The Harbinger of Spring, The Plum Blossom

"Ice-flakes are failing fast
Through the chilly air, and now
Yonder trees with snow bloom laden
Do assume the wild plum's guise.
With their mass of snowy flowers
Gladdening winter's dreary time."

''Amid the branches of sil'vry bowers
The nightingale doth sing; perchance he knows
That spring has come, and takes the later snows
For the white petals of the plum's sweet flowers."

(From Chamberlain's Classical Poetry of the Japanese.)

"The flowers of the plum-trees
All through the day make snow-light.
Moonlight through the night.
Like the icy spray which the breeze
Scatters from the stream,
Like the snow-flake's flight,
Falling petals seem."

From The Japanese Floral Calendar

Main page

The Japanese Floral Calendar

By Ernest Wilson Clement

Published by The Open court publishing company, 1904

57 pages

Free Homeschool Stuff: Victorian Alphabet Cards

Laminate them with clear contact paper, and cut them out for the child to place in order, or use as flash cards.

Originally from Warne's Victoria, picture spelling book, by Laura Valentine, published in 1866. Free and in public domain.


These would look cute framed if you convert them to sepia.

Free Cupid Paper Chain Template

Courtesy of That Artist Woman.

Homemade Tea Cup Candle

I made a tea cup candle today inspired by an earlier post. It was very easy and took all of 15 minutes. I used a scented tea light candle that I purchased at a thrift for .45 cents in the center of the tea cup. The tea cup and saucer was also found at a thrift for $1.00.



I decided to use a scented tea light candle, and surround this with plain white wax. I salvaged wax out of a tall container candle by gently softening it in the microwave for about one minute. I then scooped it out with a spoon into a glass measuring cup set in boiling water. Keep the temperature on low while the cup sits in the water, otherwise it may crack. I don't have a double boiler, so this was my make-do.




I set the tea light candle on a rock from my garden, and poured the white wax all around it. The wax will dry white; this picture shows it right after I poured the wax.

It turned out nicely; however I did not sink the tea light candle down far enough, so it stuck up out of the wax a little.




*It will burn out quickly because of the short wick, but I figure this is much safer as the thin tea cup could break if I had a wick going all the way to the bottom. Another safety mechanism is to sink a tea light sold in those thin tin cups in the middle. That way you could replace it, and continue to enjoy the candle.

*I'll update this theory when I have burned the candle down.

See more entries at this week's Make-It-From-Scratch Carnival.

Free Vintage Botantical Prints

I found this over at Google Books. Free and in public domain. Pages and pages of botanical prints:

Paxton's Flower Garden: By Professor Lindley and Sir Joseph Paxton. Revised by Thomas Baines, ... With Coloured Plates

By John Lindley, Joseph Paxton, Thomas Baines

Published by Cassell, Petter, Galpin, 1883

Original from Oxford University

179 pages
Main page

To save pages at link, make sure that the page is in HTML mode on the left sidebar on bottom. Click on image of page to save.

Valentine's Day Printables

These are coloring pages/templates, but not just for children. I plan to give one to my hubby. Lots to choose from, see here.

St. Valentine's Day Free Vintage Children's Printables, Stories, and More

Some posts from this year and last with free vintage Valentine Day items. Enjoy! XOXO

Vintage Valentine Poem

Vintage St. Valentine's Day Children's Stories, Cards, and Lesson Plans

Vintage St. Valentine's Day Poem

Free Vintage Children's Valentine Day Cards

Homeschool: Free Christian Girl's Book, The Orange Seed

A gentle Christian girl's tale roughly for ages 9-12.

This is a nicely written, pleasant storyline for children, teaching them the morality of living through your soul rather than through the flesh. The story is free of any obvious(or at least blatant) denominational theology.

See how eight year old Helen fares as a stranger comes to stay with the family. Helen is an only children, a bit spoiled, but big hearted in a self pleasing sort of way. When Ally, a more reserved older girl comes to stay with Helen's family while her mother recovers from an illness, the two meet spiritual obstacles with their personalities. Both grow in Christ as a result of their experiences, and more opportunities present themselves.

Click here.

Main page

The Orange Seed

By Sarah Schoonmaker Baker

Published by A.D.F. Randolph, 1863

103 pages

Free and in public domain. Downloadable or readable online. If you have a slow dial-up, use a free download helper. I use this with great success, otherwise the download is corrupted with my slow dial-up.

Thrifty Homemade Tea Cup Candles

This project over at Dollar Store Crafts recycles pillar candles by melting them down into thrifted tea cups. To make them a little healthier, I'd use clean burning soy candles. That would bump up the cost a bit, but soy wax apparently lasts longer than regular paraffin wax.

Scented candles found at a thrift store would preclude having to purchase a scent, and would be the least expensive route. I often see bags of old scented candles at our thrift stores for under a dollar.

If all you have are white candles and you want to change the color, Heather recommends melting a crayon with the candles. How clever! I do love the way the white looks inside these shabby tea cups.

Candle wicks can be made by recycling the old wick from the melted down candle, or purchased new at a craft store, or better yet, simply make your own.

The Dollar Store Crafts link above leads to a tutorial for this tea cup candle project, or this is a good general tutorial as well. If you have any questions or concerns, ask at the tutorial site because I have not personally tried this specific craft yet.

Rebatched candles and soap are some of my favorite crafts because they are inexpensive, fairly simple, and leave a lot of room for creativity. The results are amazing custom soaps and candles.

Safety Issues: Any container can crack. Be sure that you choose a sturdy wide mouthed container, and never leave a candle unsupervised. Candles should be placed on a heat safe surface well away from drapes and other flammable surfaces. Never burn a container candle all the way down. See State Farm's Candles and Fire Safety tips.

Homemade Liquid Hand Soap

A very simple recipe over at Frugal Granola, a great way to stretch a bar of soap. I've rebatched soap using a similar method.

Homemade Kitty Litter Facial Mask

Unscented pure 100% clay kitty litter makes an excellent facial mask! It's not gross when you think that it is simply bentonite clay, used by many high priced spas.

Take a few tablespoons of clay(litter), mix with water(or rose water), and add a bit of your favorite essential oil. I've added a bit of aloe vera gel as well for a soothing winter mask.

If this grosses you out, or you worry about the purity of commercial clay litter, you can purchase organic bentonite clay inexpensively. Mountain Rose Herbs(my favorite) has a variety of organic clays for sale.

Also see Beauty from Nature.

See more tips at Works for Me Wednesdays.

The Medieval History Quiz

An interesting quiz and fun tool for homeschool. I did pretty well - missed one about English history regarding which was the only king to have the title of "Great". Looks like it's time to read and assign Our Island Story by H. E. Marshall(free) - see reviews.

There are more advanced quizzes and medieval history tidbits as well.

Free Vintage Children's Valentine Day Cards

Click here.

Free Pantry Labels

Click here for download courtesy of Country Home.

HT to Tipnut

Don't Throw it Out, Recycle it! Recycling Underwear

See Let's Talk Underwear (giggle)

Making a Little Extra Money: Freelance Writing Gigs

Milehimama from Mama says... was generous enough to share her detailed knowledge of how to make a little extra money with freelance writing. Freelancing can be as simple as submitting your blog posts for pay. Check it out.

Saving Money with a Wringer Washer

And just when you thought there wasn't anything more that you could cut back on in your budget. Don't laugh, but supposedly these old washers save time and money! See this article by Pat Veretto over at the Dollar Stretcher.

Pat reports that wringer washers use much less water, less detergent, and take half the time of a modern washer to clean the clothes.

Check ebay, craigslist, and Google for reconditioned or working wringer washers. Lehman's sells new wringer washers if you don't mind the expense.

Something to consider: A few commenters mentioned that some of these old wringer washers can be dangerous, especially for children in that the wringer can pull your hand through if you are not careful. Lehman's sells a "safe" wringer. They don't mention how it is safer than other wringers, but they do answer questions.

And there is always this option.

How to Use a Washboard and How To Wash Clothes On a Washboard

Pictured: Lehman's Washboards and see

The Columbus Washboard Company which "has been making washboards since 1895 and is the only manufacturer still operating in the United States of America today", and they double as musical instruments, Yeehaw! Interesting links at this site. Includes a U.K. link to a soap and washboard site.