Secret Recipes
Happy July! During July, a month-long, annual event, the “Great Northern Yarn Haul”, will be traversing across the northeast states of Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont; where crafters visit participating yarn stores to collect “stamps”, win prizes, and shop. Similarly, a regional, annual “Yarn Crawl” event, called the “Heartland Yarn Adventure”, will be celebrated in […]
Happy June and National Pen Pal Day! #NationalPenPalDay PAPER HOLE PUNCH FLOWERS – For Stationary & Greeting Cards By Gloria Pitzer (circa 1992; no printed version found). When my children were young, I volunteered as their Campfire Boys & Girls group leader, just as Mom had volunteered as a Scout’s leader 20 years earlier. This […]
Happy National Preservation Month & National Scrapbook Day Eve. Preservation is the act of keeping something valued intact and in its original state, protecting it from damage or decay, for the conservation of history and more. Scrapbooks are where Mom kept her personal “valuables” – letters and cards from relatives and close friends, pictures and […]
Happy New Year’s Day… “I may not have much candle left but, with what I have, I’ll shed a light.” – Gloria Pitzer, This is not a Cook Book! It’s Gloria Pitzer’s Food for Thought (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Oct. 1986, p. 34). #NewYearsDay HOLIDAY HURRICANE LAMP By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her […]
Happy November! This is the perfect time for curling up in a cozy afghan. Crocheting was one of Mom’s favorite hobbies. Here’s her idea for an afghan made from “Granny Triangles” rather than traditional “Granny Squares”, similar to her Amish Windmill Quilt Pattern, Hand-Sewn. GRANNY TRIANGLE AFGHAN By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published […]
Happy National Apple Month! #NationalAppleMonth APPLE DRYING AT HOME IT’S EASIER THAN YOU THINK! By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published book, My Cup Runneth Over and I Can’t Find My Mop (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Dec. 1989, p. 35). INSTRUCTIONS: You can purchase dried apple slices in the supermarket, and in the […]
Happy September! Crafting talents run in my family. In honor of it, being National Sewing Month, here are some great sewing ideas from my grandma, as Mom wrote about them, almost 40 years ago, in her Secret Recipes Newsletter… Esther Carter’s Crafts By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published newsletter… Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes […]
Happy August – as well as, Get Ready For Kindergarten Month and National Back to School Month! CHILLY PUTTY By Gloria Pitzer, as seen in her self-published newsletter… Gloria Pitzer’s Secret Recipes Newsletter (Secret RecipesTM, St. Clair, MI; Nov.-Dec. 1990, p. 4). From Art Lewis and Sue Smith, my every Tuesday at 10 am (EST) […]
Happy July! Having just enjoyed National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month, I was reminded of this little craft project that Mom taught me many decades ago, when my children were young, using citrus fruits (usually oranges) and poking cloves into them, creating some sort of face or design. They were wrapped in ribbons that were […]
Happy June! By the way, Friday, the 13th, is… National Sewing Machine Day! In honor, here are directions for making one of Mom’s beloved rag dolls. RAG DOLL By Gloria Pitzer* FROM MOM’S MEMORIES… No Laughing Matter [Gloria Pitzer’s syndicated column (circa early 1980s)] Excerpt from… ‘TIS THE SEASON TO BE THANKFUL AND/OR JOLLY [RE: […]