Vintage-y recipe leaflet

 

 I just came upon this treasure and listed it in my Etsy shop, but decided to post it here while I'm thinking of it.  It's not super old, likely from  the 1980s, but it has some delicious looking chocolate and peanut butter recipes -- six of them, to be exact.

The leaflet (see it unfolded below) likely came in a bag of Gold Medal flour, but also features recipes using Skippy Peanut Butter, Hershey's Cocoa, and Fleischmann's Yeast.  There's a yeast-raised coffee cake, three kinds of cookies and two kinds of bars.

And on the back side ...

Below are the recipes:

 

One of these might be just the ticket to bake on a blustery March day, to try out for a future kitchen gift!  I may be doing just that myself.  The hard part will be deciding which recipe to try first.

Grace our homes with happiness -- a heartfelt Christmas prayer

 

A vintage Christmas card recently sold in my Etsy shop, and I realized this was my last one.  In looking at my description, I noticed the heartfelt message of this prayer and knew I needed to share it with you all.

The card is from the 1950s, and I believe the artist is Erica von Kager. . The design features two little barefoot blonde angels hanging Christmas greenery on a door. The background for the design is textured metallic gold. The door is of warm natural wood. The taller angel stands on a wooden step stool with a basket of greenery on the floor beside her. She is carefully arranging an evergreen wreath with a large red bow on the door. A garland of greenery already adorns the top of the door. The smaller angel, who evidently does not have her wings yet, is handing a sprig of evergreen to the angel on the stool. Many touches of metallic gold gild the design. A fancy gold edge surrounds the design, and the words "Grace our homes with happiness" are in white in an old English font.

Inside the card on one side is a little poem in black in a small handwriting font. 

 It reads:

 "GRACE our homes with happiness ... "Tis but a modest prayer; A bushelful, a cartful, an overflowing heartful, (And a little heap under the stair). 

The little saying is described as "Old Welsh".   A heart full of happiness -- what a lovely thing to wish for a person you are sending a Christmas card to!

This prayer -- or maybe it would be termed a "Welsh Blessing" -- was too sweet not to be shared.  Hope it was a blessing to you!

A Christmas Prayer, by Robert Louis Stevenson

 

Who knew Robert Louis Stevenson had written a poem titled A Christmas Prayer?

Certainly not me, until I was scanning a few listings for my Etsy shop and came upon this vintage card which I estimated to be not all that old (although it has an older look to it) -- probably from the 1980s.  The card is by Marian Heath.

The card front has a lovely design, sort of an illuminated style but without any gold, and simply the title and author of the poem.

Inside, though, is the poem itself, all in red calligraphy and the same lovely sort of design as the card front.

In case it's hard to read, here is the poem:

"Help us rightly to remember the birth of Jesus,

that we may share in the song of the Angels,

the gladness of the shepherds, 

and the worship of the Wise Men.

Close the door of  hate and open the door of love

all over the world.

Let kindness come with every gift

and good desires with every greeting.

Deliver us from evil by the blessing that Christ brings,

and teach us to be merry with clear hearts.

May the Christmas morning 

make us happy to be Thy children, 

and the Christmas evening

bring us to our beds with grateful thoughts,

forgiving and forgiven, for Jesus' sake.  Amen."

What a treasure!  I have five of these, so I'm planning to list four on Etsy and keep one for myself!

A sweet little Christmas card

 

This sweet card, with its nostalgic farmyard scene, just sold in my Etsy shop, so I thought I would share it with you readers today as well.

This small unused Christmas card by Marian Heath is likely from the 1980s. It features a beautiful scene of a New England farm in winter. The illustration is in shades of white, gray, red, blue, and brown. The central element in the design is a large red barn with cupola and weather vane, along with white trim and a gray shingled roof. A man dressed in green is shoveling snow in front of the barn and waves a red-mittened hand to the man passing by in a horse-drawn sleigh with a wagon full of Christmas trees. Mountains and evergreens may be seen behind the barn. In the distance is another driveway leading to a red barn and house. There are a couple of leafless hardwood trees, including a large tree at the left of the scene. 

Inside the card is a truly meaningful message in a vintage red italic font:

"Christmas again! And may you have the real joys that make the season mean so much; -- warm remembrance, friendly greetings, and hearty good cheer."

Isn't it lovely?  And there are still a few more in the shop.

Christmas in July sale at my Etsy shop!!

 

Just a little public service announcement!  I'm running a Christmas in July sale over at my Etsy shop, 

A New Hampshire Attic.

Now through July 24, all items in the vintage Christmas category are 25% off.  There are approximately 70 listings in this category, which includes vintage Christmas cards, both new and preowned, vintage craft books, candy boxes and even a couple of handmade crafts.  Hopefully I will be listing a few more items before the 24th.

Head on over to browse and shop!

Another lovely vintage Christmas card

 

 This is a recently discovered vintage card that will be listed in my Etsy shop.  I thought it was so pretty, with its unmistakable vintage pastel Christmas look.  I'm guessing it's from the 1960s.  Made of a classic parchment type paper, the bottom and right edges are deckled with a scalloped look.  Front and center in the design is a lighted lantern with the suggestion of a dark red candle inside.  It's centered slantwise against a gorgeous soft green background that I just love.  

 Tied atop the lantern there's a bow made of unusual ribbon: one side appears to be a muted teal, and the inside a pinky mauve.  Holly leaves, white and teal snowflakes, and more leaves in dark mauve surround the lantern.  Soft lantern light spills out across the design.  Iridescent white glitter adds sparkle to the design.

Inside the card is the exact same illustration made smaller, with no glitter.  

Below it is a sweet bit of verse: "Softly the lantern sheds its light, A joyful beacon through the night."  

 

The message, in a lovely vintage handwriting font, reads, "Warmly wishing you all the joys Of the Christmas Season and a very Happy New Year."  There is a signature in blue ink.

Isn't this just the loveliest card?  Beautiful cards are being made today, but I don't think they hold a candle to the older ones like this.

Christmas in July at my Etsy shop!

 
Yes!  Now through July 24, I'm running a sale at my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic!  You can take 25% off on every listing in the Vintage Christmas category.

Most of the listings are Christmas cards both new and used, from the 1920s through the 1970s. 

 

I also have some vintage Christmas stickers listed and some handmade vintage felt ornaments,

 

 along with a holiday feltcraft booklet, a poinsettia themed pocket calendar, a vintage Christmas paper sachet and some Christmas candy boxes.  Maybe a few other goodies as well!

If I find time, I will also add a few more vintage Christmas items to this category of my shop for your browsing and shopping pleasure.  Even if you don't buy anything, you are sure to enjoy your trip down Vintage Memory Lane!

Christmas in July sale at my Etsy shop!

 Yes!  Now through July 31, I'm running a sale at my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic!  You can take 30% off on every listing in the Vintage Christmas category.

Most of the listings are Christmas cards both new and used, from the 1940s through the 1970s.

 

I also have some vintage Christmas tag stickers listed and some handmade vintage felt ornaments, along with a vintage Christmas paper sachet and some Christmas candy boxes..

 If I find time, I will also add a few more vintage Christmas items to this category of my shop.

A sale at my Etsy shop!

 

 Just popping in with a special announcement!  I'm running a sale at my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic, now through June 30.  Everything in the shop is 25% off, including the ever-popular vintage Christmas category of listings.

Why not head on over and browse?  At the very least you will find yourself with some inspiration for Christmas in July!

A fun vintage addition to my Etsy shop

 

Recently I listed some fun vintage handmades to my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic.  These are some felt mitten ornaments (or maybe they are package toppers) that I came across in my cleaning out of the old homestead.  They would also be a nifty way to give a gift of cash or to package very small gifts.  

 These mittens are about 4 3/4 inches long and about 3 inches across at the widest point.  They were handmade by an elderly lady in the 1980s and gifted to a child or children, probably with candy canes tucked inside.  They're made of felt and hand-stitched together, probably with embroidery floss. 

 The decorations on each one are simply inexpensive stickers, and I have no idea how they have stayed in place, stored in the variable temperatures of an attic, for all these years.

It's really amazing that these mittens have held up so well over time.  The only issue is that the felt hanging loops are a bit wrinkly.

 There are a couple of stockings, as well.   We will see how these do in the shop.  Meanwhile, they might be a fun little project to try yourself if you enjoy working with felt!

Christmas in July sale at my Etsy shop!

 

 Yes, from now right through July 31, there's a Christmas in July sale happening at my Etsy shop, A New Hampshire Attic!  Everything in the Vintage Christmas category is on sale for 25% off.

Here are just a few of the listings you may find there:

 Be sure and click on the screenshots to enlarge them, or just go to the shop and check them out.

As of this writing, there are 85 vintage Christmas listings.  Most are cards, but I have a few other items like candy boxes and gift tags.  Shipping is always free.

Hope you'll stop in at A New Hampshire Attic and see what's in store!

A fun family gift to make this summer

 

Somewhere I have a photo of my grandkids playing with the Yahtzee game that my family used when my kids were growing up.  Since I can't find it, a screenshot from an Etsy shop will have to do.  (If you should be  interested in looking at (or purchasing) this vintage game, it's at this shop: Keeping History Alive.)

My kids enjoyed playing Yahtzee, but they would have loved the very fun-looking Yard Yahtzee game  that I recently found over at  Skip to My Lou.  The dice are four inches square!  Detailed directions are given  for the game, and there's even a video tutorial on how to make the giant dice.

There's also a free printable Yard Yahtzee game score card that looks easy and fun to use.  Thanks to Skip to My Lou for this great family gift idea!  Probably you can think of many families on your gift list that would love to receive something like this.

The only caution might be that you may not be able to resist using this Yard Yahtzee game yourself before gifting it.  If you have kids and they see it, the game isn't likely to make it into the gift closet!

A fun vintage way to gift cash

 

 While going through items to list for my Etsy shop,  I came upon the very cute unused Christmas card above.

You may wonder about a few things.  That blank spot on Santa's music box, for one.  The music box is trimmed with musical notes at top and bottom, and music notes also surround Santa, presumably because he has been turning the handle and producing music.  The greeting "Just a Little Christmas Note" would seem to go with that.

But then there is the inside message: "Merry Christmas -- and may this bring Some special little wished-for thing!"  Hmmm ... 

And, if you look closely, on either side of the holly at the inside left of the card is a slit.  Obviously this is a vintage money holder card!

You may have to be of a certain age to recall that cash sometimes used to be called "bank notes".  British currency is still referred to in this way, as in "a ten-pound note". 

Such a cute and clever card!  I folded a dollar bill in half and placed it inside the card (not disturbing the unused slits) to show what it would look like with cash in place.  I didn't pay a lot of attention to how I was placing the "note", but I like the way it turned out.

So cute! 

The colors of Christmas: red and green

 

Here goes with another post spun off of a question from Joyce at From This Side of the Pond.  This came from week before last's Hodgepodge questions: 

Besides Christmas, what do you associate the color red with? How about the color green? 

Well, for starters, how about leaves?  They come in shades of both red and green.  And there's always traffic lights.  They come in both colors too.

 I always associate red with Valentine's Day.  And strawberries, tomatoes, cherries.  Sunrises, sometimes.  I like all shades of red and I wear red quite a bit.

Green is probably my favorite color.  It comes in so many shades, from pistachio to olive.  I always associate green with late spring and early summer, when the leaves first begin to come out, and with glorious evergreens and holly in winter.  Green is also the color of growth, and spiritual growth is a passion of mine.

But I like both red and green even more at Christmas.  I've put together a few Christmas ephemera packs for my Etsy shop, and I did one each of red and green, as well as a mixed pack and a "blue Christmas" one.  All but the red one have sold.

What do you think?  Should I make more of these ephemera packs this season?  There are still so many items to list!