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Trace these early 1930s designs on transparent paper and fold paper over for the other side of each hanger. Use wood about 3/8 inch to 1/2 inch thick and jig-saw out. Then sand off all sharp edges shaping them to graceful contours. Decorate designs in center with water colors, paint or lacquer.
Download and print the above image of Little Miss Muffet on heavy stock paper, bright white is best. Lepage on wood1/4 inch or even 3/8 inch thick, if you prefer, and jig-saw on black lines. You can also make your own puzzles by tearing pictures from advertisements or magazine covers, drawing in the black lines and sawing out. Try it with a map of the United States cutting out on state boundary lines.
"Little Miss Muffet" is a nursery rhyme, one of the most commonly printed in the mid-twentieth century. It has a Roud Folk Song Index number of 20605. Read more...
Outside design for book ends. Child on her way to school carries both her books and a fistful of flowers for her teacher. She is wearing a hooded red cape and Mary Jane shoes, popular dress items of the late 1920s and early 1930s, for young children. There is an idealistic landscape behind her: home with a pitched roof, trees, birds, clouds etc...
Made entirely from 3/8 inch plywood. Trace the outside lines of these shapes over carbon paper on wood or paste page on wood and jig-saw out. Dado a groove 3/8 inch wide and 1/4 inch deep in end of base and nail and glue upright to it. Shave base off at one end with planer or sander.
"The Cherry-Tree Carol" is a ballad with the rare distinction of being both a Christmas carol and one of the Child Ballads (no. 54). The song itself is very old, reportedly sung in some form at the Feast of Corpus Christi in the early 15th century. The versions eventually collected by Francis James Child are thought to be a combination of up to three separate carols that merged through the centuries.
The ballad, "The Cherry Tree Carol," relates an apocryphal story of the
Virgin Mary, presumably while traveling to Bethlehem with Joseph
for the census. In the most popular version, the two stop in a cherry
orchard, and Mary asks her husband to pick cherries for her, citing her
child. Joseph spitefully tells Mary to let the child's father pick her
cherries.
At this point in most versions, the infant Jesus,
from the womb, speaks to the tree and commands it to lower a branch
down to Mary, which it does. Joseph, witnessing this miracle,
immediately repents his harsh words. The more contemporary versions
sometimes end here, while others often include an angel
appearing to Joseph and telling him of the circumstances of Jesus's
birth. Other versions then jump ahead several years, where the next
verse picks up with Jesus on his mother's lap, telling her of his
eventual death and resurrection. Read more...
In Defense of Joseph . . . Angels did appear to Joseph to explain to him what was
transpiring in his life and he shared this with Mary and others. So in
his defense I have referenced the scripture. However, the carol is still
quite lovely, however inaccurate it may be. (smile) The implications here are that Joseph actually had frequent directions from angels.
"But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him
in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary
home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy
Spirit." Matthew 1:20
"When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream.
"Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt.
Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child
to kill him." Matthew 2:13
And also the name of Joseph carries big news in scripture; any man selected by God and given the name is in for an unusual life story according to the Bible. The name literally means "to add to or give increase."
"Judy Collins sings this traditional nativity ballad, thought to date back
to the 15th century. The story tells of the fetus Jesus performing a
miracle by lowering the bow of a cherry tree so that Mary can reach and
pick the fruit. This clip comes from a 1996 performance at the Biltmore
Estate in North Carolina, available on the 1997 DVD release titled
"Judy Collins - Christmas at the Biltmore Estate." Look for more clips
from the concert here on YouTube's Judy Collins Channel."
