Happy Easter and Spring Holidays

via Pinterest

Wishing you and your loved ones a pleasant and beautiful weekend!

February Days: Dessert and Table Decor for Valentine's Day and More

The Better Homes & Gardens Holiday Cookbook  is such a enchanting mid-century cookbook (published 1959) that it is one of my favorite vintage books to share with you.  I often look through it for holiday inspiration.

The section for February included some charming home decor and food ideas for Valentine's Day and President's Day.  I now wish that I had a heart-shaped cake mold because this pink Valentine Cake is so delightfully easy to make (original recipe below) and would make a charming end for a romantic Valentine's Day dinner.

Note the silver or silver-plated "cake breaker," a cake cutter designed specifically for angel food cakes, pictured in the background, like this one on Etsy:

Valentine Cake

1 package white cake mix
1 package fluffy instant frosting mix
Red food coloring
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Mix cake batter according to package directions.  Pour into 2 paper-lined heart-shaped pans and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes.

Prepare frosting; tint pink with red food coloring.  Tint coconut pink (add food coloring to 1 tablespoon water until you get the color you want.  Put coconut in a jar; add colored water, cap jar, and shake until uniformly tinted.  Dry on a paper towel.)

Frost cooled cake.  Leaving a 2 1/2 to 3 inch border around the top of the cake, trace a heart in frosting and fill in with tinted coconut.

♥♥♥♥

The "February Days" section has additional food and decor ideas for Valentine's Day and President's Day that you might enjoy (click on the photo to enlarge):

The photo above shows another lovely centerpiece made with a paper doily, carnations, and one pink rose. And aren't those white heart-shaped dessert plates with the heart trim just perfect?

How are you celebrating Valentine's Day?  Do you cook a meal for yourself and your sweetie, go out to a restaurant, or do you ignore this day entirely (smile)? 

Happy New Year

Wishing you a happy and beautiful 2013!

From the 1933 Tournament of Roses parade: Queen Dorothy Edwards and her Court.  Via The LA Times.

Taking a little holiday break...back on Monday, January 7th with Madison Avenue Monday!

Merry Christmas

Joy.

Love.

Peace.

Believe.

Wishing you a very merry and beautiful Christmas.

Madison Avenue Monday: Prims Gift Slippers

Here's a little vintage inspiration for your holiday gift giving, from McCall's Needlework and Crafts, Fall-Winter 1973-74:

Happy Thanksgiving

Thank you for taking the time to read my blog and for stopping by to tell me your thoughts. 

I hope that you have a wonderful day full of good food, good company, and love. 

Actress Barbara Bates, via Google

P.S.  If you are interested in doing a little holiday shopping
there will be a BIG sale beginning Friday at Serendipity Vintage.

Have a wonderful day!

Vintage Halloween, California Style

Here in the land of sun and starlets Halloween can be considered a major holiday.  When I was a kid we would dress up, go to school, and parade our costumes from classroom-to-classroom first thing in the morning. Of course we would have a Halloween party with lots of sugary treats in the afternoon.

I found these images of children playing in the schoolyard somewhere in California, circa 1953.  The costumes are just adorable:

via Flickr

Civic parades and beauty contests have also been a traditional part of local Halloween celebrations. These attractive ladies were probably wannabe Hollywood starlets and were contestants in the 1947 Halloween Slick Chick beauty contest in Anaheim, California:

via UCLA

And in the grand tradition of holiday parades, the city of Anaheim, California has held a Halloween parade every year since 1924.  Enjoy the montage of vintage images in this short two minute video:



Have a happy and fun Halloween!

Happy 4th of July + Free Printable

Happy 4th of July! For those of you in the US who have picnics or parties planned, you might want to download these free printable straw tags from Pick Your Plum:

via Pick Your Plum

After stumbling over this delicious Strawberry-Blackberry Cake recipe from Shockingly Delicious I couldn't wait to share it with you here.  

It was so good I actually ate some for breakfast with my morning coffee the next day!  It makes for a pleasant holiday desert with a naturally red-white-and blue theme, and looks lovely with a dusting of powdered sugar:

Image and recipe courtesy of Shockingly Delicious

  Ingredients

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened to room temperature, plus more for pie plate
• 3/4 cup sugar + 2 tablespoons for topping
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia (I used orange extract and this cake was still delicious)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 12 ounces fresh strawberries, hulled and halved
• 6 ounces fresh blackberries
• Garnish: powdered sugar or freshly whipped cream

Instructions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Butter (or mist with nonstick spray) a 10-inch pie plate, a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate, or a 9-inch Springform pan.
2. Put butter and 3/4 cup sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on medium-high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and mix in egg, milk, vanilla and Fiori di Sicilia. (The cold milk will likely cause the butter to clump. Don’t worry.)
3. Reduce speed to low; add salt and baking powder and mix well. Add flour and mix until combined. Scrape batter into buttered pie plate; an offset spatula works well to smooth batter into pie dish. Arrange strawberries on top of batter, cut sides down and as close together as possible; sprinkle blackberries on top. Sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons sugar over berries (don’t reduce the sugar for topping because that’s what makes the berries jammy).
4. Bake cake 10 minutes; reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake another 1 hour, until cake is golden brown and firm to the touch. Remove from oven and let cool in pie plate on a wire rack. Cut into wedges and dust with powdered sugar at serving time, for pretty.
5. Cake can be stored at room temperature, loosely covered, up to 2 days. It will remain moist.
6. Makes 1 10-inch cake; 8 servings.

If you are celebrating today, I hope you have a happy and safe 4th of July!

Happy Easter

via apron memories

Just wishing you and yours a happy Easter (and happy Spring)!
Have a lovely day.

Happy Valentine's Day

This year, Valentine's Day is brought to you by Jergens Lotion and Ladies Home Journal, circa 1949....

The text reads, "We hardly saw the Colosseum, Bill held my hands so tight.  "I won't let these adorable little hands go," he whispered, "unless they promise to come back and be held by moonlight."

(I think that Bill may have a "thing" for women's hands!).

The text continues:

There was magic in the moonlight!  Bill held my hands...our eyes met long enough to say, "I love you".

"This is forever", he said. "Your gentle hands...your dear heart are mine now."

(Are you swooning yet?  If I ever write a romance novel I'm going to lift some of this text, I swear it.).

I hope that you are able to spend some time today with a special someone, some friends, or a family member that you love.

Although we tend to focus only on romantic love today, I think that Valentine's Day is one of those days in the year that we can spread a little more kindness (a.k.a. love) toward others in our immediate circles.

Show a random stranger a little love by wishing him or her a good day. Bring your coworkers heart-shaped cookies.

In our busy world with so many demands we tend to forget ourselves at times, and this is a good day to show yourself some loving kindness. Celebrate today by taking a little time for yourself: eat chocolate, indulge in a favorite hobby, get a pedicure...somehow pamper yourself today.   I recommend more chocolate.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Valentine's Day Printables

I ran across these fabulously modern romantic printables and thought I'd share them with you in case you want to share them with your sweetie next week:

Get them all from sissyprint

Christmas Shadowbox Tutorial

Re-purpose small gift boxes and old Christmas cards to make a 3D winter shadowbox decoration or ornament:

Group a few of these together to make a small display, or disperse them around your house to brighten little nooks and crannies.  This is also a fun little item to take to the office to bring some holiday cheer to your desk or cubicle.

You can also hang these on the Christmas tree -- just poke a hole in the top with a tapestry needle and use cord or ribbon to create a hanger.

I found this idea for a shadowbox ornament in an issue of McCall's Needlework & Crafts from 1981, but I'm updating it a bit to make it easier and faster, of course. You might have known that I save all of the Christmas cards that are sent to me, so I have plenty of options for a shadowbox.

Materials:

• Gift boxes in various shapes, sizes, colors
• Christmas cards from years past
• Construction paper, card stock, scrapbook paper, and / or scraps of wrapping paper
• Piece of white scrap paper
• Ruler and / or paper trimmer
• Paper scissors
• Craft glue
• Pencil
• Embellishments such as sequins, trim, lace, raffia

First, select your box. You can make these as large or small as you like.  For the project above I chose a shiny silver gift box so I didn't have to decorate it.  If you use a plain box you can cover it in wrapping paper scraps first as extra decoration.

 Taking the piece of scrap paper, trace around the bottom of the box (the deeper side, the lid is too shallow for this project). 

I used two cards to create the shadowbox above.  Select your background card (mine is a Suzy's Zoo card).  Now, using your scissors, cut out the inside of the squares on your scrap paper to create a "frame."

This will give you an approximation of how large to cut your background. Trace around the card with a pencil, and cut it out.

You will probably have to trim a tiny bit more off of each side so the background will fit inside of the bottom of the box. Go slow when cutting because you want the background to cover the entire back of the box with no gaps. 

My card is a rectangle, so I had some leftovers.  Save those to use as the sides of your shadowbox.   I also used a small piece of blue construction paper to approximate the sky, and some white scrap paper to continue the "snow" at the bottom of my shadowbox.

When you are done trimming you should have the following pieces:

Next, glue all of your pieces down with your trusty craft glue.  Glue the large background first, and then all four side pieces:

Next, cut your foreground image out of the second card.  I chose this little guy in a snowsuit from the Mary Englebreit "Winter Schminter" card.  Cut your image out with scissors or a craft knife.

Be sure to leave a little extra card underneath your image to form a tab. You'll use the tab to stand your image up when you glue it to the foreground (see the photo below):

Glue your image into the foreground of your shadowbox to create a three-dimensional look:

You're almost done!  Add embellishments as you please to the inside or outside of your shadowbox for that little something extra.  I used some tiny snowflake garland that I bought at the big-box craft store for this winter-scene shadowbox.

 *I've got one more shadowbox to show you.  I'll update this post as soon as I get it finished!*

This is an easy and fun project that I hope that you'll try!

Gingher Shears Giveaway

From me to you this holiday season....

 Gingher 7" Knife Edge Dressmaker Shears

Guess what? I was given these 7" Gingher scissors and I already have a similar pair.   I figure that 'tis the season of giving, so this is my holiday gift to one lucky reader.

I love my shears!  You'll love this pair too.

To enter:  just leave a nice comment!

Comments will be open until Friday, December 23rd at 11:59 Pacific Standard Time.
International entries are welcome.

Additional entries:

• Become a new follower of  Serendipity Handmade via Google Friend Connect
• Like Serendipity Vintage on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway (be sure to use @SerendipityVint in the tweet)
• Blog about this giveaway (be sure to leave a link to the blog post in the comment) 

Don't forget to leave a way for me to contact you (like an email address!). Winner will be chosen by random number, as always, and announced on December 24th. Good luck!

Happy Thanksgiving

via Petitchef

What are you thankful for this year? 

As always, I am truly thankful for all of you who stop by and read this blog,
and for all of the wonderful comments that you leave here from time-to-time. 
I'm grateful for the friends that I have made by having this blog.

And although we ourselves or others we may know may be in need of some kind this year,

for today we can try to focus on what blessings we do have,

rather than what is lacking in our lives.  

I hope that you have a wonderful day full of love and laughter.

Madison Avenue Monday: Special Thanksgiving Edition

So while planning my Thanksgiving menu I ran across some recipes I've been saving for a while.  Aren't these perfect for the upcoming holiday?

In addition to your turkey, how about piping hot Spam Italiano?  Made with good Hormel ham!  Mmmmm.

magazine and date unknown

Perhaps you'd like to make some hot baked "Po-tunas" -- potatoes, stuffed with tuna and covered in cheese sauce -- on the side:

from Los Angeles Times Home magazine, March 16, 1969

Finally, how about some chocolate chip cookies topped with ice cream and...lemonade sauce.  Makes your mouth pucker with delight!

magazine and date unknown

I'm always tickled by what I find folded inside of vintage sewing patterns or tucked into vintage cookbooks or magazines.  Usually I call them "fortunate finds".  But not today!  Happy Madison Avenue Monday.  Make these if you dare!

Madison Avenue Monday: Halloween Edition

Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Decorations Tutorial Round-up + Giveaway Winner

I love decorating with faux fall leaves and pumpkins this time of year.  I'm not into scary Halloween decorations so when I find unique pumpkin decor I'm all for it.

Here's a small round-up of tutorials I like:

Ric Rac Pumpkins via Eddie Ross

Stamped and Decoupage Pumpkins via Ink Stains

Vintage-inspired Pantyhose Pumpkin via Shabby Lane Shops

 

Sequined Pumpkins via Making Lemonade

 

{winner}

And finally, thank you to everyone who entered the House 8810 giveaway. The lucky winner of the kitchen towels and menu planning pad is:

Commenter #29, Roxanne K!

Have a great (and crafty) weekend everyone!

Madison Avenue Monday: Granny Aids Cupid

Today's romantic J. & P. Coats comic ad is from either a 1933 or 1936 Simplicity Pattern catalog that a friend passed along to me.  The page is quite brittle and foxed, so here it is in all of its glory before it completely crumbles.

Have a Happy Valentines Day!

From a Simplicity Pattern catalog, circa 1933 or 1936

Valentine Heart Pins

I have long wanted to make the Valentine heart pins that Molly created over at The Purl Bee. I always thought they were a bit plain, though, so I decided to embellish mine a bit.  I spent the afternoon making these:

I simply glued a smaller felt heart onto the pink heart.  The red heart features french knots and a stitch I've recently learned and love called the rice stitch or crossed corners; it is a cross stitch variation.  My version is a variation on the variation as the corners and the cross bars are not the same length.  I like the effect.

I have quite a few sheets of Eco-fi felt in a different colors, but I used scraps leftover from my felt Christmas trees, making these nice little scrap-busters. 

They make up quickly and Valentine's Day is right around the corner, so have a peek at the tutorial and make a few of your own!

Best of the Blog Round Up: 2010

Hasn't 2010 just flown by?  It's hard to believe that it's already New Year's Eve. It's also hard to believe that Serendipity Handmade has been part of the blogosphere for over a year and that hundreds of people come to visit each week.  I'm so grateful that so many people like this blog; it is another outlet for me to be creative and the fact that people take the time to appreciate what I've shared makes me truly happy.  I'm also delighted to have met so many wonderful crafty bloggers out there this year -- you make me happy too!

I'd like to welcome new readers - glad to have you.  I love comments, so by all means leave one now and then.  I'm also grateful that some of you "old timers" have stuck around even as I had to take some time out from the blog and crafting to rest and heal.  In the last couple of months I've been able to get back into the swing of things and even hope to start crocheting again soon. So as I reflect on the past year and come up with resolutions for 2011, I thought I'd take a moment to recap some of the highlights here at Serendipity Handmade:

Fortunate Finds

• "Valmu" Tampella Linens by Dora Jung
This was the most surprising find of the year, hands down.

Vintage Thingies Thursday

I couldn't choose just one.  It's a tie:

• Bubble Bath and Hair Bows
I just have a soft spot for this book!

• The Marcelwaver
It was cool to finally see in person what made the hairdo Annie Lennox referred to in the song "Keep Young and Beautiful"! (A reader said so too).

Tomorrow's Vintage Collectibles

• Disney Pins and Pin Trading
During my involuntary hiatus from computer use I was able to post this guide to Disney pins. These are probably some of the most collectible items around and any serious vintage collector should consider picking up a few them to be stashed away for a generation or longer. I spent several hours researching this piece for additional information so y'all would be well informed. Ironically, no one commented! 

Madison Avenue Monday

• Hey Sailor Edition
This one speaks for itself.

Field Trips

• LACMA "Fashioning Fashion" Exhibit
I loved this so much I may have to go back before the exhibit closes.

Of course, there are a couple of freebies and tutorials too.  Vintage patterns make my heart sing.

I'll be thinking over the next few days about Serendipity Handmade and what I might do here next year.  I'd love to hear your thoughts.

What series, features, crafts, etc.,
would you like to see on this blog in 2011?

I wish you and yours the happiest of New Years and much peace and prosperity throughout the coming year.