My imagination often takes me on a trip into the past. Sometimes the journey is planned and many times I happen upon a time because it cannot be avoided. Here are 10 ways I teleport back in time*. *Metaphorically. I’m a writer not a magician or scientist. A gravel path. Nothing transports me into the…
Author: Laura
A Very Tudor Christmas: An online event with historian and author Claire Ridgway
I am pleased to announce that all participants of historian and author Claire Ridgway’s event, A Very Merry Tudor Christmas, will receive a free e-book copy of ‘Twas the Night Before Tudor Christmas! As a bonus, I had a lot of fun creating a cooking video featuring two recipes from the book which will be…
Christmas in July
Do you celebrate Christmas in July? I didn’t, but having written a Christmas-themed book I now see the benefits… Whether you celebrate or not, I created a Tudor-themed word search that can be printed for your enjoyment and personal use. Please see my free printable page here to download the PDF and print yourself a…
Hunting for hag stones and more…
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…
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…