Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day 

 everyone! 

Here are a few images from books in my Saint Patrick's Day collection to get you in the mood.

This is a page from the "Children's Party Book" published in 1935 for a Saint Patrick's Day party.

Dennison produced booklets to promote their products. This page for Saint Patrick's Day appears in the promotional booklet "Dennison Crepe Paper Almanac 1913". The booklet doesn't give instructions on how to make the decorations, it is strictly for promotional purposes.

And finally, here is a recipe for "Soda Bread" that I got from a woman in Ireland when I was there many years ago. Bake up a batch, have a cup of tea, and enjoy yourself.

 "Irish Soda Bread" 

4 cups wholewheat flour

2 cups white flour (I use 6 cups of wholewheat flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (Break up the soda in your hand to get rid of any lumps.)

1 teaspoon salt

Mix the dry ingredient with a balloon whisk in a large bowl.

Add enough buttermilk or sour milk (I use buttermilk but I've also used yogurt, apple juice or any tart fruit juice) so that the mixture is not too dry or too wet. Don't knead the dough just form it into a ball. You can either make one large loaf or cut it in half and make two smaller loaves. Form them into balls and coat with flour. Place on a baking sheet and press the dough into a flat disk about 2 1/2" thick. Cut the surface with three or four intersecting cuts. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until the loaf sounds hollow when rapped with your knuckle on the bottom of the loaf.

That's all there is to it! It takes about 1 1/4 hours to mix and bake some of the best quick bread that you have ever tasted.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

 Happy Saint Patrick's Day 

 everyone! 

Here are a few images from books in my Saint Patrick's Day collection to get you in the mood.

This is a page from the "Children's Party Book" published in 1935 for a Saint Patrick's Day party.

Dennison produced booklets to promote their products. This page for Saint Patrick's Day appears in the promotional booklet "Dennison Crepe Paper Almanac 1913". The booklet doesn't give instructions on how to make the decorations, it is strictly for promotional purposes.

And finally, here is a recipe for "Soda Bread" that I got from a woman in Ireland when I was there many years ago. Bake up a batch, have a cup of tea, and enjoy yourself.

 "Irish Soda Bread" 

4 cups wholewheat flour

2 cups white flour (I use 6 cups of wholewheat flour)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (Break up the soda in your hand to get rid of any lumps.)

1 teaspoon salt

Mix the dry ingredient with a balloon whisk in a large bowl.

Add enough buttermilk or sour milk (I use buttermilk) so that the mixture is not too dry or too wet. There is no need to knead the dough just form it into a ball. You can either make one large loaf or cut it in half and make two smaller loaves. Form them into balls and coat with flour. Place on a baking sheet and press the dough into a flat disk about 2 1/2" thick. Cut the surface with three or four intersecting cuts. Bake in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour or until the loaf sounds hollow when rapped with your knuckle on the bottom of the loaf.

That's all there is to it! It takes about 1 1/4 hours to mix and bake some of the best quick bread that you have ever tasted.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 15 - St. Patrick's Day - assorted items

 HAPPY SAINT PATRICK'S DAY! 

This post is an assortment of old and new Saint Patrick's Day items. I was given this flag by a young guy in Ireland as a souvenir of my visit to Ireland many years ago. The family that I stayed with was quite poor but I was welcomed into their home. The Irish are a wonderfully friendly people. Visit Ireland sometime.

These six die-cuts were made in Germany and are from around the 1920's.

A chenille shamrock Saint Patrick's Day pin with its backing card. It is about 3 1/2" x 4" and was made in Japan.

This child's card stands about 7 1/2" high, AND IT'S FLOCKED, can there be anything better?

The price for this packet of Dennison St. Patrick's Day seals was only 19 cents.

These two home made party place-cards were made using the Dennison seals illustrated above.

A vintage souvenir plaque from Ireland. It is paper bonded onto thin plywood and cut out.

This leprechaun is a Dennison party decoration.

There are 6 leprechaun face paper plates in this unopened cellophane wrapped set.

This St. Patrick's Day gift is a poem printed and bound in book form. There are five pages to the poem. The poem is only printed on the right hand page. The left side is left blank. On the inside it is inscribed –

Copyright 1913

P.F. Volland and Co.

Chicago, U.S.A.

(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)

All Irish chocolates come in a box exactly like this! The hat is cut out and applied to a rectangular box underneath.

This celluloid covered metal pin back pin would be worn so that all can see you are Irish (no matter where you were born!).

I have worn this vintage tie in public on Saint Patrick's Day! I like it better than most of the "Irish" ties that I have seen. I do have a skinny green 1960's tie with two tiny shamrocks very tastefully placed on the tie. I guess I'm not much for good taste.

This is a souvenir hankie from the early part of the 20th century. It came from someone in my family tree. I have no idea if it was from my dad's or mum's side but I have always liked the colours used in the printing. It appears to have been printed with a process called chromolithography I'm not certain though. If anyone knows if they did this printing process on fabric let me know.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 15 - St. Patrick's Day - elegant antique cards

All of these cards are smaller than the vintage cards from the last blog post. The last four cards are quite small, no bigger than an enclosure card. All of these cards are very elegant.

This card is beautifully printed and has some very detailed embossed areas on it. The shield, the harp, the ribbon, as well as the lettering "Best Wishes" are all embossed. The card measures 3 1/4" x3 7/8".

This card measures 4 1/8" x 3 1/8". It is printed with light green, dark green, red, and gold inks on a heavy creme coloured paper. All of the images and lettering are embossed. The writing on the inside is printed in green on a separate piece of paper and held in place by the green string.

This card measures 3 1/8" x 4 1/8" and is printed with light green, dark green, red, and gold inks on a heavy creme coloured paper. The harp, the lettering, the edge of the fold held in place by the horseshoe, and the clover are all embossed. The clover in particular is deeply embossed. The writing on the inside is printed in green on a separate piece of paper and held in place by the green string.

This card measures 4 1/8" x 3 1/8". It is printed with light green, dark green, and gold inks on a heavy creme coloured paper. All of the images and lettering are embossed. The detailed embossing on all of these cards is amazing.  The clover is deeply embossed on this card as well. The writing on the inside is printed in green on a separate piece of paper and held in place by the green string.

This card measures 4 1/8" x 3 1/8". It is printed with light green, dark green, black, red, and gold inks on a heavy creme coloured paper. Each of the images and lettering are embossed. That is not a Nazi swastika on the card but the original reversed image with the meaning behind it of good fortune. The anchor is a symbol for hope. The writing on the inside is printed in green on a separate piece of paper and held in place by the green string.

This card measures 4 1/8" x 3 1/8". It is printed with light green, dark green, black, red, and gold inks on a heavy creme coloured paper. Each of the images and lettering are embossed. The writing on the inside is printed in green on a separate piece of paper and held in place by the green string.

These four following cards are the size of what we would consider an enclosure card. They are beautifully designed with some beautiful embossed details. Click on the image and have a look at the edge of the card when it is closed. This card measures 2 1/4" x 2 3/4" closed and is printed in green and gold.

This card measures 2 7/8" x 1 3/4" closed. The embossed and die-cut edge is very elegant. It is printed in light green, dark green, and gold.

This card measures 3 3/8" x 1 5/8" when closed and is printed in gold and green. This design of the card is quite masculine in its simplicity.

This card measures 2 1/4" x 2 3/4" when closed and is printed in gold and green.

Except for the first card the backs of the other cards are printed on left bottom corner - Gottschalk, Dreyfuss and Davis New York. On the bottom right is printed - Produced in England.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 15 - St. Patrick's Day - vintage cards, bridge tallies, and napkins

Several years ago I found an almost full display box of vintage Saint Patrick's Day cards. It would have been displayed on the counter along with other Saint Patrick's Day merchandise. The top of the box opens up and the folds back to create a stand at the back for promotional material. Here are the different cards that are in the box. Click on the images to get a better look at the designs on the cards.

It is interesting that eight of the cards are based on four designs. They are all printed in black, green, and gold on white paper.

This is the same dancing couple but with different background treatments. The card on the left opens on the right side while the other card opens at the bottom.

This dancing couple is done in a stylized silhouette. The card is cut away on the front along the gold edge at the top right corner and at the bottom left corner to show the white and green cross hatch design on the inside of the card.

This is the same donkey cart image just turned slightly to give the appearance of going down a hill. The card on the left is die-cut along the edge of the shamrocks to reveal the green, gold, and white stripes printed on the inside of the card. The card on the right has no die-cut detailing.

It is interesting to see the changes done to the backgrounds of the images as well as the introduction of die-cuts on some of the cards and how different in feel they are to each other. The card on the left has no die-cut detailing. The card on the right is die-cut along the edge of the gold scallops to reveal the green printed on the inside of the card.

This cute card is intended for a child. It is printed on the front with no die-cut involved.

Both of these cards are printed on the front and neither card is die-cut. All of these cards are printed on the back with a simple "Made in Canada"at the bottom centre of the card.

This bridge tally and the one following are marked on the back "Gibson Cinti USA". They have a fairly similar appearance to the Canadian cards but I believe that they may be earlier.

This bridge tally is printed in green, black, and grey with just a touch of gold on the hem of her skirt, the wheel hub, and the wooden part of the cart that attaches to the donkey. I have no idea what that is called!

These napkins are by C. A. Reed Company of Williamsport, Pa., USA. The image on the left shows the pack of napkins with the label that reads - 24 Reed's napkins 12 1/2" x 12 1/2". That paper label is beautifully designed as well. The image on the right is a scan of a single napkin.

A Little Tour of My Brain, Part 15 - St. Patrick's Day - antique postcards

I have been scanning items from my Saint Patrick's Day collection and will be posting them for you to both enjoy but maybe find some inspiration as well. As you have found from previous posts I get inspiration from all sorts or places. One Hallowe'en candy container that I built was inspired by a Christmas image that I have. You just never know where those ideas come from.

I am a romantic at heart and this is one of my favourite postcards for Saint Patrick's Day.

I believe, but correct me if I am wrong, that this is the castle where the Blarney stone is located. When I was in Ireland I didn't go to see and kiss the Blarney Stone. The guide holds your legs as you lie on your back with your head and upper body over a hole in the floor of the turret walkway some hundred feet in the air just to kiss a rock! If I had known about it at the time I probably would have done it though. I would love to go back to Ireland and kiss the Blarney Stone. The country is so beautiful and the people are truly incredible.

Shamrocks, a harp, and an old Irish Village are all nostalgic reminders to immigrants of their beloved homeland.

A church ruin on a hill in the moonlight, Ireland is truly a beautiful country. The antique postcards were reminders of home. Saint Patrick's Day now is a reminder to drink green beer!

More iconic images of Ireland; shamrocks, the tapered Irish top hat used to frame of a scene from "home", and two clay pipes. On the bottom of this postcard are the words "Erin Go Bragh" that translate from the Gaelic to mean "Ireland Forever".

There are no shamrocks on this postcard but if you understand the language of flowers used in Victorian times then the images become very poignant; red roses are for  passion, ivy means dependence and the forget-me-not stands for true love. These sentiments are not only for the friends and relatives at home but also for Ireland.

This is a cute postcard. The four leaf clover is a well known sign of good luck, but that pig is a sign of good luck as well.

The sentiments on the postcard say it all.

Dear Ireland's emblem - just a spray to bring good luck to you this day.

ERIN GO BRAGH

With shillalah and pipe and a pretty colleen;

There's no place in the world like ould Ireland so green.

Father and daughter are dressed to the nines in their finest (green) clothes ready for the Saint Patrick's Day parade.