Here is to the bright New Year,
and a fond farewell to the old.
Here's to the things
that are yet to come,
and to the memories that we hold.

New Year's Desktop Wallpaper

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Victorian New Year Noisemaker

A recycled soda can, dried beans, some fringe and a yarn pom pom make this a fun and glittery accessory for a New Years Party. Visit Vintage Image Craft for instructions.

Victorian Mourning Rituals

When people died during the reign of Queen Victoria the corpse usually stayed in the home until the burial. The body was surrounded by family and friends where viewing and touching the deceased were commonplace. Even children were not spared from viewing the dead, and in poor homes they may have had to share a room or even a bed with a dying sibling.

There were rules of etiquette written about funerals regarding the planning, flowers, services and mourning of a loved one. Some of these rules were probably less strict in rural areas.

Etiquette dictated certain lengths and stages of mourning as well as colors and fabrics. Each family member, or servant living with the family went through a period of mourning. Women were expected to mourn for two years. They adopted a wardrobe of black crape without lace or decorations. No ornaments were worn, except jet, for the first year. To appear fashionable during times of mourning women of lower class would dye their clothing black. Gentlemen wore black cheviot suits with broad crape bands on their hats, and black gloves. Children also wore black, and babies were dressed in white garments trimmed with black ribbons.

Postmortem photography of the deceased often served as mementos of families who could not afford a painted portrait. Having a photo of the deceased, especially of children, was particularly important when no other photos already existed. The invention of the Carte de Visite, which enabled multiple prints to be made from a single negative, meant that images could be sent to distant relatives, or used on memorial cards announcing the child’s death. The deceased were commonly represented as though they were peacefully sleeping rather than dead, although at other times the body was posed to look alive.

Mourning jewelry such as lockets, brooches and rings, usually containing a lock of hair and/or photograph, functioned as tangible reminders of the deceased. While not exclusively for mourning, hair art was a natural way to remember a deceased loved one.

“Hair is at once the most delicate and lasting of our materials, and survives us, like love.” –Godey’s Lady’s Book, May 1855.

Godey’s Lady’s Book and Peterson’s Magazine introduced the craft of making mourning jewelry, which soon became a popular pastime. Preparation was important. First the hair was boiled in soda water for 15 minutes. It was then sorted into lengths and divided into strands of 20-30 hairs. Most pieces of jewelry required long hair. For example, a full size bracelet called for hair 20 to 24" long. Sometimes horse hair was used because it was coarser than human hair, and thus easier for a beginner.

Godey's reminded readers that while mourning etiquette dictated only jet jewelry as being allowed during the first stage of mourning, during the second stage of mourning one could wear a brooch or bracelet made of hair detailed with a gold and black enamel clasp. Even a watch chain or plain gold belt buckle was permissible for widowers to wear if it was made of hair, or if it enclosed hair. The fashion for all mourning jewelry came to an end at the turn of the 20th century with the death of Queen Victoria.

Further information can be found on the following websites:
A Lively Look at the History of Death
Victorians Hair Artists Guild
Haunted when it Rains [Post-Mortem Photography - Graphic]

(Jet Mourning Jewelry Photo Source: www.timedancesby.com)

Halloween Greetings Wallpaper

Halloween Desktop Wallpaper
Source: http://www.myfreewallpapers.net/artistic/pages/halloween-greetings.shtml

Tea Etiquette Tidbits

Do you know which way to point the spout of the teapot once it’s placed on the table? Do you know what kind of napkins to offer your guests? Do you know how to properly sip tea? Here are some useful tips you can use at your next traditional or buffet tea.

The Teapot: When the teapot is placed on the table the spout should point towards the hostess.

Serving: An experienced hostess will serve the foods in order, scones, sandwiches, and then dessert.

The Teaspoon: After you have stirred your tea, rest the teaspoon in your saucer. It is not proper to place it on the table or serving tray.

Sipping: How many of us recall images of a someone lifting their little finger as they sip tea. Well in all actuality it isn’t proper etiquette neither is leaving a lipstick print on the cup.

The Napkin: If you are hosting a tea party etiquette states you should offer cloth napkins, not paper. The napkin should be completely unfolded and placed on your lap and keep it laid flat.

How To: Here is one place where its okay to eat with your fingers, but foods must first be placed on your plate before you start to indulge yourself. When eating scones break off small pieces and eat a small bite at a time. Do not use a fork to eat the scone. Savor the tea sandwiches one small bite at a time instead of shoving the entire thing in your mouth! Desserts should be presented on the tray in individual servings.

Once you have finished, leave your plate in front of you and fold your napkin and place it to the side of the plate, but not on the plate.

When adding sugar cubes take care not to dip the sugar tong or sugar spoon into the tea.

The proper way to drink tea when seated at a table is to leave the saucer on the table and only raise the cup. However if you are not seated at a table you should lift both the saucer and the cup to your chest then lift the teacup off the saucer and sip. When you are not drinking, the cup should rest in the saucer on your lap.

The Painted Wall

I live in a 1910 home with my husband and even though it’s come a long way since we bought it 14 years ago, there are still plenty of projects to keep us busy. One of the first rooms my husband and I renovated was the entryway. I envisioned an elegant room gilded with autumn colors, red and amber, but my husband wanted chubby cherubs. Get this – he picked out the wallpaper border! He’s so domesticated (haha).

I painted the ceiling a sky blue, and glazed blue stripes on the walls and glazed the baseboards to match. I smeared clouds on the ceiling, and I say smeared because I really don’t have much talent when it comes to painting. I found some cherubs online, re-worked them in PS, then printed and cut them out and decoupaged them onto the ceiling. We also added the wainscotting and the chair rail, but what tied it all together was the ribbon on the ceiling.

I had a local muralist, The Painted Wall, paint the ribbon. It was enthralling to watch the artist effortlessly mix the color to match the ribbon that was on the wallpaper border. The entire ribbon took less than 30 minutes to paint - I couldn't believe it! It would have taken me at least a week with no guarantees that I wouldn't blotch it up. The ribbon made all the difference. Sometimes I find myself just laying on the floor and staring up at the ceiling:)


Before, during and after shots.

Useful Resources:

This Old House Painting Historical Interiors

BEHR Victorian Splendor

Keep the diamonds - I want high heels!!!

The High Heel Shoe Museum features fantastic shoe designs from many of the world's greatest shoe designers. You won't find any flats or boring conservative shoe styles here. Instead the museum specializes in exotic, unusual, interesting and extreme high heel shoes with the minimum requirement of a 2 1/2 inch heel to be featured on the website. The museum's shoe collection currently includes about 300 styles.
www.highheelshoemuseum.com

Desktop Wallpaper

An elegant setting for tea, and for your desktop too!

Click on image to enlarge. Size is 1024 x 768. Hope you like it!