How to keep children happy?

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

I've just posted some readers' offer ads here scanned from a 70s craft magazine called Golden Hands Monthly. I felt this one deserved its very own post however. If you want to see the rest of the pages I scanned, they're here.



"Oh yeah!! I've got my very own potato!" is what that little girl's face is saying.

Comments

[fynoda.livejournal.com]

That potato face is creepy as all hell.

[tudor-diva.livejournal.com]

I'm a bit terrified of that potato myself.

[blodeuedd.livejournal.com]

I'm more terrified by the face of the girl working on it. And what's with the missing ghostly top of her head?

[mellzie-1963.livejournal.com]

My little brother had a "garbage garden" in his room when we were kids--Pineapple tops, sweet potatoes--he even re-grew a celery plant once. He loved that project, but it was a little smelly at times.

[phyrbyrd.livejournal.com]

Ah, yes, Golden Hands... My mother collected most of the Golden Hands Craft Encyclopedia, which was a partwork - probably produced at the same time as this magazine, although the last issue I have advertises a new partwork, so it might just be a different Marshall Cavendish endeavour.
Yes, the stuff is tacky and very seventies-esque. However, it's easy to follow and easy to adapt and most of the crafts I know now came from the GHCE, which had instructions on everything from dressmaking and papercraft to stone carving and resin casting and glassworking.
Really it makes modern craft magazines look pretty tame by comparison.

[oh-meow.livejournal.com]

The partwork is mostly the same as the magazines, except it doesn't come with the patterns, and has more pages about stuff like basic knitting techniques. I've seen it in second hand shops a lot. I've also seen the Spanish version, which my ex's mum collected, which is identical except it has a different name and cover, and they added in some Spanish crafts like encaje de tenerife (a kind of circular woven lace- the orignal is very delicate, but they 70sed it up with chunky orange threads).

I'm not a big fan of modern craft magazines. They either have nice designs, but assume that you don't know how to make anything, or are full of chintzy old lady crafts. the only one I ever get is Burda Style, which would probably be terrifying if you just started sewing, with its multiple overlaid patterns that need tracing, and very minimal instructions.