Happy Easter

I was going to my last post stand for Easter, and it does for the sacred side -- but I couldn't resist adding a vintage element or two! 

Postcards from the Lake: Vintage Views

I've been writing Postcards from the Lake for a number of years, but long before I started, others were writing postcards, too.

I've been collecting postcards of the area around our cottage for years. While many of the spots wouldn't be recognizable now, some are very close! It's fun to try to figure out whose cottage was which!

Thanksgiving - Just Around the Corner

Today as I was getting my shopping list together for Rick, I asked him if we were ready to decide what we wanted for Thanksgiving this year. It's just the two of us. No big pilgrim feast this year.

We decided we could wait till next week but it started me thinking about bringing up the turkey plates, planning the dinner, albeit a small one, and just about the holiday in general.

I don't have a lot of cute turkeys or other Thanksgiving-specific decor, just a few bits. But I do have a lot of vintage postcards.

I use them in decorating. Just a touch here and there.  Here are a few ideas and some cards to share for your use.

Just right-click to save the ones you like on your computer. Then print them on card stock and tuck them into a wreath.

 Tuck one or two in your holiday centerpiece.

Or use them as place cards on your table. It doesn't matter if there are ten of you or two of you, or even if you're dining alone.

If you're bringing dinner to a friend or neighbor or some sweet treat, tuck them in as a greeting.

Use them as a "What I'm grateful for" game at your table or on Thanksgiving Day. Just write your gratitudes on the back (and don't forget to save them!)

This Thanksgiving will be hard for those of us who are apart from families or dear friends. And if not hard, different.

Some of us may have had final farewells to people we love in this past year. We may know others who have fought or are still fighting Covid or another possibly terminal disease. We must be grateful for what they brought to the table in years past.

And, if we are well, grateful that we are here. Celebrations matter. So does gratitude, which can help us through really tough times.

So, here's to celebration. Every day matters. And Thanksgiving is a wonderful day to remember the good things, even when the remembering might be  a little hard. Take care and stay well.

A Wintry Valentine Week!

It has been snowing in our world. There has been so little, I'll not complain. I should have taken photos yesterday when I was out, but you get the idea. A marshmallow world!

A few cheery tulips and it's spring inside!

Rick got back from his trade show in Nevada yesterday. Since then he's slept like Rip Van Winkle. I was delighted to cook a lovely meal on the new stove -- and then didn't take a single photo. But I mde a wonderful artichoke chicken casserole.

I also made a Swedish Visiting Cake. Between what we had last night and what I took to friends on Friday, there is only one piece left! (It's prettier with the raspberries surrounding it but just as good without!)

I haven't done tons of decorating for Valentine's Day. Things from the kitchen aren't yet where they are supposed to be, which doesn't make entering my house like a walk into the pages of Country Living. You will note that all the photos are very tight shots!

But I did put up a few things to bring some seasonal cheer! Among the favorites are these two new little ones from Vintage by Crystal. Aren't they sweet? Wrapped cotton with crepe paper for skirts and sweet faces!

This is what I'm waiting for. Silver white winters that melt into spring!

A few years ago we did a Christmas wreath at Southern Exposure, using this frame with greens. I didn't use it at Christmas this year but repurposed it with some lace hearts I made a year or two ago.

The mantel, too, has it's share of Valentine cheer. A "love" sign I did awhile back, flanked by with baskets and sweet little houses. They were great fun to do! I have a few more wooden forms. Maybe I should get those made up, too!

I pulled out lots of vintage valentines and postcards this year, some of which are with my snowfolk atop the china cabinet.

Just a little bit of love!

Thanksgiving Week Thoughts and Printables

This week, many of us in the United States will be welcoming friends and family to our homes for Thanksgiving Day. Those of us who don't will hopefully be celebrating the holiday at the home of a friend or family member (unless they'd just like to hang out and chill on their own -- and that's something for which to be thankful, too!)

What are your holiday traditions? Are certain foods must-haves? Are you navigating the vegan Thanksgiving with that of the carnivores? Do you wish that once the morning parades were over, the television would break for the next ten hours?

I've read a couple of great posts on the history of Thanksgiving, posts that provide food for thought. Mae of Mae Food says, "For this and other reasons, besides enjoying the cooking and consuming of a traditional turkey dinner with family next week, I will think about the real history of the "Pilgrims" and their relationship to the natives of Massachusetts." (To find out what "for this" is, check out her post!)

Anne Clare of The Naptime Author is doing a guest post trade on A Bit About Britain. (A Bit About Britain writer Mike Biles is over at Anne's, writing about the fascinating history of Bletchley Park, instrumental in helping the Allies win World War II.

In a fascinating post that outlines not only the history of Thanksgiving but how and why the Pilgrims got to Massachusetts in the first place, and why Thanksgiving skips around on the calendar, Anne says, "In the end, though, I think the one thing we all hope for—the one thing that we know we need to hold on to, even if sometimes we forget—is the spirit of the day that we see in those Pilgrims who’d suffered and struggled and still rejoiced. It’s a day to stop, and reflect, to look at the blessings around us and to Give Thanks."

I hope you click over and read both of those. (And Mike's too -- three of my favorite wonderful writers.)

The images in this post are from my vintage postcard collection (and who knows, maybe one or two I downloaded over the years.) I share them here so you can use them as you like. Here are some ideas:

• Print them as place cards for your table
• Print on cardstock and cut out the details. Post on small skewers or toothpicks for party picks or cupcake decorations.
• Drop them into an email invitation or reminder to a friend who's coming for dinner (don't forget your pie!)
• Copy and send to friends far away and remind them that you are thankful for their role in your life, even if they are far away on the day.

Good luck on your holiday preparations!

Sharing with:   Let's Keep In Touch     

Altered Candy Boxes -- A DIY Tutorial

Many moons ago, I made Rick a little candy box for Valentine's Day. It was pretty cute, but I'm better now! In sore need of a crafternoon, I made up a model to share for a relatively quick project. Here's the finished piece. Let's get started!

Supplies include papers of your choice (origami and scrapbook papers are pretty!), glue stick, glue gun or other favorite glue, scissors, ribbons or lace or both, embellishments that could include cut outs, buttons, flowers, and a heart-shaped candy box. A Xyron X-box is useful but not required.

(I bought loads of candy boxes after Valentine's Day one year for about 25 or 50 cents each but I saw the small ones at Target the other day for a dollar. Size is up to you. To be honest, I think the candy in them is pretty so-so and I'd recommend filling them with M&Ms or some homemade treat!)

First, remove the candy or insides from the box. You can save the tray if you plan to refill it (I used M&Ms so discarded it). The paper heart can serve as a template for your inside liner.

Draw around the top and bottom of the box on your paper (I know I don't have to tell you to turn it upside down but I will on the off chance your third grader is reading this.)

Cut it out -- you don't need to be exact here. Better to make it a little large than cut too closely to the line. Glue it on with your glue stick (a dryer glue like a glue stick is better here) and then trim.

Also trace around the paper heart from inside the box and cut out the heart that will be your box liner. Glue this to the bottom of the box.



Then put your box back together. It will either have a top that closes to the bottom like this or one where the top meets the bottom half way. This determines the ribbon you will want to use on the side of your box. I was able to use a wider ribbon but you may need two pieces of one that is thinner.

I love my Xyron X-Box for ribbon. You just put it through and it comes out sticky. But if you don't have one, I would use either a very strong doublestick tape (like the red tape) or a fabric glue.

Attach the ribbon to the box. You want the ribbon to be flush to the box (that little end sticking up was glued down when I "came around.") Be extra careful when coming to the indentation around the top. Use something like a butter knife or scissor blades to be sure the ribbon attached all the way into the groove.

If you are using lace on the edges of the box, that's next. Using your glue gun, work slowly around the top and/or bottom edges of the box attaching your lace a bit at a time. Be careful around corners -- you may need to cut in and do the corners by pieces, which is easy, just annoying because it would be easier to do it in one piece.

When it's done it will look like this and that's boring! Time for the fun part.

Play around with what you want on the top. (You probably did a bit of this when you were choosing your papers initially.) Consider buttons, cut outs, even fun three-dimensional objects. I did this one kind of foo-foo but you could go streamlined with game pieces, scrabble tiles, Cracker Jack prizes, doll house bits or other things that fit your Valentine.

If you are working with a paper cut out, you might want to mount it on card stock or watercolor paper with your glue stick to ensure that it is sturdy.

 
Place them around your box to "audition" them. When you are satisfied start putting them down with your glue gun or the firm adhesive of your choice. E-6000 is good too.

I did mine in about an hour. The longest part was picking what to use. The second longest part was getting the lace around the edge of the box. Making selections is mandatory. Lace is optional! Voila!

That concludes the tutorial portion of this post! Below are images you can save and print for your own projects. Click on the photos to enlarge and right click to save on your computer.

 

Sharing this week with: Let's Keep in Touch at Let's Add Sprinkles / Share Your Style /  Pink Saturday /  Share Your Cup