SUMMER FUN - VINTAGE BATHING MACHINE

The bathing machine was a device popular in the 18th and 19th centuries that allowed people to change out of their usual clothes, change into swimwear, and wade in the ocean at beaches. They were roofed and walled wooden carts that were rolled into the sea, usually using horses. Some had solid wooden walls, while others had canvas walls over a wooden frame.

Women were segregated from men as it was quite scandalous for men to see women in their bathing suits.

This project was so easy to put together and decorate as it is made from the NEW Alpha Stamps Bathing Machine Kit. 

MINI VINTAGE BEACH POSTER COLLAGE SHEET
The sheet contains 19 vintage beach-themed posters.

CLICK HERE TO SEE ALL OF MY MERMAID AND BEACH THEMED COLLAGE SHEETS & DIGITAL IMAGE SETS AT ETSY

THE DETAILS

I used chipboard mermaids to jazz up the roof.  First, I glued the chipboard to the two roof pieces and then painted the roof with blue acrylic paint.

Finally, I used a bristle paint brush to lightly brush on white acrylic paint.  I used one of the mermaids (painted the same way) for the center front of the roof.

The curtains on the sides and top of the doorway are from the Teal Square Shadowbox Curtains Collage Sheet.
I used thread to make the beaded curtains.  I started by making a knot in the thread (as you would if you were going to hem clothing) and threaded the thread through the hole in a sequin seashell.  I then glued another seashell on the side where the knot is, which hides the knot and helps to keep the knot from sliding through the hole.  Next, I added beads from my stash.  I attached each string of beads to the inside of the opening using glue and tape.

If you peek through the curtain, you can see women in their bathing suits.  The images of women in the windows, on the steps, and inside the bathing machine are from the Vintage Beach Babes collage sheet.

If you look at vintage pictures of bathing machines, you’ll notice that many of them have numbers above the door.  Typically the bathing machines were rented, so each had a unique number.  Below is the number image I used.  Feel free to download and use it in your project.

I used the Amour I Love You red and white striped scrapbook paper to cover the sides and back and trimmed it with White Dresden Borders.

Bathing beauties on the sides and back are framed in 6-panel rectangular windows. To give the windows more weight, I mounted them on rustic frames from the Antique Frames Digital Image Set.

The posters on each side are from the Mini Vintage Beach Posters Collage Sheet.