The Pleasant Times

How to Finish Facings

2012-01-28T17:01:00.000-08:00

A friend and I are sewing today-- Saturday is such a nice day to sew!-- and I am "on call" to help out with any glitches. We live states apart so I will be posting some little tutorials on sewing techniques as we go along! First, here is a way to finish curved facings, such as neck facings and armhole facings for sleeveless dresses, on a conventional sewing machine: After sewing the shoulder

Scrappy Bag

2012-01-11T23:19:00.000-08:00

By The Pleasant Times' Sewing Editor, Miss Thread I was inspired by seeing some of the "Sew Scraps Along" posts on the Pleasant Home, and decided that maybe I should get some of my stash of scraps out and make a little project. I just happened to need an extra bag to hold another project I am working on, so that is what I chose to do. I have a LOT of scraps, and thought this was a good, small

"Angeline the Baker" and "Come Thou Fount"

2012-01-04T23:02:00.000-08:00

New Year's Resolutions

2012-01-01T14:10:00.000-08:00

Buy This at Allposters.com Happy New Year from The Pleasant Times! Some members of our staff have written resolutions for the New Year that they fully intend to keep. It is so much better to make a resolution that you can keep, is it not? Better for self-esteem, self-image, self-awareness, self-respect, self-worth, self-confidence, self-motivation, and self-congratulation. So without

The Pleasant Times' Printable Christmas Village

2011-12-16T19:37:00.000-08:00

I hope The Pleasant Times' readers have enjoyed their free printable Christmas village! You can make these as elaborate (by adding lots of glitter and cut-out pieces) or as simple as you please. They are also good to print out to keep little hands busy while you are wrapping presents or finishing up a project! Here is the master list of links to each printable PDF, and a link to each blog post

Christmas Village part five: Country Farmhouse and Barn

2011-12-15T22:45:00.000-08:00

For those of you anxious to finish up your village, the printable PDF for the last two pieces are here. The last bits to add are the barn and farmhouse! The PDF for the last two pieces are here. The PDF for the last two pieces are here. I added paper windows in place of the cardstock windows, and here is what my barn looks like with the light shining through: And the farmhouse: It wasn't until

Christmas Village part four: Over the River and Through the Woods

2011-12-13T18:45:00.000-08:00

Part Four of our printable paper Christmas Village! Remember the Woods from the printable in the first post, that printed out with the Meeting House? I said we would use them later on. Now you can add the woods to your Christmas Village (if you haven't already!) (If you did not print out the first part of the village, or lost the woods part, here is the link to the PDF printable.) When you

Christmas Village part three: Houses

2011-12-12T21:49:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple of houses to round out the village (click here for part one and here for part two, here for part four and here for part five). There will be a country scene next, so check back this week! This house (Click here for the PDF printable) is a cozy cottage, with a pie cooling in the kitchen, and gift wrapping going on in the library. The house glows in the snow with lots of

Christmas Village part two: Shops

2011-12-11T19:38:00.000-08:00

I am thrilled to bring you the shops to the printable Christmas village this evening! The moon is rising here, and after days of fog, we can finally "see out." A nice night to go and see the shops all lit up! The printable Shops for the sides of the village are here. Once you are on the document page, look for "File" and then click "print." Print out on card stock. These buildings were

Christmas Village part one: The Meeting House (updated with glitter and glow)

2011-12-09T22:38:00.000-08:00

This is the first installment of an easy, printable Christmas village for you! There will be a street of shops, a street of houses, and even some countryside. Today is the Meeting house, which is in the center of the village. You can cut out the woods, too, but they will be used later on. (do not print this photo; the high-resolution PDF to print out on card stock is here.) This is what they

Multi-Post: TV, Complaining, Book Review and Saturday Night in the Kitchen

2011-11-17T21:44:00.000-08:00

Why You Should Not Watch StampTV when in a Weakened Condition by The Pleasant Times' Craft Editor Miss Paste I have been down with a "bug." I mean down-- as in in bed or on the couch for two weeks. I do not have a TV, and there would hardly be anything worth watching on one (except for craft shows on a Saturday); but it was nice to have the Internet on a laptop and instant movies to watch while

Ideas for a Sparkling Harvest Table

2011-11-07T15:49:00.001-08:00

Hooray! How to get your Share feature back in Google Reader

2011-11-05T12:23:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to rant about the cruel changes to Google Reader for days now. However, since this is The Pleasant Times I am a bit restricted from spreading gloom here! Which is all for the best. Since using Google Reader, I was so happy to find out I could share interesting and inspiring articles from blogs and websites very easily on my sidebar. No signing up for facebook, or twitter, to

Occupy Home

2011-10-19T18:23:00.000-07:00

Editor's note: I have heard the word "occupy" so much in the news lately, I am getting rather tired of it! But to make note of the recent events, as is the wont of bloggers, I present to you Several reasons to occupy your own home: Keeps you off the streets. Keeps you out of jail (as long as you have no vices). Keeps you healthy-- instead of pizza and donuts from who knows where (maybe

Housework As A Reducing Exercise

2011-10-04T17:36:00.000-07:00

This article came from the pages of a 1919 issue of Modern Priscilla magazine. Unfortunately, my scanner is too small to scan the entire page, so I barely got the article on here for you, and was not able to include the vintage ads that were with it. However, I think some will perhaps find some handy tips here, or at least derive some amusement from the article, and who knows, maybe it works!

If I Had My Way

2011-10-02T12:27:00.000-07:00

This song, written in 1913, is sung beautifully in this recording.

Autumn Hair Ornament

2011-09-30T22:56:00.000-07:00

Here is a very easy, quick hair ornament for Autumn. Simply put your hair into a ponytail, go outside and rake some fall leaves into a pile (preferably they would be dry), and jump in. Voila! A lovely hair adornment for the season.

Small-Scale Beauty

2011-09-19T10:05:00.000-07:00

In the Artist's Garden, Yapton, Sussex Thomas J. Lloyd Buy This Allposters.com I was reading an article this morning (here) on lack of beauty in modern Architecture. I thought this quote was a good one, and not just on the subject of architecture! "I can’t build cathedrals on my own. I can’t even be a part of an organization that builds cathedrals — though perhaps I’m not trying

Hats of Early Autumn-- September 1902

2011-09-13T06:54:00.000-07:00

Grammar Land

2011-09-09T11:34:00.000-07:00

This amusing story very ably explains the parts of speech, by personifying each part and taking them to court! Here is the free audio book version, read by a favorite reader, Kara Shallenberg; below is the free google book version with illustrations: It is worth printing out and binding, to add to the school room shelf!

So Delicious!

2011-09-05T16:50:00.000-07:00

Apple Blackberry Plum PunchWe are enjoying extending our cool treats into the late summer heat wave. Here is today's refreshment-- and oh, boy, is it good! It is also a good way to use up plums when it is too hot out to make jam or pies. I cannot give exact measurements because this was a "thrown together" thing, but here are the ingredients:IcePureed red plums (with skins on)Pureed frozen

A Child's World

2011-09-03T18:51:00.000-07:00

By The Pleasant Times' Etiquette Lady. The Whole Duty Of Children "A child should always say what's true And speak when he is spoken to, And behave mannerly at table; At least as far as he is able." -Robert Louis Stevenson "Children should be seen and not heard" is a phrase we are all familiar with, though by the time most of us were born the advice was considered

For Sale

2011-08-19T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have a cute country mother-daughter apron set for sale, new and sewn by moi. The mother's apron is size "ample." That means, if you are slender, you'll have to wrap the ties around and tie them in the front, as the skirt is generous and covers the back all the way around; if you are not quite as slender as you would wish to be, you can tie it in the back, the skirt still wraps around

ON WITH THEIR HEADS

2011-08-09T20:15:00.000-07:00

Due to the recent riots in London, I propose the following new laws: All rioters that have been arrested will be serving a long, long jail time. These inmates will go and clean up the sites they have ruined, and dig ditches, etc. for the rebuilding, while in chains. These inmates shall live in tents as they travel (in chains) while doing the above, even if it happens to be cold November.

Ask Annabelle

2011-08-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

The Pleasant Times Editor has questions about chickens for our Gardening Editor, Annabelle. Let's tap into Annabelle's backwoods wisdom and find out about... FEEDING CHICKENS Do you feed your chickens scrambled eggs? Why or why not? Well.... I think we've fed them scrambled eggs before but if I'm feeding them eggs it has usually been hard-boiled eggs and usually when they were