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The Blog of Historic Deerfield
This is not a blog about pumpkin spice. While today we decorate our yards and front steps with pumpkins and gourds and drink coffee flavored with pumpkin pie spices, long ago the pumpkin and its relatives — winter squashes — were a staple and necessary food item that were stored and eaten over the long and cold New England winters.
In the spring of 2020, I was one of the many people who sought to learn a new skill as a way to pass the long hours at home. My pandemic hobby was darning. When I went online in search of tutorials and videos that would teach me to repair the worn out heels of my old wool socks, I discovered to my surprise that darning was actually in!
March 17, 2021 marks the 245th anniversary of the end of the Siege of Boston, which lasted from April 1775 to March 1776 during the early years of the American Revolution. The siege followed on the heels of the infamous battles at Lexington and Concord, Massachusetts in April 1775.
In this installment of Maker Mondays we want to treat you to some recipes for holiday drinks that were popular in early New England.
As the days get shorter and the sun sets early in the Northern hemisphere, we look to the past for inspiration for lighting our homes and lives. Historic Deerfield’s collection of eighteenth and nineteenth-century lighting equipment includes fat lamps, candlesticks, sconces, oil lamps and lanterns.
This Monday, we are going to show you how to make dolls using corn husks. Popularly known as “Corn Husk Dolls,” we are presenting our own adaptation of a traditional Native American craft. Corn husk dolls have been, and are still, crafted world-wide by just about every culture that grows corn.
This Monday we’re encouraging you to create your own commemorative plate. See examples in the Historic Deerfield collection and learn step by step how to make your own.
Learn about the historic art form of quilling. See an example of quilled art from the collection, and learn how to make your own quilled shapes and pictures.
This week’s Maker Monday project comes from a suggestion made by Amanda Lange, Curatorial Department Chair. We have a small wooden box, beautifully decorated with paint and paper cut-outs in our collection. This box represents an art form called decoupage. We thought you would enjoy learning about it and trying to decorate your own special box at home.
This Monday we have adapted an activity from a garden program that we have offered at Historic Deerfield during previous Junes. At the History Workshop, we have a teaching garden. Every year we feature plants like flax, broom corn, herbs and vegetables that support our interpretive programs.
This Monday we have something a little different for you. It is an activity that comes from a popular program we have offered called “All About Tea,” where we like to offer visitors the opportunity to sit and enjoy teatime. So today, we want to offer you a virtual tea party!
Americans practiced the art of stenciling extensively during the early decades of the nineteenth century. Learn the history of stencil art, and how to make your own stencil and bookmark in this activity.
We have so appreciated your response to our Maker Mondays Blog and have enjoyed the emails and photos you have sent us. From your feedback, we know that our Butter and Biscuit blog was a favorite so we thought we would offer another baking project. This one is a cake recipe that comes from a book published in 1829.
Last week we explained how to make a journal. We hope you were successful and had fun: maybe you have started writing, drawing or making notes in your journal. This Maker Monday we would like to introduce you to some ideas about journal keeping.
Today’s Maker Mondays offering will be part one of a two-week activity. Today, we will show you how to make a journal. Next Monday we will explain some methods of journal writing and share samples of journals from Historic Deerfield’s archives. While you are making your journal this week, you can think about what you would like to put in your journal.
This week’s Maker Monday is inspired by spring flowers.
We wanted to show you an easy way of capturing the ephemeral beauty of flowers. Follow step-by-step directions for making a flower print by pounding petals!
This week’s Maker Monday is inspired by food history and the love of butter and freshly baked buttermilk biscuits.
This week’s Maker Monday is inspired by curiosity and the love of collecting. The heart of every museum is its collection of objects.
Make your own berry ink and old paper at home, and write with a quill pen.