Vintage Wednesday: Vintage Postcard

It started with Maria Von Trapp - my obsession with collecting postcards that is. I was in the 6th grade and we had a celebrity auction to raise money for the school. I don't remember the celebrities the other kids chose, but I think I'd just read the book about the REAL Maria Von Trapp and decided to ask for her autograph for the auction. I don't really think I anticipated getting a response, but low and behold I received not one, but TWO signed postcards by return mail. She specified that one was for me and one was for the auction. And thus began my "official" postcard collection.

At one time, I collected postcards only from places I'd visited. Pittsburgh trip in the 8th grade to Point Park? Check. Fort Boonesborough in Kentucky? Check. Postcard of (then President) Jimmy Carter from a trip to Plains, Georgia? Check.

As I got older, however, I discovered the world of antique postcards. These are the cards with sprays of roses or bunches of violets. Some had Gibson Girls relaxing in riparian scenes. I especially loved the cards from Germany or France with their detail and mystique.

I loved reading the messages from decades before like, "can you take some time from work and meet me at the depot? I won't tell!" or "Sweet memories attend you throughout the day" or "The making of friends, who are real friends, is the best test of success in life." Faithfully yours, Ursa A. Hyde.

And sometimes there are words to live by:
"The chain of Friendship stretching far Links Days that were with Days that are."

Vintage Wednesday: Celebrating Vintage Style

Last weekend we celebrated a very special event - my mother's 70th birthday. Because I tend to do flowers for events like this, the ladies who planned the event asked me to do the flowers. The problem with this is that I live 4 hours away and bringing 14 arrangements across the mountains presented a bit of a problem. So I came up with the idea of using potted perennial plants Mama could use in her garden later. But that didn't seem like quite enough for an event like this.

The ladies had also asked me to say a few words about my mother. Most of them have known her for 30 plus years, so to say something they hadn't heard or thought was a challenge. I came up with the idea of writing the story of her life in pieces. Each table was set with vintage and antique items that had something to do with the part of the story I was telling. For example, there was a table that told the story of her grandmother's influence on her life, another telling about her mother and yet another about her aunts. One table told the story of her brothers, and another told the story of how she met my father. Each was a little snapshot of what made her the woman she is today. And most everyone learned something they hadn't known about Mama before the party.

I am so thankful to the women who planned this party and honored to have contributed just a little piece to the celebration. Using vintage items to help tell the story was a lovely way to celebrate - vintage style.