Winter Nails

Here are what I've had on my nails since Christmas. A few winter themes, but not only snowflakes this year.

I simply had to try my custom stamping plate from FigTreeJewellery:

The stamps of son aged 18 and 3 are really great. He laughed out loudly when he saw them. The polish is OPI's Skislope Sweetie.

I've bought new plates with snowflakes, which I truly love. Here I have stamped with a cheap blue stamping polish upon a light blue polish without name from Essence:

I think it looks so lovely with many different snowflakes.

Here my custom plade is in use again. I've made a hero-theme with Modesty Blaise, my childhood heroine, and Indiana Jones, my all time hero:

I have reversed my hands, so my right had is mostly blue with Indy. The pink holo polish is Britta from MakeupStore and the blue is Siw, from the same brand.

Here I've tried the puzzle from MoYou, which I have wanted for long:

The silver polish is Gosh Holographic Hero, the most beautiful holographic polish ever. And I have laboriously painted some of the puzzle pieces red, green and blue with one of son's tiny Warhammer brushes. Quite a job, and not easy using my left hand, but I think it is OK.

Since it was long ago I've used tape, I thought I had to make a tape mani for a change. And then I could finally use some of my Nail Vinyls (the lightning on my ring finger):

The dark green polish is BeYu 449 and the purple glitter is OPI DS Temptation. Son called them Hulk-nails. I hadn't given it a thought that it is his colours.

I am not into Valentine's Day, which we don't celebrate in Denmark, but I did make some romantic nails:

I have stamped the hearts with MoYou and the kiss is from a Konad plate. The pink polish is Misa Fleeting Hibiscus and the red one is an old OPI mini without name.

I found the snowmen years ago on Pinterest, and this winter I finally remembered to try them:

They are made with a dotting tool, very easy. The carrot nose is just dragged a little, and it is OK it is not straight, because no carrots are. The white polish is Bleech Babe (my favourite white) from Sally Hansen.

Since I really like grey polishes, I thought OPI's Fifty Shades mini collection was a good buy:

And I had to try on all six colours at the same time:

We start with the thumb which is Dark side of the Mood, then it is Embrace the Grey, Cement the Deal, Romantically Involved, and My Silk Tie. All two layers, but could have used three. The glitter polish, Shine for Me, is used as French tips.

ALT for Damerne, no. 5, 1954

I have for years scanned from ALT for Damerne (Everything for the Ladies) from 1955, but this year I have decided to scan from 1954. No particular reason other than for a change, although I don't think it will be that big. Yep, I am a rebel! :)

Let's start with number 5, which was the first magazine in February. All scans can be clicked into larger formats. Although it is a Danish magazine, I hope my foreign readers will have fun reading my small recaps and get inspiration from the photos.

Very nice cover, where you can get the pattern for the lovely sporty blouse:

In the binular you can read about this and that:

This time there is a tip on serving hearts in a different way, good advice on fabric and knits, a clear purse for you purse, so that it doesn't get ruined in bad weather (not a bad idea at all), and advice on how to know the difference from fireproof glass (if it has a matte bottom it is meant for electrical hotplates).

Travel with housewives' league to Rome and the Riviera:

It must have been every housewife's dream.

Glimpse of spring from Berlin:

The geometrical dress at the right is fabulous.

And at the right there is a guidance on sewing a nice bed blouse without pattern:

It is so nice that it can easily be used during the day, depending on the fabric you choose.

Patterns of the week are for those who are busy and chic:

This is an illustration for a novel called The Unrestful Heart:

Fabulous dress. No wonder the main character is nervous about how beautiful the woman is.

Nice, homemade bast lamps are flattering in the living room:

So if you are looking for an old-fashioned lamp, you can make it yourself:

Just look how nice it looks on the little drawing.

Dinner is server:

I love how dinner was served back then. It takes so little effort to make it look nice.

On to the ads. Let's start with an ad for Sanderson cretonner:

Lovely patterns in colours that says "NO" to fading.

Elegant suits in Hartz jersey all year long:

And Cutex Spillpruf, whic we have seen before, but not this one. It contains enamelon, whatever that is.

Here I had a muddy complexion - it is of course past with Tokalon cream:

At the orphanage the children's clothes are sewn and repaired on an Elna sewing machine.

An ouverture to future happiness:

Back then it was high-class to say one came from a home with a piano.

Winter Nails

During Winter I want to have snowflakes and white glitter reminding me of frost, on my nails.

Here it is Sally Hansen's Bleech Babe (lovely white with a little shimmer, and it is almost a one-coater, thanks for the tip Hanne) with OPI's I Snow You Love Me (large holo glitter, but with way too few of them in the bottle. Next time I will use a wooden stick to take them off the brush, because it was seriously annoying):

Yep, my nails look a bit worn, but I thought I would show you how my nails looks when my mani is a week old. Not bad at all. ;) I do my nails every Sunday evening and then they look nice until next Sunday. But I don't scrub floors or do the dishes during the week. :)

This is a white shimmer polish from Gosh with a frost-like Indie glitter polish over and stamped snowflakes at my ring finger nail:

When I hosted our Nail Night with Hanne I got a funny gift:

But what is it? It is a fun technic, which I have never tried myself, but I think I will soon. Hanne had prepared the most charming snowmen on a CD in a plastic bag. I don't know if we forgot them since we didn't use them, because they are super nice, so I wanted to design a snowman mani:

It is Essie Aruba Blue with the snowmen, stamped snowflakes and a little holo glitter at the tips. I almost hadn't the remove them a week after. Thank you, Hanne. :)

ALT for Damerne, Number 1, 1955

Happy New Year, to all of you. :)

Yes, I have already scanned from Everything for the Ladies again. This year I will scan in the uneven months, so we'll see some other magazines. I start with number 1 from 1955, which has a lovely wintery cover. You get the knitting pattern (in Danish) later in this post:

And remember that all scans can be enlarged by clicking at them.

You could find Entrust Yourself to Mrs. Nini every week. Here the readers wrote letters, asked questions and also got answers:

Here a reader asks when she should give her daughters "dressing money" (I gave son money for clothes when he was about 14, and it worked great), and there is a letter from the mother who thinks she is unsuccessful in making her home as cosy for her children as her own childhood home was. Well, time changes - and they still do.

You could also find In the binoculars every week where the readers gave good advice and shared their good ideas about this and that:

A great tip is to sort your embroidery yarn in envelopes, and there is also a tip for cutting onions fast (cut up into the onion and then cut slices), and there is also a guide on how to make a long skirt out of a short one, and then change it back to a short one again, if you only need the long one for a night.

Here are great tips for decorating your living room if it needs to be refurnished:

Fur, is what all women dream of!:

I want leopard cape, but I would prefer it to be fake-fur, although I love fur, but not from threathened animals.

And when we have finished drooling over the Balmain suit below, we'll find ideas for dresses with an open top (at the right):

Keep the good New Year resolutions by sewing your own wardrobe and save a lot of money:

The belt is an important detail:

And here is a guide for making some of them yourself.

Here is another little cosy project for January - a dinner mat with a pocket for the napkin. I think it is a nice detail:

And here is the pattern (in Danish) for the nice sweater from the cover, so you can knit it yourself:

And there are patterns for all the family:

On to the ads, because there is an important problem all women have to consider:

And when we have done so, we can smile and be happy:

Here are three small ads in a row:

Vaseline, which is very useful during winter. Sans Égal lipstic, which I remember from my childhood. And a yarnshop that were so nice that they sent out yarn. And that was before the internet.

And a good warming soup is always lovely when King Winter is in his frosty mood:

ALT for Damerne, February 1953

I've scanned another vintage ALT for Damerne (ALL for the Ladies). This time from February 1953 to match the month. Remember that you can click all pictures into larger formats.

First the cover which I think is pure art, without a lot of annoying neon coloured titles.

This is two tips about how the homemaker has to watch the minutes and spend her time cleverly:

There was a Doctor column, where you could ask health related questions:

At the food pages, you could send in your own ideas and clever advice - like this about cooking your vegetables in plastic bags to separate them in the same pot, not a bad idea at all:

I have also scanned a recipe (unfortunately in Danish), a gratin with apples and almonds, yummi! Notice the cheerful serving. In the fifties everything was about cheerful serving and funny names, since almost everything was rationed - except humour:

And your hair should be short and wavy, says Paris:

We continue to the commercials, my favourites. Here it is Anders And (Donald Duck) - the magazine of the world:

I didn't know that one of my favourite  lip balms is so old:

Focus was on the lips, here is an artistically lipstick commercial from Louis Philippe. I love vintage lipstick cases:

Are you tired out at 3 p.m.? ... then go home! As the Secretary to the Management said when I was an apprentice. You could also drink a cup of Medova tea:

The pharmacologists have proved it to sharpen the capacity for thinking!

Something that is delicious and cheap - and I don't think it is the young homemaker they have in mind!

I will end with this commercial for the best vacuum cleaner in the world, and I'm serious. R2D2, as it was called when I lived with my parents and cleaned with one like this:

I will go make myself a cup of tea to sharpen my capacity for thinking!