A Few Useful Entertaining Ideas

Today I am passing on some interesting tips about successful and enjoyable entertaining.

Anticipate problems and have plans in mind to prevent them or correct them. Most guests have common enough sense to refrain from exploring rooms that are off-limits, but if you anticipate that there might be some children or others who feel that your home is their home and are inclined to wander, there are a number of things you can do.

a. Turn off the lights in all rooms except the ones which will be used by your guests. 

b. Close doors to private areas such as the garage, laundry room, bedrooms, office and others. If there might be some extra curious little ones who tend to wander and open doors, place a chair in front of the door, and on the chair a basket of flowers or a plant. If a particular area of the house is off limits, you can place a rolling cart or some piece of furniture in the entrance.

c. Stay with your guests as much as you can, to avoid having them go looking for you in other parts of the house.

d. Allow guests to be seated in your living area first. Only when that room is full, should you begin to bring out extra chairs, and the reason is this: When several rows of extra folding chairs are on display, guests seem to automatically sit there and leave the living room empty. Another reason is this:  The extra chairs may not be filled at all, due to guests who do not come. Those 15 empty chairs can make a get-together look like a failure. It is wiser to bring out one at a time, as extra people come, than to leave a large amount of chairs sitting out that will never be filled.  I received this tip from a minister who believed that empty chairs announced failure, but a full living room announced success.  Of course, one extra empty chair would not hurt the morale of a group you have invited, but if there are too many, guests may begin to ask "Is anyone else coming tonight?"

Festive Tea

e. If you are serving food, set it out in a way that makes it easy for guests to help themselves, which will free up your time to visit.  Place a small trash can in an accessible place near the buffet area so that they can dispose of the paper plates, cups, cutlery and napkins, and not feel they must go into the kitchen and look for the trash can underneath your sink.

f. If your house is available for touring, by all means, announce this to your guest and tell them they are free to look around.  But if it is not, say nothing. Just follow the techniques listed above and they should get the message.

If you have a Ladies Bible Class in your home you will need to have some priorities.  It is not necessary to have every shelf and every cupboard perfectly organized, or anything else that your guests will not see.  Take care of the things they will see: the floors, the furniture and the room where they will be sitting, the front porch and entrance area. Preview the area where your guests will be entering and sitting, and look around to see what they will be seeing. That way, you can tell what their view will be and what needs to be straightened or cleaned. The restroom must be sanitary and sparkling and fresh, so make this a priority. Your kitchen must also be clean, even if guests do not see it, for it will make you more at ease as a hostess, knowing you do not have to hide a room the guests might see.

Sometimes guests come extraordinarily early and the hostess is still finishing up some details she is tending to, to make the event go smoothly. You might offer a pretty magazine or book  or point to a stack of reading material that they can browse while they wait for the event to get started. Tell them you have to finished up a few things.

Having a weekly class can sometimes make it tempting to be less than excellent in preparation. Someone told me that no matter how frequent an entertainment even was, that the hostess should treat it as though it was the most important day of the week and make her personal appearance a priority. I knew a woman who hosted  a weekly Ladies Bible Class. She dressed her very best, in a dress and even wore the strand of pearls her husband had bought her many years ago, and had taken pains with her hair and general appearance. She felt that dressing her best helped her serve others better.

Church at Home is something that needs to be addressed, also. Some people romanticise the idea of gathering in the homes of the church members on the Lord's Day, and shun the idea of having a facility or building of their own to share. They seek the comforts of home rather than the meeting house.  While I agree it is sometimes enjoyable to be invited to worship in the home of a church member, there are many other things to consider. Firstly, consider that a meeting house is already prepared for the purpose of hosting the members for worship services. There are usually several washrooms set aside for men and women, and the seating areas are adequate for many more people. There, members may come as early as they like and not inconvenience anyone.

Meeting at home can mean an intensive amount of preparation for the woman of the house. The home is used for many different purposes, whereas a church meeting place is always available and prepared for a gathering of people intent on worship.  When services are over, the members can linger as long as they like to visit with their brethren, and not inconvenience anyone.

Because hosting church at home can cause a tremendous amount of stress on the lady of the house, it will diminish enthusiasm for showing hospitality. This is one reason the church meeting house is so ideal. It is always there and always company-ready.

  Sometimes when people meet in a home, they expect refreshments afterwards, which may also add to the burden of the homemaker. In my own experience over the years, I've seen the church start out very small, meeting in someone's trailer home, and then as they grew larger in number, they rented a space in the local library, then another facility, and finally they felt it would be more convenient to have their own church building. This enabled them to use it as often as they liked during the week.

Meeting at home can bring on a host of other problems, as personal property is treated as public property and maybe not as carefully as it should. It creates a lot of wear and tear on the facilities at home, and some stress for the homemaker to get everything ready, even if she delegates the preparations to others.

When a church meets in a home, it often comes about that the family who hosts it will have an illness and have to reroute everyone to another home, which has to be hurriedly cleaned up and made ready. From many years of personal experience, I can say that I much prefer meeting in a church facility that is made especially for the members to worship and have fellowship activities.  It is always enjoyable to invite someone from the worship services home afterwards for a meal

However, if you are in the position to host a church gathering in your home for worship, it is important to prepare the house in such a way as to keep the member's minds on the solemnity of the worship service to God, and not create distractions. Make it clear there are places in the house not open to the public, and set a time when the service begins and ends. Having church in a home can be wonderful, but as the congregation grows, I think it is a blessing if they can pool their money and get a facility for themselves to share.  The homemaker can have a place to go on Sunday where she can forget about her housework for a couple of hours. 

Give your guests the best that you can afford and the best of yourself. Avoid making last minute preparations, as this will cause tension and worry. Prepare as far ahead as you can so that you can entertain with ease.  

It does no harm to add to your table "wardrobe" by adding interest, using tablecloths to your collection or a bright centerpiece of some kind. If you have a regular class of some kind in your home, you will need some changes in tea cups and dishes, if only to keep your own interest alive and fresh.

While we want to be welcoming, warm and friendly, it is important not to reveal too much personal information about yourself, your relatives, or things that you do not have the privilege of discussing. Some guests who are not used to being entertained, will ask all kinds of things. Think ahead to what they might do with any information you give them and whether it can be twisted or misconstrued to sully your family's reputation.  For example, one young lady asked her hostess, "Do you ever see your mother?" The hostess replied that since they lived such a great distance apart, due to her husband's job, that they were unable to get together often.  The young lady concluded that the hostess and her mother had no communication between them and were not close.  You never know where people's minds are going to go, so when asked about personal things, you can always say, "We are doing just fine," or, "They are doing just fine." Fostoring uplifting, meaningful conversation is worth practicing when you need to steer a guest onto a more productive subject.

If there is a special occasion you are observing, it is good to have a small departing memento for your guests, especially the ladies. A small box or bag with a soap, candle, food, or some other delight, is always appreciated. Try a pretty notebook and a pen, a fresh flower in a small vase, sprigs of herbs like rosemary, mint, sage, tied in ribbon, or any thing that will give the heart of the recipient a lift. To get ideas, imagine what you, yourself would like to receive.

The purpose of hospitality is three-fold: It builds up your guests, it encourages you, and it pleases the Lord. Often the hostess feels she has received more satisfaction by giving of herself and her home, than those who are entertained.  It is more blessed to give, than to receive, and this is certainly the case in entertaining others in your home.

If you have any more tips that have been especially helpful to you, I would be delighted if you would leave a comment.

The Role of Older Women

Today I am sharing a tract I wrote, that is printable. I hope to have the time to do more of these in the future, elaborating further on the many aspects of ways older women can provide good ideas and instruction to help younger women can have good success in home living.


Ladies Bible Studies 

by Lydia Sherman

Older Women

in the Church

Looking into the Word of God to Discover How the Older Women Can Be Helpers in the Lord's Church.

In the Lord's church, we are obligated to find our answers in the Word of God, and not depend on the trends of the prevailing culture. To find out what the role of older women is, all we need to do is read and practice what is written in Titus 2, verses 1-5:

1But speak thou the things which become sound doctrine:

2 That the aged men be sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience.

3 The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;

4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children,

5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.

These verses lay out things that the churches of Christ need from older women. These needs will always be with us from generation to generation. 

Older women who have been wives, mothers and homemakers for many years will have a wealth of information and insight to share with the younger women, but first, they must be good examples.
Verses 1, 2 and 3 mention sound doctrine, soberness (serious attitude), patience, teachers of good things.

Verse 5 says the older women are to teach the younger women to be “keepers at home.” Older women must teach the younger women in several ways: 1. By showing them the scriptures, 2. By their own life example, and 3. By teaching how to love their husband, love their children, and keep house.

If an older woman teaches the younger women to be keepers at home, she must also be a keeper at home. It is hard to serve two masters. If a woman works outside the home, she may find it difficult and tiring to keep her own home and to pass on her knowledge of home keeping to younger women. In order to teach “good things” an older woman must also live them, and be a good example.

Today there are many marvelous communication and publication avenues that can help an older woman teach a younger women these important things:

1. She may share her own home with younger women by extending hospitality to them in order to share with them how to have a stable marriage, how to lovingly and effectively raise their children, and how to keep the home.
2. She may use the telephone or email to teach lessons on marriage, children and homemaking.
3. She may have a daily weblog or website as a teaching tool, or teach classes during the week.
4. She may publish a newsletter to distribute to the younger women, and she may write letters.

Daughters may learn from their mothers at home. There are many other young women who need this training, and so the older women are very much needed in the church to teach the important lessons of Titus chapter 2. How does this help the church? Older women will teach younger women to encourage their husbands and children to become strong members of the Lord's church and carry out His commission.

 Go here to print this out as a tract.

I am linking this article to Romans 16:16  blog.

Make a Teacup Ornament

You have probably seen pictures of real china tea cups used as ornaments, or miniature tea cups made of glass specifically to be used as ornaments. These are very heavy and can weigh down the bough or wreath you are using. . The ornaments I have made from egg cartons, below, will be much lighter and last for a few years. If you are not a seasoned egg-carton crafter, you might find the first tea cup ornament to be tedious, but children love this craft and are willing to dig right in and make the tea cups.  All you do is take the egg section and make a saucer from a flat piece of the lid,  and make a handle from the cardboard of the lid.

This is what my finished egg-carton tea cup, light as a feather looks like. It is covered in decoupage glue, which makes it shiny and durable.

The best egg carton to use is the one that is sold with the extra little pedestal that makes it look more like a real fancy teacup. Also, choose a carton with a completely flat lid, with no holes or shapes.

First you need to cut out an egg section and trim it as evenly as you can without making it too small. It is okay to leave part of it a little lower than the rest, because you can glue the top of the handle there.

Then, trace around something small to make the saucer. I found this egg cup a little too small so I would recommend a small candle dish or the bottom of a goblet.

Glue the cup to the saucer with tacky glue. Elmers all-purpose glue will work, but egg carton absorbs moisture quickly, and you will need something really strong to glue it together without making it too wet. Hot glue does not work well with this craft, as the egg carton is too delicate.

Put the finished, painted cup near a heater, or outside in the warm sun so that the paint will dry.

Use two coats of paint, but if you are painting it another color, make the white coat your primer and then add the other color later. The egg carton color tends to alter the color of the paint, so you will need the white base coat.  I used two coats of white for this project.

Cut a longish piece of cardboard from the lid and bend it into an "s" shape for the handle. 

This has one coat of craft paint on it. It does not matter what kind of craft paint you use. Flat or shiny will do. Let the project dry before you add another coat or put the gold edge on the rims. Be sure to turn it upside down and paint the bottom of the saucer.  You can see the shape of the handle here. The egg carton cardboard is easy to bend and manipulate into a fancy handle.Try looking at your own tea cups to get ideas for making the shape of the handle.

Some of the things you will use: Modge Podge decoupage glue (luster or flat), a paint brush, white craft paint, egg carton, and a brown paper bag to put the project on to protect the table. I have a craft table but I still like to use a paper bag for all sticky projects. Notice the top of the egg carton is a flat lid, which is better for making the saucers.

When the teacup is dry you can put a stream of thin gold scribbles metallic or glittered paint on all the edges, including the handle. Put it near a heater or in the sun to dry and it should dry a little faster. You can leave it for quite a while and go do other things (like dishes, laundry) while it dries more slowly. Don't forget to draw a line of glitter paint on the outer edges of the handle.

I put a second line of glitter paint on the outside of the cup, in addition to the top of the rim, so that it could be more visible from the side. You can add swirls and patterns with your glue or tube of paint.

If you have no scribble or polymer or other paint similar to the one I am using, all you have to do is squirt a line of elmers glue around the outer rims and sprinkle your choice of glitter over it.

After the glitter paint is completely dry and hardened, dip some decoupage or white glue on the brush and thoroughly paint it on the inside and outside of the teacup and handle.  You can paint right over the gold edging, because it will dry clear, and the glitter will still be bright. When that later of glue is dry, turn the cup over and paint the other side of the saucer and the inside of the handle.

  You can draw a design on it with those glitter paints, like I did, above. When it is all dry, tie a length of metallic ribbon on the ornament for a hanger. The rim and glittered design are much more thick and prominent than the above photo shows.

I was trying to get my little ornament to look like my favorite tea cup which I take wherever I travel.

This is what it looks like as an ornament.

To make the project simpler, glue the tea cup together with tacky glue and then paint with any kind of craft paint . Then decorate the inside and outside with a rose sticker or some seasonal sticker but do coat it with white glue or decoupage to make it strong. It will go over dried glitter or glitter glue just fine. 

These would be nice for little play-teacups for children.

How to Make a Hair Scrunchie and Hair Band To Match Your Home Sewn Dress

Roses by E. Kruger

Take a scrap of fabric from the selvage and even it out on the crooked side,  with scissors. You will need a length of elastic that wraps at least three times around your hand when stretched because that is how many times you will wind the scrunchy around your pony tail or bun or "messy updo."  Lay the strip of elastic on the strip of fabric, and cut the fabric two times longer than the piece of elastic. If you want the scrunchy or headband to be more gathered, make the fabric three times as long.   To measure for the headband, just wrap elastic around your head to determine the length.  Then cut the fabric 2 or three times longer.

Iron a 5/8 inch or half inch fold at each end of the strip of fabric, and then fold the fabric in half, the right side on the inside, and the wrong side facing you. Press it.  The long strip is now folded in half, making it thinner.   Click on for more detailed view of that folded end.

How long or wide you make the strip is up to you. Experiment to see what kind of shapes and gathers longer, shorter, or wider fabric makes.

This is what those pressed folds look like. 

With the presser foot on the edge of the fabric, and a regular size stitch, sew the entire length of the fabric strip, including the folded edges. You see the wrong side or under side of the fabric is facing you, for sewing the seam. That will all be turned to the inside when the project is finished.

Attach a large safety pin or quilting pin to one layer of the strip,

and turn the pin around to push the head of it through the inside. It will turn it inside out.

Now attached your pin to the elastic.

You might consider putting another large safety pin on the other end of the elastic, just to prevent it from pulling too far and losing that end.

Start pushing the pin through the tube of fabric and when you get to the other end, pull the fabric completely through, so that the right side of the fabric is on the outside, and the seam is on the inside of the tube.

 I pull the pin through til I can see the other end, and then I stitch that end on the machine, reversing and then once again.  Then, finish pulling the pin with the remaining elastic through the opposite end.

With the pin still attached, and well out of the way of the needle, stitch the other end of the elastic securely , by backstitching several times.

Remove the pin and clip excess elastic, if any.

Take the two ends and tuck one into the other, pressing it flat with your fingers.

Stitch it together.

Pull all the gathers around so that the stitched area is hidden.

This is the headband. Pull the gathers to the top, leaving the sides and end smooth, and stitch the flat areas just below the gathers.

Here is a pictures of the dress in the previous post, which goes with the scrunchie which is wrapped around my hair in back.  One suggestion I have, now that I have worn the dress: if you have trouble zipping up the back, and you are a fairly experienced home sewer, I would recommend putting the zip in the side seam. Do that for little girls too, and they'll appreciate being able to zip their own dresses. The next dress I sew will have a side zip, or front buttons. 

The one below is the dress I showed, with the cumberband,  on the article, "The Importance of Feminine Dress"

I do like colors other than pink or red, so I hope to get some of my other garments completed. I am liking the new patterns a lot better than I have liked patterns in years and years, so I will try to show some of them and suggest what to do with them if you want changes made.

It will be a lot easier to find these hair bands and scrunchies if you will hang then on the hanger with the dress.

Here is a cylinder of shatter proof ornaments from Walmart that I am using. It is hard to find them in these colors.

I have some of them in a punch bowl.

Imitating a Ready-Made Dress by Sewing

Antique Roses

by E. Kruger

This dress from the Australian Myers Store online store, is so pretty and fresh looking with the white background and the light pink and dark pink rose print. I especially like the band at the waist made of the same fabric, only with more of the white, so that it looks like a belt.  The cost is well over a hundred dollars, and I was able to make the dress for abotu $15.00 which included zipper and thread and pattern. You can find similar patterns online at Butterick, McCalls, Simplicity.  These patterns are on sale every month at Joanne fabric stores across the U.S. I have friends overseas that I can send them to, and even with postage, it ends up being cheaper than purchasing the patterns there at whole price.  I must admit that in spite of the pleasure of making this dress, and the wonderful comfort of the cotton fabric, I would have liked to at least try the above dress on !

This fabric is from Shabby Fabrics and has similar colors as the ready-made dress. I may attempt to duplicate the dress in the above fabric, as I do not feel I quite did it this time.  Even if you pay $10.00 a yard, a dress like this can be made for far less than the retail price.  you need less than four yards of 45 inch fabric for this dress, so it can cost $30.00. However I think that is still too high, so I get my fabric at a discount using coupons at Joannes, or find the $2.50 a yard sales at Walmart.   If I had nowhere to buy fabric and needed it urgently, I would buy a new, low thread count sheet at a store near me.

I made my dress with less than four yards. I use the leftover pieces for headbands and hair bows or scrunchies. I've got word online from viewers that scrunchies are "out" but I am not going to pay any attention to it.

Using pieces from several patterns in my pattern collection, I tried to imitate this dress, altering it for my own needs by adding length and elbow length  sleeves. The fabric I used  is a soft cotton and  was from a fabric sale at Walmart.

I was not able to make that middle waist band that is attached to the original dress, shown above. To do that, you have to cut the band from the lower part of the bodices, and leave enough on the original bodice and the cut piece, for the seam. If you wish to make this, you would do well to cut a strip off the pattern piece and lay it on the fabric, leaving enough on each edge for the five eighth inch seam. Lay the band pattern piece on a section of the fabric that is more plain, to get the same effect as the original dress.

The neckline is square with rounded corners.

Click for larger views and then use your magnifier to look at the pleats.

The dress is easy to wear at home, since the skirt is close to the body and does not flair out much. It will not catch on anything, and as for bending and moving about, it covers well. 

More fabrics from Shabby Fabrics:

This fabric would make a pretty dress for wearing at home, in the same style which I have sewn.