinkle the chopped up foil. It was not as convenient , but we did not have the dollar stores where you could get it so easily.  It just shows you that where there is a will, there is a way. We could find foil papers from the linings of boxes or wrappers around sticks of chewing gum. Just about any kind of packaging was scoured for signs of useful artsy materials.  Sometimes the most interesting art comes from people who had to "make-do."

Hopefully I will have a page of templates for an ornament, a card, and a tag, and maybe more.

I wanted to tell a little bit about cannisters, because I have noticed that in most decorating magazines and kitchen decor sites, the decorators are not displaying cannisters anymore. I think the graduated sizes of storage containers like this, give a kitchen a look of order. When you have a set of them, you can use  them like a theme for your kitchen. There have been some cottage shaped cannisters out there, too, but they were quite expensive. In spite of the fact that cannisters are not on display in pictures of kitchens like they used to be, you can still find sets all over the place, and they are quite pretty and in all imaginable themes. 

To see what might be available at your local Dollar Tree, go here http://www.dollartree.com/home.jsp   This site also shows some creative ideas of things you can do with cheap stuff. I made a wreath, using one of their styrofoam circles, and two of their pink  scarves.

                                                                 

From the dollar store, You will need two scarves and a styrofoam wreath in white, and a roll of pink wired ribbon, with a silver edge. The total cost is three dollars. You can add ornaments to this, also. I used it for a little girl's room. Total cost: two dollars and fifty cents.

close-ups of the pink wired ribbon from the dollar store

Female Identity

Do you think the subject of this painting is a woman, or a man?  What things in the painting provide evidence of this person being male, or female?  Does it matter to you, whether someone is male or female, when you are talking to them?  What would you think, if you could not tell the difference between men and women?  Would you call them "sir" or "ma'am" or "it"?

Woman Seated in a Forest Glade

by Gyorgyi Giergl Alajos, Hungarian 1821-1863

for a detailed view of this magnificent painting, click here and then click on the painting there.

http://www.allposters.com/gallery.asp?aid=87577597&apnum=3371843&LinkTypeID=2&PosterTypeID=1&DestType=7&Referrer%20=http://lovelywhatevers.blogspot.com/

please click on the title and go to see a larger views of these paintings. Once you click on the titles at Lovely Whatevers, you will go to Allposters. Click on the picture again, and see a full size page view on your screen.

A great deal can be learned from the records of the past, especially the paintings and photographs which I am showcasing on this blog.  In the first painting, for example, there are several things which show femininity in clothing:  the tiered layers of cloth, with stitched tucks, that make up the skirt, and the delicateness of the fabric, the fullness and length of the dress, the soft fringe on the shawl, the shoes (more delicate than mens shoes)  and the hat with a ribbon on it.   These things generally are still considered to give a female appearance.

                                                                 

In your own family album, you may have photographs simlar to this, from the same era (middle or late 1800's). This is my great grandmother, Margaret Adelaide, and her husband, who lived in Texas.  Notice how femininely different her garment is from that of her husband's.  Most women dressed like this, and I think they rarely were confused about who was a man and who was a woman (unlike today).   In this photograph, how can you tell the difference between the father and the mother?

 Can you tell which is the man, and which is the woman, in this 19th century painting by Abbott Fuller Graves?

 Women look best in feminine clothing, and it affects their confidence, their self-worth as women, and their mood.  Men respond differently to women who are dressed like women, than they do to women who are dressed like men.  When you dress like a man, you tend to behave less femininely and take on a masculine posture and attitude. Men do not want women to look like men.  The paintings here show that the 18th and 19th century men and women were not as confused as they are today. That is why we should learn from them, and in particular, see what the artists of the times portrayed as male and female attire.

Palace in Moscow

by

Edouard Jean Marie Hostein, French,  1804-1889

You can see a much larger view of this wonderful painting if you will click on the title, to the site where it is posted, and follow the links to find an even bigger view. 

When you click on the full size painting, can you tell the difference between the male and female figures in this scene?  Do you you think the clothing was distinct enough in the 19th century, to recognize the women, even from a distance?

Luncheon in the Conservatory

by Louise Abemma, French, 1858-1927

In this scene, the men and women are opposites in appearance, because of their clothing.  What do you think is wrong with the scene today? Do you think the entire look of the beautiful dresses would have been spoiled by the modern sports shoe?

Epic Heroes, by Victor Vasnetsov (Russian, 1848-1926)

Is the artists intention to portray men, or women, in this painting? How can you tell if they are men?

To see more beautiful paintings, click on "older posts" at the end of the articles on this page.

One of the dangers of not being able to tell male from female, is that it breaks down manners and chivalry.  It seems like a deliberate attempt to prevent people from saying "sir," or ma'am" out of respect. It is designed to humiliate those who believe in honoring a person by addressing them as "sir" or "ma'am."  Unless you are Marcy, addressing Peppermint Patty from a Charles Schutlze cartoon,  you should address men as "sir," and women as "ma'am."

Those who love God and use His Word as their standard for life, know that God has put distinctive, visual differences between male and female. He expects us to glorify Him with those differences. We are authorized to blend the sexes or erase the differences.  Today, women's clothing , for the most part, erases the difference between male and female. We should, as women, try to look different than men. Since it is harder to find role models for this, today, we can look into the past. That is why I have posted these paintings and photographs of a time when men and women were not so confused about which they were.

The Peter the Great Palace in Moscow, Printed by Edouard Jean-Marie Hostein (1804-89)

Giclee Print

Adam, Victor Jean


Buy at AllPosters.com

A Feminine Appearance

Woodland Meadow, 1876

Is this a woman or a man, picking flowers in a field?

What would an artist be inspired to paint a picture of a woman in the mannish clothing they wear today?

Painting by Basile Lemeunier, French, 1852-1922

Describe the women's clothing in this painting, and contrast it to the men's clothing in the same painting. Would we be able to distinguish the men from the women so easily on a street today?

Victorian Street Scene, circa 1859

Try clicking on the picture to get a larger view.

What is the difference between the men and women in this 19th century street photograph?  Are the men or women wearing hats in this scene?

On the Riviera

by Sir John Lavery, Irish, 1856-1941

What is the main difference between the woman's clothing and the man's clothing in this painting?

Mariposa Family in Arizona, late 1800's or early 1900's.

Even in this native American photograph, the women are dressed very differently from the man.

Does this look like a rich family, or a poor one?  In poverty, the women were STILL dressed better than women today, and it looks like, even in the desert lands, they had more sense about clothing.

Manhattan Family, 1899

In this art work, why is the man's clothing such a contrast to the women's?  Do the women look feminine or masculine? Is the man dressed like a woman or a man? What is the difference in their hair styles? What are the figures in the sketch admiring?

1800's University Singers of New Orleans

Can you tell the men and women apart in this Victorian-era photograph?

Employees at a publishing house in Tennessee in the late 1800's.

Where are the men, in this photograph?  What is one way of identifying the men in this picture?

Beach Scene in 1899

Do you think it is hard to tell the difference between the men and the women in this painting?

A Liberian Family in 1906

This family was probably not rich, but look how well they are dressed. We grew up poor also, but our clothing still looked nice. Clothing has little to do with poverty or wealth: the standards are based upon your personal beliefs and values.

While the past is often stereotyped as being ignorant and unprogressive, even the poorest of women had pretty, well-fitting clothing, and the men looked different than the women. Can you point out major differences in clothing of the male and female, in this old photograph.

There are several ways to emphasise the differences between male and female. These may include things like: voice inflection, gestures and manners, the walk or gait, the expressions, the way one speaks to or treats the opposite sex, or choices of life activities.  All of these take some time to develop, and will be eventually addressed here on this blog, but for now, I will discuss one way to emphasise femininity that is the most easy to change: the manner of dress.

The first photograph is from a clipping collection from magazines.  I thought the picture presented a truth in light of all the rumours concerning the Victorians: moderns sometimes insist that women were oppressed by the patriarchy and not allowed outside the home without an escort, and forced to wear hats or be disgraced. In this picture we see that most of the women are bare-headed, although carrying umbrellas for shade.  If you look carefully, you can see several women apparently going about their business in the stores, without male accompaniment.

The photographs of the publishing house staff debunks another feminist myth: that women were not allowed to earn money. Obviously, the photographs and company records tell the truth that women had plenty of an opportunity to earn money. Most, however, sought to marry and get out of that workforce so they could tend to their homes. It took the 20th century to convince women they were not necessary at home.(See the sermon by Peter Marshall under Theme Articles on the sidebar).

I thought the 1800's University photograph dispelled the myth that women could not attend college in the Victorian era.  Too many photographs and recorded data shows that this simply was not true.  However, I posted these photographs for a study of feminine clothing. The women's clothing was in stark contrast to the mens in shape and in style. Today, the contrast is less, and that is why you sometimes cannot tell the difference between a man and a woman from a distance, or when you walk behind them. 

 While watching the film "The Electric Edwardians" from Netflix, I observed several interesting things. Firstly, the men and women, even the unmarried ones, mingled freely, and with out any apparent hesitation. The social restrictions of the times may have actually made them more trusting and more comfortable in each others presence. Several clips in this film showed fathers holding the hands of their little girls, while walking around London parks on Sunday afternoons.

  Secondly, the women, rich and poor alike, were fully covered, with long skirts and full-style blouses. The only immodesty in the film was the footage of the circus performers. They seemed to accept it in circuses but apparently did not imitate that mode of dress in public or at home.  Today, we see a singer or a "star" with strange clothing that looks like torn underwear, performing on stage, , and the next thing you know, people are wearing the same style in public.  The Victorians had a better sense of propriety than we do: some clothing was perfectly acceptable for circus performers, but it was not acceptable for ordinary wear. Do you think the people in the street scene would be grieved if they could see the way their descendents dress today?  What do you think they would be most sorrowful about?

To be more feminine, the main thing to remember is to be completely opposite in appearance from men. Men, real men, don't wear dresses.  Women can distinguish themselves by wearing women's clothing: dresses, skirts, and soft, feminine clothing in colours that men do not generally wear.  Observe also the prints and colors of men's clothing, and strive to find the opposite. Look at the shape of men's collars and pockets, cuffs and sleeves, shoes, etc. and wear yours more rounded or puffed or gathered; anything opposite or different than menswear.

 In the painting by Sir John Lavery, the woman's dress looks softer and thinner than the man's suit. While some people claim that the 18th and 19th century paintings presented and "idealized" version of the era, the photographs, which show the same styles, are of real people. I posted some of the autochromes, in a previous article, showing the similarities of the photographs to the paintings. Film footage of the time was certainly not "staged" in any way, showing normal people milling around on streets in towns. The women looked MUCH different than the men. I do not believe it was "idealized." I believe it was real. Just check out the photographs in your own family history.

Men generally wear solid colors in heavier fabrics. Women have an opportunity to be more feminine in their appearance by using prints with flowers, bright colors and pastels, and soft fabrics, liberally, and wear clothing that is shaped differently than men's. Camp shirts, golf shirts, t-shirts, cargo pants, jeans and sweatpants, racing suits and track pants are not feminine in appearance. Leave them to the men, and give them something to distinguish themselves with. Stop taking over their territory: their clothing, their jobs, their roles in life, have all been homogenized by the designers, the programmers and the planners, that think they know how this world should be organized. You can change the culture, just by changing the way you dress.

The cultures of the world that have kept their history and still wear their national dress bear testimony to us: that the women did not wear clothing that looked like men's clothing.  some of these countries still maintain a semblence of this respect for the differences between men and women. It is our enlightened western civilization that has blurred the differences in appearance between male and female. However, you can still find photographs of the past and see the civilization that kept to the distinguishing of male and female appearance, manners and family values; a civilization that once was.  No matter how cold, or how hot it was, how hard the work or how vigorous the activity, women still dressed femininely. Ask yourself why this was so important to them.

There is a chapter in the book, "The Benevolence of Manners" which shows the historical reasons that women dressed the way they did in the past. While this book has its flaws, it helps you understand some things about the clothing of the women.  They dressed the way they did because they did not want to offend anyone. Though not everyone was a Christian, most people were familiar with the Bible and with the principles of modesty.

The society in general did not think it was right to show too much of their flesh in public. They believed that if you gave someone an inch, they would take a mile, becoming more permissive. They believed in personal restraint and privacy. We live in a let-it-all-hang-out era that is most depressing. However, that can all change with just one of you.

Great changes have been made without a group backing it up. Look at the homeschool movement of the 1980's that began with a few concerned mothers. They had no talk-show personalities to boost their confidence, no fancy curriculums to lean on, and certainly no church families to support their efforts. They did it because they knew it was the right thing to do, and that it would be wrong to neglect their children. Covering your body more femininely and beautifully does not have to have group-approval. You just need you and God, and that is a majority. Everyone knows that. There is a scripture in the book of James that says, "Therefore, to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him, it is sin." This is certainly a verse to ponder, when trying to make a righteous decision.

 It can be a little daunting if you feel you are the only one doing it, but what you do when you wear womens clothes in public instead of what one writer called "The communist uniform for women (jeans)" is give others the courage to dress femininely also. In doing so, you are letting your light shine and you are making your country beautiful. When someone sees you dressed like a female instead of a male, she secretly wishes she could dress that way, and somehow it makes her think on it more and one day she might decide to quit dressing like a man, too. It is not a matter of wealth or of poverty. It takes some sense and the development of your eyes to be on the lookout for good clothing that is modest and beautiful and feminine; different from men.

This series about clothing and sewing and painting-inspired dressing is coming to a close at the end of December, but there will be plenty of other topics coming up after that.

Female Appearance: Accentuating the Differences From the Male

Graceful Backhand in a Victorian Garden

by Ellen H. Clapsaddle, United States, (1865-1934)

(Even in sports, women and men dressed very differently)

I was served at a store by someone that could not be identified as male or female.A hundred years ago, the person at the cash register would have been identified as a young boy.

  Every woman or man working at the store would have been identified as "male", if this were the Victorian era. In this store, the employees, both male and female, all wore low-cut, black jeans, with a zip-front.( We have discussed this before: women's pants used to have zippers on the side or the back, to distinguish them from the men's. ) They all wore manly type shirts with pointed collars and broad shoulders, covered by a plain, butchers apron. Their feet were shod with black, thick-soled,flat shoes.  Each employee had the short, razor-cut, feathered hairstyle. Though they all wore jewelry, it was impossible to distinguish male from female. 

From the Victorian viewpoint, it would have looked like an all-male staff.

A Picnic, by Harry Nelson O'Neill

Can you tell the difference between the male and female hairstyles and clothing, in this 18th century painting?

 We have seen the gradual decline of women's clothing for the last 50 years, making the woman's form unrecognizable from a man's.   It was not always so.  A hundred years ago, if someone was dressed like a man, it probably was a man.

It was the voice saying, "Will this be cash?" that revealed the cashier as a man. To be fair, the poor thing probably didn't have a clue that his appearance was confusing.His hairstyle was very much like the women's. His mannerisms and posture were feminine.  He probably did not even know that it was good to show his distinct maleness by his clothing and his demeanor. He might have felt that he was not supposed to show any maleness.

Good News From Abroad

by George Smith, English (1714-1776)

Is there a difference between the boys and girls clothing in this 18th century painting?

 The women working there probably didnt  know that it was beneficial to them and to the rest of the world to show their female differences by dressing differently than the men. So I am not saying they are deliberately being contrary. I am saying they have been gradually conditioned to dress this way.

Evening Market Scene

by P. Van Schendel

The  18th century market at night still did not hide differences in male and female appearances.

We have grown so accustomed to seeing women who look like men, that we find it necessary to look a little more closely at a person's body than would have been required in the past.

The person who waited on us had the feathered, razor-cut hair style that is most commonly identified with females today. 

Pilgrims Going to Church

Is there a difference between the men and women's clothing in this painting portraying the Pilgrims in one of New England's coldest winters?

 Clothing is something that can be worn to show the differences between male and female.  While it will take time to learn other differences in male and female behaviour, clothes are the easiest way to change things, and that is what I wish to address.

Here is the dockers ad that you have been sending to me
http://www.us.dockers.com/season/landing.aspx

Read the comments after this article http://www.nydailynews.com/lifestyle/2009/12/09/2009-12-09_new_dockers_ad_campaign_for_soft_khakis_brings_charges_of_sexism_over_.html
The comments are so colorfully expressed and so true.

and here is my female counterpart:

There was a time when women wore long skirts with hems that touched their ankles, and were content to let the men wear the pants in the family;


Whose appearance inspired artists and authors,


And  poets penned words comparing the swish of ladies skirts to the wonderful wind:- "All around I heard you pass, like ladies skirts across the grass"*


 When the very appearance of women in a long skirt inspired men to step back and let them go first in line;


 When women protected their own  delicate skin with shady hats and lacey umbrellas and carried reticules (purses attached to the waists of their skirts and hidden in their pockets);


 When women's hair was their glory and they would never have shaved their heads,


Women's clothing did not have to reveal their flesh to prove they were female, and when a mere glance at them would inform you of whether they were male or female,


They  had waistlines that were different than men, and their clothing emphasized it,


When women did not have it in their vocabulary to utter a curse word, and men delighted to be in their presence because their refining nature and feminine appearance;


When women cared enough about their influence that they would never enter a bar or drinking establishment,


When a woman preferred to hold knitting needles with yarn, in her hands, instead of a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other,


When women enjoyed buying pretty cloth,


Caring for the home gave her intense happiness, and did not even want to go out in the working world and compete for men's jobs,


When women's highest aim was to have an enduring marriage, raise a well-mannered and well-disciplined batch of children, and keep house to perfection;

When women won people's admiration through their good works, and could sew and cook and care for their homes in poverty as well as prosperity.


Women were proud of being women and were different than men and liked it that way.  They did not want to enter a man's world or wear clothing that resembled them.

We do not have to just remember-when.  Women everywhere have realized they are getting a raw deal, a double burden, and a never ending cycle of exhaustion when they try to follow a man's course. They are coming home. They are home schooling their children. They are guiding the home and doing it wonderfully.  If you are invited to one of the Tea or any extended hospitality from such a woman, you have been able to peek in on a glorious event: the homemaker showing her faith by the work of her hands. There has been a quiet revolution, out of the slavery of the work-place into the freedom , free enterprise, and creativity of the home.

The Pride of Dijon

by William John Hennessy

English, 1839-1917

Is there a contrast between the man's clothing and the woman's in this painting?

(This has to be one of the best paintings of a man looking at a woman, with an interest that says "What is your opinion?")

Evening Market Scene

by P. Van Schendel, Holland, 1806-1870

Out shopping, the people were still recognizeable as male or female.

* Robert Louis Stevenson, "The Wind"

From Child's Garden of Verses


I saw you toss the kites on high

And blow the birds about the sky;

And all around I heard you pass,

Like ladies' skirts across the grass--
From "A Child's Garden of Verses"

How will children today describe the clothing of the women that influence them?  Can they compare it to the beauty of the creation around them, or will they perceive it as trend-following?  Will they, like the artists and poets of old, look upon their mothers and grandmothers aprons and dresses as something beautiful and sentimental, feminine and elegant, modestly covered in a lovely way?

How to accucentuate the differences in female dress:

(coming)

Please leave a suggestion for anything you want added to this commentary on women's appearance and if I like it, I will include it.

Manners for the Home

I think it paramount that people have respect for the home, and show it by their manners, especially toward the home-maker.  From the beginning of her life as a homemaker, a woman should be careful to educate family and friends on the importance of manners. It is bad manners to make derogatory remarks about homemaking. It is rude to suggest that the mother or wife or homemaker is inept or lacks the intelligence to manage the home. Sometimes I hear people say that someone is not clever enough to manage the  home, and so they think she ought to get a job outside the home. I ask them: "If she is not intelligent enough to be a homemaker, why would she then be intelligent enough to work at a job outside the home?"

Anyone who runs down the homemaker is extremely discourteous. What that person needs to understand is they should not be judging the skills of the homemaker, but should be respecting her position. 

The Bible gives women the permission to do their duty of guiding the home. We should always applaud those who are taking up their rightful responsibility. Not only that, they should be rewarded, when possible. During a funeral, a preacher said, "This woman would rather have had flowers  from her loved ones while she was alive, than an abundance of flowers at her death."

At the Beach

On the Shore

by Alexander Rossi

British, 1840-1916

To view more Alexander Rossi paintings, go

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This painting shows the common dress of beach visitors of the 18th and 19th century. How much more picturesque the women were, with their pretty summer dresses and hats to shade their faces.

Acclaimed 19th and 20th century British genre and portrait artist Alexander M. Rossi was famous during his time for his many charming domestic scenes depicting children.







Interestingly, Rossi was born in the Ionian Islands, but as an artist, he lived in Preston and London. He exhibited from 1870-1903, including 66 times at the Royal Academy 1871-1903, Suffolk Street (47 works), the New Watercolor Society and numerous other prominent galleries in Britain.


Alexander Rossi Biography from  Artnet.com:

Rossi's paintings that were exhibited at the Royal Academy include 'A Family Group', 1871; 'Caught in the Tide', 1889; and 'Their Morning Bath', 1900. He was a member of the Hogarth Club and died in Golders Green, London on January 9, 1916.

Interiors of the Season

If you are in the mood to relax and look at nice photographs of interesting decor, these two sites have December arrangements. It might not be your style but it is sometimes relaxing to look at a house without laundry and dishes and people's shoes and sox all over the place ;-)

Enchanted Treasures

Cottage of the Month

Very pretty fabric here, if you'll scroll down:

My Romantic Cottage

If you have some rooms you would like me to show, please send me your link, and I will include it here.

Special Moments

Special Moments

by George Goodwin Kilburne

for more by this artist, check through previous posts or go to Lovely Whatevers.