A Baby Book for a Baby Boy, Learning from My Mistakes, and Great-Grandmother's Yummy Popcorn

Good evening, all! It's a pretty late post tonight after a fun, busy day! Hope the day was great for all of you!

Lots of pictures to show you tonight--finally finished a project for my sister who had a new baby boy--her first child--last week. I used the new Crafty Secrets' Vintage Postcard Kit--"Baby Boy"--perfect, right?! I decided to make a little book for her to add little pictures, hospital bracelet, whatever she wanted.



This is the "cover" of my little book--each image is just so sweet!

Look at those little pink cheeks!


I finished the back of each chipboard piece with some Crafty Secrets' paper, sponged with Rangers' Vintage Photo ink, then used the adorable little stamps in the mini set included with each Postcard Kit to decorate. I'm just showing the last "page" here--didn't want too many pictures here!

This was just so much fun to do.....but after I was finished, I realized I'd goofed. This is not really an uncommon occurrence for me, sad to say! But this time, instead of ripping everything apart and starting over, I just took a big breath, told myself it was okay, and moved on.

I realized my sister will love it anyway, and I learned something from it--it's not a big lesson, but a lesson learned, nonetheless!


I'm sure this is something you're all very careful about already--but--while carefully finishing the back of something--turning it often to make sure you're not doing the back upside-down, remember that if you're making a little book, you WANT the back to be upside-down so that the pages will be facing the same way! Oh, well--it's still cute! (Just look at that adorable little stork stamp!)

There are six images in each Postcard Kit, along with twelve little images in different shapes, and coordinating pieces of chipboard for finishing each one. I used almost all--saved one image for me, just because I love it so much--I'll show you later (my sister will never know!)

Here's what I did with the other two:

I thought this would be cute to hang on the baby's room door--"Don't wake me, I'll wake you"!

(This is a really pretty brown & cream gingham ribbon, but it looks black & white here!)

Just a little wall hanging for over the cradle--a mini birth announcement with the most adorable man in the moon and cute little cottage below...



It says, "The old moon chuckled and said, 'I know why that house is so happy down there below.'" So sweet...!

Well, I hope they like these little handmade gifts--wish I could deliver them in person and kiss my newest little nephew, Connor.

Now for something sweet! This recipe comes to you from my Great-Grandmother, Anna Ostlund. What a wonderful woman--barely 5 feet tall, and so full of love for everyone! If you've been reading my blog since I started a couple of months ago, the antique doll from the 1890's I talked about was hers when she was a little girl. Here's Anna with her husband, Hjaldermar, and young family about 1910:

Aren't they all just so beautiful? This was a just a year or so before my Grandfather was born. I really love this picture...

Here's Grammie's recipe for, as she called it, "Yummy Popcorn":






YUMMY POPCORN


1 stick butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
7 large marshmallows
2/3 cup popcorn (un-popped measurement)

Pop corn--(I don't use microwave popcorn for this--just feels better to do it on the stove for an old recipe!)

Combine all ingredients (except the popcorn, of course!) in a heavy-bottomed saucepan. Heat and melt, stirring constantly, until sugar is dissolved and marshmallows are completely melted.

Pour over popped corn, mix and enjoy!


The wonderful thing about this recipe is that it doesn't get all hard & crunchy--it stays soft and gooey--marvellous! Just watch out for any un-popped kernels!!!

Well, that's it for tonight. Have a wonderful sleep, and wish you could all join me in the morning for Apple Pancakes! (I'll share a picture tomorrow...!)

Good night!

A Sweet Baby...and a Big Pot of Beans

Happy Saturday! Hope you're all having a wonderful day with family. We've had fun today--hardly home at all. I love busy days, but I DO love being home...especially on days like today. Suddenly, it really feels like fall! It's chilly, and even my cozy flannel shirt wasn't warm enough today at my daughter's soccer game.

Just got one project to share with you today, I've got more in the works (too many more!) but nothing ready to show you yet!

I love these new Vintage Postcard Kits from Crafty Secrets--what's not to love?!!! This one, "Baby Girl", is just filled with precious, vintage images. This one is especially dear to me--looks just like the cover of my old, satin-covered baby book. Wish I could find it...it's around here somewhere!

I sponged the edges with my favorite "Vintage Photo" ink, surrounded the chipboard with pink pom-pom trim, added just a touch of Dazzling Diamonds to the star-shaped image at the bottom.

Here's a close-up of my favorite part--I just thought to add a little sentiment in the old-fashioned looking baby name beads and to put them on safety pins. Love the way it turned out! Then I added another vintage touch--those sweet paper flowers I remember so much as a little girl. I used to love these, and had a little basket filled with them.

Now, I'm off to fix dinner. Been cooking pinto beans today, and we'll be having huevos rancheros for dinner. We like to do breakfast dinners once in a while--a fun switch!

I'll share my Grandma Smith's bean recipe with you--very simple, and SO delicious!
Here's a young picture of my beautiful Grandmother--LONG before she was a grandmother... I just love this picture, so thought I'd add it here.

Ruby LaPriel Riggs Smith


My Dad tells me that almost every Friday, she would cook up a big pot of pinto beans, and then they'd have a simple meal of deliciously soft and warm corn tortillas, the beans and some homemade chili, which I usually prepare with it. I'll share that with you next time I make it.

I love cooking traditional family meals for my family--helps me to feel connected with the generations past. This is one of those for me--simple, but special, and I think of my Grandmother each and every time...

Here's what you do for some of the BEST beans you will ever eat!



Take a 4-lb. bag of pinto beans--rinse them well and add to a large pot of water. Add a fair amount of salt (a few shakes!) and let them soak, covered, overnight. As soon as possible the next morning, bring them to a boil. Add a stick of butter--yep, that's the secret! Then, just let it simmer till the beans are nice & soft. Heavenly!

(You can obviously use a smaller bag of beans--I just do a big bag as my family loves Mexican food, and we'll probably use the beans for 3 different meals throughout the week.)

My husband likes to take some of the beans, mash them up and make refried beans--I let him do this part--makes him happy!

Well, that's it for tonight. Hope you have a wonderful evening with those you love. I'll be back soon with something new.

***Funny how things all seem to be connected.....I was just reading over my post to see if I'd messed anything up in my hurry to get it done, and I thought of my Grandma Smith again...and remembered my Mom telling me this little thing... This won't be interesting to anyone else but my family, probably, but I really wanted to add this here.

I was the first grandchild born to both sides of the family--a big deal was made, of course! Once, my grandma convinced my young parents to leave me with her for a while & go do something together--don't recall what they did, but after they left, she called & arranged for a photographer to come to her home and take portraits of me. I have probably 3 or 4 sheets of proofs from that day--I love them! Here's one I'll post, taken on my grandparent's bed, all those years ago. They are both gone long ago, Grandma when I was only 3 1/2 years old, but I still have a little girl's memories of her...So a "sweet baby" and a pot of beans have a connection after all...and I started this post thinking they had nothing at all in common.....