more Thanksgiving with native Americans and Dr. Galyon

Wo'okeyeh

('Peace' in the language of the Sioux, Native American)

Sioux leader, Chief and Medicine Man - Chief Sitting Bull

How could we ever celebrate Thanksgiving without giving honor to our

fellow brothers - the native Americans, or Indians, of North America?

I completely understand why some Native Americans do not share that feeling!

We haven't been very 'brotherly' since that first Thanksgiving.

Misunderstandings, greed, false religious fervor,

false view of any others that were not 'white',

deceit, murder, oh the list goes on.

It makes me sad.

But let us go back to a happier time - that first Thanksgiving

when there was peace, and thanks to God for food and friends and family.

vintage postcard

I have some Native American paper dolls to share with you today.

I know I have found some from

Karen's Whimsy

and

OrigamiBears.

Check out their websites for tons of fantastic paper dolls of all kinds!

Now please, don't fuss at me about details.

I am just sharing with you some great paperdolls.

I am NOT saying the clothes and accouterments are historically correct.

That would depend on the artist's research.

But I do think these are wonderful paper dolls!

Here is another small set:

I like that the artist here specifies different traditional dress for different tribes.

Just like the previous artist specified a geographical region.

Now for something completely different -

(thanks to Monty Python's Flying Circus humor)

Time for Pie!!!

My brother-in-law is one of the greatest cooks I know.

He also is a super baker, especially with pies!

This is not his original recipe for Kahlua Pecan Pie,but it has similar ingredients.

I still remember once on my birthday he baked me a HUGE Kahlua Pecan Pie.

What a treat!

Kahlua Pecan Pie:

3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup Karo Light or dark corn syrup (or Karo maple flavored syrup)
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups pecans
1 unbaked pastry shell
2 Tablespoons Kahlua (optional)

In medium bowl, stir together eggs, corn syrup, sugar, butter and vanilla until well blended.

(If desired, add Kahlua.) Stir in pecans.

Pour into pastry shell.

Bake in 350 oven 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted halfway between
center and edge comes out clean.

Cool.

Now make another pie for everyone else. That way you don't have to share yours!!!

You can use these patterns for tube painting, or embroidery, or painted clothing.

You can use t-shirts, tablecloths, sweatshirts, napkins, table toppers, table runners -

really anything you can think of!

This would also make a good wood burned plaque pattern....

vintage postcard

Here is another 'blurb' from an article written by Dr. James Galyon.

Here is the website to the entire article:

http://drjamesgalyon.wordpress.com/category/pilgrims/

an excerpt:

[after the 1621 Thanksgiving shared celebration]...

"The following year, the Pilgrims did not experience a harvest as successful as the first. During the year they shared their stores with newcomers, resulting in a food shortage. The next year brought extreme heat and drought. Bradford called the Pilgrims to day of prayer and fasting. Rain soon fell. A day of thanksgiving was proclaimed on November 29. The annual custom of celebrating thanksgiving after the harvest continued after that year."

an interview between Samoset and the Pilgrims

an illustration of the Pilgrims and Squanto

A nice Betsy McCall paperdoll for you:

November, 1970

more from Dr. Galyon:

"During the American War of Independence an official day of national thanksgiving was suggested by the Continental Congress. In 1817, the state of New York adopted Thanksgiving Day as an official annual custom. Other states followed suit, and in 1863 Abraham Lincoln appointed a national Day of Thanksgiving. Each U.S. President since has issued a Thanksgiving Day proclamation, appointing the fourth Thursday of each November as a holiday for giving thanks to God for His blessings."

President Theodore Roosevelt signing the Thanksgiving Proclamation in 1902

vintage postcard

"Nothing will ever please me, no matter how excellent or beneficial, if I must retain the knowledge of it to myself. No good thing is pleasant to possess without friends to share it."

- Seneca proverb

(The Senecas are a Native American tribe)

Here is a fun little maze for you.

note: I don't think there are cactus anywhere near Plymouth!!!

The Sioux tribe were also Plains Indians, found in parts of Nebraska, Colorado and Kansas.

vintage postcard

found at http://www.mommylife.net/

Please forgive me if I have duplicated graphics/art/paintings/etc.

As you know from yesterday,

BLOGSPOT was not friendly to me.

I do hope today's blog will post in entirety!

Today in Colorado we are having beautiful weather with little wind,

bright blue skies and some white puffy clouds.

The mountain ranges to the West are shades of purples and blues,

with white cloud cover obscuring the tops.

I hope your day is as beautiful.

:0)

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

What day is it?

Okay, I goofed.
I flubbed.
I messed up.
Yesterday was NOT Wednesday.
Today IS Wednesday.
sigh.

Silly me.

silly (but not me)

silly Luke sitting in a chair (but not me)

  

silly Drake (but still not me!)



No matter where I run, I meet myself there.”  

 - Dorothy Fields

sketches by Rembrandt

A hearty good-day to my New Zealand readers!

:0)

Today, on Wednesday that is, I have a partial set of Pilgrims paper dolls

 illustrated by Tom Tierney.

He is the current master of paper doll drawings, I think.

You can find many of his sets at Dover Publications:

http://store.doverpublications.com/index.html

a vintage postcard

 Sorry the image is blurry, it was a very small size bit.

I thought we could enjoy the imagery however.

Here is another 'blurb' from Dr. James Grayson's article on

Why Thanksgiving?

"The Pilgrims, English Puritans who fled from the religious persecution they were experiencing in Britain, moved to Holland in 1609. Although they prospered in Holland they were concerned because their children were influenced by the Dutch culture. They determined to move to the New World. They received financial backing from merchants in England which covered travel and supplies, agreeing to labor for the merchants for seven years."

You can find the complete article, plus many more, here:

http://drjamesgalyon.wordpress.com/category/pilgrims/

Okay. This is the SECOND time that blogspot has said my blog draft was saved.
It wasn't.
It is gone.
Even after I re-typed everything.
Went back and found the pictures.
Re-copied the recipes, and coloring pictures and free paper dolls.
I think I will quit for today.
Which is Thursday.
I'm pretty sure....

inkspired
http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

Thanksgiving history, Pilgrims, Indians and vintage postcards

Waki ljiwebis-l

(There is a little 'hat' above the first a)

'Peace' in Algonquin, a North American Native Tribe

and no, I have no idea how to pronounce that!!!

vintage postcard

Thanksgiving plans are in the works.

Turkeys are on sale.

Oven baking bags are stocked.

And Christmas decorations are ready to be sold.

Yep, must be Thanksgiving time!

1950's hostess from

http://www.missretroblog.blogspot.com/

I found this absolutely FABULOUS blog about the Pilgrims from their first landing;

relationships with Native Americans and Pilgrim rules.

I knew Thanksgiving started as a way to say 'Thanks to God' and to thank the Indian tribes that had shown them how to survive, how to plant

and how to gather.

'First Thanksgiving 1621'

by J.L.G. Ferris, 1863 - 1930

Dr. James Galyon has done his research and done it well.

It would be worth your time to check out his blog:

http://drjamesgalyon.wordpress.com/category/pilgrims/

Here is just a little sample:

"Squanto helped the Pilgrims immeasurably. They received a wealth of information from him. He taught them such things as how to distinguish between plants that were helpful and harmful, how to plant corn and other crops, and how to tap maples for their sap. The 1621 harvest in October was quite successful. There was much to celebrate: peace with their native neighbors, an abundance of food and stores, the completed construction of homes and village buildings, and life itself. Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving for the settlers and invited their Native American neighbors to join the celebration. The chief of the Patuxets, Massasoit, led 90 of his braves to the three-day feast. In addition to the feast, the celebrants played various games, demonstrated their archery and musket marksmanship, and shared music together."

excerpt by Dr. Galyon

'Interview by Samoset with the Pilgrims'

I thought I would have some Pilgrim fun today,

and a little Native American fun  and maybe

some turkeys!

vintage 'Thanksgiving pilgrim' found at www.mommylife.net

Here are a few vintage postcards that you can print out on cardstock and send!

I have included the back of a vintage postcard that you can use too.

found at www.abduzeedo.com

I love these old vintage poems and sayings on these postcards!

a little beading pattern for you, to do in peyote stitch or brick stitch:

If you are a little more experienced, the corn pattern would make a nice earring. You could even make 3 per earring,

and have them dangle on a beaded string or wire, your preference.

To bead just what the pattern says,

you can make a simple chain to make it become a necklace,

or you can stitch on a bar pin back.

:0)

Dolly Dingle Does a Pilgrim Thanksgiving:

for private use only, I believe

Betsy McCall

a sweet Joan Walsh Anglund prayer:

"44 Pilgrims boarded the Mayflower with 66 other passengers, dubbed “the Strangers” by the Pilgrims, on September 6, 1620. They landed 65 days later."

from Dr. James Grayson's blog

vintage Gurley pilgrim candles found at www.lovingmom.blogspot.com

It has been nice for me to remember the early beginnings of our heritage as Americans. We owe so much to the Native American tribes,

and oh how we forget that.

We also forget that the early Pilgrims wanted to worship God

in their own way. Free from persecution.

There are MANY countries around the world that still do not allow that.

Specifically India, Kenya and Nigeria have been brutal in their persecution of people in the Christian faith.

But they are only a few countries mentioned - there are many more.

The following web site has very current updates about this evil:

http://www.persecution.com/

I am so grateful for the freedoms that I am privileged to have in America.

c.1914

I look forward to sharing more Pilgrim paperdolls with you,

and more wonderful vintage graphics

and perhaps even a recipe or two!

see ya'

:0)

inkspired

http://www.inkspired.etsy.com/

http://www.myinkspired.com/

http://www.inkspiredmusings.blogspot.com/

dominoes@myinkspired.com



Scherensnitte Paper Cuttings Tutorial

WELCOME!

original ooak Collage Art Doll by inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com

I'm glad to be back after a day or so of not.

We received our new (replacement) scanner/printer - Yippee!

Our dryer went out.

The repairman just left.

We have to decide now if it is worth it to get the necessary repairs,

or just buy a new one.

Sigh.

I like the old dryers that were meant to last. If they broke, you fixed them.

This one is only at the most 9 years old.

I guess that is old in dryer years, nowadays.

Our last one lasted 25 years and then we sold it (our new house already had one) and it is still going today, as far as I know.

Same thing with the washer.

Oooo, speaking of wash, I have a ton of laundry to do today!!

With the 'new' scanner, I have been scanning pictures of my current cut art.

Pretty much all of these would fall under the title:

scherensnitte
(sheer-en-SNIT-tuh)

The dragon might fall under Chinese Cut Art.

(no, I don't remember the name of it right now!)

I will mount it most likely on a deep red.

This will be a gift for my son.

This next one is of the black paper that I cut the dragon out of:

The dragon is placed over a piece of purple cardstock.

I will probably detail the teeth a bit more, and it is also a piece ready for display.

I cut mostly with a blade.

I like the Fiskars one with a scoop place for your finger to rest.

It is only about 4 - 5" long.
I purchased it at a craft type store.

All my handles use a #11 xacto type blade.

This next example shows the (recycled) scratch paper that the design was printed on. Since it had already been used, there is a black mark by his tail.

I will most likely cover this with a cloud cutting, or perhaps sun rays.

So you see, you can get actually 3 frameable cut pieces if you cut carefully.

To cut with scissors, there are a couple of ways to cut.

The first is what I usually do if I am cutting with scissors:

Take your knife find a long line on the pattern. Cut it.

Now you have room to insert the tips of your scissors and cut out the pattern with scissors. Doing it this way, you will still have 3 frameable pieces.

In this mother and child picture I have cut,

I would probably start with the long cut of her skirt on the right.

The second way is to use hand held paper hole punches.

Find the largest area of your design to be cut out.

Punch one or several holes with the largest size paper punch that will fit inside.

This should give you just barely enough room to fit in the tip of your scissors.

I use this technique with my kirigami more than scherensnitte:

kirigami, with an added stamped, colored and cut out butterfly and fairy.

I accented with glitter glue (Stickles is great).

The third way, that will destroy the outside paper being cut,

is to find the pattern area that is closest to the edge. Cut as short of a line as you can directly to the pattern, and start cutting. As you see, this will leave the outer, left over paper unusable for framing. You will only have the cut out silhouette.

Examples of smaller cuttings with lots of inner details:

This is a photo of the leftover outer paper from a parasol cutting.

This is what you would get if you started cutting the design from the side of the paper. This one I used a blade with, so you don't see the slash from the outer edge to the pattern design as you would with a scissor cutting.

Since I never use this third scissor technique, I don't have any samples!

The Lacy Boot is in the process of being cut.

You can see where I have carefully taped the pattern to the desired paper.

Here is the actual parasol cutting, along with a lacy fan:

I still need to do some paper pricking and small hole punching to finish these.

You can see the small paper punch I used in the design on the fan.

HELPFUL HINT:

When using tape to fix your pattern to your paper -

tear very small pieces of scotch-type tape.

Place piece on a piece of clothing (I usually use my jeans). Rub.

Remove tape, and then tape your pattern down with it.

The 'fuzz' or lint on clothing will make the tape less sticky.

The less sticky tape will not tear your finished paper when you remove it carefully.

cat and fishbowl, cutting by inkspired

Leftover black paper that design was cut from. The inner fishbowl and the sea grass with the fish need to be re-assembled and mounted. When scanning this picture, the pieces were slightly moved from where they will be when I finish it.

I may also add some small black pieces to define the cat's body and paws on the bowl, and add another black 'rim' to the fishbowl.

Here is the back of the design pattern. I printed it on scrap light blue paper.

I like it on this pale yellow cardstock!

Just to make things clear,

I put my chosen paper down first, wrong side facing me.

Then I put my (usually printed) pattern piece on top.

I fix the pattern to the chosen paper with modified scotch tape.

I use a knife blade to cut

so that I may have more than one piece to work with after I am finished cutting.

Here I used two pieces of parchment paper plus the pattern to cut all at once.

I was trying to save time by cutting 2 at one time.

I had to do touch up cutting to the faces, so I probably won't do this again,

unless the pattern is much more simple.

Refer to the other cutting from earlier in this blog.

I simply placed one with the 'back' as front side up.

This next example has too many inner cuts to really use the 'outside' frame.

My pattern was on a very thin piece of tissue paper,

so it also will not look good if I wanted to frame it.

Two lovebirds in hexagonal frame

This is a pattern that I tweaked from a stained glass pattern.

To mount, I will need to use a larger piece of mat board, to do it properly.

I cut it from a pastel white parchment paper.

It would look lovely with touches of light watercolor to tint it.

With these next two examples I have folded the paper in half, and then cut with a pattern together. In other words, the pattern is only half a page.

You can see the fold lines as I have not yet ironed them.

Sometimes a very dry iron will get the line out.

Sometimes placing under a stack of heavy books will get the line out.

Mostly, I don't worry about it!

to a friend's house, cut by inkspired

a Pennsylvania dutch style heart cutting, by inkspired

I'm not sure I am happy with the way the heart looks inside,

so I will probably 'tweak' the pattern and do it again.

This one did have a nice tri-tulip design from the inside however.

These smaller cuttings are very pretty pasted onto a handmade greeting card.

You can also easily use them with your decoupage.

(see decoupage plate tutorial, previous blog)

Copier printed vintage violets clip,

scherensnitte cut fairy.

The fairy moved slightly while I was scanning it.

Her wand tip will actually be placed on the top Left leaf.

Here is the paper that I cut the design from:

I will probably add some dried flowers,

or perhaps some doily bits, to enhance her.

She is a nice, simple design and I will most likely make more cuttings of her

from different colors.

I also want to do a watercolor background to mount one of them on.

Plans....plans...plans!

Oh, okay, not soooo simple. Her hands and profile were a pain to cut!

:0)

Here is a photo I took above Estes Park (Rocky Mountains), Colorado, USA.

Feel free to use it as a background for a cutting.

I plan on using it for a scherensnitte design of a flying eagle.

Wouldn't colorful butterflies also look pretty?

A few more cuttings of mine:

Horse on Peach, styled more like Chinese cut-art, cut by inkspired

Nativity scene, pattern found in a vintage magazine, cut by inkspired

This last one is to inspire you.

This wonderful pilgrim design is by Papercuttings by Alison.

https://www.papercuttingsbyalison.com/index.cfm

She has the most fantastic patterns, reasonably priced, and rated

Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced.

Don't let that stop you however, if you see a pattern you really like.

Jump in (but of course, never run with scissors) and try it!

I have cut several of her 3-D cuttings, and each one has turned out perfectly.

She gives very good instructions so you can complete each cutting.

I really cannot say enough good things about her and her business.

I would highly recommend you check her website out.

She also offers a free catalog which I also would highly recommend.

It can be difficult to see what the design is on a computer screen, sometimes.

Besides, I just like browsing when I am in my Living Room chair!

Remember, you are just using paper.

If you seriously screw up, throw it away and start a new one!

I find most all "oopsies" can still be 'saved' and used.

I will explore more papercutting at another time.

There are the lovely papel picado banners...

many Pennsylvania Dutch styled ornaments....

cut paper garlands for any occasion....

and more!

inkspired

www.inkspired.etsy.com - to buy things I have made, almost all are one-of-a-kind

dominoes@myinkspired.com - to send me questions, suggestions, patterns, and photos of your work

please use the comments section on this blog too!