I have been drawn to these little oil cans lately.
The memory is a strong one:
the smell of the oil,
the doop, doop, doop sound of dad's thumb pumping the bottom of the can ,
and the visual of him oiling hinges, bicycle chains, and wagon wheels.
Every little girl is in awe of her daddy's Mr Fixit skills.
I bought this one at a sale my husband found while we were staying at the beach. I love the robin's egg blue color. I knew I could make a picture holder out of it. (I've seen this on other blogs.)
But this morning as I was cleaning it up, I remembered this great photo of my dad in his younger years. He was an amateur artist, sign painter, and printer, so he apparently set up a little studio and sent this picture to his mom. (This was all before I was born, so I am making an educated guess).
This picture is only about 3 inches square. Don't you just love the white, scalloped border? LOVE old photos. By the way, isn't he handsome?
So, I just took the oil can apart and threaded my wire through it. I stablized the wire by bending the end into a little circle that would stand in the bottom of the can.
Then I screwed the top back on and bent the wire around a sharpie.
I pinched it together with the needle nose pliers.
And there you have it. I enjoy the connection between the object and the man. That's what I love most about vintage finds.
