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The Milkman and the Cover Girl

This has to be my most unusual post title yet, but bear with me please, all will become clear.

Today is Show and Tell again over at No Place Like Home

Today, drumroll please………

I wish to share……..

an old, dirty milk bottle!

See Exhibit A below.

I can hear you thinking “She has lost her marbles”, but this is not just ANY old dirty milkbottle, at least not to me.

My father-in-law discovered it in an antique shop on the ards Penninsula and knew I would be delighted with it because it is a milk bottle from the farm dairy that my paternal grandfather used to own/run just outside the village of Crawfordsburn, Co Down. As a boy my father helped with the milk round, which they initially delivered by horse and cart, and eventually progressed to a milk van.

See Exhibit B below

That is my grandfather, delivering the milk from his farm in his 3 piece suit and hat. (That is not my dad on the left)

And now a 2 page digital layout I made about my grandfather last year, which includes this photograph.

I find it fascinating too look at something sitting on my windowsill, knowing it was handled by my grandfather about 70 years ago, and who knows where it has been since. I wonder if he could ever have imagined that one of his 14 grandchildren would one day be so pleased to have one of his old milk bottles, and that she would share photos of it around the world!

Here are a few more details of the milk bottle.

On to my Cover Girl story!

I have a friend, who loves shopping and all things pink, and has generously shared her fashion flair with a number or her friends. She has certainly had me venturing beyond my comfort zone, and given me the confidence to wear some things I love but would never have tried without her encouragement. So when I was planning her birthday gift, it seemed the ideal opportunity to create a card and gift with a “shopping” theme.

Here is what I came up with.

And here is a closer look at that cover girl. Glad to report she loved the gift, and gave me permission to share it with my bloggy readers.

If you would like a customised gift, such as this, be sure to check out my JM Digital Designs site, and contact me with your request. Your wish is my command (at a very reasonable price!)

That is me up to date for now. Have a great weekend, and I will be back soon.

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36 Comments

  1. I would cherish that old milk bottle as well. I LOVE things with character and history.

    Thanks for visiting my blog! FirstHusband read your comment and then said to me: “So, is there a guy in Ireland who hates me now?”

    heh, heh, heh.

  2. That card is very cute!

    I love the milk bottle and the story behind it! That is one well-dressed milk-delivery man, I must say!

  3. What a great story! I can understand why the bottle means so much to you. It’s awesome to have a piece of your family history like this. The picture of your grandfather is really wonderful!
    Great post…Kathy

  4. I just love those sorts of stories when there is sentimental pieces and history behind them.. That is truly fascinating. Thank you for sharing… from Mica at The Child’s Paper

    P.s Thank you for stopping by my little girls blog Elephant Dreams !!! Have a great weekend !!,

  5. Can you imagine? I’d be THRILLED to have the milk bottle with all the family connection like that! You have certainly got a treasure in that milk bottle!!!

    My show n tell is a bit of my own pencil sketches this week. Stop by if you can…and, have a super weekend.

  6. I loved the story about your grandfather. How precious it is to have one of the bottles from his factory.

  7. I love the milk bottle story. Brings back memories for me of when I was 10 and visited my grandparents in England. Every morning I would run to the front stoop to collect the milk bottle and sit in granny’s kitchen waiting for that teaspoon of creme off the top.
    I love old things like that as well. I have an old Crown Royal Whisky jar that sits on my table.

  8. that is so cool, because my husband’s grandfather ran a creamery and we are honored to also have a bottle from the creamery in our treasured possession. I love your layout on yhour grandfther. What a specail way to honor his memory!
    Blessings! Carolyn

  9. I don’t beleive I’ve been here before but I am adding you to my list of favorites so I’ll be sure and stop by again. I have some Irish ancestry and your country is the one place I’ve always said I would visit if I had the chance.
    I love the story of the milk bottle. I have a few of my own. When my children were babies, milk was still delivered to our house and I have a couple of bottles from that time. I also have a couple of really old ones. Another interesting tidbit: When my husband was working his way through college, he worked at a dairy and delivered milk. Not to homes. I’ll have to ask him about that.
    I remember when I lived in Floria as a 6 and 7 year old, we would go to a dairy and buy milk. It was an interesting place.
    I love the pages you did about your Dad. They are simple but so lovely. Just the kind of pages I like.
    Mama Bear

  10. I love the digital pages. The one with the folder is so unique. I just love the colors with the black and white phote. Great idea!

  11. What a wonderful S & T. My grandmother had milk delivered to her front door in bottles that resembled these. Those were the days. Love the story behind your milk bottle.

  12. Thank you so much for coming over to visit me today – all the way from across the ocean. I love having new visitors.

    I love the milk bottle and the story. Wonderful! I used to go to the dairy with my grandpa to deliver his milk – but I must say he never was dressed like that. In fact I doubt he ever wore a 3-piece suit – hardly even a two piece!

    We scrounged around my grandma and grandpa’s old place one day looking for souvenirs of our happy memories there (my sis, my cousin, and me) – my sis made a wonderful collage – I’ll have to ask her if I can show everyone a picture of it.

  13. What a great keepsake, and I loved the pages you did about your grandfather! What a cute idea about the Cover Girl card too. I love your creative ideas!

  14. I love old bottles and we have an old glass cabinet full of them. Great keepsake and I just love your layouts you did. That is priceless.

  15. Your digital layouts are great. And I love the old milk bottle and the story behind it. Thanks for sharing.

    Thanks to for visiting my blog. I hope you have a great weekend!

  16. Great post title and I love the old milk bottle – I have a bit of a thing for old bottles, there’s something so special about them 🙂

  17. Oh I love the milk bottle story. That was too amazing! I love stories like that!
    I love the magazine cover too. That was too cool. I am sure I will need something done! Thanks for showing it!

  18. I understand why you treasure the milk bottle. My grandpa owned a printing shop and my parents have an old type-setting tray from the early days. I didn’t “get it” when I was a kid, but since I have “seasoned” a bit myself, now I understand. *grin*

  19. No way he ‘found’ that! That is too cool! And how neat he shared it with you. I love your scrapbook page AND the cover girl! Neat!

  20. LOVE LOVE LOVE that milk bottle and the history behind it – how cool is that? I wish I had something tangible from my grandparents … I never knew them.

  21. I love finding older things and stories about my ancestors! It’s great that you even have those pictures…That is too cool!

  22. What a great post! I try to get hold of old milk bottles, many of which came from dairies I remember as a child. But this is doubly good! thank you for sharing it.
    Nancy

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