skip to main |
skip to sidebar
How I love the smell of fresh lilacs, fruit tree blossoms, and other harbingers of spring!
Here is a little tag set to brighten a gift, pin board, or scrapbook page.
A queen bee has ventured out on the last tag. She is looking for a quiet place to start a new hive. I wish Her Majesty much luck. Bees are wonderful creatures.
As always, thank you for stopping by. Click, right click, and save or print. Or use the "P" to Pin!
Ah, the strange and wonderful fancy of the artists of yesterday. Children's faces in flowers was a favorite subject of painters of postcards, and here are some examples, made into tags for scrapbooking, decorating, or tying to a plant or basket for Easter.
Many speak of the cute faces pansies have, and they do. They look rather like puppies to me, or Persian cats with their flat faces.
It was a difficult process to make a lithograph in those days, so the fanciful creations surprise me. I would have thought only safe and bland images would have been commissioned, but no, weird subjects abound.
Can it truly be so close to Easter? How the year flies!
To save, click on the image, avoiding the "P." Then right-click to copy or save. The "P" is clicked only if you wish to "Pin" the image to your Pinterest board.
I've been making little (and big) Bunny Munch Jars for some friends and co-workers who could use a little lift. It's easy, and it's a good way to use up some of my canning jars!
These can be made as healthy or as candy-laden as you wish. I have started eating a lot of Jordan almonds - delicious and healthy, too.
Supplies:
Canning Jar
Edible Easter Grass
Variety of small goodies to put inside
Take your clean, very dry jar, and pull off some strands of edible Easter grass. Curl them around your hand and place in the bottom of the jar.
HINT: If you don't have edible Easter grass, a good work-around is to take a handful of regular basket grass and put it in a plain baggie. Twist the baggie shut and place in jar, twisted side down, so that it doesn't open. If you're out of baggies, use a piece of plastic wrap.
Add in the goodies you want the recipient to have. I advise eating any and all "odd" looking pieces of candy. You know, the more I looked, the odder they looked, so I had to eat quite a few. *wink*
Screw on the lid.
Optional: Hang a tag from the neck of the jar, or tie some raffia or a ribbon around it.
DECORATION HINT: If you have a plastic or china bunny or fluffy chick, put a glue dot or some hot glue and glue it to the top of the lid! I often use a little salt shaker for my top decoration.
I was going for a rustic look, but the lid from the jar just pulled right off (and darned if it wasn't a new jar), so I hunted up a pink lid and went with that. There's no way to do these wrong!
These images are from a piece of old wrapping paper, featuring anthropomorphic bunnies enjoying spring with their friends, the butterflies.
Did you remember to "Spring forward" yesterday? I was finally used to real time - now that dratted Daylight Savings Time is here again! When I lived in Tucson, we didn't have to bother with it - Arizona sensibly keeps it on real time all year long!
JPEG and PNG files are below. Avoid the "P" unless you wish to Pin the image. Click on the edge of the image, then right-click to save when the bigger image pops up.
I love strawberries. I love everything about them: The leaves, the little flowers, the seeds a la Fibonacci, and of course, the taste.
When I lived in Arkansas, we lived on quite a bit of acreage, and on the banks of the creek that chuckled by the house, tens of thousands of wild strawberries grew. They were tiny, tiny berries, coming after yellow blossoms (the commercial berry and man-bred berry has a white one), and the taste is indescribable, except to say they were the "truest" strawberry flavor on earth.
I love a wild yard and houses set in the midst of it. Oh, not an unkempt city yard, but a natural yard, where nature wasn't scraped up by a bulldozer and remade in some cheap contractor's plastic vision of non-native plants set among swaths of sad lawn.
One place I lived was out in the country, up in the far Northwest, somewhat free of the idiotic regulations of town life -- somewhat. I didn't plant a lawn, much to the horror of my neighbors. I planted Dutch Clover, and never had to mow. My neighbors complained, sneered, threatened to contact "authorities," and then followed suit in "clovering" their land. I had creeping wintergreen all over, too. The dogs' feet smelled delicious after they were outside.
Here are some tags that might be pretty decorating your home. Thank you for stopping by. Click, look, click again for a closeup, and right-click to save. I was a bit messy on this set, and wasteful of ink, but I like the leeway in cutting them out.
What says "spring" more than frolicking lambs?
Lambs are one of those things that actually were never a part of my childhood in the Coastal South, but are deep, deep in my psyche. The seasons and traditions, foods, sights and smells of England and New England are firmly entrenched there, through the world of reading and from my early education. We didn't have leaves turning in autumn, or lambs being born in spring, in our world, but that was the stuff of our lives, somehow.
Years spent in many strange places has done nothing to erase that early imprinting of what the seasons "should be."
In a small city about two hours east of here, lambs are part of their world, and more so in the past. San Angelo still has many thousands of sheep. I always felt sorry for them, in their heavy fleeces, stuck in an arid and blazing hot place far from the rolling hills that are perhaps in their instinctual memories.
Thank you for stopping by. JPEGs and PNGs below. Avoid the "P" unless trying to Pin. Click away from the P, click again, and right-click to save.
I think a book tucked into an Easter basket would be just the thing. It could even be one of those sugary sweet stories, so as to keep with the theme of candies and confections.
Children's literature, in my day, was filled with frightening, sobering, and sad scenarios. I wonder if it's the same with "young adult" literature today. Even as far back as third grade, the books had many an unsettling theme. Black Beauty, Beautiful Joe, and My Friend Flicka were all quite tough on the tender mind.
And here are some bookmarks to go with the book! Big bookmarks for little hands.
Many of my prim friends love the grungy, well-loved rustic look, and simple designs. Sometimes simple is just the thing!
Here are some tags in that tradition.
Thank you for stopping by, and I hope you enjoy! Both JPEG and PNG files are provided today.
Here are some hare-raising tags. Sorry, couldn't resist.
Ticking - I love the name! Such an old fabric, woven to keep down feathers from escaping from mattresses and pillows. It's interesting to me how certain fabrics and weaves were gussied up with a traditional design, just for the beauty of it.
Few people know the difference between material types and weaves any longer. I guess it's just not necessary. For example, many think twill and satin are fabrics, not weaves. They are distinctive weave styles and can be made from many different types of threads. And even the threads have different names and types - combed, twisted, and so on.
Something I miss very much is batiste for nightgowns. Even at the more "high-end" stores, batiste is missing in the lingerie departments. Perhaps this is not true in Europe or the Northeast, as I don't have access to those stores.
I always had beautiful batiste nightgowns, usually in palest shell pink, when I was a young woman. They were often finished with a small smocked panel at the neckline. Batiste de soie is how they were known: Exquistely soft and light, but opaque. It seems to me that not only has society been quite coarsened, but the objects we use have become so, too.
Here is a simple triangle banner or bunting that spells out "Easter" and has a few bunnies to add if you like. The letters are a chocolately brown color. I don't know about you, but I'll take all the chocolate I can get.
It takes two letter-sized sheets to print out "Easter," and an extra if you want the bunnies.
Thanks for dropping by!
One of the most wonderful parts of spring, for me, is the profusion of bulbs that come up after their long sleep in the cold soil.
Here are some tags that can be strung on ribbon or just stuck wherever it suits your fancy.
Before our long drought out in West Texas, certain bulbs would bloom from year to year in this area. Our first year after moving here, we were delighted when narcissus popped up and turned the entire front hedge into a show-stopping cloud of yellow. I interplanted muscari (grape hyacinths) in with them, and the blue and yellow were even prettier. The small muscari is a tough and under-appreciated bulb, but being a short plant, keep it in the very front.
Thank you for stopping by. As always, click the "P" to Pin, but avoid the "P" when clicking to isolate and save the image. Click, click again to enlarge, then RIGHT-click to save.
Here we have two similar tag / banner piece sets. One has a "warmer" tone than the other, but that's the only difference.
I had all kinds of ideas for a fun post, but by the time I'm off work, done with dinner, laundry, pets and other chores, I usually draw a blank and post an image with little chitchat.
I'll share that I have heard two songs that I had never heard before, and now I listen to them again and again on Youtube. These songs are so pretty! One is "Come Down from the Tree," and the other is "Seasons of Love." I heard both at a memorial service this past Sunday. The singers sounded professional, and indeed they were, being musical theater people.
I have a singing voice that is banned in 52 countries. It's not just untrained; it's horrid. But I often sing despite its sound, when no one is around. My father had a fantastic singing voice, and could whistle and yodel beautifully.
CLICK to open (avoid the "P"), click again, then right-click to save!
Yesterday I voted in the Texas primary. I tried to pick an off-the-path polling place, but they all were packed. It had what I call a "Disneyland Line." That's a line that at first appears somewhat reasonable, but the longer you inch along, the more you find out that it isn't. There were hidden loops of about 50 people per loop all along the length of it, and although the ballot was short, people took quite a bit of time with it.
I stood about 35 minutes before my turn. It was not disabled-friendly at all.
Here are some "tapestry" tags featuring Easter motifs. Might be fun to print out! JPEG and PNG versions are posted.
Thank you for stopping by, as always.
Here is a set of three vintage-image "postcards" for decorating - but you could also actually mail them, too, if printed on cardstock.
Back in the 1960's and 1970's, pen-pals were common. One of my classmates had a pen-pal from Japan. Now, I guess that the Internet has rendered pen-and-paper correspondence with pen-pals quite obsolete. I do think the Internet has given a great boost out of loneliness for many who crave connection, with literally millions who might possible become a modern-day pen-pal.
Blog visiting is certainly a type of connection reminiscent of friendship through correspondence. Like actual pen-pals, some are good about the give-and-take of communication, and some are very poor.
I usually like to make tags featuring the work of the artists of yesteryear, but sometimes I make a little set that is modern or "cute."
Here are jpeg and png versions of a little decorated yellow chick.
I am very happy the horrible idea of dyeing baby chicks various colors and selling them as a sort of temporary, living decoration is much less popular than before. I found it a gruesome and odd tradition, even as a child.
Does anyone remember gathering eggs from a chicken coop? It could be quite a frightening experience, reaching into a nest and feeling the slither of a "bull snake," or worse, its bite, like a stubby-toothed monster latched onto your hand.
Thanks for dropping by.
Every place I've moved, I've tried to adopt some of the local customs. The U.S. is a huge country; things common in one area are nowhere to be found in another. Some things are so charming that I wish they were nationwide!
One fun tradition out in West and Central Texas is "cascarones." It's pronounced "Cass-cuh-ROAN-ess."
Cascarones are chicken eggs, emptied, washed, dried, dyed, dried again, and filled with tiny confetti, usually tissue-paper confetti instead of thicker paper. The hole where the confetti went in is covered with a piece of tissue matching the egg's color.
Most grocery stores carry the tiny tissue paper confetti on their party aisle, for homemade cascarones and for piñatas.
I've had great luck in introducing cascarones to newcomers to the area. The point of them is to crack them on top of someone's head. Confetti falls everywhere (especially on the target's head), and for some reason, it's quite satisfying. The victim is also armed with some eggs, and chases after the person who put the egg on their head, and smushes an egg in retaliation.
Well, it doesn't sound as fun when I type it out, but it's actually fun, IF the people are good-natured. You know how there are always those with extreme egos, who have to make everything into something unpleasant and competitive -- avoid playing with them. Just crack some eggs with willing and happy people.
Before our big dogs passed, we would crack cascarones on their backs. They loved it! They felt very pretty, with all that confetti! We were very gentle when cracking the eggs on them.
Some areas have the cascarones glued onto the ends of dowels, and the people have a much greater reach in smacking a head with a cascarone. But I don't think that's particularly appealing, and sticks and screaming people and kids are a bad mix.
A "slow motion" cracking of an egg is also a great use of the cascarones. It feels just like a regular egg. Crack by pushing gently on their head, then shake the confetti out and down around the ears. Dee-light-ful, as Teddy Roosevelt used to proclaim.
A place like San Antonio has a lot of cooks cracking the bottoms of eggs off, using the contents, and saving those specially broken shells for the people who make cascarones.
Easter is so early this year that I might not have time to do any pysanky. I love the geometric patterns made on the eggs, and the rich colors. Yes, my hands are a bit shaky, but surely the babushkas in the Ukraine have shaky hands, too.
But I have to have weather warm enough and dry enough to work outside, because I'm so klutzy that I might spill the extremely strong dyes in the house, and my dog and the silly cats would be into it in moments. I guess I might try to use a stool and sit by the sink, if the weather does not cooperate.
Here are some harlequin eggs to print and use for tags, decorating, cards, and more. They are sizable eggs - more like duck eggs or goose eggs than chicken ones.
My House Mouse Update: Sir Mouse must be coming in and out of the house somehow. I see him now and again, and he's getting bigger. I think we're getting used to each other.
Thank you for dropping by!
Here is a little sheet of printable tags or scrapbooking items - just common spring shapes with harlequin patterns.
I love harlequin and "particolored" fabric. That's a word you don't hear much anymore. I think when horses were used for travel, it was more common.
I once had a pretty skirt made from many jewel-toned colors in a harlequin pattern with the diamonds about the size of my hands. I felt so festive when wearing it. Black diamonds were scattered in with the bright ones, and made the whole thing pop. I so wish I had saved all my pretty clothes, if only for the fabric.
Thank you for dropping by, m'dears. Tomorrow's post is Harlequin Eggs.
And here we have some printable "tickets" with Easter motifs, appropos nothing.
Perhaps they are for viewing the Easter Parade. I do like that chick coming out of the egg.
I remember getting those "Chore Boy" copper pot scrubbers and "unrolling" them into little hats, like cloche hats during the 1920s. Then I'd stick flowers into them and make myself some sort of fancy floral hat. I think the main flowers used were clover flowers, because they were abundant.
Although I had a terrible childhood in most ways, I did enjoy the holidays. I very much liked participating as much as I was allowed. I was extremely shy, even in my own home, where a small misstep could earn a child both emotional and physical abuse, and where my parents and older siblings were scathing and unkind about being timid. My family also ascribed to the idea that if a person were ill, or had a deformity, or a weakness, it was because they wanted it to be so. Because I was constantly sick from malformed and malfunctioning tonsils, I have moderate hearing loss, have a damaged heart, and was very weak physically. I was also extremely myopic, which particularly angered my mother.
My parents didn't particularly like children, and they had many of us. By the time my brother closest to me in age came along, and then me, my mother was completely sick of children. Our older siblings were almost grown or actually grown and married, and we last two were unwelcome additions, neglected and easy prey for the cruel and the perverted.
But my mother did go through the motions of Easter, somewhat. We dyed a couple of eggs each, and we had to eat the eggs later. The Depression years had deeply imprinted my parents.
We had Easter baskets, too, and used the same ones from year to year. Mine was yellow and blue, and it was that high-handled kind, with a flared basket, and I recall that the reeds were quite delicate. Our cellophane grass was always green. I think that pink and yellow were available at that time, but I'm not sure. Certainly none of the colors you can get now were common.
Of course, I never believed in the Easter Bunny, or Santa. My elder siblings had joyfully made sure I knew that none of the magical aspects of childhood were true. I still loved all the trappings of each holiday, though.
As an adult, I taught myself pysanky - the art of the Ukrainian eggs. I have made many dozens of them. And when I had my child, now grown, I made sure he knew he was loved and wanted, and that he could have his own favorite color, and dye lots and lots of eggs, and eat the contents of his basket. And I still make him an Easter Basket each year.
Posts
