Well, this has gone on a while, but I just got here so I'll post. First off, I grew up in a very large Empire period stone house in the midwest. As kids we found a few things, but the most interesting feature of that house is that it was supposedly a part of the underground railroad (the house is next to the mississippi on the Illinois side). In the full basement is a passage that has been bricked up. No one knows what is behind there and now that I'm a contractor I often think of going back there before my parents sell the house to see what is behind. I've found in my work: - An old town welfare receipt from the thirties in the upstairs of an old rural cape. - Old bottles and a can of 'new colored' blue paint, opened by a can opener, probably from the early century. - a baseball card (not rare) from the fifties under a tub we removed. - a 60's era soft porn slide under a built cabinet - various old coins I now live in an 1890 gothic owned by three generations of the same family. In it my kids have found: two old umbrellas, one with a sterling handle, a local stable advertising calendar from 1896, tons of old newspapers dating from the 1890's, a toy gun from the fifties, a victorian era small Swedish bible tucked in the floor boards upstairs, a geography book printed in 1820 (talks of the south as a place of slave plantations). The receipt for siding the house in the thirties, a forties ear coca-cola cooler, Probably the coolest find was when my son was fourteen years old on his birthday, which lands on Memorial Day, found a noisemaker, an old flag and a newspaper tucked in the wall studs in the loft of the adjoining barn. The newspaper was dated exactly one hundred years to the day he found them --- with talk of the Memorial Day parade, etc, which we assume the noisemaker and the flag came from. He brought them to me and didn't even notice that detail until I looked at the date. I was pretty blown away. A friend at the time who liked to think she had 'special' clairvoyance, said that it was a 'sign' that the spirits in the house liked us.

Hi Everyone.....I just joined....Thank you so much for all the wonderful info in this thread. You see...GFG was one of my grandmothers favorite quilts to make. I begged her to teach me (way back when I was a pre-teen) but alas I never got to learn. She has been gone for 27 years now and I have been trying to teach myself....LOL....Now with all your help I will be able to make my Grammie proud. I am going to start out small....ie...Chair pads.I remember Grammie making pillows. Then work up. I want to make one each foe my 2 granddaughters. I have lots of material, just need to get them sorted. I do have a question or 2.. ;o) If I decide not to put a white border around each flower....what should I use? Light or dark fabric? And does it all have to be hand stitched or can I cheat and use a machine? Also...do you use the hexes for yoyos? Grammie made these as well? Dont know how to make them. Thank again, God Bless You All Sherri ps....as soon as I get a chair pad made I will try to get you all a pic!!!!!

I am a teacher and love getting gifts no matter how small or silly. It feels so good to be appreciated. I am a music teacher, so I don't get large presents or often, but usually 5 or six kids will bring something and it makes my day. My favorites include a heartfelt note written by the kid or parent, HEALTHY food gifts like a soup mix or fruit, gift cards to half price books (they go further there), cool magnets for my whiteboard, a nice pen or other practical classroom items. One mom embroidered a tote bag with my name and that was really cool. Another bought a bunch of inexpensive plants from Home Depot (think 6-packs) potted them in baby food jars and tied on a pretty ribbon. She had one for the librarian, principal, etc. and they said Thanks for helping me grow. Not very expensive or time consuming, but so special. No, I don't feel badly towards kids who bring nothing, that is really the norm, but a cute little gift will cheer me up and probably make me a better teacher that day. Honestly, though, when a child draws a picture of me holding his hand - well, that is just as special and uplifting.

I have made up a couple of sets of pre-printed acid free paper packs, that contain 50 sheets, 1 each of a different design, of 8 1/2 x 11 size, with no duplicate patterns. I would like to trade preferable paper for paper, but I would consider other offers. Please be advised that these paper packs DO NOT include any CM paper. ( There is not a CM consultant in our area, and I find it is too expensive for my budget.) Mostly these are sheets that came in packs for printer use, but have lovely patterns. They include names such as Hallmark, etc.. I bought packs of them in hopes of trading locally, but the art of scrapbook making has yet to catch on here in my TINY town, and I do not need as many as I have of the same design. If anyone is interested please let me know. I also have some approx 3" x 5" iron on's that make great titles and accents for pages. You just iron it on a piece of acid free paper and then attatch them to your page. I have no idea as to the acid content of these iron on's but since you would not be ironing them on to your picture it's self, then they should be safe to use. I know they are really cute. There is approx. 15-20 different designs. For example: A pair of muscled up arms, and underneath the drawn arms are the words JOCK, then there are things that say: Fisherman are happy hookers, and it shows a guy in a boat. If anyone has something they would like to trade for a set of these let me know also. I have more items including stickers with names on them. Sample : Josh, Suzanne, etc. Most of the more common names however are already gone. Penny