got the glue gun out and put these together...
I have a project or two planned for later...
just wanted these ready to go for it...
and these smaller ones...
Dh grabbed the mail this morning and these came...
some were very dirty...
so I washed them...
1/2 gallon of water...
one to two drops of blue Dawn...
one capful of bleach...
low nap cloth...
see the dirt just on one card?...
yuck...
check out the swastika...
it was a sign of good luck, much like the four leaf clover...
until Hitler used it...
I have found many old postcards with it on them...
they will slightly curl until they dry and then they go back flat...
yeah. more big letter postcards...
my current passion...
and while I had a bucket of cleaning water ready...
I started on this book I got a couple weeks ago...
now the scratches are there...
nothing to be done about it...
but the filth on it has to go...
the spine was bad...
this is the back...
the bottom part has been washed once...
the spine inside...
the glue turns to dust after many years...
some people use binders glue...
not me...
paper is a wood product...
wood glue works so well...
put plenty on...
the extra will ooze out the ends and you just wash that off...
fold the cover back over and gently rub, rub, rub the spine...
pushing all the glue into every nook and cranny...
here it is after one washing and gluing...
it needs to dry 24 hours before I touch it again...
I will wait at least 48...
just a reminder of how it looked...
I have done so many boxes of books...
the worse they look, the more I want them...
you can get a box of them at the auctions for a dollar a box...
now, when you start to wash the old fabric covers like this one...
you will get the dye off of it too...
but that's ok...
you want to pull off the oxidized dye...
it contains the layer of dirt and mold spores...
the bleach in the water will kill all mold spores...
when it becomes damp...
you quit and let it dry overnight...
then hit it again...
you can use Q-tips for small areas that you need to concentrate on...
just dip in the cleaning water...
roll dry on a folded paper towel...
and always, rub with the grain...
give it a try...
it's not hard...
really...
That was a very helpful tutorial on how to care for these items. Have a wonderful day.
ReplyDeleteGreat job and good tutorial, really nice post, I enjoyed reading it! Happy Valentine's Day this Monday! Hugs, Marilou
ReplyDeletenever cleaned my post cards before ....huh?
ReplyDeleteWhat gorgeous cards, Tete! That is so weird about the Swastika being good luck. And I tried your trick with the weak bleach, Dawn and water solution for some of my musty smelling cards, and it worked like a charm! I must admit that I was very nervous and apprehensive about it, but I thought "if Tete says it works, then it works"! And you were right:)!
ReplyDeleteOh Tete-you are too funny....no, I'm not in a snow bank somewhere thank goodness!
ReplyDeleteLove all your crafts an projects. You are always so creative!
hugs,
gail
I would never had dared touch paper postcards with water until I saw this. Unbelievable!
ReplyDeleteI think that card with the bluebirds and the bowl is one of the prettiest postcards I have ever seen anywhere. Doesn't it just make you dream of a sweeter, more gentle time of life?
Hope your Saturday was a good one and I'm waiting to see how many more fingers you burn before your project is done? Any so far? Hugs-Diana