Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Dorothy's Magic Slippers in the Wonderful Wizard of Oz!


Did you know that the original slippers worn by Dorothy Gale in the famous novel by L. Frank Baum "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" were not "ruby slippers" but rather "silver shoes"?! The authentic-to-the-book silver Dorothy slippers pictured above are a glamorous pair of vintage 1950s ladies loafer pumps which can be found in my sister Andrea's Etsy shop Storybook Artifact. Yes, these stunning silvery shoes are true to the tale!


The "ruby slippers" are the shoes worn by Dorothy, played by the lovely Judy Garland, in the 1939 MGM classic film "The Wizard of Oz". Because of their iconic stature, the ruby slippers are now among the most treasured and valuable of all film memorabilia. An original pair of ruby slippers used in The Wizard of Oz are on display at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C...and I got the pleasure of seeing them in person! They are dazzling and yes, quite magical!


The movie's creators changed the book's silver shoes to ruby slippers to take advantage of the new Technicolor film process. In my Etsy "sister shop" LaOohLaLa Boutique, I have a nostalgic set of 1940s Judy Garland sheet music; one of them is from another MGM technicolor musical motion picture starring Judy Garland called "In the Good Old Summertime". This vintage sheet music set also features the famous Judy Garland song "Over the Rainbow" from the Wizard of Oz.


The other night, I watched the 1985 Return to Oz movie for the very first time. Now, I have seen all three; the original, the sequel, and the newest Oz movie which is auh-mazing! The original is still my favorite though. I did find the story of the Disney "Return to Oz" movie a little creepy since a younger Dorothy is taken to a doctor's laboratory for shock treatments to erase her memories of the land of Oz; perhaps this is an MK Ultra mind control reference...creepy! Also Piper Laurie stars as Dorothy's mother and every time I see her I can't help but think of her being the scary mother in Stephen King's movie "Carrie", although she is certainly wickedly good...also in David Lynch's Twin Peaks!


As a child, I loved watching the original Wizard of Oz film over and over the rainbow again, like many other children; the nostalgia of Dorothy's slippers is so very magical! Are you getting the urge to follow the yellow brick road?! My sister Andrea's vintage 1950s "Yellow Brick Road Dorothy Slippers" can also be found in her Etsy Shop Storybook Artifact...they beautifully capture the magic of the legendary road that leads to the Emerald City...passed the poppy fields and into our hearts! These yellow brick road Dorothy slippers and many other Wizard of Oz themed treasures can be found here on the Octopus Pie Studios blog in the article that was posted today titled: "A Wizard of Oz Kind of Day...
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Monday, August 12, 2013

Custom Etsy Shop Stamp from Dragonflybuzz for LaOohLaLa Boutique - Betty Grable Pin Up


A few months ago my dear Aunt Mary Lynn decided to pass the Etsy torch onto my sister Andrea (of Storybook Artifact) and I so we could run her Etsy shop LaOohLaLa Boutique which houses her one-of-a-kind retro pin up pillows. This pillow featured below reminds me of Betty Grable and her $1,000,000 legs!!!

Since then, we've added a few new shop sections and items but have kept the cohesive theme and "feel" of the shop's "Old Hollywood Regency/Retro Chic Housewife" style! I have very much enjoyed taking on this "sister shop" along with my beloved Etsy shop Eco-Friendly Freckles. "Vintage Pin Up Pumps" and "Retro Damsel Ephemera" are just a couple of the shop sections that I have added to LaOohLaLa Boutique; both of which accentuate the pin up ritz, glitz, and glamour of the shop! 


Once launching and revamping the shop in this new way with old treasures and managing the boutique along with my sister Andrea of Storybook Artifact, I decided that we needed to give our shop packaging a make over as well! So I went on over to the delightful Etsy shop Dragonflybuzz and had this custom stamp made just for our beautiful LaOohLaLa Boutique...and it is perfect!

It's Betty Grable with her $1,000,000 legs!!! Sylvia from Dragonflybuzz was so very helpful and sweet! Along with this darling Betty Grable image, she gave me the option of picking out the perfect font for our LaOohLaLa Boutique shop name and URL...I am so very happy with this custom wood mounted rubber stamp for our sexy, sassy boutique! Thank you Sylvia!


I'm excited about this new venture and journey that I am embarking on with LaOohLaLa Boutique. I dream of greatly refining its current refined retro chic lady presence in the Etsy world, watching it flourish, and enhancing the customer's experience by transporting them to a ritzy and glitzy era from yesteryear!
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Thursday, August 8, 2013

Nature's Shadow Box - Etsy Seller Photography Tip

 "Tiny Vintage Camera Nested 12x12 Fine Art Photography" by Etsy Shop Twin Satori

I am certainly no expert, but through the years I have experimented with several different ways of shooting my photography for my Etsy shop Eco-Friendly Freckles, and with many trial and error experiments I have discovered that the best "technique" for my optimal photography style is photographing in natural light outdoors on an overcast day. 


I remember once reading in the Etsy Seller Handbook section of the Etsy Blog that "overcast days are like nature's shadow box", and I have found this to be true! Although, the white light may be too bright or too dark at times depending on the type of cloud cover, shadows and glaring direct sunlight are no longer a problem for me! 

"For the Love of Cameras: 8x10 Fine Art Photography Print" by Etsy Shop Squeeky Chic

I still using photo editing software on all of my Etsy shop images mainly to brighten them slightly and enhance the color and vibrancy a little...and I am happy with the results! Here is an example of one of my shop item photographs that is pictured with a solid white poster board backdrop that I use for most of my item listings...notice the evenly dispersed light:


So grab your favorite camera and take some experimental shots on an overcast day, you might be surprised! I use a Fujifilm Finepix S1000fd 10MP digital camera with 12X Optical Zoom. Do you have any photography tips?! If so, please share in the comments of this blog article! I'd love to read them!

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Sunday, August 4, 2013

Health Benefits of Cooking with Lard...in a Birthday Cherry Pie!

My husband Joe celebrated his 30th birthday on August 1st and I wanted it to be a special celebration for him. Instead of the usual birthday cake, Joe requested that I make a homemade, old fashioned cherry pie with a pie crust using a classic old timer's recipe using lard instead of the typical trans fat hydrogenated oil laden vegetable shortening "Crisco". Today, lard is not commonly used in pie crusts, but I assure you that our grandparents and great-grandparents often used it in cooking...and baking pastries! Many people also do not realize the health benefits of this animal fat. We use organic pastured pork lard from US Wellness Meats, it is the finest that we have found!
Above is a 1916 Squire's Pure Leaf Lard advertisement...YES, lard "makes tempting pastry"!

Lydia of "Divine Health from the Inside Out" in her blog article "The Truth About Lard and Why You Should Use It" writes: "If you are a follower of the Weston A. Price Foundation you probably know that this particular fat source is highly recommended. However you won’t find the use of lard in Nourishing Traditions – but Sally Fallon does recommend it’s use. I have heard her state in interviews and talks that just one tablespoon of pastured lard can contain 1000 IU of vitamin D. That’s a great source of vitamin D, a nutrient that is highly lacking in the modern American diet causing all kinds of rampant health conditions." She also writes: "Lard or pork fat is about 40 % saturated, 48% monounsaturated and 12% polyunsaturated. The amount of omega 6 and omega 3 fatty acids will vary in lard according to what has been fed to the pigs. Truly pastured pigs not fed on grain feed will have a higher omega 3 ratio, which is a good thing. In the tropics, lard can also be a good source of lauric acid if the pigs have eaten coconuts."
Above is a picture of Joe's birthday cherry pie next to our copy of Sally Fallon's Nourishing Traditions.

Enlightened by Lydia's information and Sally Fallon's book "Nourishing Traditions" (which my husband Joe purchased as his birthday gift this year); I have been  inspired to use organic pastured lard in my cooking! Below are the recipes that I used in making this so very scrumptious old fashioned cherry pie! We gobbled it up in one evening it was so delicious...and we served it with Ben & Jerry's "Cherry Garcia" ice cream, which actually contains natural ingredients; no high fructose corn syrup, or GMO soybean oil that you find in other mainstream ice creams.

Lard Pie Crust Recipe

Makes 4 single or 2 9-inch double crusts
Ingredients:
3 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups lard, cold and coarsely chopped
1 egg
5 1/2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon vinegar
Instructions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in the lard until the mixture is very fine. In a separate bowl, beat together the egg, water, and vinegar.
Make a small well in the flour mixture and add the liquid; mix just until the dough comes together in a ball. Divide the dough into 4 equal pieces and flatten into disks; wrap individually in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before rolling.

To make a double-crust pie with a solid top crust, roll out 2 disks of dough about 1 inch larger than the pie plate. Fit one crust into the bottom of the pie plate. Fill the pie with the desired filling; slightly moisten the edge of the bottom crust. Take the second crust, fold it in half, gently place it over the pie filling, and unfold, centering it on the pie plate; press the edges into the bottom crust to seal. Trim the excess dough to leave an overhang of about 3/4 inch. Crimp or flute the edges with your fingers. To allow steam to escape, gently prick the top crust with a fork several times or slash vents with a sharp knife.

For a lattice-top crust, roll the second crust to a diameter of about 13 inches (for a 9-inch pie) and cut the dough into eighteen 1/2-inch-wide strips. Fill the pie and slightly moisten the edge of the bottom crust. Place 9 strips evenly across the filling, leaving space between and allowing the excess to hang over the edge of the bottom crust. Trim the excess dough and press the ends of the strips into the edge of the bottom crust to seal. Place the other 9 strips across the first set in a crisscross pattern; trim and press the second set of strips to seal. Fold up the bottom crust to cover the ends of the lattice strips, then crimp or flute with your fingers.

To make a glazed top crust, beat 1 egg white and brush on the unbaked top crust; sprinkle with sugar.

For a brown crust, brush the unbaked top crust with milk or cream, then sprinkle with sugar.
Bake the pies according to the recipe.

Make this your go-to pie crust recipe for light, flaky layers and exceptional flavor. This recipe is excerpted from Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient, a cookbook that offers you the opportunity to cook like your grandmother, while incorporating good animal fat into your diet once again.
You can purchase this book from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS store: Lard: The Lost Art of Cooking with Your Grandmother’s Secret Ingredient.

Cherry Pie Recipe

Ingredients:
4 cups fresh or frozen tart cherries (I used frozen cherries because that is what I had available)
1 to 1 1/2 cups sugar (I used "Madhava" Organic Coconut Sugar)
4 tablespoons organic Non-GMO cornstarch (I use "Rapunzel" brand)
1/8 tablespoon almond extract (optional...I skipped this ingredient because I did not have it) 
Your favorite pie crust or pie dough recipe for 2 crust pie (I used the lard pie crust recipe above)
1 1/2 tablespoons butter, to dot
1 tablespoon granulated sugar, to sprinkle

Instructions:
Place cherries in medium saucepan and place over heat. Cover. After the cherries lose considerable juice, which may take a few minutes, remove from heat. In a small bowl, mix the sugar and cornstarch together. Pour this mixture into the hot cherries and mix well. Add the almond extract, if desired, and mix. Return the mixture to the stove and cook over low heat until thickened, stirring frequently. Remove from the heat and let cool. If the filling is too thick, add a little water, too thin, add a little more cornstarch.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Use your favorite pie dough recipe. Prepare your crust. Divide in half. Roll out each piece large enough to fit into an 8 to 9-inch pan. Pour cooled cherry mixture into the crust. Dot with butter. Moisten edge of bottom crust. Place top crust on and flute the edge of the pie. Make a slit in the middle of the crust for steam to escape. Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and place on a rack to cool.

I found this Cherry Pie recipe from the wonderful Food Network website: Cherry Pie

Here are some more dessert recipes using lard in this 1916 advertisement for Swift's "Silverleaf" Brand Pure Lard from Swift & Company: 
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Monday, July 29, 2013

Naturally Color Your Cake Frosting with Dried Hibiscus Flowers!


I have always been mesmerized by the beauty of hibiscus flowers. My beloved Grandpa Bill would grow big hibiscus blooms in his garden and I often remember him picking one for me which I would then put in my hair like one of the beautiful Tahitian ladies in the famous Paul Gauguin's paintings. Below is a painting of a hibiscus flower that I found on Etsy that is absolutely stunning!


In April, I made this brightly colored Barbie doll cake to celebrate the welcoming of my precious baby niece Lydia. I naturally colored the cake frosting with a homemade hibiscus syrup using organic hibiscus flowers like these:

Isn't the color vibrant?! The recipe is very simple. All I used was about 1/2 - 3/4 of a cup of dried hibiscus flowers; I placed them in a small pot with about 3/4 - 1 cup of water and I added 1/4 cup of sugar. I simmered this "tea" on low for an hour or so until the liquid reduced down to a thicker solution "syrup". While simmering, I made my buttercream frosting which was just a few sticks of softened butter that I blended with powdered sugar (sweeten to taste). Once my hibiscus syrup was ready, I added it to my frosting and I was amazed at how beautifully radiant the color was! It made a dark raspberry pink color...which was almost red!

Here is an example of what your tea will look like below; you can find these dried hibiscus flowers "Organic Hibiscus Tea" in Etsy shop Happy Earth Tea:


Looking for a vintage Barbie doll for a homemade doll cake? I have some here in my Etsy Shop: Vintage Barbie Dolls.

This blog article was written by Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles
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Thursday, May 30, 2013

Photography Art and Family Heirlooms

 "A View From Below" by Etsy Shop Grits and Daisies

 Maple on the Hill
Written by Esther Penn

In a quiet country village stood a maple on a hill
Coming up from a tiny seed of long ago
When the stars were shining brightly, we could hear the whippoorwill
As we sat beneath the Maple on the hill.

Don't forget me little darling when they lay me down to die
Just one little wish my darling that I crave
As you linger there in sadness will you think of
Let a tear drop kiss the flowers on my grave.

We will sing love songs together when the birds have gone to rest.
We will listen to the murmur of the wind.
Will you love me little darling as you did that starry night
When we sat beneath the maple on the hill.

I will soon be with the angels on that bright and happy shore
Even now I hear them coming o'er the hill.
Don't you cry my little darling, it is time for us to part
I must leave you and the maple on the hill. 

 

One day while tidying up my mother-in-law Beverly's kitchen cabinets and going through some of her old things, I stumbled upon a recipe box full of old handwritten recipe cards by her dear late mother Esther, and among them I discovered this old poem that she had written on a typewriter long ago when she was a young lady. It was called "Maple on the Hill" (as shown above). Once I read it, I was moved by its beauty and imagery that it placed inside my mind...Esther was a talented poet with a romantic heart. I showed the poem to Beverly and she remember it; she said that her mother had written the poem before she was born.

  
 "Summer's Last Flame" by Etsy Shop Hans Reich Studios

This Mother's Day, I wanted to put together something special and sentimental for Beverly, something that I knew she would cherish and would honor her dear mother, who passed away a few years ago. As a daughter-in-law, I am so blessed to have met Esther. She was a loving woman full of warmth and adoration for her family; she always wanted everyone to be comfortable and happy. She lived well into her 90s and was full of life...she certainly aged gracefully with her beloved family by her side. 

I knew that I wanted to do something with Esther's "Maple on the Hill" poem. When I read it, I picture Esther with her loving husband Joe sitting under a maple tree and treasuring tender moments together. My husband Joe (Esther's grandson) was named after his grandfather and just like Esther called her husband, I call mine "darling" too. I decided to search for a maple tree photo that would be perfect for framing with this original poem of Esther's and I found two (pictured above) from Etsy Shops "Grits and Daisies" and "Hans Reich Studios". I purchased both of them and framed them in two old picture frames that I found. I kept one for my husband and I to cherish and printed out a copy of Esther's poem for our frame. The other one I included Esther's original typewriter written poem and wrapped it for Beverly's Mother's Day gift.

 

Since I did not have these images matted or framed by a professional, and being the crafty novice that I am, I decided to improvise and work with what I had. As you all may already be aware by my Etsy shop "Eco-Friendly Freckles", I love recycling and upcycling! So one day while enjoying one of my favorite cups of Dreaming Cow Yogurt, I noticed that the "maple ginger" yogurt cup paper wrapper had a cute image of a maple tree leaf branch! I thought, "This is perfect for my picture frame project!", which led me to eat and enjoy several more yogurts and save the paper wrappers so I could upcycle them by cutting out the maple leaf images and using them as border stickers for framing the poems and pictures. By the way, I also love these Dreaming Cow Yogurt cups because the wrappers are paper, they can easily be removed, and underneath you are left with a beautiful plain white yogurt cup that you can upcycle into a cute party favor cup! We made some of these for my sister Andrea's baby shower! It is nice to have a plain white cup ready to use because you don't have to worry about painting over a printed on label since this label can easily be removed!

 
In my order package from Etsy shop Grits and Daisies, I received this beautiful original photography greeting card as a special gift that came with my maple tree photo. This just happens to be one of Beverly's favorite flowers and color shade...blue hydrangeas! So I wanted to include this in her Mother's Day gift as well...because this photo is gorgeous!

 
 "Feeling Blue" Photography Greeting Cards by Grits and Daisies

Beverly recently got married and I was blessed to be her maid of honor...in my bridesmaid bouquet were blue hydrangeas! You can view more pictures from Beverly's wedding day along with the handmade wedding cake recipe here in my blog article "The Whimsical Wedding and the Creative Cake".

 

...And thus, I framed this original photography greeting card in a similar way with an old picture frame that I found and I used a blue textured card stock matte that I embellished with blue hydrangea scrapbooking stickers. Beverly loved her gift, it brought tears of joy to her eyes and a smile to her face...and touched my heart as well. My husband, Joe, and I also gave her a bouquet of fresh cut blue hydrangea flowers for Mother's Day...it was that perfect "extra touch"! ;-)

 I want to send out a special "thank you"...I could not have made these nostalgic, family heirloom gifts if it weren't for two awesomely talented photographers with two very different and breathtaking maple tree photos! Thank you Hans Reich Studios and Grits and Daisies for making this dream come true possible! The warm tones in their maple tree photos beautifully complement the sepia tones in our beloved old family photograph of Esther. I highly recommend all of my readers to check out these two photography Etsy shops!

Please also check out my mother-in-law Beverly's darling Etsy shop "Maddie's Trinkets and Bobbles" filled with her one-of-a-kind crocheted treasures!
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Saturday, May 25, 2013

Polish Your Vintage Patent Leather Shoes with Coconut Oil!

Add a glistening shine to your vintage patent leather shoes and make them look new again with just a little good old-fashioned coconut oil. Not only does coconut oil bring revitalized beauty to your hair, skin, and over all health (not too mention, it is great to supplement with it daily to prevent Alzheimer's), coconut oil will polish up your favorite pair of vintage black patent leather pumps beautifully! Likewise, you can even use coconut oil to polish the vintage wooden furniture pieces in your home!


All you need to do is get yourself a soft terrycloth towel and first dampen it with a little soapy water or just water by itself and delicately clean the exterior of your patent leather shoes to ensure that you have cleaned away any remains of dirt or other stains. Then take about a teaspoon of coconut oil and place it on the tip of your terrycloth towel and gently polish and shine your shoes with a light circular motion...and voila, you have revamped your vintage pair of patent leather shoes making them shiny once again and now they're ready for the dance floor!

You can view this 1970s pair of Naturalizer black bow tie patent leather pumps as well as my other shiny vintage patent leather ladies shoes here in my shop.

This blog article was written by Jessica of Eco-Friendly Freckles
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