A great recipe from a 1931 magazine for Gingerbread Muffins

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My magazine collection is growing, a lot really I may be addicted, and recently I ordered a stack of issues from 1931. One the back of one cover was a Pillsbury ad about how their balanced flour makes large batches easy and talks about making 250 muffins. I was a little afraid of quantity when I saw the included recipe, but the amounts looked reasonable so I went for it. I didn’t use Pillsbury flour, I used a gluten free 1/1 blend. The recipe made exactly 12 reasonable sized muffins. Mine did not take 27 minutes, I believe they took closer to 20. So I’dRead More →

A Listerine Ad from the 1930s-- My Workbasket

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Recently I got a new stack of old magazines from the 1930s, and one of the first things that jumped out at me was the full page Listerine Ads. Let me share some of them with you. The course of the year of these issues starts out quite mild, Listerine kills germs, and we all have germs! Then it progresses to things like killing colds, and (I did not know this) helps have shiny hair! One ad I did not photograph says that you should gargle Listerine after shopping to prevent getting sick. ALL Of these ads say that you should gargle Listerine every twoRead More →

1977 Issue of the Workbasket magazine, a vintage craft and homemaking magazine.

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Follow my blog with Bloglovin I cannot even believe it is 2018. My son is old enough now to realize how quickly time goes and is often commenting on it. 2017 was a good year all in all, but every year has its ups and downs. I was super sick last year for New Years, some weird virus, but other than that 2017 was one of the healthiest years of my life. How was your 2017? Are you excited for 2018? Any big events this year for you? Total truth here: I was so gearing up for 2018 that I almost forgot to actually getRead More →

An overview of a Pack-o-Fun Magazine from December 1968 -- My Workbasket

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I’ve mentioned my Pack-o-Fun stash here before. In fact, since I won an eBay auction in August for a decent stack I since got a great deal a thrift store for another stack just a few weeks ago. My collection is quickly growing! Even more exciting is two random stacks and not a single duplicate! Just for fun, I wanted to share a few highlights from this December  1968 issue. I’m hoping to even make a few of these crafts this month! I have to say, that nativity, that’s a lot of matches. The mobile is quite simple and cute. You could probably make oneRead More →

The cover and craft highlights from a December 1960 magazine issue-- My Workbasket

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December 1960! When this magazine cost 15 cents to pick up at a newsstand, and as the handwritten note says shows “knit cuffs!” Also in 1960, the US was the first to legalize the Birth Control Pill. Queen Elizabeth made it known her family would be known as the House of Windsor. The Beatles made their very first ever public performance. Perhaps you were reading Lady Catterly’s lover, this year it was unbanned in the England after 32 years, or maybe you were more of the To Kill a Mockingbird type.  If you could afford $219.95 for a 23″ tv then you could watch theRead More →

Cover art for the October 1966 Workbasket magazine- My Workbasket

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Ronald Reagan was voted in as Governor of California. Simon and Garfunkel’s “Sounds of Silence” was number 1 earlier this year. Cigarette packages got warning labels. There were lots of Vietnam War protests. The Miranda Rights came into being. The US Department of Transportation was created. Ladies were rocking the Mini-Skirt, which took several years to become such a popular trend (the designer Mary Quant started making skirts shorter and shorter in the late 50s.) Adam West appeared as what some people will still claim is the best Batman of all time. Star Trek also debuted this year. My Dad’s personal favorite, How the GrinchRead More →

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1980 had quite a few big things happen. The Iraq-Iran war started. Ronald Reagan will be elected later this year.  Mt Saint Helens erupted just recentlyand erupted again this month, killing 57 people. A personal favorite- the Post It hit the market! John Lennon was killed this year in December. The USA won it’s first ever gold in Olympic Ice Hockey! A southern heatwave for the upcoming summer killed over 1000 people! The wonderful classic Pac-Man was showing up in arcades. One phrase was HUGE, big enough that I wasn’t even born yet and still I’ve heard it countless times, “Who shot JR?!” And inRead More →

A hot pad made from the vintage Palm Loom tool

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In: Craft Chatter, Craft Projects, Old Ads
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I love an old ad. And this 1967 issue had a great one! Palm Loom, “Make Prize-Winning Rugs.” It was right there in the February issue, tucked between 40 yards of lace for $1, and a “Female-Dri” belt. So, I tracked down the Palm Loom on ebay, and after some browsing, watching, rebrowsing, rewatching, and finally some bidding I got one! $6 from Colorado. Luckily, not only did I track it down, but it came with the original paperwork; a full color sheet, and a page of black and white instructions (with quite a few testimonials.) In a box so well fitted it almost hadRead More →

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When I saw the ad on the back of the January 1967 issue I became infatuated with the Snack Hound. The National Handcraft Society,  aka The Fad of the Month Club, was a long running craft club that has lots of advertisements in the Workbasket over the years. What I found interesting is that there were also membership pins! If you remained a member for one year you got a little gold pin. So cool. You can still find the kits on ebay, and other second hand sources like thrift stores and yard sales.  I decided to try to track down a Snack Hound, soRead More →

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I’m not a coffee drinker, I’m a coffee guzzler. It’s true. I can easily drink a pot, or more, a day. There is not a single time you could offer me coffee and I’d say “no.” I don’t get the jitters, I don’t get withdrawal headaches, I just get lots of lots of the liquid of heaven.  The October/November 1992 issue features this full cover ad on the back.  If there is two coffees I will sneer, jeer, and fear, it’s instant or decaf, but I’m dedicated to this blog, and said I’d take one for the team.  This is the smallest possible jar IRead More →