1950s Christmas Cards

Emily Post writes in the 1943 edition of her infamous book, Etiquette;

"The ever-increasing impulse to send out Christmas cards as messages of friendship and goodwill is plainly not a mere caprice of fashion, but evidence of a country-wide trend toward a broadened and more friendly social relationship."

Oh, if Mrs. Post only knew how broadened and social we've become these days!  Imagine my joy when I recently purchased five Christmas cards (for a mere $1) dated from 1944 to 1962

The oval illustration is printed on silk and padded.

A piece of real lace trims her skirt.

All the cards are addressed to "my wife," all signed "from your honey" and all dated with the year. So sweet. You know these were sitting in a shoebox, in some woman's closet, for years.  A few had water stains and crumpled corners, but this kind of sentiment should not be put back in a box.

I decided to use my three favorite and put together a frame.  I covered the background with fabric, simply taped on to the back side, and used long stickpins to secure the cards.  The pins are stuck behind the folds of the paper or, in one case, the pinhead is hidden within the illustration.  Then I added a little bunch of plastic mistletoe tied with a black velvet ribbon.

A frame like this can be done using any sort of vintage cards, magazines, recipes, paper dolls, sheet music or photos; the possibilities are endless.  So don't shy away from all that vintage ephemera!  Use it to decorate your house.  And don't forget to save your own cards and papers.  Someday your kids will hang it on their walls!