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Christmas Catalog Mix – Sausage & Cheese

Oh friends! Here is a photo mashup I made just for you! Okay, that’s a lie. I did this entirely for me. It’s about one of my favorite subjects. Sausage and Cheese. As I was perusing one of my favorite sites, Wishbookweb.com, wondering if it’s too late to order that Millennium Falcon in the 1981 Montgomery Ward catalog for only $30.87, I made a discovery. It turns out that as far back as 1947, they were selling those lovely sausage and cheese variety boxes in Christmas catalogs. How intriguing! I needed to know more. So without further preamble, let’s hop in the Tardis and go on a gastronomic voyage of discovery!

Oh, and click the photos for a larger view, in most cases the full catalog page.
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Christmas Papercraft – Dimestore Christmas Lights

papercraft, paper cutout, christmas, lights, woolworth, kresge's, mccrory's, five and ten centClick on the image above for a larger version to download.
This is another papercraft set from Mistletoegreetings.com which is going bye bye. These are miniature Christmas Tree Light boxes from old five and dime stores like Woolworth’s, McCrory’s and Kresge’s. I like vintage packaging, especially stuff from the holidays. I copied the packaging pretty closely from the original designs, so these are authentic, albeit in miniature. Add them to Christmas dioramas and dollhouses, print and fold a bunch of them and fill a bowl as a table centerpiece, string them up like popcorn for a garland, tie them to a bow, etc. I just design them. You get to choose the usage.

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Orlando Groceries and Food in the 1970s

Orlando Grocery 1970sOh, hello Richard Deacon, character actor of such classics as “The Dick Van Dyke Show” and “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”. I had no idea you were a television chef. Was this before or after you were in “The Happy Hooker Goes to Hollywood”? Answer: It was before.

I found a stack of “Orlando Sentinel” Food sectionals from the early 1970s, loaded with adds for local restaurants, grocery stores, appliance stores, etc. I have tons of these, so this is the first in a series. Click the images to make bigger.

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Christmas Papercraft – Miniature Gift Boxes

papercraft, paper cutout, christmas, wraping paper
More for the now defunct Mistletoegreetings site. These are tiny boxes with vintage style Christmas wrapping paper. Cut them out, put them together following the instructions, and let your creativity run wild. Use them as decorative accents on packages. Decorate a Christmas Doll house scene. Put candy in them and use them as stocking stuffers. Lot’s of possibilities. Each of the selections below will print out on 8.5 by 11 paper. Click on the image to make larger.

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Christmas Papercraft – Old Fashioned Ornaments


More Christmas papercraft from the late Mistletoegreetings.com. I created these ornaments for the 2008 Orlando Festival of Trees. These paper ornaments are the real thing. Be sure to print them on heavy paper so they’ve got some heft to them.
Click on the images below to download larger versions of the template.
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Retro Tech – 1980s Business Computing

Retro Computer
I have soft spot for 1980s computer tech. Maybe it’s because I grew up during the start of the personal computer revolution and was heavily invested in it at an early age. Maybe it’s because I’m nostalgic and I feel sad for all those early generation beasties, languishing in land fills today. Maybe it’s because I’ve never gotten past my love of the old keyboard clickety-clack sounds, which were so much better than the mushy keyboards of today. Regardless of the why, I like the aesthetic, so here are some fine examples. Click an image for a larger version.

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