Once Upon A Time ~ a love of fairytales

Once upon a time there was a twin bed tucked in tight against the wall of a tiny room set in the front of a small house with a flat roof. A warm summer breeze gently blew the sheets that hung from the curtain rods over the windows that sat within the walls creating the corner of the room. The smell of roses and peonies wafted beneath her nose as she pulled the light cotton sheet up beneath her chin awaiting the beginning of the bedtime story her grandmother was about to share with her. Even the crickets seemed to stand still in anticipation of the storyteller's adventures that would be shared on this hot summer's eve. You could hear a pin drop and then the silence was broken by four little words uttered ... "Once upon a time".

Story telling is a truly magical gift and my grandmother was remarkable at it.

Where many heard stories from modern books written for children including fairytales altered by Disney, my grandmother's tales were told from memory. There were no picture books to gaze upon as the adventures were revealed, only the shadows cast upon the walls created from the streetlight outside and the vivid imaginations of a child's mind were the things that brought the stories my grandmother recited aloud, to life.

The stories my grandmother shared were those written by the Brother's Grimm and they were dark and alluring. I still have the fondest memories of the stories especially the scariest of them all like Little Red Riding hood, Cinderella or Rumpelstiltskin. (seen above Snow White and Rose Red).

In a previous Bugle, a ways back, I shared the tale of my grandmother and her love for storytelling. If you were not here for that just know that my grandmother did not sugar coat the stories to tame them for us... they were dark and scary and she would often begin to nod off just when something crucial was about to happen! We would have to wake her to continue as we hung on every word. Maybe not the best way to get your grand children to fall asleep but definitely made a lasting impression and one I will cherish for my lifetime.

..."Backward's peep

Backward's peep

there's blood upon the shoe

Backward's peep

Backward's peep

she's not the bride for you!" cried the crows

Recently a "bear friend" of mine, from when I was a part of making artist bears, posted something on FB. She was creating a "Putz House" of her son's home.

"A what?" I thought

So I looked it up. I love the information available to us right at our fingertips now. It takes no time to learn!

A Putz house were originally nativity scenes placed under the Christmas tree. ... These popular paper houses were decorated with mica glitter "snow", bottle brush trees, tiny reindeer and even snowmen. These adorable little houses have been around for 100 years. Designs and materials have altered dramatically over time. The sizes and materials that are used now have also taken on a life of their own... but basically, they are a small house made of cardboard that is covered in glitter. Like a fairytale house. Although you will find many variations including haunted houses and ones that are made without the use of glitter.

Several years ago, my grandmother's home was sold and a contractor purchased the home. The house was torn down and where it once stood is now the home for not one but two modern houses. It was a great loss to a few of us in the family as for me, having moved around my entire life, it was the only "home" I knew. It was a place you knew would always be there. I could never have imagined that the word "always" would have a time limit and that today, there would not even be images on Google of the house because they have been replaced by the images of the new homes now standing on the property.

hese two houses, as lovely as they are, stole something from me that I thought I could never get back... but where there's a will, there's a way!

Welcome the Putz house!

Thanks to my family for searching through images of the house where family stood in front of it and to my friend who is a realtor who took the address and sent it to her friend who has access to archival real estate images and was able to pull two images of the entire house, including the roof and lawn I have been able to create a floor plan along with the structure walls!

Thank you to all the years of lessons from my MATCH who owns Jaybird Digital Arts I was able to create all of this within Photoshop and create a template that allowed me to now create the beginnings of my grandmother's home in miniature form that I can have in my own home to imagine my way to again whenever I need to be there!

I plan to create a "glittery" fairytale version of my grandma's house and property. It will take time to create the entire scene but with patience, a mini version of what once was, will soon be within my grasp, literally.

Thank you grandma for your stories. Now I will create an everlasting version of your home to help me fantasize tales a plenty. A 3D version or model of a place that is special to you can bring you right back in your minds eye and allow you to visit it with more clarity. I am tremendously excited to create this Putz house and am so grateful I came across my friends post which sent me down the rabbit hole and helped me find this fun new craft.

While my Mum and Step-dad were down for a visit this Christmas, I was able to ask Jupiter (SD) to draw me a floor plan for my Mum's childhood home which was directly across this street from the house seen above... so as my next project I will create that house too and then will be able to have a model of the street in which we all grew up on (or at least those two houses).

Auntie Ted

Auntie Mary and my Mum

From Left to Right:

No idea who the first little girl is (maybe my Auntie Mag's friend Sandra?), Auntie Mag and Petra (a family friend is behind them)

From Left to Right:

Uncle Phil (Sitting on the steps of the house), My Dad, Auntie Mag, My Mum, My Auntie Ted (back behind the little girl with the Bob hairstyle who I don't recognize), not sure who the other little girl is either, Auntie Mary (behind) and Petra (a family friend)

Auntie Mary

My Dad

As always I leave you with some wishes:

May you never lose your sense of wonder.

May you hold onto your memories for all your years to come.

May you take a lot of photos and keep them as safe as possible so you can look back on memories that have faded with time.

It's remarkable how we all know this house so well and yet it was challenging to try to create the floor plan and then the walls for this Putz house.

May you tell stories to your children of your childhood even if they think it's corny now... one day they will long for those stories.

Write down your memories for your children and grandchildren to enjoy at a later time. This comes directly from my Mother-in-law who shared with me, on her last days, to write letters and stories NOW because by the time she wanted to do so, she was too ill to.

We think we have all the time in the world for these things ... until that is taken from us.

If you can see me now Lynda... I'm writing them all down and sharing them with everyone! Thank you for giving me the courage to write!

Until next Memoirs of a Hairdresser Monday... Read a fairytale and get excited about the child you once were!