Christmas at My House

 

 I waited a long time for this tree.

Several years ago, I passed on an after-Christmas sale

that featured a white flocked white tree.

 

I fell in love with the velvety look of the white flocking

 on the white branches.  I didn't know it would be

 years before I would see one again.

I passed on the sale and spent the

 next several holiday seasons

looking for this tree.

 

This past October, this white flocked white Christmas tree

 was waiting for me in a Craft 2000 store. 

  I wasn't taking any chances this time around. 

 I didn't even wait for it to go on sale. 

 I paid full price -- something this thrifty gal rarely does.

(Thankfully, Crafts 2000 has great prices.)

 

 

 

Here are some of my favorite ornaments this year.

I love George Washington's homeplace, Mt. Vernon. 

 Each year, the Mt. Vernon

Society issues a new ornament. 

 I picked up this one half-price on a recent visit.

(It's from several years back.) 

 The ornament features the front of the famous homeplace

 on the front and a peak into the inside rooms on the back.  I love it!

 

I also made some Regency-style ornaments.

I wasn't satisfied with this one featuring the first sentence of Pride and Prejudice.

  I might remake it next year using several different fonts instead of  just one.

Any suggestions?

 

Merry Christmas to old friends and new!

 

Amy

 

For unto you is born this day in the City of David a Saviour,

which is Christ the Lord.

Luke 2:11

 

 

Special Places For Christmas

 

I recently visited Amish Country's

Tis The Season

Christmas Store.

 

The staff there graciously gave me permission to take

 some photographs of their gorgeous displays.

 

The iridescent pastel colors of this vintage style village was my favorite.

 



Placing the famous snow baby figurines within vintage style

bottle brush trees and glittered village houses . . . genius!

 



 

 

Flocked pine cones and evergreens

 

 



A sweet snow globe ornament

 

Not very far from Tis The Season

is another shopping treasure --

Queen Anne's Lace

of Berlin, Ohio.

If I could pick a store to live in,

this would be it.

All my family and friends could 

 call me on the telephone . . .

 

While awing over all of the very feminine gifts and treasures,

I came to this cupboard filled with men's hats.

Charming!

 

Now, how can I get hubby to wear one?

 

 

Where do you like to shop for Christmas?

Amy

Trying Pinterest Pins

I've tried some of my Pinterest pins

and would like to share the results!

 

 

(Pictures used are from the original pins
 with links back to the original source.)

Candy Cane Blossoms

 

These cookies are wonderful.  I made them for a recent cookie exchange.  My peppermint bark Hershey Kisses wouldn't hold their original shape like these pictured. (I'm not so talented in the kitchen.)  As the Kiss melted, I simply used the prong of a fork and pushed the unmelted white tip into the white melted stripe. This created a flat striped peppermint bark "button" in the center of the cookie.  I also colored my sugar as suggested in the recipe with great results.

 

 

 

DIY Sharpie Craft

I've pinned more than one Sharpie Marker craft.  I thought I would try using permanent markers to decorate porcelain as suggested by the blogger through this link.  (She also was following another pin.) This blogger had great success with decorating her porcelain with Sharpie markers and baking it to make the porcelain decoration truly permanent.  Although I followed instructions, the marker did not permanently adhere.  The marker can still be scratched and/or rubbed off.  The blogger states that some of her followers did have trouble with the marker design washing off.   I'd love to know if you have found success with this craft.

 

 

 

Shower Cleaner

Unlike Snow White, I don't whistle or sing much while I clean house . . .  especially if I need to clean the shower.  I often buy the shower cleaners that are sprayed each day after the shower is used.  When I found this simple DIY Shower Spray using only vinegar and dishwasher rinsing agent, I thought I'd give it a go.  It's cheaper and has fewer chemicals than the store brands I've used.  It's wonderful!  I also think it works better than the some of the store brands I've bought. 

 

Have you tried any of your Pinterest Pins?

 

Let me know if you've had a successful pin

and feel free to follow me on Pinterest!

 

 

 

Amy

Vintage Linens for Christmas

Lovely Vintage Christmas

 

Who doesn't need a Christmas hankie

or Grandma's Christmas tablecloth?

 

This vintage crib ladder displays

my red and green finds

from this past year.

 

Under the red stocking is a white crochet-edged

pillowcase from Great-Grandmother.

This red felt stocking also came from

Grandma.

 

These are some of my favorites.

 

Do you have some Vintage Christmas

at your house?

 

 

Amy

Jane Austen Ornament Tutorial

 

I love Jane Austen's books, and thought

I needed to give her a place

on my new Christmas tree.

 

 (The black on white version.)

 

(The white on blue version.)

 

Would you like to make one?

 

First, you'll need clear glass ornaments from a craft store, extra fine glitter, and Pledge Floor Care with Future Shine.

 

 ( This bottle at Walmart was about $6.00.  A little goes a long way with this project.  If you've got a craft-loving friend, maybe they'll split the cost with you for half of the Future Shine product.)

 

1.  Remove the metal ornament cap.

 

2.  Pour the Pledge Floor Care liquid into the glass ornament (about 1 Tbsp.)

 

3.  Cover the ornament hole with your thumb and shake the ornament gently until the entire inside of the glass is coated with the Pledge Floor Care.

 

4.  Pour any excess Floor Care back into the bottle.

 

5.  With a small funnel (I made one out of a 3X 5 card), pour in a generous amount of extra fine glitter.

 

6.  Cover the ornament's hole with your thumb and shake gently until the glitter has coated all of the inside of the glass.

 

7.  Still covering the ornament hole with your thumb, rinse off any Floor Care product and glitter that may have attached to the outside of the ornament.

 

8.  After drying, replace the ornament caps.

 

9.  Copy and paste the Jane Austen silhouette to a Word Document or art program such as Publisher.

 

(Even in Word, you can control the size of the silhouette

by clicking on the image you've pasted. 

 Once the thin-lined box appears

around the pasted image, reduce or enlarge it

by clicking and dragging one of the corner edges.)

 

10.   Print the image on regular copy paper and cut out the silhouette. 

For the white Jane Austen silhouette, I simply traced a cut image onto the white copy paper.  The image was embellished with a silver-inked snowflake stamp.

 

11.  Apply a thin layer of Mod Podge Gloss-Lustre to the front of the ornament.

 

12.  Carefully position the cut silhouette onto the Mod Podge.

 

13.  Cover over the silhouette with Mod Podge to seal the paper.

 

14.  Finish your ornament with buttons or crystals and coordinating ribbons.

 

Here are a few lessons I learned along the way.  Do one ornament at a time.  The Pledge Floor Care dries too quickly to try to do more than one at a time.  Once you've added glitter, trying to add more Floor Care to cover a missed spot doesn't work well.  Stick to extra fine glitter for best results.

 

 

What do you think?

 

Jane Austen's popular silhouette has a story all its own.

 

This famous small image was discovered inside

a second edition of Mansfield Park.

Above the pasted image was a reference to "Jane."

( See Jane Austen: An Illustrated Treasury by Rebecca Dickson, Metro Books, 2008.)

 

Hmmm . . . do you think it's her?

 

 

 Amy

Thanksgiving

Praise

 

The glorious armies of the sky

To Thee, Almighty King

Triumphant anthems consecrate
And hallelujahs sing.

But still their most exalted flights

Fall vastly short of Thee:

How distant then must human praise

From Thy perfections be!
 

Yet how, my God, shall I refrain

When to my ravished sense

Each creature everywhere around

Displays Thy excellence!

 

 

The active lights that shine above,

In their eternal dance,

Reveal their skillful Maker's praise

With silent elegance.
 

 

The blushes of the morn confess

That Thou art still more fair,

When in the east its beams revive,

To gild the fields of air.
 

The fragrant, the refreshing breeze

Of ev'ry flowery bloom

In balmy whispers own, from Thee

Their pleasing odors come.

 

 

The singing birds, the warbling winds,

and waters murmuring fall

To praise the first Almighty Cause

With different voices call.

 

Thy numerous works exalt thee thus,

And shall I silent be?

No, rather let me cease to breathe,

Than cease from praising Thee!

 

Elizabeth Rowe

1674-1737



Happy Thanksgiving
Amy




Post Cereal Embroidery Kits

 

 

About a week ago, my mother gave me a

finished embroidery piece

that once belonged to my grandmother.

 

.

 

My grandmother loved covered bridges.

 

My mother couldn't remember whether or not

 she stitched this piece for my grandmother.

 

(Grandma also sewed occasionally. 

 It's possible that she stitched the piece.)

 

I believe my mother stitched it. 

 I recognize her neat taped edges on the fabric's cut sides.

 

 

 

While searching for some embroidery on Etsy,

I discovered the history behind this little piece.

 

During the late 60's and early 70's,

Post Cereal advertised mail order embroidery

 kits on the back of their cereal boxes.

 

 

 The clipping above mentions Kits A through I.

Apparently, there were at least nine different kits offered.

It isn't clear from the box clipping that survived
 if the buyer had to send in box tops
or a proof of purchase with  their order.

Katrina from KatsVintagePassions
kindly gave me permission to use the Etsy photographs
of her 6 Post Cereal Kits.

As of this post, she has two left for sale.
(Very reasonably priced!)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 I couldn't find any additional information about

the other Post Cereal Embroidery Kits.

The instructions that are still with my

covered bridge has a "Minuet Company"

listed as the kit's manufactuer.

 

If Katrina's kits hadn't been still packaged with

 the cardboard cereal box clipping,

 this is one interesting story that may have been lost!

 

 

Thanks Katrina, for the great information.

 

Here's another grocery store item

 that also sold a mail order embroidery kit.

 

It's a good thing Blue Bonnet and Post Cereal

 no longer offer these buying incentives.

 My family would be wondering

why I was bringing so much butter
and cereal home from the store!




Please leave a comment if you have any memories
or information regarding grocery store products with mail order
sewing kits.
I love hearing these stories.

1976

I sure do miss you, Grandma.

 

 

Wishing you many blessings,

Amy