Hag stones or holey stones (sometimes also called witch stones, adder stones, fairy stones, or serpent eggs) are stones with a naturally occurring hole that goes all the way through. They are often created by burrowing creatures and worn straight through by water over time. A string or chain might be threaded through the hole…
Author: Laura
What’s to love about independent bookstores?
Today, April 29, is Canadian Independent Bookstore Day so I thought I’d share a list of 10 reasons why I love them! Supporting local If I can buy something local that’s what I prefer to do. It’s a good feeling supporting not only local entrepreneurs, but also the authors and artists with items stocked in…
Who was ‘The Witch of Plum Hollow’?
The history of “witches” is plagued with terrible tales of torture and unjust death sentences. These cases are tragic indeed. However, I came across a historical ‘witch’ whose life happily does not end with a gruesome execution. My day of folding laundry, cleaning, and attempting to tweak a cookie recipe to be healthier, took an…
It’s maple syrup season!
Yes, maple syrup has a season. If you live around maple trees, you may spot some buckets hanging from trees during late winter to early spring. Ideal temperatures for producing the sweet, amber treat are when the temperatures fall below freezing at night, but the days are above zero degrees. The sap from the trees…
Two new edits of Tudor queens
If you are following me on Instagram (@ laurelleavesandlaundry) or my Facebook page, you might have seen two of my latest graphic edits. I have been working on several writing projects and have not had the opportunity to work on my dollhouse renovations, so these were a wonderful creative break. I hope you will enjoy these…
Printable ‘Twas gift tags!
’Tis the season for giving! Thank you to illustrator Kathryn Holeman for creating these beautiful gift tags (for home use only). There are two styles to choose from or simply use both! They are compatible to print with Avery 9422 Rectangle label sheets or you can print them out on a full label sheet. Another…
Online version of the storybook portion of ‘Twas – now available!
An online version of the storybook portion of ‘Twas the Night Before Tudor Christmas is now available! Kathryn Holeman has created this video of me reading along to her beautiful illustrations. Special thanks to historian and author Claire Ridgway for hosting us on The Anne Boleyn Files‘ YouTube channel! You can view the video here…
Little festive Tudor bookmarks
Just in time to mark all those yummy holiday recipes, here is a set of eight mini Tudor bookmarks. These can be printed for personal use only and are a fun way to keep track of all those holiday ideas. If you’re anything like me, you’ll have several books on the go at once. Click here…
New printable bookmarks made by artist Kathryn Holeman
Thank you to the talented artist Kathryn Holeman who created the illustrations for ‘Twas the Night Before Tudor Christmas. She has very generously made a set of three double-sided bookmarks which can be printed out for personal use. These bookmarks coordinate with the section in the book called Would You Rather? In this section, readers…
New article published on The Anne Boleyn Files website
Thank you very much to best-selling author and historian Claire Ridgway for kindly inviting me to write a guest blog post for her esteemed website The Anne Boleyn Files. I have been reading Claire’s work for more than a decade, so it is truly an honour! Sample from the article: “One Tudor tidbit, which I…