A paper treasure that brings back memories

 

 Oh, the memories this brings back!  This is a ripped out page from a Farm Journal magazine, December 1961.  I would have been eleven.  

You may never have heard of this magazine which was subscribed to by farmers and ranches all over the United States — and Canada too, I think.  Near the back of this magazine was a fairly hefty section just for women.  This section was titled The Farmer's Wife.  Loads of wonderful recipes that had been sent in by readers or developed in the Farm Journal test kitchen were featured here.  The recipes for a specific issue of the magazine often had a theme — say, garden produce, gifts from the kitchen, cakes, beef or chicken main dishes, or whatever.  When the Farm Journal arrived in our home and I got my hands on it, the recipes were the first things I turned to.  I imagine a lot of country women and teen girls did the same.  

That was never more true than with a December issue of this magazine.  As you can see, this one featured a cookie barnyard.  You can imagine that some of my younger siblings would have begged to make this scene.  But my mom was busy with other pursuits at Christmas -- making fudge, baking, crafting gifts, and more -- and would have thought this an unnecessary waste of time, I imagine.

Eventually Farm Journal published several issues of Farm Journal's Christmas Book -- compilations of recipes and ideas from The Farmer's Wife -- and I loved to peruse them every year. This cookie barnyard was included in the 1966 Christmas Book:

 Here is the description that just might motivate someone to make a cookie centerpiece:

"Want to do something special for Christmas this year -- something that will delight both children and adults:  Then make a cookie scene ...

"It's best to bake the cookie pieces ahead of time (freeze them if you bake several days ahead).  Then set aside an evening while t he whole family's home, to put them together with Sugar-syrup Glue.  No matter if the roof isn't quite straight -- just cover up the defects with frosting.  And listen to your visitors exclaim how pretty it looks!"

 I was fortunate enough to be given some old issues of the Farm Journal Christmas Book over time, and am so happy to have them.  Oh, the nostalgia!

Christmas fabric focus week 2

 Here's another fabulous Christmas fabric for you!  This playful collection by Kiley's Quilt Room for Moda Fabrics is called Gingerbread Lane, and I absolutely love it.

I always enjoy reading how the fabric retailers describe the various lines they are presenting.  In this case, Moda Fabrics notes that "cozy cranberry reds, soft browns, snowy creams and rich pine greens give this collection a warm, timeless holiday feel".  And I have to agree with that!

Here are some of my favorites from this collection:

Sugar Crystal Ornaments

Cocoa Gingerbread Dance

Mistletoe Blizzard

Cranberry Blizzard

Sugar Holly & Candy

Pine Holly & Candy

Pine Flurry

I would love to make a Christmas apron from one or more of these beautiful fabrics -- maybe Sugar Crystal Ornaments trimmed with Pine Flurry.  What would you make?

This week's vintage Christmas card

 

As mentioned, on Sundays this month I plan to feature Christmas cards picturing churches.  This one includes two church steeples and some surrounding village homes.  It absolutely reminds me of some real life Vermont villages I have seen.  

And as a lifelong New Englander, I have also seen such snowstorms countless times and this scene captures it perfectly.  

The quote on the front reads 

"The gray snow-storm, held aloof
To softest outline 'round the roof".

I did a quick search to find the source of this quote.   It's a line from a poem by James Russell Lowell.  The poem is titled “A Winter-Evening Hymn to My Fire.”  

That's a beautiful title for a poem, but I read the entire thing and am definitely not a fan of it in its entirety.  The line is perfect for this painting, though.  

The message inside the card is nice, too:

"This brings a prayer at Christmas time

That God will always bless ... your home and you

And those you love ... with lasting happiness."

This lovely pre-owned vintage Christmas card will go into my Etsy shop soon. 

A visit to the Christmas Loft

 

A Saturday seems like a good day to post about a staycation day we took back in January.  It was the day after my birthday, and we had gone out to lunch here: Lincoln Diner.  I failed to take any pictures while there, but here is their logo (I love  how it resembles a White Mountain National Forest sign:

After lunch, we decided to visit The Christmas Loft in the next town.  We were hoping for some after-Christmas bargains, but there really weren't any.  Still it's an enchanting shop and well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Snagged this image from their website.  It's nicer than my Kindle photo at top.

A whimsical welcome sign greeted us and I love the snowflake ribbon on the wreath.

Below are some images from the various themed trees in this shop.

From a tree featuring cardinals.  Isn't it beautiful?

This tree has a gingerbread/baking theme -- this photo is a close-up of the tree below.

A little more of the gingerbread/baking tree.

Pretty tree with ornaments and all white lights

A peppermint themed tree

This one seemed to have a snow sports theme.  Note the skis as the tree topper!  It also had snowflakes, snowballs and frosty pine cones.

We really enjoyed seeing all of the festively themed trees, and there are also many, many scenes set up with various villages.  We didn't find a lot that we needed or could afford, but we wanted to get a little something as a memory of the day.  

So what we ended up with was an ornament but it is not at all Christmasy.  Below is a scan of it.

 

This sweet bit of decor is living permanently at our little cottage, Lakeview Lodge.  One of the kitchen cabinet doors is the perfect place for it.  Our daughter had painted the cabinets in 2020 with a gray chalk paint as part of the renovations.  Over time the paint has crazed a bit and I actually love the look.  The sweet glass cabinet knobs are original.

What a fun way to celebrate my birthday!  And we have a special year-round ornament at our little cottage to remind us of our visit to the Christmas Loft!

A sock full of gifts -- a fun vintage pattern

 

 Here's a real blast from the past -- a vintage sewing pattern for a sock full of gifts!  This Simplicity pattern 1803, with loads of gifts to sew for little girls, is from the 1950s.  Billed as a "Sock-Full-of-Gifts", it includes patterns for a felt Christmas stocking, a kitty-cat apron, a detached scalloped collar to wear with a plain shirt or sweater, a girls' cap and matching tote bag,  and a cuddly sock doll.  

I love the stocking in particular. I've always liked those fancy felt stockings from years gone by.  I found this pattern in a stash of sewing materials in my childhood home, and even though the envelope was a bit battered the pattern had never been cut out or used.  Originally priced at 50¢, this sweet pattern sold for $20 in my Etsy shop a couple of years ago.  

What a fun idea this would be -- make up a felt stocking for a child in your life and stuff it with handmade gifts!

A crafty gift to make now and squirrel away for Christmas!

 

 I love stationery and I happen to think that it's still very important to write personal letters and cards.  I've had this idea for a stationery kit saved for a long time, and wouldn't summer be the perfect time to sew up a few of these?  

The stationery kit tutorial is by Heidi of Fabric Mutt.  She notes that the kit could be used to hold other things as well -- like recipe cards, embroidery projects or supplies, or anything else that you'd like to keep safe in a very decorative way.  Essentially the kit is a soft quilted folder with pockets and an envelope inside.  

 

Photo by Heidi of Fabric Mutt

Photo by Heidi of Fabric Mutt

I'm thinking these would be wonderful gifts for some of my granddaughters who like to write letters.  I could also tuck some stamps in along with the stationery and other goodies.  It would be fun to personalize each kit with fabrics relative to their personal interests.

What about you?  Who could you make one of these for and what would you put in it?

A cheesy snack to bake and give

 If you've been reading either of my blogs long, you know that kitchen gifts are among my favorite things to make and give.  I have an entire Pinterest board dedicated to kitchen gifts.  From fudge to cookies to gift breads to drink mixes to frozen casseroles, this is a type of gift I always enjoy sharing.  Snack mixes are especially nice.

In addition, I've been thinking lately that I'd like to learn to make crackers.  Most of the crackers available in stores are the epitome of processed food.  Highly processed food, at that.

I recently went looking through my list of links to use in Christmas in July posts and found this one:  Cheesy Pizza Crackers.  These crackers are made with tomato paste, two kinds of cheese, and all sorts of pizza-y flavorings like oregano and garlic powder.  The dough is rolled out 1/8 inch thick and cut into one-inch squares, then baked  at 400º for 16 minutes or so.  They sound so delicious, and I'm thinking a tin of these would make a great kitchen gift for more than one person on my Christmas list.  What do you think?