Pages

Showing posts with label printables. Show all posts
Showing posts with label printables. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 12, 2022

Hippity Hoppity Hobbledy Happy Holy Week, and Some Easter Tags, Free!

 

Hello Bloggie Frens...

I haven't forgotten you, or my blog! Just overwhelmed and swamped, but making progress. Health, volunteer "job," finances, pets' health, hubby's health, and being stunned by the state of the world have set me back on my heels a bit. 

Today a hickory hiking stick arrived. It isn't very tall, but taller than a cane. I'm afraid I am going to be a bit of a spectacle now, using the stick. But I need it in order to be able to get around better. It's more useful than a cane to me, at this point. But, I do think I look odd, most probably. Well, too bad!

But I'm hopping in to say, or maybe hobbling in to say, "Have a wonderful Holy Week!"

Mayhap someone may need some free Easter tags. So, here some are! Similar to last year's, but a bit different.

Remember, use the LINK so it prints out the right size. It's stored on Google Drive, which is safe. We think.

Link: 2022 Free Easter Tags

free easter bunny floral tags from themerryneedle.com

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame (with a stick)

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

Free "Merry Mix" Printable Tags, Attack of the Age Spots, and A Rosary Rescue

December Greetings, dearies! 

Here are some free downloadable tags, safely saved on a Google Drive. Use this LINK <---- instead of saving the image, as Blogger shrinks the big files and they won't print nicely. I call it "Merry Mix" because it has a smorgasbord [Smörgåsbord] of vintage images.

 

free printable diy christmas tags download

Oh boy, last year I posted about the movie White Christmas, which I dearly love, PARTICULARLY the smorgasbord scene in the middle of the night, when Bing and Rosemary went to the big den area and were enjoying the snacks that were always available. 

It reminds me so much of a lodge I stayed at one night at the Grand Canyon. It had a huge fire, 24/7, and a smorgasbord all night long. I just walked around and snoozed in the den the entire night! It was forty years ago, and I mention it in the blog and in person entirely too much! It was just magical, that's why. One of the best nights of my life! What can I say, my life is pretty lowkey!

In the movie, Bing and Rosemary sang the pretty duet, "Count Your Blessings." Oh yes, that's a good song to memorize and sing to yourself! I like to be real, not have a Pollyanna attitude, but having an appreciation for what you do have can be so important. I wanted to just cry yesterday, I was feeling so blue about not getting that job and in so much pain when I walked. And then I thought, "My gosh, but I can still WALK! I can WALK, what a gift!" and it gave me strength and off to Walmart I went for some needed groceries! Mainly, chicken tenders to bake for the silly dogs! They love their chicken.

When I was throwing my purse into the back seat of the car, I looked down and there on the driveway was a single-decade Rosary I have been missing for weeks. Right on the concrete, with tire tread marks going over it, and broken glass beads around it and crushed pinecones all around!

I had parked back a-ways on the driveway, unusual for me. I don't think I would have found the Rosary had I not been parked so far back. I must have dropped it. I don't make "bracelet" Rosaries although they are popular. I think that a Rosary ought to be firmly in hand or nestling in a pocket, not put around a wrist and forgotten! But the danger in that is not being aware enough! 

I set out to repair the Rosary. Amazingly, both the Holy Medal and the Crucifix were intact, although the tire had clearly rolled right over them. It was just a matter of replacing some of the beads and doing a bit of straightening!

broken Rosary before repair

Two beads are missing, and five more are cracked

 

repaired Rosary, Czech druks and garnet

Repaired! Under the medal is the Glory Bee charm I put on all my personal Rosaries.

At night, with the execrable Hallmark movies playing (yes, some I LOVE, some make me just CRINGE), I am making lots of Rosaries. I'm putting them at the churches with a note in Spanish and in English, and I do not let myself hang around to see people react to them, because that would undo the good of giving, I feel. But they are gone quickly. 

I am "repairing" something else, too! What price vanity?! I am attempting to remove some "age spots" from my hands and face. Dear friends, do not try this at home! It involves wart remover. I use the chemical one, not the freeze one. I have done it before, and removed some really big age spots, or liver spots as my mother called them, on my face that the dermatologist didn't remove despite using a laser. But being a desert rat for so long, they are on me a-plenty. The ones on the hands don't seem to be doing as well as the face ones. This is my first try on hands and arms.

Age spot liver spot removal at home with wart remover

The chemical is applied and drying in this photo...Ow!

I've taken some before and during photos, and I'll show the "after" photos when the process is over! Usually, I don't like wearing a face mask, but for now, I am happy to wear one and I pull it up to my eyes! And I have those fingerless mittens on when I go out! It looks pretty bad right now!

It is going to be so busy at church! So much going on!  Tonight, a Vigil Mass because tomorrow is The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception.

If you get a chance, please share what you're doing in the evenings! I'm always curious!

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

 

Wednesday, October 27, 2021

Quick "BOO" Banner for You, A Treat, Not A Trick!

Hi friends. Just a quick post, to put up a little Hallowe'en Boo Banner.

free halloween printable boo banner 
So, here is a little free BOO banner you can print out. As always, use the link below, not the photo above. The bloggie file is shrunk by Google and won't print correctly. But Google lets the linked file be the right size when it is stored in Google Drive.

Google Drive LINK <Click this!

I have had a bad reaction to the COVID booster. So, I am slow to get around to the blogs, BOO! It's really hard to find information about bad reactions, really bad reactions. Our world is very weird lately. Where did I put my tinfoil hat?! But no, really, something isn't right in terms of information being pulled between the political forces. Talk about BOO! BOO POLITICS!

I can't believe how close Halloween is.


NOTE: Added this morning. I had J&J first months ago. It went kaput. So, I took Moderna. I had one of those weird reactions. Arm got big and nasty blisters all around it and very hot. Felt horrible all over and had a fever. Doc said to ice and compress my arm, take Tylenols, take Benadryl (itches horribly), rest. I am better this morning! Evidently if your immune system goes crazy, that's good? Who knows!

Kind regards,

Holly, The Olde Dame

 

 


 


Saturday, October 16, 2021

I Had A Llama Party All By Myself - And Free Halloween Food Tags

When I was at Walmart a few days back, I skulked over by the Clearance shelves, and there I found a big package of microwave popcorn, at just $1.50! Six packages of Llama Party popcorn! I didn't know what Llama Party popcorn was, but I grabbed it up and into the basket it went.

Last night, I couldn't sleep, so I got up and started designing digital tags. "I'm having a sleepover with myself." Once my husband is asleep, he is ASLEEP. I can play YouTube craft videos and such without waking him! I can pop popcorn and go in and out the doors with the dogs! They love it when Mommy can't sleep!

I got out some of the new beads for my rosary-making...

beautiful czech beads for rosaries merryneedle etsy

For a snack, I popped up a bag of the Llama Party popcorn. 

 

llama party blue popcorn in small bowl

It is BLUE! But the BLUE got to me! I can remember my mother (a chemist) telling me, "Never eat blue food." But...it was so pretty...so I ate up the blue popcorn! My mother said there are no natural blue foods ("But...but...but..." NO. I know what you're thinking. "Blueberries and blue potatoes are PURPLE," she would say firmly.).

 

 

I don't know why blue is associated with llamas, though. I don't believe they come in blue. I have seen quite a few mules of a peculiar hue named "Blue," though, and one of the attorneys I worked with was named Blue. And he was certainly a mulish sort of attorney! Oh, he was stubborn. But generous. When he'd win a huge settlement, we'd all get a THOUSAND BUCKS. Ah, those were the days.

I made up some Halloween tags that might be fun if anyone is having a little get-together, or maybe has a grandchild who needs to bring something for a school party. REMEMBER TO CLICK THE LINKS, NOT SAVE THE LITTLE PICTURE! The files are stored on my Google Drive account. If that ain't safe, ain't nuthin' safe.

One set is what I call "Sweet Kid Safe Tags." There are no disgusting or frightening dishes on the tags. The other set I call "Creepy," because it has quite disgusting food names that maybe teens or young adults might like. I can remember being in college and thinking gross things were funny and as they say now, "edgy." I don't know if you can read the tags when you enlarge them in the little graphic below or not.

free halloween weird food names printable

I put up a set last year at this time, too. These tags are new wording, same backgrounds.

SWEET Halloween Food Tags <---that's the link

CREEPY Halloween Food Tags <---that's the other link

Tomorrow I am going to go get a COVID test, as for two days I thought I had a cold, and I couldn't smell anything. Now I feel very rotten and am uneasy and still can't smell anything. I got the vaccine and I wear K95 masks when out, per our governor's orders. 

It's probably just a cold. But I haven't had a cold since the COVID thing began! Or the flu!

I know people are divided about the flu shots. I had one, though. Do you take the flu shot? I want the pneumonia shot, too, because I usually get pneumonia every year.  

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly (Yes, I'm old!)

 


 


Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Free Patriotic Printable Tags

Oh boy, I'm just getting in under the wire here!

Below is a sheet of printable tags for the Fourth of July, Independence Day!


The Fourth was probably my most favorite holiday of all as a child -- possibly -- maybe even with Hallowe'en as "favorite." I loved Christmas Eve very much, too, but the Fourth was just resplendent in my mind. 

Since I was age 10, when I asked for an American flag for Christmas, I have flown our flag at every place I've lived. 

Until recently, I had a 40-year-old shot-off firework called "Happiness Pagoda" on display. Oh, how I loved that particular firework. It would spin, rise up to three little stories, and then have a flame inside to glow through red paper windows. I never liked the loud "popping" fireworks. I liked the pretty ones and the quiet ones, the "fountains" and the "snakes" and the "volcanoes" and the "ground flowers." 

We used to buy something called a "punk" to light the fireworks. Punks burned at a slow, constant smolder. There were buckets of punks on the counters of the firework stands. Punks were 2 cents each. The smell of a punk -- I think Heaven will smell like that. These punks were maybe eight inches long, probably made from compressed cellulose if I had to guess, with some gunpowder mixed in. The smell reminds me of the incense at High Mass. In fact, now that I think of it, punks look almost exactly like incense sticks, only uncolored, always tan.

The patience of the people who waited the counters at the fireworks stands! May God have blessed them and if they are still with us, continue to bless them richly. Their patience was astounding, as a bedraggled child put up stacks of pennies, nickels, dimes, and a rare quarter, and began a long, long laundry list of little fireworks in a shy whisper. 

Out of the past, and into the present!

We had a fifty-degree drop in temperature here two days ago, and then RAIN! And it has drizzled ever since. What a blessing and a boon to the desert! I can rest easy about "my" toads in my community garden plot, at least during this weather. 

The "ditch sunflowers" below are at least 11 feet high now. They tower over all the other plots.


I did get a picture of an unusual sunflower at the plot, right before the rain started. I think it is one of the Autumn Mix sunflowers. I don't pick them, as much as I'd like to, because some little yellow-green tummied birds were feasting on the seeds of the older blooms. Tiny little birds, like dull canaries!

pretty unusual sunflower orange and chocolate in the desert

 

The zinnias, despite being too shaded by the sunflowers, are starting to bloom, too. They are supposed to be the "candy stripe" zinnias, but the striping is quite subtle. I think the genetics that governed the striping went kaput.

zinnia blooms


I hope you will enjoy these printable tags, which are part of a set I have up on Etsy. But here some are, free to my Bloggie Frens. "Free and worth every penny," as they say. As always, use this
LINK TO THE DOWNLOAD <---- and don't try to just save the image below. It won't print nicely. The link is stored on Google Drive and it is safe, or as safe as anything can be, I do believe.


Are you prepping for the Fourth? How do you and how DID you celebrate it?

Sunday, May 16, 2021

Summerthyme Sodas Free Printable Recipe Booklet

One of the few things I was able to get after my mother's death was the contents of her recipe drawer. In it, carefully typed on 4x6 pink cards with our old Underwood typewriter, were recipes my sister had copied from her Home Ec class. One entire set was about sodas, back in the 1950s when soda shops still were popular, right before they fell from favor. 

Most "druggists" also had a small shop and a lunch counter. A common job for teen boys was "soda jerk." They also were "baggers" for grocery stores and pumped gas. It's funny to me, but those grocery stores I felt were so modern could fit in the produce and bakery section of our Super Walmart today. 

Here is a little printable booklet form of some of those soda recipes my sister typed up. Her Home Ec teacher was the daughter of the local drugstore owner, and I think some of these were early "copycat" recipes from the business. I put this up on my old blog, too, I think. I like the Brown Cow one best. Sometimes we called it a Brown Cow, and sometimes we just said "Coke Float" if we weren't going to put the chocolate syrup in.

To avoid the unpleasant part of the foam, be sure to put some of the fizzy soda in first each time. Then put in the ice cream. Then top with more soda. It does cut down on the "sea scum" aspect of a float.

I was surprised to see a recipe calling for alcohol! Even just a tablespoon. It's in the Milk Punch recipe. It has malted milk powder, too. I have a lot of that, in my "prepper" grab-n-go bags. Lots of dry malted milk, because it's very helpful in a survival circumstance. I used to have compressed malted milk tablets but those are rare now. I have uncoated malted milk balls instead, in mylar packaging. 

As always, don't save the images of these printables. Use the Google link, so that they will print the correct size and be clear when printed. Cut them out, punch a hole in the top left corner, and tie with a bit of ribbon or string. This would be a cute gift tied to an ice cream scoop or a handful of paper straws. 

Does anyone else remember paper straws, the first time around? When bored, talking after lunch, I remember unfurling them. They were soggy by that time. Now that paper straws are a thing again and we are newly allowed to talk without masks at our restaurants here, I guess I will be back to unfurling them after lunch at a restaurant! Did you hang the spirals from your ears? I remember my seventh-grade self doing that. 

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly

Use the LINK-Sheet 1 and LINK-Sheet 2 <-------- stored in the Google Drive cloud.

free printable soda shop booklet 1950s retro

page 2 of free printable diy soda shop retro recipes 1950


 

Thursday, March 25, 2021

Your Favorite Smell, Garden Surprises, Desert SNOW in March and Printable Spring Tags!

Well dearies, here we have some free digital speckled spring tags to download and print out. I was thinking of speckled eggs, and flowers, and decided to combine the two. As always, please use the link, because Blogger compresses and resizes images posted and then they don't print properly. TO GET A GOOD LOOK at the tags to see if you want to download them, RIGHT CLICK and choose "Open link in new tab" and that will make the little magnifier appear.

You can download from Google Drive (safe) from this LINK <-----

speckled egg spring tags florals free download printables themerryneedle.com penniwigs
Amazingly, it snowed today here in the desert -- on our mountaintops. It sprinkled some cold rain on the foothills and in our valley, the Mesilla Valley, where the Rio Grande is and where the chiles, onions, cotton, and pecans grow.

las cruces new mexico organ mountains snow in march 2021

 

The mountains are the Organ Mountains, so called because the tall granite outcroppings (locally called "the needles") looked like organ pipes to some, probably homesick settlers who had left such heavy instruments behind. I can't really imagine the grit that the people had who moved here, the ganas, as they say in Mexico. All these g-words, basically meaning the desert pioneers had guts.

Update on my community garden plot: Whoever had this plot before was a blue-ribbon gardener. I thought I was going to have to amend the soil and dig a lot to prepare the bed. But no! My very first shovelful of soil showed that not only was it already amended, but it was PLANTED! With strange bulbs, pushing up to the surface! And the bed has different mints including apple mint, big mounds of what turned out to be the best-smelling lemongrass ever, other herbs yet to be figured out, and I don't even know what-all. Some heirloom tomatoes, too.

I gingerly poked in a few seeds of sunflowers along the western side of the plot, for shade. And put in a few pumpkin seeds (bush pumpkins) and some Korean Melon seeds that were given to me by a fantastic gardener in a seed club we're in. But I didn't dare dig anything. I just made little holes with a stick.

Those with mint-phobia, don't worry. In the desert, mint cannot take over your beds. They are limited by the extreme dryness and easy to keep in bounds with watering methods.

I am most excited about the lemongrass. I haven't grown it before. I gave it a good haircut and the little blades are already coming up from the roots. I think it's one of my new favorite smells!

What is your favorite smell? Does it vary by season, as mine do? 

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly


Thursday, March 18, 2021

Free Printable "Love, the Easter Bunny" Tags

Maybe someone with a little one could use a tag or two "from" the Easter Bunny. 

I am from a very large family. There were so many children that each child was able to dye only one or two eggs each. It was so disappointing if you created a "bomb" egg. That's the dull army-green/gray egg you get if you put the egg into too many colors of dye.

free printable digital easter bunny tags


As always, remember that Google Blogger compresses large files, causing them to print the wrong size or too grainy. Use this
LINK <--- to download the original-sized file from the Google cloud.

Thank'ee for stopping by.

Kind regards,

Olde Dame Holly



Saturday, March 6, 2021

Vaccine Success! And Free Digital Easter Tags from the 1940s and Before

It happened, suddenly! The chance to get the Johnson & Johnson COVID vaccine for my husband, aged 86 years! I had registered him with the state's Department of Health way back, and watched like a hawk for the chance to snag an appointment time for him, striking out again and again, week after week. Then, another text arrived, I was able to respond within seconds, and secured him a spot. 

There were instructions to go to the local university, to a big parking lot, at 1:30. Everything was tip-top, efficient, with many directing traffic, and even Porta-Potties! We drove up, gave his name, his "confirmation number," birthdate, and then were directed to a waiting queue. We had only been parked a few seconds when we were waved on to the area where they were giving the shots. I had both windows down, because it turned very warm today. A sweet woman came to the passenger side, and was speaking with my husband, getting him confirmed and telling him about possible side effects. He had some questions, and a nurse joined her and was speaking to him, too. I just sat, and reached for my cross stitching I had brought along to do while he got the vaccine and then the waiting period.

On my side, a nurse appeared, too, holding a syringe. She called to the other woman and said, "I'm going to go ahead." I told her, "It's for him, though, right?" She told me no, and to put my arm up, and proceeded to give me the vaccine. It was literally just seconds. 

Seconds later, the nurse gave my husband the vaccine on his side of the car, and they chalked the time we could leave on the windshield and headed for the next car. This was an event for the eldest seniors. I had a mask on and the kind of old-lady sunglasses that cover regular glasses, and I wear bangs. I guess no one could see that I wasn't quite a "senior senior" yet. My hair turned gray at age 19, so I have the right hair!

I have been worried sick that I would catch COVID and be unable to help my husband, or maybe even give him the virus. And worried sick about him, since he didn't see the real danger of COVID at 86 and with serious health problems. Now, SOLVED. 

It's like I can breathe again. I literally cried with happiness. 

I hope and pray my blog friends are innoculated or soon will be. I light a candle at church every day for that intention, that the vaccines be available to all who want them, and to keep the unvaccinated safe.

In other business, here are a few more "shabby" printable Easter tags. Maybe someone can use them! As always, since Google Blogger compresses and shrinks large graphics, use the LINK <--- from Google Drive so that the page will print correctly. I liked the sweet images from the 1940s, so I've included a few. My favorite is the lady bluebird, in her finery!

free themerryneedle.com digital printables for easter shabby chic


As always, thank'ee for stopping by.

Kind regards,

The Merry Olde Innoculated Dame, Holly

Monday, February 22, 2021

Free Easter Images and Free Thoughts

Warning about free stuff: As the old saying goes, "Free, and worth every penny."

One week ago, the U.S. was gripped by three winter storms in a row. Even here in the desert Southwest, we had snow, graupel, and several days where the high temp was below freezing. My heart goes out to those who were severely affected; two animal rescuers in Texas I know are still in bad shape, and only their lion-hearts are keeping their rescues afloat as they scamble for water and warmth for the animals in their care. 

But what a contrast, here: We have sun, spring-like temperatures, and flowers beginning to bud. I noticed that a winecup plant that last week was ice-encrusted, has today put up two big flower buds. I bought the tiniest size of the winecup at the nursery last year, a weak-looking plant with four leaves, and today it takes up half a fire-ring (fire rings are like stock tanks, but no bottoms). The winecup is in a struggle with an ice-plant as to who will dominate that particular bit of garden. My heart is with the winecup, so I give it a bit of help with judicious pulling and re-homing of the ice-plant. Do not grieve for the ice-plant! It easily roots wherever I place it.

I am greedy for flowers in my yard; flowers and wild grapes. I was able to snag a plot in our community gardens here in the city today, and that's where I will grow vegetables this year. That leaves all of my fire rings here at the house free for flowering plants. The "plot" of land I am assigned has had some improvements made, including PVC pipes arched over the top and secured at the sides of the raised bed. That is going to come in handy for "shade cloth," which helps shield the veggies from the full strength of the sun. Even full-sun plants here do better with some shade. I have the water faucet at the end of my plot, too, so that's a bonus. 

Here are some shabby tags for Easter. Maybe you will find a use for them: Glue them to a can or bottle, tie onto a cabinet pull, place with some greenery. As always, since mean ol' Google compresses files and makes them smaller, use this LINK <--- right here and download the original big size from Google Drive. Don't save the image, as it will print too small or be too fuzzy since it was reduced in size.

But...to get a better view of them, you can right-click them, choose open in another tab or window, then regular-click and use the little magnifying glass to see them better. Sometimes it's hard to make the little magnifying glass appear.

And as always...thank'ee for stopping by.

free shabby prim easter tags rabbits bunny parade
Kind regards,

The Merry Olde Dame, Holly

Thursday, February 18, 2021

Printable St. Paddy's Tags

St. Patrick's Day tends to get skipped. It is the Thanksgiving of spring, in that way, overshadowed by Valentine's Day and Easter, just as Thanksgiving is squeezed between Hallowe'en and Christmas. Of course, St. Paddy's is just a minor holiday here, without the deep meaning of Thanksgiving.

Here are a few St. Pat's tags with a few spring-like tags, ready to print and be fussy-cut. My favorite is the wee colleen with the umbrella.

I had an aunt who was married to my mother's brother. She hailed from Ireland, and since she had the same name as another aunt, we called her Irish Mary. Amazingly, she didn't seem to mind. Irish Mary eventually was widowed, and decided to return to Ireland to live out her days. After about a year, she returned. She said it would take her two years to thaw out. She had grown too used to Southern climes and could no longer take the chill. Ireland's summer was colder than New Orleans' winter.

I was just musing that in English, we do not capitalize the seasons. Spring, summer, fall and winter are all lower-case words, not proper nouns. I think they're important enough to be capitalized! I think "The birds and blooms of Spring are delightful" looks better than "The birds and blooms of spring are delightful." Perhaps "Cat" should be capitalized, too. [The previous sentence was sponsored by my cats].

I was also just musing that when I am visiting other blogs, a thousand ideas and memories are sparked. And then, when I sit down to write a post, the ideas fly from my mind. I need to jot them down as I hop from blog to blog!

Please use this LINK <--- to download the free file from Google Drive, which is supposed to be quite safe. If you save the image below, it is compressed by Google (Google again!) and might not print the right size or clarity.

free diy printable digital easter spring st patrick's tags st pats
Kind regards,

The Merry Olde Dame, Holly 


Monday, February 15, 2021

Hopping Towards Easter with Free DIY Digital Printable Tags


We interrupt this blog post to bring you this alert:

I hope you are all warm, with electricity, calm, and safe during winter storm Uri or any wintry weather abroad. 

Carry on!

The Valentine's decor is whisked away safely for another year. And, the Easter decorations are placed, with the exception of the cross stitch items I'm stitching up. They are in progress. Pinkeeps -- again! 

Here are some thrifty tags to print out, turn into garlands, use in cabinet displays, etc. I always hang a few from the armoire latches and tuck them here and there in the house. Please use this LINK <--- so that you get the full, uncompressed file stored safely in the Google Cloud. If you save the image below, Google will have unfortunately compressed it and it won't print as nicely. I am stuck on using the musical tags as the base for seasonal tags lately. The very first tag I ever received was a musical tag, and I must have imprinted on it.

I am continuing to be a bit lean in decorating. I do have my eye on some orchard grass. I want to put heaps of it in baskets and make "nests" of it in boxes, and put some empty eggs in them. I have seen some very expensive orchard grass online in some prim shops, but I usually get the Oxbow brand dried orchard grass that is good for guinea pigs (which I used to rescue). It's much less expensive and looks just as primitive.

Anyone have any decorating plans they are putting into place for Easter? And what about your color scheme? Yes, Easter is most often pastels and white, yet...I don't know why, but I'm going for very dusty-looking pastels this year. Muted. Faded!

free printable digital easter tags themerryoldedame merryneedle

Kind regards,

Holly, The Merry Olde Dame




Friday, January 22, 2021

A Little Love Banner Free Printable

Here is a thrifty one-sheet banner to print that spells out "LOVE." Might be cute printed out, maybe grubbed on the edges, or sweetened with mica or metallic ink, and tacked on a shelf edge or across the top of an armoire. 

I had the pink version up on my old blog, and have added a tan and black raggedy version.

Use the links to make sure you get the full, uncompressed file, stored in the Google cloud. 

I'm still working on my Strawberry Bunny cross stitch designs. I've got the second one nearly stitched. Where I slow down is translating the actual stitchery to chart form. I dread that part! I like the stitching part best. Of course, I remember when charts were made using graph paper and an old Underwood typewriter!

We had our first foggy day of the year today. It's a rare event and was very exciting to those who have lived hereabouts their whole lives.

Pink Link

Tan Link

diy cardstock banner valentines free freebie printable digital

free printable valentines love banner diy


Thank'ee for stopping by.

    Kind regards,

    Holly, The Merry Olde Dame

Wednesday, January 20, 2021

Get Ready for Valentine's Day with These Free Tags to Embellish

It's not too early to begin the Valentine's Day crafts. Not with how time flies by so quickly! It seems I barely get in gear and the holiday -- any holiday -- is upon me. 

Here are some little tags to embellish. Each sheet prints out on a regular letter-sized piece of cardstock or paper.

One set is just plain, waiting to be cut out and embellished by your scraps, buttons, and bits. Punch a hole and add some twine or ribbon. LINK!

Free diy valentine cards designs printables
One set is already "decorated," but certainly it could be fun to add on some lace, rhinestones, string, flowers, G L I T T E R (or mica, I have a jar of it somewhere around here), or what have you. Now I am second-guessing the glitter idea, although I have so many pretty glitters. I just recalled that some scientists think it very bad for the environment. I do hate to think of some earthworm biting down on a piece. I don't think they can spit it out. Or a plankton swallowing some. Maybe I'll just use mica from now on. LINK!

free Victorian valentines valentine's cards tags to print out
One page is old Victorian images, to be cut out and glued on with whatever you have on hand, too. I enjoy fussy-cuts but not everyone does. I found I liked them very much once I had the right scissors (slim, small ones, very sharp). Does anyone remember the awful elementary school scissors of yesteryear? Impossible! Those rounded tips, and such poor machining, with the blades wallowing around a loose rivet. They chewed the paper, not cut it. Yet we managed to create many a pretty thing with them. In fifth grade were were allowed to have the "pointed" version. Not much better, but we felt very grown up. LINK!

free printable victorian vintage clip art designs diy valentines valentine's
Use the links, please, so that you get the uncompressed files. Blogger compresses large files, and sometimes they won't print the right size. The links are stored on Google Drive, safe. Get them while they're hot, because I might pull the blank ones down after a week or so.

Thank'ee for stopping by.

    Kind regards,

    Holly, The Merry Olde Dame - Not Always Merry, but Always Olde

Tuesday, December 29, 2020

A New Year Is Nearly Here!

These holidays are at a full gallop now, it seems to me! Christmas Eve - whoosh! Christmas Day - whoosh! Feast of the Holy Family - whoosh! And now New Year's Eve just about a day away! 

Today I planted many amazing kinds of mint in my courtyard. I usually would not plant mint in January, but a kind internet friend sent me many kinds of mint sprigs for Christmas, after my husband inadvertantly ruined my mint beds. At 86, he has good days and bad days, and on the bad days, things like dumping the water softener's super-salty water onto my flowerbeds (and thousands of salt pellets onto the driveway) happen. So, my courtyard, at ground level, has been salted and ruined.This spring I will remove the topsoil and replace it with good soil. I grow most of my plants in fire rings (similar to stock tanks, but no bottoms), so they were spared. I have a thick layer of pine straw and juniper branches over the mint, so it is tucked in tight and I believe the mint will rest easy until warmer weather. Being in the southern desert, our winters are not onerous but it does freeze.

I calmed myself by creating some tags for New Years, featuring antique designs. I love to create digital items. I love actual hand-work, too, but sometimes it feels impossible to organize and begin such work. The computer is right there, ready to go, so I hop onto it and do some creating. With nighttime (and daytime) breathing problems, I am rarely asleep during normal night hours, so the computer is good company.

Use this LINK <---- to save the full-sized file. Blogger unfortunately compresses large image files in posts and then they don't print nicely, so don't just right-click and save the image. Get the real file stored on Google Drive.

Thank'ee for stopping by.

    Kind regards,

    Holly, The Merry Olde Dame

free printable new year's new years tags diy digital


Wednesday, December 23, 2020

Free Cute DIY Kitchen Gift Idea Printable

If you are in need of a thrifty and useful gift, consider printing out these little little 3x5 measurement equivalency cards and pairing them with a wooden spoon, a jar of spice or sprinkles, even some brown sugar in a Mason jar, and a favorite or interesting recipe.

You can punch a hole in one corner and put them on a ring or tie with baker's twine or raffia. I love thrifty, make-do gifts. Not everyone does, however; I was shocked (decades ago) when my own mother told me in no uncertain terms that she did not like handmade gifts after I proudly gave her a cross stitch creation and a jar of mulled cider spices I had blended. I believe it was partly a reaction to having been young during the Depression; my parents, and many of their generation, bore the scars of severe deprivation. They liked shiny and new, especially my mother, not reminders of lean times.

As always, please use the links so that these print out full size and are not the compressed files you see as images below.

Terra Cotta Tones Link

Mustard Tones Link

Turquoise Tones Link

free printable diy kitchen measurements

free printable diy kitchen measurements

printable free diy kitchen measurements


Thank'ee for stopping by. Almost Christmas!

    Kind regards,

    The Merry Olde Dame, Holly




Monday, December 21, 2020

Last-Minute Free Printable To - From Tags

I was a bit shocked to go into a Walmart yesterday to grab a few last-minute Christmas decorations, only to find Christmas gone except for a few things in baskets by the garden section, and Valentine's Day candy and decorations where the Christmas items had been. 

Here are some free printable tags in case you find yourself in a similar situation. Free, gratis, no strings attached.

I remember a very elderly neighbor when my first husband was in graduate school. She lived a few doors down in what had then become a "student ghetto," one of the last holdouts in the entire area not to be a student or married to a student. She was generous in sharing little things she had, and she would never just say they were "free" -- she would say, "Free, gratis, no strings attached." I picked that up and have said it myself for about 40 years now.

I don't like to always be sighing over "the good old days," but I do remember the fun of shopping the last week of Christmas, and indeed on Christmas Eve. The stores were still full of Christmas things and the bustle was exciting. I don't know when exactly that retail began acting like Christmas was over before it was over.

In other news, I have yet to be able to do my embroidery this month, or last. Maybe in January. I have so many ideas for early winter and Valentine's Day.

And speaking of upcoming holidays, be sure to get yourself a broom (straw broom is best) before January 6th! You'll need it for Twelfth Night! Twelfth Night is actually celebrated on January 5th, the Eve of the Epiphany. So have it handy before then.

Click THIS LINK <----- to save a copy of the file below. I have it stored on Google Drive. If you click and save the actual image below, it might not print nicely, having been compressed and shrunk by Blogger.

free printable diy christmas tags for gifts


Thank'ee for stopping by!

    Kind regards,

    The Merry Olde Dame, Holly

Saturday, December 12, 2020

Gift Card Sleeves: Free Printable Holders for DIY Christmas

Last week was surgery week for me. Five surgeries, even short outpatient ones, in a row is draining! I feel like a very sore pincushion and look like one, too. Black and blue from stem to stern! After the third day, I got a bit lost. I'm not sure what happened to Thursday and Friday. I just know that now, instead of rest and magazines and pampering and daytime television, patients sit up in recovery, begin walking around, and keep up a schedule of walking every hour. It's evidently a lot better for us than the old way.

If you forgo sedation, you can even drive yourself home, to the pharmacy, etc. after just an hour's wait.

One thing I did notice in my few travels last week (to the grocery and the pharmacy) was that people were shopping like crazy. With stores just reopened this week in New Mexico, the shelves are being picked clean. We don't know if they'll be shut again before Christmas, so everything and anything is being bought. There are only a very few giftcards left, too, out of hundreds and hundreds per store. And for some reason, none of the little free holders are left. There are some rather pricey ones for sale, but that's not thrifty if you're on a budget. I love the fancy holders, but not the cost.

Here are two sheets of do-it-yourself printable holders for gift cards. You could also tuck cash into them. 

You can print them out at home or send them electronically to an Office Depot, Walgreens, or Walmart; in most towns they print them right there. Then you can cut out, fold in half, fold the tabs, glue, and the gift card holder is ready once dry. With the fancy dry-line adhesives, you don't even have to wait for them to dry.

The extra little card can be used or just discarded.

Use the LINKS to make sure you get the full-sized file stored "in the Google cloud." Blogger compresses and shrinks files and then they don't print as nicely. Better to use the "cloud" or "drive" and get the best file.

Use THIS LINK <----- for the old-fashioned holders.

free printable christmas gift card holders sleeves diy


Use THIS LINK<-------for the red/blue holders below.

diy christmas printable digital gift card holders sleeves


Thank'ee for stopping by.

    Kind regards,

    Holly, The Merry Olde Dame


Wednesday, December 9, 2020

Free Seed Packet Printable for Christmas! Digital Download.

If you like to gather and save seeds, and then share them, click on the link and download the free cute seed packet envelope to cut out and fold. It makes a cute gift and can even be placed in a Christmas card.

I have a small gardening area, so when I buy seeds, I have a lot left over. Be thrifty and divide up those specialty seeds among your gardening friends! I love to get exotic and rare seeds as well as heirlooms. My gardening buddies love them, too. This year, all of my Christmas cards have seeds tucked into them, some from gleaning and some from boughten packs.

Use the link to save the image, so that it prints out the right size and clarity.

--->LINK CLICK HERE<---

free printable diy seed packet christmas


Thank'ee for stopping by.

    Kind regards,

    The Merry Olde Dame, Holly

Monday, December 7, 2020

Santa's Magic Key - Free Printable to Reassure Kids

Sometimes children become anxious that Santa will be unable to get into their home or apartment. They see their doors locked up tight at night, and most do not have fireplaces and chimneys.

I made this little printable sheet to reassure the kiddos. With the "magic key" tag left outside the door -- perhaps tied to the doorknob -- Santa can easily come in and leave the goodies.

When I taught in the primary grades, I had to be careful not to betray any information about Santa. My son was already older, and I had forgotten the angst some of the children felt about Santa. Some of the students had older siblings who would tease them about the veracity of Santa Claus and point out that they had no chimney for Santa-travel. That's when I started making "magic keys" for the students to take home - just old keys with ribbon tied on to hang outside the door and await Santa's magic touch. 

Print out the tags and either tape or glue on an old skeleton key, or fussy-cut one of the printed keys and affix. When Santa touches the printed key, it magically becomes metal, don't you know, and opens the door right up.

free printable santa's magic key www.themerryneedle.com


Please be sure to use the link to download the file. Blogger compresses large files, so the images in the post will be too small to print nicely. It's safe to download the full-sized image file from Google Drive.

Here's the LINK <------

Thank'ee for stopping by.

    Kind regards,

    The Merry Olde Dame, Holly