My Civil War Story & Paper Dolls Too

 

Union Woman

 

Good Morning Friends...Happy Thursday!

There's nothing really special about a Thursday, but it's as good as

any other day when it comes to finding your JOY...right! ;)

 

 

I have always been a HUGE history buff...I truly LOVE history, with

American history being top on my list. I also love genealogy, peering

through 100 year old records in search of a clue that will help you

connect the dots to your own family history.

 

 

For me the two go hand in hand...so as I dived into the Ancestry.com

pool, I was amazed to find the military records for my many times

great~grandfathers. My immediate family came from Illinois by way

of Virginia & we have been in this country since 1617. One of my

grandfathers fought in the 1st Colonial uprising, Bacon's Rebellion.

 

Confederate Woman

 

We fought in the American Revolution, the War of 1812, the Indian

Wars & of course with all that family history, we also fought in the

Civil War. In fact my family fought in the Civil War on both sides.

The idea that they all lived through these wars is a miracle to me &

had anything played out differently, I would probably

not be here...so crazy to think of!

 

 

As one might think, my Virginia 3x Great Grandfather fought for the

Confederacy, while my Illinois 3x Great grandfather fought for the Union

Army. Two men who had never met, who's lives were so completely

different, who would normally have absolutely nothing in common,

found common ground through the love of their children.

 

 

After the war, Virginia was a battlefield...it was in complete ruin. In the 1st

Census after the war which was in 1870, my Grandfather still lived in Virginia

with his wife & 5 children, one of them being my 2x Great~Grandfather who

was 8 years old. His household also included his mother~in~law & 2 young

women, 1 with a small son. {I love that census, it's my favorite! Can you

believe I actually have a favorite census? lol} I'm sure those women were

family or wives of close friends, who's husbands died in the war. It was

some time after this that he gathered up his family & took them west

to a place where he could start over, a place where he could buy

a few acres of land & begin again.

 

Abraham Lincoln

 

It was here in Illinois, the state of Abraham Lincoln's birth, my Brewer

clan would settle. Grandpa & Grandma would have 5 more children &

they would raise all 10 of them working the land as their father's,

father's had. And here, their 2nd son would fall in love with the

beautiful daughter of a Union soldier, they would marry

& our story would finally come full circle.

 

This is why I Love history so much.

 

For me, it's important to remember our collective past...

it's what creates the cloth from which we are all
woven from.

 

xoxo

vintagesusie



Paper Bag Fairy Journals DIY

 

Happy Monday Sweet Friends!!!
A brand new week filled with nothing but possibilities...
don't you LOVE it? I BELIEVE in fairies, do you?

In fact, I know of a tiny fairy princess who's about to
have her 1st birthday. Auntie has been creating some
magic of her own, making paper bag Fairy Journals...
Sooooo Adorable & SO Simple!

 

What you'll need...

brown paper bags

hole punch

glue stick

ribbon or twine

1 box of colored pencils

wood clothes pins

printed images

stamps & stickers

bits of burlap & lace

baubles it tie onto your bows

 

 

Take 4 paper bags & put them together...

bottoms of bags always on the inside, alternate bottom

of bag, opening of bag, with the top bag being a bottom.

 

Fold each bag in half making a nice crisp fold.

 

Punch 2 holes on each bag, making sure when you put

them together they will line up properly.

{I punched the 1st bag, then put the 2nd bag folded inside the 1st,

marked holes with a pencil, punched, then the 3rd & 4th}

 

Add your ribbon or twine through the holes to hold your book

together & tie a nice bow. I used ribbon for the girls

& twine for the boys journals.

 

Add your images with a glue stick, stamp the front & back

& on a few of the pages on the inside. Decorate with stickers,

add a page or so of stickers inside of the bags openings.

 

I added a word sticker onto my clothes pins, then used some

clear glitter glue on my finger to cover the top. They can be

used plain too...attach the colored pencil to the side

of book with your clothes pins.

 

Tie a bauble onto your bow with bits of ribbon or twine.

 

Add bits of vintage lace or burlap to the front. I also added

some tiny clothes pins to a few of the pages to attach leaves

or pressed flowers. The kids can color in the book & take

a fairy walk, adding their little treasures inside the bags.

These are PERFECT party favors & can be made

using any theme. Super CUTE!!!

 

 

You can read one of my favorite Fairy Posts HERE about

The Cottingley Fairies...2 little English girls who

found fairies in 1917 & documented it through

early photography.Sir Arthur Conan Doyle,

the author of Sherlock Holmes

believed...do you?

 

I too was lucky enough to capture the image of a fairy.

I knew she was filled with magic when I saw

her sparkling shoes!!!

 

Hope you enjoyed the DIY...

 

Smiles,

vintagesusie



The Art of Presentation

 

 

Hi Sweeties,

Don't you just LOVE...

The Art of Presentation?

 

 

To me, how you present a gift is just as fun as the gift

itself. Since burlap is my THING right now, well it's

everybody's thing right now, I can't go wrong

with a burlap bag, some handmade fabric

flowers & vintage linens & lace as

the tissue. Love it!!! 

 

What's some of your favorite ways to present a gift?

 

Smiles...

vintagesusie