Family…a Link to Our Past, a Bridge to Our Future…

"In every conceivable manner, the family is link to our past, bridge to our future.”  --Alex Haley

I’ve always been drawn to my ancestors…those who came before me, those who made me who I am…

I’m fortunate to belong to a family that appreciates these things, and from the time I was a young girl, I’ve been told the stories, showed the pictures, taken to the places where the stories and pictures took place…a wonderful childhood…

“The happiest moments of my life have been the few which I have passed at home in the bosom of my family.”  --Thomas Jefferson

My blog experience so far has been an extension of this great love of mine…I love to create vintage-style cards and be reminded by the images I use of my family…those here now, and those long gone.  To me, it’s another way to preserve these memories, and share them with my family…and you.

Today, I made a card with one of my favorite old family photos…

This is the Ostlund Family, taken about 1906.  My grandfather, Dow, would be born 6 years later…I love this sweet family scene.

My great-grandmother, Anna Brandley Ostlund, the mother in the photo,  is very dear to me.  I was so grateful to have been able to know her…

She was born in 1882 and had such an amazing and full life.  I love these early photos of her…

She was born to Johann Theodore and Marie Elizabeth Braendli, both Swiss immigrants, well-skilled in the  baking arts.  They ran a bakery in a small town in southern Utah when Anna was a girl.

                             {Anna & her brothers}

In her life, she would live in a chicken coop for a time due to hard family circumstances while her father was far away in Europe (her mother wouldn’t write and tell him…didn’t want to worry him!), lose her mother when she was still a young girl, leave the west for a new home in Canada when she was 16, run a frontier general store…

Marry a handsome barrister, Hjaldermar, of Swedish parentage…become a wonderfully loving mother and grandmother…and end her life in Arizona, surrounded by family who loved her.

Many more stories for other days…

“Family faces are magic mirrors.  Looking at people who belong to us, we see the past, present and future.”—Gail Lemet Buckley

When I look at Anna,

I see my the woman who’s eyes and nose would instantly turn red with emotion whenever we walked into her home for a visit…I see my mother who resembles her so much (my mother has her nose and eyes, which turn red the same way when she’s emotional…I love that!)…I see my youngest daughter, Anna, who is named for her.

Thank-you for letting me share my feelings and more of my family memories with you…

One more card before I go today…

“Together is a wonderful place to be”, it says…perfect, isn’t it?  This beautiful image is from Crafty Secrets’ “Family” Vintage Postcard Kit.  Instead of making a wall hanging out of it, I decided to place it on a card…maybe this will go to my Mom (so many of my cards end up with Mom!)

Some lace, grosgrain & gingham ribbon, glitter (of course!), Dazzling Diamonds, and that’s about it!

Hope you’re having a beautiful weekend, and I’ll see you back here soon with something new…

***Just wanted to add a bit about our on-going theme on modesty...you can read what other Mothers have to say by going here....

I have so many thoughts on the subject that I'll be sharing with you in weeks to come.  To go along with my earlier words on this post, when I look at the image of my great-grandmother....modesty personified. 

There is something so inwardly--and outwardly--beautiful about a modest woman.  There is a glow.  Confidence that she knows herself and what she's meant to be.  There is no need to go along with the trends of the day, to conform to what society tells her is "normal".

This is the kind of beauty I want my daughters to possess.  Classic beauty.

Julie

Vintage Postcards--Birdies and Babies

Good evening, everyone!

It's been raining like crazy here in California today!  We've got a bit of a break right now, but there's more coming!

This will be a very quick post tonight--trying to make up for all my long ones lately!  I finished a couple of pretty postcards from Crafty Secrets' Vintage Postcard Kits...here's the first one...

This sweet springtime image is from their "Family" Vintage Postcard Kit--so many lovely images in this set!  They are so quick and easy to do--can do as little or as much as you'd like--they always turn out beautifully!  Here I just added some silver shavings glitter, some topaz crystal rhinestones, Dazzling Diamonds on the nest, an acrylic amber bead, and some brown & cream gingham ribbon--all done!

And then we have...

...an adorable baby girl image--complete with poem--so sweet!  Again, some silver glitter, Dazzling Diamonds, some deep rose rhinestone crystals, and red pompom trim...tie a ribbon on top for hanging, and you're done!  The natural light wasn't very good today---sure shows in my photos--oh, well!

That's it for me tonight--told you it would be quick!  I'll be back tomorrow night with something new...see you then!

The Play Date Cafe' Challenge #9...Heavenly Angels

Good evening, all!  It's time once again for a new challenge from The Play Date Cafe'!  Hope you're getting all your preparations done for Christmas and can take some time to play with us this week!  (a little creative time is good for the sanity!)

Here are the colors for this week's challenge:

I'm hosting this week's challenge and was able to choose the colors--always so fun to do! Since this challenge would be taking us right up to Christmas Eve, I wanted to choose colors that would be Christmas-like, but that were colors that we hadn't used for a while.

I decided on blue, gold and cream--more of a heavenly/angelic Christmas color scheme!  Since it reminded me of angels, that's just what I used for my inspiration!

The image I used for my card came from Crafty Secrets' "Christmas" Vintage Postcard Kit...love these angelic beauties!

I surrounded the image with gold German glass glitter--really sparkles!  I covered the bottom, cloudy part of the image with gorgeous mica flakes--wish their beauty showed up better in this photo--oh, well!   

I found the textured gold metallic paper at Michaels' a couple of years ago, but don't know who made it--can't find it anymore...a little lace and some beautiful vintage-looking metallic trim, and that's about it!

Hope you enjoy using these beautiful colors in your creations this week...and...

                              Merry Christmas!!!

Flowery Bouquets, Browned Butter & Rosemary Shortbread...and a Sweet Gift

Good evening, all!  Hope this mid-December day has been beautiful and bright--and productive!  We're getting VERY near Christmas, aren't we?! 

A few things to share with you today...the first two are not very Christmas-y, but sometimes it's refreshing to have a little change!  I felt very flowery today!  Here are a couple of projects I made with Crafty Secrets' Vintage Postcard Kits:

This image is from the "Best Buds" kit--six beautiful floral images, ready to embellish to your heart's content!    Love the glittery bauble I found a while back...just hanging from the bottom.  Real silver shavings glitter all around and a couple of crystal rhinestones for just a BIT more shimmer!

A bit of a closer view...

This one comes from the "Family" kit--love this one!

Just look at those fat & fabulous roses!  Glittered them all up a bit, too!

...more silver glitter along the edge...

"Families Bloom with Love"...yes, they do!!!

Speaking of families, my sister Becky--who loves cooking & baking as much as I do!--sent me this delicious recipe yesterday...had to bake it today, it looked so tempting!

Browned Butter & Rosemary Shortbread

1 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh rosemary (pull the leaves off the stems)
1 Tbsp. honey or maple syrup
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

In a small saucepan, heat the butter until it melts, foams and then starts to turn brown and smell nutty.  Pour into a mixing bowl, scraping out any browned bits on the bottom of the pan, and set aside.

Meanwhile, put the sugar, rosemary and honey or maple syrup into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until well mulched; the mixture will look like wet sand.  Add to the browned butter and mix well.  Add the flour, baking powder and salt and stir just until well blended.

Chill the dough for half an hour or so to make it workable, then roll into walnut-sized balls, palce them on a baking sheet and press down on them with the bottom of a glass or a cookie stamp, or divide the dough in half and press each into the bottom of a 9" cake pan, and press around the edges with the tines of a fork.  Bake at 325 degrees for 15 minutes (for cookies) or 255 minutes (for wedges), or until pale golden around the edges.  If you used cake pans, cut into wedges while still warm.

Makes about 1 1/2 dozen shortbread cookies.

Oh, my!  These are SOOOO delicious--I can't even describe the flavor to you--very sweet, savory and nutty--the rosemary is just scrumptious in them! 

I went with the brown sugar/maple syrup combination--turned out just beautifully!  Topped them with some raw sugar--love the way it looks!  Hope you like these--thanks, Becky!!!

Another dear blogging friend surprised me with a lovely gift yesterday...Hanne of Limogglitter is an amazing artist!  The first time I visited her blog, I just fell in love with her style!  You feel like you know her as soon as you see her beautiful profile photo--her personality just shines through!  I was so stunned when I opened her package and found these treasures:

Just look at this beautiful card! This would have been such an exquisite gift all on it's own! She does beautifully painted backgrounds on a board...I need to learn how she does this--it's simply luminous!

I was just stunned when I saw this sweet beauty!  What a lovely framed piece!  Hanne--you have such a beautiful style!

...and look at this beautiful lace! Beautiful wooden bobbins wound in string...I didn't even ask her if she made the lace herself...wouldn't surprise me!

Hanne,thank-you for these beautiful, generous gifts...you have certainly touched my life...thank-you!  Please stop by and see her lovely creations for yourselves!

In closing...I've been thinking so much about how fast time's flying by...about my daughters...my husband and myself...hard to believe how quickly it all goes!  I found this sweet Christmas picture of my daughters from 2000--almost 10 years ago already!

Chelsea, my oldest, comes home from college tomorrow--we just can't wait to get her! I think I'll  take a similar photo of them this year...just to see! They are much taller, so much more gorgeous, their teeth are much straighter...but the twinkle in each of their eyes is EXACTLY the same!

Hope you have a wonderful night with your families...Sweet Dreams!

Happy December! A Snowy Challenge, Vintage Bakers, and Eggnog Cookies!

Good evening, all! Hope you've had a lovely first day of December...can you believe it's here already?! So excited for the month ahead, and SO much to do!!!

Had a good but busy day today...taught two 3rd grade classes about the Ohlone Indians who lived in our area...I love teaching! Spent the rest of the day getting projects ready for a craft fair I'm involved with on Saturday...I'm WAY behind!

On Splitcoast in the Crafty Secrets' forum, Lori is hosting the challenge for this week--and it's to use our favorite Crafty Secrets item--stamps, printed images, whatever...and then add 5 embellishments...here's what I came up with:

I really love everything Crafty Secrets has to offer, but recently I've been having so much fun with the "Christmas" Images & Journal Notes, so that's what I chose to use. Love this soft, sweet vintage image...I've also been having fun making chunky, glittery snowflakes lately, so I decided to add 5 of those...

Look at all that pretty glitter! And I love my crystal rhinestones! Used my new Martha Stewart snowflake punches--having lots of fun with Martha lately! Also, check out the sparkle on this glitter! First time I've used MS' "White Gold" glitter, and it won't be the last! Wish you could see how much this REALLY sparkles!!! Sorry I hurried to photograph this, and the glue's still showing! My light was fading fast and I had to hurry! Just pretend you don't see it, please!

I've been making a lot of Crafty Secrets' Vintage Postcards from their wonderful kits--another thing I'm having so much fun with! Trying to get a bunch done for little gifts for friends...here's one I finished today:

After I took the picture this afternoon, I hung it on my kitchen Christmas tree--which I haven't even decorated yet--(such a slacker!)--and I LOVED the way it looked tonight, so I took a couple more pictures...

Isn't that pretty?! Used Martha Stewarts' new Red Tinsel glitter for the border--really fun & sparkly! And the tiles from the old Scrabble game I raided...(shhhhhh!!!)

I love this little tree--very retro and fun! I'll show it to you again later when it's all decked out and ready for the holidays!

Well, these little vintage bakers got me in the mood to bake something sweet and Christmas-y, so I pulled out a recipe I've been wanting to try since I saw it on Julia Stainton's lovely blog, last week for Mrs. Fields' Eggnog Cookies! (Just click to get to the recipe!) Here's what they look like:

Oh, they are DELICIOUS!!! The only thing I changed was to make some creamy, eggnogy frosting to top them off with--just did the usual softened butter, a touch of vanilla, lots of powdered sugar, and eggnog...I never measure ingredients for my frosting...just do it to taste and till I get the right consistency--easy peasy!

Sprinkled the top with some lovely, fragrant nutmeg and some granulated sugar for the necessary sparkle!!!

My daughter, Annie, nobly tried them out for me....YUM!!! Thanks, Julia, for sharing this--and other--delicious eggnog recipes! Go visit her lovely new blog--you'll love it!

Lastly, I couldn't let the first day of December pass by without one of my vintage family Christmas pictures, so here's one from the 1950's...

Just look at that fabulously '50's shiny tree! All those perfectly wrapped presents...and my grandparents, Dow and Velda Ostlund...Ah, the good old days!

Hope you have a wonderful night, and I'll see you very soon....Sweet dreams!

Apple Puff Pancakes, Birthday Card, and Happy Birthday, Mom!

Happy Halloween Eve! I'm grabbing a quiet moment to post this while my 13-year old daughter, Annie, and 5 of her friends are out on the trampoline telling scary stories! My husband and older daughter, Sarah, are at our high school's Homecoming game. Peace & quiet....for a few moments!

Well, the day started out in the SWEETEST way possible...Apple Puff Pancakes, courtesy of The Farm Chicks! I've made this recipe about 5 times now, and it has been perfect each and every time--an absolute family favorite! It tastes amazing, but is super easy to prepare--just takes a few minutes, really!

Backing up...my good friend, Loretta, has been in love with The Pancake House restaurant forever (a few locations throughout the country)--she introduced me to it when we went to Salt Lake City together last year for a convention. The menu item she said I HAD to order was their apple pancake. It was delicious! I've had it 2 times since then, and wanted to try to figure out the recipe.

Then, this summer, I discovered The Farm Chicks' new cookbook:

I mean, really...how could I NOT buy a book this adorable when it's just staring at me from the shelf at Barnes and Nobles? I HAD to buy this book! Little did I know how much I would enjoy it! I've made quite a few recipes just since this summer, and every one of them has been scrumptious!

Okay, back to Loretta...I told her a month or so ago that I'd finally found THE recipe. She was exceptionally doubtful! So, I was forced to invite her over to breakfast to prove it to her. That day was today!

I timed it perfectly so that the pancake came out of the oven about 3 minutes after she walked in my door. The kitchen smelled divine! She was pretty impressed when she saw it...

Oh, my! Look at it sizzling in the pan! Then I drizzled a little glaze and some maple syrup over it, and Loretta was a goner!

Here's my happy friend enjoying her SECOND serving...!

She pretty much wanted to lick her plate, but decided to vigorously scrape it clean with her fork, instead!

Loretta agreed, as I do, that this recipe for Apple Puff Pancakes is just as good (I think better!) than the restaurant version--not bad, huh? Would you like the recipe, too?! Here it is: (thanks, Serena, for letting me share it here!)

APPLE PUFF PANCAKE

(from "The Farm Chicks in the Kitchen" cookbook)

1/4 cup unsalted butter (1/2 stick)

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 apple, peeled, cored, and thinly sliced

5 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 cup flour

Dash of salt

Maple syrup or confectioners' sugar, for serving (Or both, I say!)

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a 9-inch glass pie plate. Heat in the oven until the butter is melted and bubbly--5 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir well and mix in the apple slices. Return to the oven and bake for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, combine the eggs, milk, flour, and salt in a blender or food processor and process un til frothy--about 1 minute. Pour over the apple mixture. Bake until the cake is puffed and the center is set--18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm with maple syrup or sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

*****************************************

Today is a VERY special day--my Mom's birthday! Hi Mom! My Mom has always loved having her birthday be the day before Halloween. She loves fall, loves to decorate, loves Halloween...it's a perfect fit! This may be the first time I haven't made her a Halloween themed birthday card, but when I got this new Crafty Secrets' "Best Buds" Vintage Postcard Kit, this sweet image just seemed perfect for Mom.

Isnt' she sweet?! Mom loves images like this, so, here you go, Mom! (Of course she's getting the real deal!)

Didn't go overboard with the glitter this time...wanted to be a bit more delicate. I used "Waterfall" Stickles for the dots here, and a little Dazzling Diamonds sprinkled on the flowers. I did use some silver glitter for a little outlining, but not much. The birthday sentiment at the top of the card is from the Pink Persimmon stamp set "Vintage Greetings"--love this sweet font! The little flower stamp underneath the greeting is from the mini stamp set included in the "Best Buds" postcard kit--just perfect for this!

As I like to do, I want to share a few pictures of my Mom with you in honor of her birthday. I just love these photos of her when she was a little girl. Mom, since I realize you ARE still a little girl at heart (she STILL loves dolls like she always has--just bought one for herself for her birthday, as a matter of fact!), these are for you!

This may possibly be my favorite picture, ever!

Thanks for visiting me today, I love that you come, and I enjoy all of your lovely thoughts and comments--thank-you all so much!

And...Happy Birthday, Mom! I LOVE YOU!

Not What I Imagined...Vintage Aprons, and a Little Advice...

Good afternoon, everyone!

It's a beautiful day today--the sun is peeking through the clouds, it's still overcast, but it's not raining right now...easier to get the errands done!

My husband called me this morning after he left for work & said, "Quick! Grab your camera and look out in the backyard!" I wondered what on earth he could be so excited about, but did as he asked, and saw the most glorious sunrise! Of course, the camera (mine, anyway!) never could capture it properly, but here's what I saw through my kitchen door:

Lots of vintage fun to share today!

First off, I'll show you some cards I've been working on the last few days--busy days lately, so sometimes it takes a while! These are all images from Crafty Secrets--they have so much wonderful stuff to work with!

Apparently, I've been in a housewifely mood lately, because here's what I've done:

This image is from the "Domestic Goddess" Creative Scraps. The paper I used here was SU! Soft Sky, Pink Pirouette (both retired), and PTI True Black--love it's thickness! Of course, a liberal serving of my silver glitter was needed, and topped it off with some lace, a little black grosgrain & a silver button.

This one just cracks me up! This is pretty much how I feel whenever I ATTEMPT to can anything--doesn't happen very often in THIS house, I can tell you! Love her face, don't you? This is from Crafty Secrets' new "Kitchen Mail" Vintage Postcard Kit. I used Real Red, Summer Sun, PTI White, and June Bug's "Vintage Plaid" here. A little strip of Battenburg lace some Real Red grosgrain, a darling little plaid grosgain I found at Michaels ($1 a spool--YES!)
and some buttons. Oh, yes, and the silver glitter. I'm afraid I'm going to be using it in my next card, as well...prepare yourselves!

This image is perhaps my favorite! I love the look on her face and her little thought bubble "This isn't what I imagined!" Perfect! This image is also from the new "Kitchen Mail", and I used 2 Crafty Secrets' stamp sets--"Little Chef" for the mixing bowl used as the background (hard to see really well--an attempt made for a challenge on Splitcoast to use any resist technique--I'm not very experienced with this, but I tried!). Also, the "Party Girl" set for the thought bubble and sentiment.

Here's a close-up of her face:


All these vintage images reminded me of my long-time love of vintage aprons--love them, but can't find any of mine! (Must still be in boxes in the garage--dang!) I have also wanted to make some for a while--so many great patterns out there right now and fabulous vintage-inspired fabric (I actually have a lot of this squirreled away...time to use it!) I've decided to make some for gifts for Christmas this year so I'll show some when I'm done. This kind of commits me, doesn't it? If you're someone I give gifts to at Christmas, please don't read this paragraph, okay?

I bought a wonderful book a couple of years ago called "The Apron Book", by EllynAnne Geisel. Oh, what a treat to look through! Filled with great images, ideas, etc. Today, I also found that she has a website and a blog--you've gotta go see what she does! It's called Apron Memories. Trust me, you'll love it!

I also love the apron motif that The Farm Chicks use on their blog--Serena has a really cute one on in her profile photo!

One more thing to leave you with...a little advice.

When I was at my Mom's a couple of months ago, I was going through some of her old cookbooks and making LOTS of copies. I found a cute little book she was given at her bridal shower that was thrown by her grandmother, my great-grandmother Estella Stapley. Inside the book were notbook pages filled with handwritten recipes by the guests--and the best part--advice for the bride! So, here's a bit of newlywed advice fresh from 1960--doesn't get much better than this!

"Make each day the most important day in your life and enjoy it! Keep a delightful sense of humor."

"Don't!!!!!!!! Unless, of course, you want to!

"Share your problems together as well as your joys."

"Never go to bed or end a day until you have forgiven each other for misunderstandings."

"A sense of humor is a priceless ingredient in a happy marriage."

My mother's mother said: "Always listen to your mother's advice. Consider it well, then...do what YOU think is right."

The last one I'll leave with you is from my other sweet, tiny great-grandmother, Anna Ostlund, who said, "Karen darling, take good care of Clayn but don't spoil him."

Good advice, indeed!

Clayn and Karen Smith, my wonderful parents, on their wedding day in 1960.