holiday handicraft + free downloads

A few months ago, I picked up an amazing out-of-print book called Holiday Handicraft at a flea market here in Los Angeles. It's written by a woman named Nina R. Jordan, who seems to have written numerous craft books for children. I love the warm, comfortable way speaks to her audience, and how true these ideas still are today:

Ready-made cards for the holidays are printed so thousands are just alike. But when you make a card for somebody, you know that no one can ever make one exactly like it, no matter how hard he tries. The same applies for any gift you make.

I also enjoy the charming advice she gives about special crayon colors:

Probably everyone who reads this page has a set of crayons or water colors, or both. But did you know that crayons are also made in the colors of silver, gold, and copper? And that there are 10¢ pans of watercolors in silver and gold? The gold, silver, and copper crayons are not commonly sold in stores but they may be bought for 5¢ each by writing to the American Crayon Company, Sandusky, Ohio.

I wonder what the author would have thought of the vast array of materials and options available to modern crafters now. But the thing that is most fun, of course, is that many of these crafts are just as great now as they were then. I thought it would be nice to share some of the pages, which would be great little holiday projects to make at home, especially with kids. The author's illustrations are really sweet and most of the projects are self-explanatory due to her drawings. (I think I'm safe copyright-wise on this since the book was published in 1928, which means it should be in the public domain. Nevertheless, please copy these images for your own personal use only.)

I'll post more images for the holidays when I get the chance. Enjoy!