Not only is it fun for girls to begin collections for a home - it is much more important that they develope the skills that will be needed to run a household efficiently. Cooking, sewing, meal planning, organizing, gardening are just a few of the things that girls can be taught during the teen years, and before. Too often marriages begin with the wife not having the foggiest idea of what it takes to make a happy home, which creates unhappiness and domestic chaos. Don't let that happen with you! Learn to be confident and effecient in your household skills, and not only will you be able to look forward to what God may have in your future, but you will be able to be a huge help and blessing to your family now!
This is the beginning of a blog series where I will share finds and ideas for filling your hope chest with beautiful and practical items, also tutorials and projects for useful and fun household skills. At a future date I will also invite readers to share pictures and their own thoughts and ideas.
For now - here is a short list of ideas for collecting and making for filling a hope chest....
Pictures and links from many lovely Etsy shops.
At antique stores, thrift shops, and estate sales, some of my favorite things to shop for are
Vintage linens - pillow cases, tablecloths, napkins, etc.
Pyrex refrigerator dishes - so many cute colors - and so much better than plastic!
Enamelware dishes. So durable. Speckled are the most common - but I love the plain colors, too.
You can also begin a recipe collection. Ask friends, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, etc. for their tried-and-true recipes!
Do you know how to sew or crochet?
A girl can never have too many aprons!
Cotton dishcloths are useful and long-lasting.
I'd love to hear any ideas for my new series - please let me know if there is any particular thing you would like to see blog posts about. ;^)
Oh, how fun! I can't wait for the other posts.. I don't have a hope chest, yet. But, I still sometimes stash sewing projects away in the cloest. :) Things I won't use now, or don't have room for.. well, they can be used in my own home someday! :)
ReplyDeleteI TOTALLY agree that you can never have too many aprons! ;) In fact, I just found the cutest, most adorable apron you have ever seen. I am hopefully going to make it, so I guess I will post pictures. :)
Love ya!!
Sarah
Hello.The pillow case is lovely.I wish I could nab it off you!
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful idea. I had a hope chest and it saved my bacon when I got married! I am going to encourage my daughters (and sons) to do the same thing. We'll have to call the boy's a "man chest" LOL!
ReplyDeleteYou are right, a girl can't have too many aprons.
What a beautiful blog you have!
Lucy - it is lovely, isn't it? It is available at an Etsy shop I found yesterday. (linked below the picture)
ReplyDeleteStacie - I had never thought about a 'man chest'. What an excellent idea!
The only thing in mine is a set of silverware. I'm hoping to collect more, I have been thinking of slowly knitting some wash cloths and dish towels. I don't plan on ever having matching dishes--although it would be nice, so I am slowly looking for pretty dish sets in thrift stores. I keep a recipe book. I agree I think pyrex are much better than plastic. Really Good post!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your hope chest. My "chest" is more like multiple rubbermaid containers, boxes, and anything else I can find to put stuff in. :)
ReplyDelete