Before and After - Telephone Bench

I got this telephone bench a few months ago and absolutely fell in love with it.

But the upholstery was outdated and worn out, with a little hole on the seat.

I've been meaning to upholster it again since I bought it, but had been waiting around for just the right fabric. Well, I decided yesterday that I'll probably never find the perfect fabric, and decided to just use some leftover Amy Butler fabric I had from creating pillows in my living room.

I just did a quick hack upholstery job, without removing the old fabric, but I think it'll hold up fine until I find that perfect fabric!

(For a second, I was considering leaving it like this. I'm glad I didn't.)

I'm happy with the results, it looks cute and summery.

l.o.v.e.

Pure and simple.

Forgive me, Michael's picture was our first picture, the test shot. He "shook it like a Polaroid picture". Which resulted in his face being shaken. As for my picture, the camera doesn't have a flash and it was in my living room at night, so the lighting wasn't good so it's dark.

Oh my love!

Michael and I were at a camera mini convention yesterday that was essentially a big garage sale of all things cameras. Lots of lenses, tripods, funny old cameras...

Now, I have to say that I have wanted a Polaroid camera for YEARS. Literally. Years. So when Michael spotted one across the aisle from where we were standing, I had to check it out.

It was beautiful.

I debated getting it, but when the man selling it said it was only $10, and in working condition (provided being able to find film), I couldn't say no.

There have been many models of Polaroid cameras over this years, but this is the very first. It's a SX-70 Model 1, complete with a folding body in brushed chrome and real leather.

(Isn't it cute when it's collapsed? You can tuck it into a pocket or put it in your purse.)

SX-70 cameras are also neat because they use a different type of film than the newer ones which allow the image to be manipulated up to few days after the picture has been taken.

The only downside is that film for Polaroid cameras was stopped being made in 2006. Not only that, but different models of Polaroid cameras use different Polaroid film, and the film for the SX-70 model happens to be one of the more rare types of film.

According to Wikipedia, "Because the emulsion is gelatin-based and the Mylar covering does not allow water vapor to readily pass, the emulsion stays soft for several days, allowing artists to press and manipulate the emulsion to produce effects somewhat like impressionist paintings."

There is still film available on ebay, but one pack of film (containing eight exposures) costs between $20 and $30. Also, the film available all expires this month. I'm sure it would still be usable a few months after, but apparently if it's too much older, they don't work right and can wreck the camera.

I just think I might splurge and buy several packages of film.

293

So here I am, doing my Pyrex blog. I'm probably the hugest dork ever for blogging about Pyrex.

Before I get started on lovely pictures and such, here's a few facts about Pyrex. Pyrex was introduced by American company Corning Incorporated in 1915. It was originally made from thermal shock resistant borosilicate glass, but now it's made of tempered soda lime glass in Charleroi Pennsylvania. Because of it's low expansion properties, it's often used for reflective optics in astronomy applications, mainly telescopes.

While Pyrex products are now mainly all clear glass, they used to be really bold and colorful, with great graphic patterns.

Here are a few of my favorites. I got most of these images and information from a site called Pyrex Love. It's a great resource.



Of course, I have to start with this series called Woodland. My mother had the bowls on the left, as well as the lighter brown mixing bowl (which is now mine), so while these aren't really the most beautiful Pyrex pieces, they hold a sentimental value to me. The Woodland series came out in 1978.



I really really love this series. It's called Friendship and all pieces are so colorful, they make me want to cook something wonderful with them. They're distinctive mainly by red and orange leaf/chicken patterns on white, with bright red accent bowls. They first came out in 1971.



I love this piece! It's a special promotional piece. The pattern isn't known, but it's sometimes referred to as "Weave" by Pyrex fanatics. I love the solid casserole dish and the pattern on the lid is very cool, almost Escher-esque.



This beautiful baking dish is part of the Solid Colors family. The year it came out isn't listen, but it's 8 by 8 inches. I love the robin egg blue color! So cheery. It sells for about $15 on ebay.



I love these bowls! They're part of the Terra family, and these mixing bowls came out in 1964.



Look how sweet this butter dish is! I am on the lookout for a good butter dish and if I can find this one on ebay, I'll be thrilled. I love the farmer and wife details. The pattern is called Butterprint, but is often also referred to as "Amish". This piece came out in the 1960s.



This piece is a cake dish in the Desert Dawn series. The slight speckles are what characterize this dish, and it also came out in yellow. It was released in the late 1950s or early 1960s. It makes me want to bake a cherry chip cake in it.



These hard-to-find pieces are the promotional Balloons chip and dip set. I love the hot air balloon graphics! They came out in 1958 and are a very sought-after piece, running at around $90 on ebay.



I love this children's mug! It's a special promotional piece, date unknown (though probably the mid 1950s). Aren't the little train cars super cute?



This is another specialty piece. It's very rare and not a lot is known about it. It's a difficult one to find. I love the cross-stitch pattern!



Black Pyrex is something people don't usually see. As far as I can tell, the Snowflake series is the only one using black as the main color. This divided dish came out in 1957 and comes with a clear glass top.



These Red, Opal White, and Yellow ramekins are so cheery and colorful. However, these weren't particularly popular. Apparently the edges were a bit sharp and so it was difficult to get food out.



Here's a group shot of a bunch of "Refrigerator Sets". I'm trying to use less and less plastic, and this is a great way to reduce the amount of tupperware in the house and go more enviromentally friendly. Plus, they're super cute and will definitely last a lot longer than cheap plastic.



I'm sure you've all had enough of Pyrex by now (if you've even made it this far), so I'll leave you with one last piece. This 1972 casserole dish is from the Seville promotional pieces. I love love love the orange and pink color scheme, and the graphic on top is full of detail and embellishments. So gorgeous.

Vintage Posters

I was at St. Vital mall today with Mike and it turns out there was an antique show at the mall!

There was a lot of crap, but a lot of cool random things. I'm generally too impatient to pick through antiques too much, but one thing stood out to me (though I didn't get it).

A vintage pyrex mixing bowl from 1967!


Pyrex came out with some very cool designs with great graphics. I think I'll write a post about pyrex in the near future.


Anyways, on to what I bought. There was a booth selling old magazine ads. I found three that I figured would be cool to put in my kitchen or bathroom, in bright colorful red or yellow frames.


Here's all three, plus my toes.


The largest, probably 17 by 11 or so, it's for Eatons, from Weekend Magazine, 1963. All of these are not actually wrinkled, that's just the plastic sheet they're in.


I'm not entirely sure what this one is for. Some product called Bon Ami, I think it's some sort of powder cleaning detergent. I love the colors in the image on the left side of the ad. The copyright above the logo says it's from 1937.


Ogilvie Minute Oats ad from MacLeans magazine, November 1, 1944. This piece is advertising getting a free war-esque paper figure with a stand when you buy their oats. There are soldiers, sailors, airmen, airwomen, WRENs (not sure what that is) and CWACs.

Old things.

The other day I was at my parents' house, going through my old high school bedroom. I haven't lived there in years, but somehow my stuff is still lying in piles in my old room. So my mom has been asking me to clean out my things for quite some time, and I finally went through some of it a few weekends ago.

Here's a jewel that I found that I'd forgotten.


A Barbra Streisand album. Except mine is a record. I have no idea where I got this, or why. Barbra was pretty cute back in the day, though.


Check out the back album art. This is the only picture I could find online, but that's one tight little bum. I'm impressed. Go Barbra.