I was honored to have my collage sheet, Father Time, selected to be part of the "Father Time Marches On" etsy treasury. It was fun to get a convo letting me know that I was featured.

This is the first time, that I'm aware of, that one of my products was included in a treasury!

You can find all my collage sheets on etsy and in my shoppe!

I am all ready for Christmas and have been looking forward to reading this story to my son, who's now 3 and a 1/2. Don't forget the 1/2! This is very important to him. I have my old book of Twas the Night Before Christmas illustrated by Grandma Moses. It was given to me by a very special person, my Grammy Hibbard. I treasure this book and I'm sure my son will love hearing this story too.

Enjoy your holidays! 

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her ‘kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter’s nap.  read more »

What You Make of It - Freebie Collage Sheet: Vintage Santa & Holiday Images  

I have been featured on Vintage Indie again in the "What you Make of It" section of the site. I put together a special collage sheet especially for Gabrielle's readers. You can check it out here and pick up your copy!

I got this recipe from Crissy at IndieBizChicks (http://www.indiebizchicks.com) and I can't wait to make it Christmas Morning. I thought I'd share it with you too:

Christmas Morning French Toast

Ingredients:
1/2 (1 pound) loaf French bread, cut diagonally in 1 inch slices
4 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 cup half-and-half cream
1/4 cup and 2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon and 1-1/2 teaspoons light corn syrup

Directions:
Butter a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange the slices of bread in the bottom. In a large bowl, beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla and cinnamon. Pour over bread slices, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

The following morning, preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar and corn syrup; heat until bubbling. Pour over bread and egg mixture. Bake in preheated oven, uncovered, for 40 minutes.

I have been actively reading posts, etc on the different Ning networks that I belong to. (See the badges down the right side of the blog?) Anyway, I've been reading alot about the Treasury on Etsy and how to create one.  Anyway, it's kind of like needing to be in the right place at the right time - AND today I actually was!  (I won't mention that today was my first day of unemployment since I was laid off last week and had lots more computer time). So I was pretty happy and a little intimidated BUT here is my very first Etsy Treasury:  read more »

When I saw that Gabreial of Vintage Indie had posted about an "I Dream of Spring Vintage Swap" I just knew that I had to participate in it!  Head on over to Vintage Indie to learn more about it....

   read more »

Oh my goodness! Was I ever excited when I got an email from Gabrieal of Vintage Indie letting me know that I was the winner of the Swanky Swag for the month!  As I anxiously waited for the package to arrive, I kept visiting her blog and looking at the picture of the swag and checking out the etsy shops of the people who contributed to it for the drawing.  Some absolutely wonderful shops to peruse!  read more »

Sizes
Continental size: 4X6 inches (15 cm X 10.5 cm) Many of the new cards you purchase today are of this size. Mostly published after the 1940's.

Regular (or Standard) size: 3 1/2 X 5 1/2 (9 cm X 14 cm) Many of the older cards are of this size.

Oversized: Anything larger than a continental size. Mostly 5X7 inches, but some can be found in larger sizes. Although this size of cards is popular with postcard companies and tourists, many collectors do not want them because they are more expensive, not easily filed, cost more to mail, and harder to trade with others. The advantage is of course the more detailed view of the scenes shown on the cards.

Modern size: These are about 6 1/2 X 4 3/4 inches. They are often classified as a smaller type of oversized card.

Postcard Types

View Cards
View cards have, since postcards began, been the mainstay of the collecting field. People have long collected and traded cards of their home towns and places they have visited. View cards offer historic reference to buildings, streets, and even towns which may no longer exist or that have changed significantly over time. Even views produced in the photochrome (chrome) era may no longer look the same. The earliest cards offer much in the social history of the times as we look at early forms of travel and the beginnings of telegraph, telephone and power lines. The messages written on the cards often give us insight as to the picture shown or the sentiments of the day.

Greeting Cards  read more »

Albumen Print - An image printed on paper using egg albumen (the white of an egg) mixed along with whey (derived from curdled milk). The albumen and whey is boiled, filtered, and then mixed with grains of iodide potassium. These prints usually show a brown, yellow, or purple tone. Almost all albumen prints are done on very thin paper and then mounted to cardboard. This process was very common in the last half of the 19th century and was used most on cabinet cards.

Album Marks - Discoloration or heavy indentations on the corners of the cards from the acid, leaching out of the antique album pages, or from weight.

Archival - Any museum quality material that will protect postcards for extended periods of time.

Artist Signed - Any postcard that has a printed signature of the illustrator. This does not mean that the postcard artist autographed the card, although examples do exist. If the publisher has printed a byline clearly identifying who did the work, the card is considered artist signed.

Cabinet Card - A simple term used to describe a print, usually an albumen print that is no more than 6inches, (unless it is an imperial cabinet card) that is mounted upon period cardboard. This was the most common way to display portraits in the 19th century.

Cancellation (COF) - A card that has been postmarked and cancelled on the front.

Carte-De-Visite (cdv) - An albumen print upon a cardboard mount with dimensions no more than 5inches mostly used as a visiting card.  read more »

Grading Postcards
When buying or selling postcards, everyone wants to know the condition of the postcard. This rating system is used for older or antique postcards.

M - Mint: A perfect card just as it comes from the printing press. No marks, bends, or creases. No writing or postmarks. A clean and fresh card. Seldom seen.

NM - Near Mint: Like Mint but very light aging or very slight discoloration from being in an album for many years. Not as sharp or crisp.

EX - Excellent: Like mint in appearance with no bends or creases, or rounded or blunt corners. May be postally used or unused and with writing and postmark only on the address side. A clean, fresh card on the picture side.

VG - Very Good: Corners may be a bit blunt or rounded. Almost undetectable crease or bend that does not detract from overall appearance of the picture side. May have writing or postally used on address side.

G - Good: Corners may be noticeably blunt or rounded with noticeably slight bends or creases. May be postally used or have writing on the address side.

FR - Fair: Card is intact. Excess soil, stains, creases, writing, or cancellation may affect picture. Could be a scarce card that is difficult to find in any condition.

Source: J. L. Mashburn and Postcard Collecting

Preservation of Postcards
Collecting vintage paper creates some special concerns regarding its preservation. If you like to keep antique photo or postcard albums complete as they were originally assembled, you will have even more problems. The real disadvantage is that most early albums were made of inferior green or black construction paper that leaves a residue on the postcard corners. If a top quality album was used, this slick paper didn't move or breathe leaving heavy indents on the postcards called album marks. Cards should be removed from these old albums.  read more »