Fabulous Jewel Tone Handbag Bonanza! As promised, here are photos of catalog pages from the General Crafts Corp. Jewel Tone kit purses of the late 1960s. For more detailed information about these handbags, please see my post of June 1, 2007.

I don’t have every one, but I do have a bunch—in the neighborhood of twenty-five (I'm so ashamed!)—including some duplicates (extra shameful!). The first six photos are of the fold-out catalog pages. The seventh photo is of a single-page insert that says the purses are now available in black. The eighth picture is a make-by-number pattern of their peacock model, and the last is the finished product, which I'd be too lame to do myself, but thank goodness there are crafty people out there!

Catalog Pages












Now in Black!


Peacock Pattern


Peacock Purse

Wooden Collins Box Bag with Turtle. 1960s. Maker: Collins of Texas. Brown wooden box with leather handle and painted-on turtle, which is decorated with polished stones. It has the word “Poki” on it—the name of the bag, and, presumably, the turtle—and the Collins of Texas “C”-with-a-horse logo. Like the two previous purse posts, I got this bag at the Long Beach swap meet, where I had a friendly disagreement with the guy selling it. He called it an “Enid Collins,” which it sort of isn’t. This is a later model, made by the Tandy Company, after Enid sold her company to them. Some might consider it a matter of semantics, but, generally speaking, most bags with the "EC" logo—when Enid was still part of the company—are more valuable than the Tandy-made creations. I did some research and saw that the Poki design was made in other colors, using a variety of faux gems and dealybobs. This has double-appeal in that it’s a Collins and is also a turtle collectible. I just happened to think it was adorable.

Floral Trunk-Style Purse. 1960s. Maker: JR Florida. Adorable little vinyl trunk-style purse with pattern of green and blue daisies and sunbursts. Trimmed in green and blue velveteen, with goldtone closure and acrylic handle. I picked this up at the show in Long Beach last week. The seller wanted six bucks for it, but it has some cracks to the vinyl on top and in the back, so I set it down. She then asked for $4, which I accepted, but I felt kind of bad about it, because I’m sure it seemed like I was negotiating when I pointed out the damage, which I wasn’t. Not for six bucks. So I gave her my sincere thanks for letting me have this cute little addition to my collection for practically the cost of a Starbucks’ grande nonfat cappuccino with four Equal. (Yes, I need my chemicals. I’m counting on them to keep me young.)

Storefront Basket Purse. 1960s. Maker: Caro-Nan. I’ve always wanted a basket purse by Caro-Nan, and I picked up this one last weekend at a swap meet in Long Beach, California. It's woven wicker with a wooden top and handle, stained a rich brown; plus an antique-finish goldtone metal latch. It features a painted-on town with storefronts with the words “Museum,” “Pastry,” “Boutique,” “Photos” and more. I’ve seen quite a few Caro-Nans with real store names written in to match real towns across the U.S., making them very collectible for those who want hometown memorabilia. Some have “titles” on the underside of the wooden lid in addition to the Caro-Nan signature. Many of them have different signers, indicating that Caro-Nan employed a variety of artists to make their basket bags, which also have golf, bird, tennis, sailing and other themes. This bag has a red quilted lining and a penny glued to the top for luck. I think I was pretty lucky to stumble across this one, which is in great shape.

Travel Theme Kit Purse. Late 1960s. Maker: General Crafts Corp. This is another in my collection of vintage Fabulous Jewel Tone Handbag kit purses, made in the Collins style by some talented crafter in ye olde days of yore. This tote is green and features a travel motif that includes a sequined Eiffel Tower and the words “Paris,” “London” and “Rome,” along with various and sundry faux gems and dealybobs. Alas, this bag is in need of some repair as the latch cover—which I still have—has broken off. Wear and tear is common with these style bags—latches break, jewels fall off, grommets pop, etc. I’m from the ‘60s, too, and I have similar issues. My jewels and grommets burst all the time. Sometimes noisily, which would be embarrassing if I had any shame left.

Hello, fellow vintage aficionados! I’m so sorry I haven’t been posting—I’ve been tied up with work. (Work = money to spend on purses!) I promise to get back to my regularly scheduled posting, but, in the meantime, thought you might enjoy these two photos. The first one is a sub-collection of mine: vintage lipstick mirrors. I have others strewn about the house, but this is the bulk of my collection. My favorite is the pink-and-blue rhinestone-encrusted beauty on the right. Also on my vintage vanity, partly pictured, is an old pin cushion next to a pair of '50s red polka-dot gloves. On the left, you can barely see the corner of my framed wedding invitation from (gasp!) 1985. Scroll down for my comments on the second photo.



Remember when I joked about the bipartisanship of my wicker donkey and elephant purses? They were on my vanity chair, but I'd moved them aside so I could take some pictures. When I looked over at them, I realized they were leaning next to each other, grinning as if they were best of friends. Had to capture it for you.

Artsy Cage Purse with Hand-Holding-Flowers Motif. 1960s. Maker: Jolles. Black cage-like metal purse—reminds me of storefront security gates—with a hot pink felt interior lining. There are pink and blue felt dots stuck to the outside, some of which have pharoah-head faux (fauxroahs, heh) coins stuck to them, as well as a bouquet of flowers clutched by a black ceramic hand. Usually, you see the hand motif in Victorian jewelry, but this—well, this is an outstanding use of it and the other hodge-podge décor. It’s also really, really weird, which makes it one of my favorites.