SO MUCH HAS HAPPENED!

Well, if you look at my last post compared to my post today..you will see that
I have not posted in 6 months!! Crazy..
Well, Do  I have a story to tell you..
 a few months ago, I had a daughter with a broken heart..
She and her boyfriend of 3+ years broke up..he just decided he did not want to be married and she, who lived overseas came back home.

To say she was devastated would be an understatement. This was the man she was planning her life with.

So, she picked herself up, worked like crazy..and my small house got full real fast as she kept trying to keep going..

But as most fairy tales go..
Suddenly ..he realized that there really was no one like her...

so he came her from another country..moved his whole life...left his family..friends..
to marry the woman of his dreams..

and (it took my daughter a few moments) she said yes...and the last few months we have been planning a wedding...

He was just scared...

and she..just realized she couldnt live without him..

so i have been juggling planning a wedding, doing my business and life in general...

but in the meantime..i was a bit busy doing some fun things...with photos..
and wanted to show you..

(also have used these in wonderful decorating!!)

 

before:

after:

before:

after:

before:

after:

now these were done with an upgrade in a program where you can color the faces in..and use airbrush..this is all online and wow is it worth it..
when i worked on these, it was like the people came alive!!

hopefully when this wedding is over (i only have 10 more days!!)
then i will be able to show you ways i used some of these for decor in weddings..it is soo fun!!

anyhow..signing off for now..this is the frazzled but happy mother of the bride..

cathi
ps...here is a photo of the happy couple..yes, we have a good photographer!!

Oh the glamour of the 20s! Todays Academy Awards

So this is the photo I am featuring this week...how absolutely romantic...
I love the style..the composition and the romance of the early 20s era

I always...always am hunting for 20s photo..
and especially those wonderful Vaudeville photos...I mean they are simply art..how beautiful......

So the other day I was looking at the news and found out that there is another movie filming where it has the fashions of the 20s, and once again Marion Cotillard is wearing the most beautiful of gowns...now people are wondering if there will be a revival of fashion from this era..

Wow..I hope so!! I hope that this is a new trend, that we take some of the beauty of the 20s and look at it again...

The academy awards this year feature Hugo (take a look at the fashions in this one ~ especially at the end of the movie!! ..sooo magical!!) Midnight in Paris, (love that one!! how absolutely fun!!), and the Artist..(ok, I have not seen this yet..but I will!!)

It was in an era where there was so much change, and the fashions were amazing................

ahhhhh


cathi

When I say STUNNING...I mean it!!

So I am surrounded by photos...and actually I do throw away old photos that are ripped, wrecked, too faint..etc.. Sometimes, yes, it makes me cringe..but it is because I am looking for the BEST...or at least the Different..or the really cute...

But when I list STUNNING in an auction..
it means..
it is the BEST

years ago, we used to be able to advertise our best items. on eBay...and now that is no longer an option..so with 1,469,0000 + photos..it is hard to stand out...

so i write stunning...or Stunning...or Amazing Stunning...or STUNNING..either way it means..
Stop, Look, you wont find one this good for awhile...

This week, I listed quite a few "Stunnings" ...Just decided...ah it is a cold winter..and I have so many pretty photos...and well..I guess it is time to put some out there..

This is of a darling little ballerina...She is perfect...and hard to get rid of...but I did it..and listed it as STUNNING, because I see it in person..and she really is...........

keep watching for the best............

cathi

LOOK WHAT I GOT TODAY FROM EBAY!!

Congratulations!
It's your 12-year eBay anniversary
cathbas, We want to say thanks and let you know how much we value having you as an eBay community member. All of us at eBay wish you the very best in the year to come. Thank you!
John Donahoe President and CEO, eBay Inc.

What are RPPC's?

I am often asked..what are RPPC's

You know, when i first began working with photos, I certainly didn't know.
But RPPC's are real photo postcards

Because people loved to send letters..loads of letters and cards..
and they would develop their photos into postcards and then mail them out to people.

There are some that have several copies..because they would send them to all the relatives.
Usually they are the photos that turned out the best..i mean why else would you want to send them out..but sometimes you find some really funny ones..

Lots of people collect these, because they are small.
Some collect the ones that are written on. They have a newsy note..and a stamp and a stamp mark...pretty cool, because you get a feel for what the world was like at that time in that town.

Some people collect the ones that are not written on because they are in better condition.

I like the ones that are not used usually, because I am all about condition of the image itself, if it can be used for art and things like this.

Rppcs are classified in many different forms, some are places, these can be quite valuable when you find a rare image. Then of course there are people. I personally love people photo cards. Then there are ones that are from Europe that are color tinted and are very pretty, but a bit more mass produced even though it was all at the turn of the 1900s, (so they are quite old) the postcard collectors really know what is rare and what isn't, I am not up on that..but there are some that really have value.

There are marks on the back, where the stamps were that all have different meanings that show date and era. AZO is one of the most common, but there are many others, and European often do not have marks. But primarily most rppc's tend to be from 1900 thru 1915
with the majority being around 1910s. Some are later, into the 20s but most are earlier.

With everything in collecting..it is all about condition condition condition..
but then it is also about subject matter and rarity.

So when you really get into it, it is the hunt that becomes the most fun!

In photos, I collect images that I love..not so much the name of the photographer, I am all about the image and the condition.

Either way..yes, they are a form of photos, and on cardstock and mostly matte finish although some are glossy.

They measure almost always 3.5x5.5
And look great framed!!

Great place to begin while collecting photos...not too big to store...and soo many varieties of images!!

cathi

oooops ..Happy New Years and Photo dreaming

Vera Dawn Walker Early Female Pioneer Avaitor


OOOPS....

I never did post or even make the old photo ornaments for this Christmas..

Christmas is always a BIG thing in our home..and usually we have a theme and decorate with that theme..always fun...and each year..I am sure I will work with old photos..
and each year..i come up with some other idea instead..
sooo there will be a day that I will post how to do it..but I am so sorry ...I just changed my mind..and decided to do Gold and Ivory and we 3 kings...making loads of cut out flowers on Cricket..but that is another story...

Back to photos..
Well, during the holiday season, a good customer of mine, called me up. He was going to move, his mother was quite ill, and he had to put her in a home, and he and his family were moving to her home. That meant packing..and moving..and he loved collectables but had too many..
so would I be interested in some photos..
(would I?? foolish question!!)

so I ran to his home..and got some wonderful unique photos that you will be seeing throughout the next few months...it was sooo much fun............( one is posted at the top of this post)

So keep your eyes open to Chatham Ho Treasures on ebay..cuz there are so many goodies coming up...

For the love of photos...............

do you ever just look at your photos..get lost in your old memories and take a trip in the past while looking at them?

Tonight, as I was getting going through my old photos to get my listings together for the weekend, I found myself doing that...As I looked at them one by one....A warm feeling came over me, and memories began to flood my mind...memories of my own family...with similar photos...and as I kept looking at the photos..it almost felt like having friends around me...reminding me of the past..saying.."remember me!! Dont forget!! remember me!"

Our history is always with us...and sometimes we learn from it, sometimes, we laugh at it, things we might have thought or how we looked long ago, and sometimes we might even get angry with that history, or sad...but I really like those times when our memories just fills us with peace....like a comfortable old friend..that is what those photos did for me tonight..............


anyhow..you photo collectors..you know what i mean..

have a great week...and a wonderful 2012!

and happy hunting..for the most unique images yet.......................

cathi