A scrap of tea history

Last year, I got interested in learning to make junk journals, a new crafting trend in which you take old paper and fabric scraps, stickers, lace, and all kinds of tidbits and turn them into journals. Have I actually completed one? Well, no, but I have several in progress.

So when I came across a whole big packet of vintage junk journal supplies at an antique mall, I was thrilled to get it!

But when I started poring over it, I found a few things that I just couldn't bear to cut up, like this item on "high tea." It says, "Several hot dishes are served at a high tea. A hot supper and a high tea are almost the same thing. The supper may, of course, consist of a greater variety of substantials, and all sorts of water ices and ice creams may be served, also frappé." While I have given up on trying to persuade the world that "high tea" and "afternoon tea" aren't the same thing, that the former is a lowbrow meal and the latter is the fancy one, I still felt rather relieved when I realized this information required clarification even back in the late 1800s.

This page was from an old issue of the  Ladies' Home Journal. It's undated, but one of the items on the back notes that "the year 1900 will not be a leap year," so I'm assuming the publication is from 1899.

I also found an old sheet of recipes that I decided I will not be cutting up. Fudge Squares made with Bisquick? I'll be trying that between now and Christmas.

And one of the most inspiring finds of the whole packet was this tiny little 2 x 5-inch sheet torn out of the pocket notebook of some old saint of yesteryear. I was so inspired by his or her commitment to giving that I started keeping a "self-denial envelope" in my purse so that I will be reminded to think about the less-fortunate and perhaps count my own blessings a little more frequently!