The Confectionary

Classically trained to the level of masters in the art of baking in their homeland of Switzerland, Theodore and Marie dreamed of opening a bakery of their own…

Coming to America to begin life anew, they settled in the wild west…a small town found, perfect for their growing family, and growing plans…

They worked hard—never complaining.  While Theodore had many civic and church duties to tend to, Marie tended her babes and stayed up late into the night sewing all the clothes for her children…

{beautiful vintage “buttons” from the CD}

…baking for all—bread each and every night…cookies and sweets…not much sleep was had for the hard-working Marie.

She also made beautiful wedding cakes to order…25 cents a cake. 

             {fancy Victorian cakes found online}

And she was grateful for each and every penny…

After years of planning and saving, the time was right.  A building built in the center of town.  New bakery equipment and ovens were installed in the confectionary, as they would call it…a new home for the family built in the back—their dreams, at last, were coming true!

One evening, just before the shop was to open, a heavy-hearted Marie came to her husband… “I’m so sorry, Theodore…you will have to do this alone.  I won’t be there to help you.” 

A feeling?  A premonition?  We will never know…

Shocked, Theodore immediately called for the local doctor, who hurried over to the Brandley house to care for Marie.  The patient he left to answer the urgent call had typhoid…and the doctor did not wash his hands afterwards…they just didn’t understand this simple safeguard yet…

Marie was delivered that night of a miscarriage…and contracted typhoid herself.  After a few weeks of suffering, she passed away…

Her daughter, my beloved great-grandmother, Anna, remembers it as a time of unspeakable sorrow for their little family…

{my great-grandmother, Anna, the only girl…just a couple of years before her mother’s death}

“I was 10 years old”, she writes, “just when I needed my mother the most…Everything now seemed lost.  How could we go on without her love, courage, and the wonderful mother she was?”

The ovens and equipment were sold.  The plans were given up for other things…and life DID go on.  Marie’s love, teaching and example continued to help and bless the lives of her family, even after she was gone…

{the newest page for my family heritage book…sweet Marie}

I knew her daughter, and saw evidence of Marie’s love and teachings myself.  A far sweeter legacy than a confectionary could ever be….

Julie

{all papers & images on my heritage page (except for the Victorian hand brooch) found on Crafty Secrets’ “Creating with Vintage Illustrations” CD}

LiveJournal Tags: Marie Elizabeth Naegeli Brandley,Theodore Brandley,Anna Meier Brandley Ostlund,confectionary,cakes,Crafty Secrets

Springy Things

Hello, my friends!

Just a few things to share with you today…had a bit of a creative binge earlier this week thanks to Vintage Street Market!

I don’t make a lot of tags, but for some reason, that’s what was inspiring me…

First, a very feminine gift tag for a sister or best girlfriend…

 

…it’s so fun to start with a basic idea & then look through your stash to find just the perfect “toppers”!  LOVE those vintage flocked millinery flowers…must find more!

Next…did your grandmothers have special little “pin keeps” in their sewing supplies?  Mine did, which was what inspired this little project…

…my very own little pin keep.  A perfectly sized, clear plastic container found at Michaels was just the thing…

…topped & surrounded by very realistic-looking paper “buttons”, lace & twirly twine…just right for showing off a few pretties…

And lastly, a little memory tag…just for me!

…Easter in Southern California, just about 1967 {note the last number on the Bingo card—wasn’t that a lucky coincidence?!}

My younger brother Steve & I, hunting for eggs in the back yard, wearing our Easter finery…hard to believe that little red-headed brother of mine just turned 47 this week…!

More millinery flowers, some vintage mother-of-pearl buttons stand in for eggs, some lace and a bit of vintage-inspired tinsel makes the perfect “grass” for my little tag…

Well, that’s about it for me today!  Sending you all the happiest wishes for a lovely Easter weekend…

Julie

{all products used in these projects (unless otherwise noted) are from Vintage Street Market.  I used their “Dimestore Vogue” Paper Sheets & Tags kit, “Twirly Twine” sets, Bingo cards, tinsel, crepe paper in all three projects.}

LiveJournal Tags: Easter,tags,Vintage Street Market,Dimestore Vogue,Twirly Twine,pins

Good, Kind & Wonderful…

 

Laying on the chenille-covered bed in the beautiful bedroom at my grandparents’ house, I would gaze at the portrait on the wall…

The old, Victorian-age portrait had hung there as long as I could remember…

…and I loved it.

The piercingly blue eyes would gaze back at me as I thought about this long-ago baby boy, so lovingly photographed…my great-grandfather I was never  able to meet…

{cabinet card photo of baby Orley a year earlier—about 1896.  Noticed he’s wearing the same “dress” in both portraits!}

That baby boy was my own Grammie’s father.  Whenever I asked her about him, she wouldn’t go through his long list of lifetime achievements, she would simply say, with a sparkle in her eye, “He was always so very kind to me…and so funny!  He was a wonderful Daddy…”

{Orley stands center back…what a handsome young man!}

Orley Glenn Stapley, born in 1895, did many good things in his life.  Marrying his high school sweetheart, he was the father of a large, happy family. 

{Early 1940s…O. Glenn stands happily in the center of the family, holding my two-year old mother, Karen.  He passed away not too many years after this picture was taken—far too young…only 54.}

He was well-schooled, a very successful businessman, and served well and much in his Church…more stories for other days…

{the newest page made this weekend for my heritage album}

But perhaps, the best thing that could ever be said about him—or ANY man—was said best by a loving daughter to her granddaughter many times over many years…

“He was always so kind to me...he was a wonderful Daddy…”

See you soon with something new…

Julie

{Orley Glenn’s baby portrait now hangs in my parents’ house, and those piercingly baby blue eyes continue to captivate me…}

(pretty blue background print, photo corners & tag found on Crafty Secrets’ “Creating with Vintage Patterns” CD.  Metal pin & tag from the Tim Holtz collection. Victorian baby pin & baby shoes images found online)

LiveJournal Tags: Orley Glenn Stapley,Crafty Secrets,Tim Holtz,vintage portraits