Make Your Own Stamp Inspired by Réveillon Wallpaper

Inspired by the handmade block-printed wallpaper at the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden, this craft is a stamp using a potato! Embellish holiday cards, signs, fabric, and more with your own creative flair. We would love to see any stamps you’ve made!

  1. Cut a potato in half.
  2. Use a cookie cutter, utility knife, paring knife, or craft blade to carefully cut a design about a quarter inch deep on the flat surface. Remember, your final image will be the mirror of the design you carve!
  3. Use your knife to carefully carve away the surface around the design you will print.
  4. Press a paper towel to the surface of your stamp to wick away excess moisture.
  5. Apply acrylic paint to your stamp generously using a paintbrush.
  6. Press firmly on paper, cardstock, fabric, or other surface to stamp your design!

Adult supervision recommended for steps involving sharp objects!

By |2026-01-26T16:36:29-05:00January 26th, 2026|Inspiration|Comments Off on Make Your Own Stamp Inspired by Réveillon Wallpaper

Make Your Own Paper Star Ornament

This craft is inspired by Victorian-era decorations at Hartford’s Butler-McCook House & Garden. The perfect addition to any space, personalize your ornaments with customized paper to gift to your loved ones. You can incorporate paper designs with animals, sports, and funky patterns, or even use pieces of movie posters or pages from a favorite book to create a unique design. The ornament pictured here was crafted by one of our amazing staff members using a Connecticut Landmarks brochure. Below is a YouTube tutorial from Easy Paper Origami on how to make your own paper origami star. We would love to see any ornaments you’ve made!

Missed the potato stamp craft inspired by the historic wallpaper at the Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden? Click here to view the instructions!

By |2026-01-26T16:34:48-05:00January 26th, 2026|Inspiration|Comments Off on Make Your Own Paper Star Ornament

Make Your Own Scrap Wood House

Scrap wood takes on new meaning and charm when you decorate it to look like your favorite buildings! Students on a recent field trip to the Amasa Day House in Moodus added architectural details inspired by the white clapboard home to theirs. To join in the fun yourself, acquire small blocks of scrap wood (raid your scrap pile or cut pieces fresh!), and use markers, paint, and bits of things like ribbons or fabric to transform the wood into a tiny building. Think like a historic preservationist by noticing the little details that make your home special and incorporating them into your model!
Missed our paper star ornament and potato stamp crafts? Visit our social media pages to view the instructions!
By |2026-01-26T16:32:32-05:00January 26th, 2026|Inspiration|Comments Off on Make Your Own Scrap Wood House

Make Your Own Cheshire Pie: A Favorite from the Nathan Hale Homestead Hearth

During the colonial period, pie was often served with dinner as a savory meal rather than as an after-dinner treat. Across the nation, each region introduced their own pie flavors, including Key Lime and Pecan Pies in the South, Sugar and Maple Pies in Vermont (which was also known for adding a piece of cheese to their apple pies!), and meat and fruit pies across the rest of New England. This week, we are sharing a 1747 Cheshire Pie recipe that has become a favorite from the Nathan Hale Homestead Hearth, and we hope it becomes a favorite for you, too!

Cheshire Pie

Take a loin of pork, skin it, cut it into steaks, season it with salt, nutmeg, and pepper; make a good crust, lay a layer of pork, then a large layer of pippins pared and cored, a little sugar, enough to sweeten the pie, then another layer of pork; put in half a pint of white wine, lay some butter on the top, and close your pie: if your pie be large, it will take a pint of white wine.

— Glasse, Hannah. “The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy”, 1747

21st-Century Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 lb. pork tenderloin, cooked

• 2 tbsp. butter

• ¼ tsp. salt

• ¼ tsp. nutmeg

• 1 tsp. pepper

• 2 large Granny Smith apples

• 2 large MacIntosh apples

• 2 tbsp. sugar

• ½ cup wine

• Pastry, homemade or store bought

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350°.
  2. Roll out dough into a 12-inch circle. Transfer into a 9-inch pie pan. Allow the dough to overhang the lip of the pan. Return pie pan with dough to the refrigerator until it is needed.
  3. Slice the tenderloin into round slices that are ¼ inch thick. Season with salt, nutmeg and pepper.
  4. Peel, core and quarter the apples. Cut the quarters into slices that are ¼ inch thick.
  5. Fill the pie by alternating layers of pork, apples and sugar. When the pie is filled, lay the butter over the filling. Pour in wine.
  6. Roll the second piece of pastry dough into a 12-inch circle. Place top layer of the pie shell over filling. Trim the dough so it is flush with the edge of the pie pan. Flute.
  7. Place a rimmed baking sheet on the middle rack of the oven. Place the pie in the middle of the sheet. Bake at 350° for 35-45 minutes.
  8. Enjoy!
Missed our scrap wood house, paper star ornament, and potato stamp crafts? Visit our social media pages to view the instructions!
By |2026-01-26T16:30:47-05:00January 26th, 2026|Inspiration|Comments Off on Make Your Own Cheshire Pie: A Favorite from the Nathan Hale Homestead Hearth

Make Your Own Martini: Caroline Ferriday’s Favorite Cocktail

In preparation to celebrate the new year, our friends at the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden shared a recipe for Caroline Ferriday’s favorite cocktail: the iconic martini. We know that Ms. Ferriday preferred gin over vodka in the martinis she enjoyed in the evenings at her family’s summer home in Bethlehem. This summer, we partnered with Litchfield Distillery and Southbury’s The Bevy Co. to discuss the history of this distinctly American cocktail – and taste a little bit of history, too! Make one at home using this recipe:

·      2.5 oz London Dry Gin (brands like Beefeater or Tanqueray work well)

·      0.5 oz Dry Vermouth

·      Ice cubes

·      Garnish: A lemon twist or 1-3 green olives

Instructions

  1. Chill your glass: Place a martini or coupe glass in the freezer or fill it with ice water while you prepare the drink.
  2. Combine ingredients: In a mixing glass, add the gin and dry vermouth.
  3. Add ice and stir: Fill the mixing glass with fresh ice cubes and stir the mixture well with a bar spoon for about 20–30 seconds, until it is very cold. Stirring, rather than shaking, keeps the drink clear and silky smooth.
  4. Strain and garnish: Empty the chilled glass and strain the cocktail mixture into it.
  5. Finish: If using a lemon twist, express the oils by twisting the peel over the drink, then drop it in or rim the glass with it. If using olives, skewer one or three on a cocktail pick and place it in the glass.
Photo caption: In the 1950s, as the shadow of World War II’s devastation began to recede, Caroline Ferriday worked tirelessly to bring 52 women who survived Nazi medical experiments at Ravensbrück concentration camp to the United States for care. In 1958, she invited 4 of the women who participated in the trip to her home in Bethlehem, now known as the Bellamy-Ferriday House & Garden, to celebrate Christmas with her. Here, Ms. Ferriday is pictured playing music with the women.
Missed our previous crafts and recipes? Visit our social media pages to view the instructions!
By |2026-01-26T15:52:55-05:00January 26th, 2026|Inspiration|Comments Off on Make Your Own Martini: Caroline Ferriday’s Favorite Cocktail
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