Windows of a period gone by

In the previous entry I mentioned I had gone looking for something to create a hinge on a project that I was working on. Finally finished the project and want to share with you. This is a large piece each window approx 12" x 8" a good size to work in. The lovely old frame Joanne has let me use has pale yellow and cream paint in patches the rest bare wood. Without the hinged covers.The top right hand corner window I have vintage album page with a rather austere looking lady
parlour card and below a smaller parlour card of a gentleman that could be her husband. A small soft leather coin purse, black feather an a vintage button sewn on a piece of vintage fabric.Top middle window the background is a backing page out of one of the covers on the bottom of frame, I just loved the lovely rich colours. A glove metal frame for keeping your gloves nice and neat, all shabby chipped paint, I was lucky to buy a pair at local antiques fair. An old rusty pair of scissors bought at a flea market in Sydney. A piece off a very old moulding from Italy, vintage ephemera and on the bottom a little bottle with blue glitter and a smaller one with a rolled up scrap of a letter.Top right hand window another vintage album page with parlour card. The piece of blue tissue I found in an old album I bought in Sydney it has a lady holding a torch at the bottom of a set of steps a rather roman scene. A scrap of hand dyed silk with a vintage button, crochet scrap with a rhinestone buckle, corrugated cardboard and in the left hand bottom corner an old letter set A.Below right hand corner is a window which I later hinged a cover of an album. A collection of vintage bits and pieces. the spine of an old book which I love the texture and colour. Wired on a fragment from an old plate. Underneath is a lovely silk mantle for a kerosene lamp, below it is the cardboard box it came in and behind the silk mantle is the lovely glassine bag it was protected in. All this housed on a old journal page with the spine still attached.This lovely old album page has these really cute fat chicken in lovely sepia colours with another parlour card of a young girl. On the top left corner a brass metal stencil No 4 my lovely sister gave me. At the bottom of parlour card is a bit of beautiful beaded fabric 1 inch wide that Mandy and I shared from Claremont Antique and craft fair. Its a good idea if you see something really lovely but a bit pricey, share with a friend. The vintage spool with bronze thread is a gift from a really thoughtful friend who bought it from Tinsel Trading which she visited when she was in America. This window is bottom middle.Window bottom left is the collage under the Journal cover. Music sheet background, scraps of knitted fabric with french trims from French Flea Market. Scraps of old vintage sepia colour paper an image on transparency paper and a ticket for Royal stall at a theatre several of these vintage ephemera I have been given by the thoughtful sharing girls that come to our classes.You have got to admit they made beautiful album covers probably in the Victorian era, this one is all padded, in fact when I tried to drill through it all this fibre whizzed around the drill bit so drilling wasn't going to work so I had to Peirce the holes with a awl and hammer (ok don't shudder in horror, its a means to an end) this one sat on top of the bottom right window. This is where I am trying to figure out what looks best. Also these where the covers I was looking for hinging for. Can you see the lovely blossoms engraved in this cover just meant for a bird or two.
The hinged cover on the right side window, I am not going to add anything else other than a photo with an old vintage thermometer, the embossing is too decorative to cover.The finished frame, can you see how I hinged the covers. The left one is hinged with some old bullet webbing I had bought to use in my Dads war journal, there is heaps of it so these three bits won't be missed and they are the right grubby worn look for this period. The right one I have used a strip of calico to hinge and added some vintage buttons.The hinged covers have worked well, they had to be strong to take the weight of the covers.
Across the bottom of frame I have tacked in a brass hinge opened out flat, with the word 'behind'. The book etcera etc inspired me with this collaged vintage window frame. I hope you don't think I am big noting myself by mentioning where I got different items, but I know some readers like to know that sort of thing. This will be for the shop window when our sale finishes.
Have a great weekend
Jacky