Note to reader: If you're excited about the recipe pictured above in this article, you're in luck! It's Artifcted and available here for you along with a photo of the original baker herself so you can make these treats at home, too. Enjoy!

When I was a kid, the sweet smell of cherries would waft through the house as my mother cooked down Door County cherries to transform them into all things delicious. My favorite was cherry jam, hands down. A sweet but tart treat on crepes, toast, and pancakes.

The physical artifacts of jam are many. Photos of our family out picking the cherries. Cookbooks and recipe cards, pots and slotted ladles. And of course, cherry juice-stained shirts, reused year after year while pitting the cherries.

While the ambition of passing down these traditions, cookbooks, pots, and so on, is a touching and earth-friendly one, reality suggests we need an alternative. Tight living spaces, our more nomadic lifestyles, and the fact that only person can inherit that item, when maybe 3, 4, or 5 of you want it, means going digital helps ensure your culinary traditions live on and can be shared with all.

Start Your Ovens and Your Artifcting 

This holiday season, as you set out to reenact old traditions and create new, keep your Artifcting habit front of mind so you can capture those moments and the details to recreate them long into the future. Here are holiday-ready Artifcting tips for all things culinary: 

Supplies and tools. You might think taking pictures of the supplies is senseless, but exactly WHICH brand did your uncle always use? And when Grandma said a cup, did she mean a 1 cup measurement, or did she use her favorite “cup?” When it came to this grandmother’s biscuits, it was most assuredly the latter! If you’re aiming for more predictable results like her granddaughter, Artifct those tools, too!

The real recipe. There’s the recipe that’s written down—and how we love seeing the recipe in someone’s original handwriting—and then there’s the recipe as it is actually made. If you can, participate in the making this year and take notes to compare with the current recipe of record. Artifct a recipe that includes all the details, making it less stressful to recreate next year.

Tricky steps, strange consistencies. If there is some art in the making, a short video or even a picture can help. I tried to capture just that in this Artifct because as a novice baker I was incredibly unsure that the consistency of my dough was right.

The end result. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, we know, we know, but capturing a beautiful photo of the completed recipe to feature in your Artifct will entice family and friends to check out the recipe. And isn’t that the goal? You want them to check it out and bring it into their kitchens, too.

BONUS! If you ever publish your Artifcts to a custom holiday book or cookbook, you’ll have the great picture you’ll want to feature with the recipe and its story.

Make Artifcting a New Family Holiday Tradition 

Artifcting your holiday traditions is fun and easy and by design draws in people of all ages.  

If you’re reading this as you are nearly ready to sit down for your holiday meal, consider grabbing a stack of notecards or a blank book and passing it around. Gather favorite recipes, in their handwriting, to Artifct and share after the day.

Getting ready ahead of time? Make Artifcting easier for all to enjoy by taking a few minutes before the holiday to create an invite-only circle on Artifcts—our co-founder Heather does this ahead of every holiday meal hosted at home. Invite to your circle your brother, sister, parents, neighbors, and all others joining you for the holiday. Encourage them to share their recipes, holiday décor, and “best of” pics from the day with the circle to easily relive and enjoy for years to come.

Creating a circle is fast and easy. Watch our video or follow these steps:

1. 1. 1. Sign in on Artifcts.com.
      2. Go to the plus (+) menu in the top banner.
      3. Choose "Create a circle." You'll have options to add an image for the circle, name it, and add a description.
      4. You then have two options for inviting members.

• • • • • Option 1: Continue by adding each member's Artifcts screenname or email address, and then send the group a custom note so they know why you've invited them.
        • Option 2: Save your circle without adding members, and then click to ceate your  copy an invite link to send to everyone via email, text, or however else you prefer to reach them. Remember, to access circles you've created or have been invited to, go to your "Special Collections" in your top right menu.

We wish you happy Artifcting!

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For an extra dose of inspiration, sign in and download our culinary checklist for free!

© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

If you are new to Artifcts and wondering what makes Artifcts special, this is the ARTIcles story for you!  

We know the magic of Artifcts, because Artifcting is a daily habit for the team who has built it. Those Artifcts include everything from “I’ll never forget” moments captured in photos to sentimentally and financially valuable personal gifts and collections we preserve on Artifcts. 

Artifcts makes a great gift because it helps people preserve and share the stories behind their belongings—combining memories, photos, documents, and personal meaning in each Artifct. It’s especially thoughtful for those who value connection—why wait until the end of life or letters or videos from the grave to share—legacy, or organization. Here are some reasons Artifcts is a standout gift: 

• • • Personal and Meaningful: Artifcts turns everyday objects, photos, and heirlooms into lasting digital memories that can be shared with family and friends. 
    • Easy to Use: The Artifcts platform is designed and tested for ages 16+, supporting people at all life milestones, so anyone can create digital memories quickly and easily. 
    • Organizational Value: Artifcts helps people to declutter physical spaces while preserving emotional value and financial value, making it ideal for downsizing, estate planning, updating insurance, or just tidying up. 
    • Legacy and Family History: Artifcts is a way to pass on family stories, values, and histories that might otherwise be lost, especially when the alternative may be journals and documents lost to time and digital chaos or intimidating genealogy software or expensive memoirs. (That said, when you’re ready, Artifcts are amazing fodder for memoirs and videographies. Share your Artifcts with professionals you work with and they will be grateful.) 
    • Experiential and Ongoing: Unlike one-time gifts, your Artifcts collection grows over time—as your gift recipient adds more Artifcts, the value of your gift only grows.

Creative Ways to Personalize Your Artifcts Gift 

Hats off to the Arti Community and the many creative and personal ways they have gifted Artifcts that make this gift still more meaningful and memorable: 

🎁 1. Preload It with Memories 

When you gift Artifcts, you could also immediately share a few Artifcts with the recipient (Check Artifcts FAQs and videos if you need help). That way, they will have personalized content waiting for them and inspiring them when they sign in to Artifcts. Here are a few ideas: 

• • • Upload childhood photos and write the story behind them. 
    • Add a recipe card and the story of the dish. 
    • Artifct a family heirloom (even if you don't have it physically—just include the photo and story). 

Need more inspiration? Download our free Artifcts Inspiration Checklists.

🖼️ 2. Pair the Artifcts Membership with a Physical Object 

Wrap a meaningful item (like an old photo, keepsake, or even a quirky thrifted find) with a card that says: 

"The story behind this lives on—check your Artifcts!"

Add an Artifcts QR code to the Artifcted item so they can scan it to see its digital story. Print the QR code directly from the Artifct or purchase and use the Artifcts QR code stickers.

📚 3. Include a Storytelling Starter Kit 

Gift them an Artifct That! Kit, too, and add a note, "You’ve got ‘stuff’ and stories worth saving. Start capturing them with Artifcts." 

While our kit does include starter prompts curated from 1,000 of Artifcters experiences, you could add your own prompts to card, too, like: 

• • • “Tell the story of the oldest item you own.” 
    • “What’s one thing you’d never throw away—and why?” 
    • “Artifct your favorite photo, and the story behind it.” 

Want more inspiration? Check out this ARTIcles story for real life examples of started their Artifcts collections.

👨‍👩‍👧 4. Make It a Family Project 

Offer to host a “Family Artifcts Night,” in person or virtually.  

If in person, remind everyone to download the Artifcts app and sign in and to bring photos and memory-filled items to create Artifcts together.  

Artifcts parties are great virtually or in person at holidays or reunions, too. You can invite everyone to an Artifcts invite-only circle before the big event and give them instructions, like: “Everyone add one Artifct by Sunday night, and we’ll share them on Zoom!”

Happy Artifcting!

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© 2024 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reading time: 2 minutes 

If you’re anything like me, you might have a love-hate relationship with holiday cards. We love them because they are festive, fun, and a great excuse to send and receive snail mail. Yes, snail mail. We hate them because they require us to make some tough decisions—Photos? Text? Layout? Yikes!—and they require a bit of advance planning that doesn’t always happen as planned, especially on the heels of Thanksgiving. 

So, what’s a card lover to do? I discovered last year by pure accident (and out of frustration) a fun and easy way to get more out of our holiday cards, and bring all those small moments, memories, and stories to life for loved ones near and far.  

My secret? Artifcts! And yes, although Artifcts is great for preserving the cards that we RECEIVE, I’m talking about using Artifcts here for the cards you SEND. How else do you include photos, videos, AND audio recordings in a paper-based card? Bonus, there is no word limit in your Artifcts. You can tell your story, the full story, without counting characters and agonizing over whether or not to include the pet’s name since that would take up an extra five characters. (Sadly, our beloved golden retriever did not make the cut on our printed card this year, but he certainly made our Artifcts card!) 

Intrigued? Read on for our step-by-step guide to spreading holiday cheer the Artifcts way.  

Six Steps to Create Your Unique & Dynamic Holiday Card 

Artifcts helps you bring your holiday card to life with all the details that a regular, printed card simply cannot provide. 

1. Pick your card, any card, digital or physical. Or maybe life interferes, and you skip the card entirely. Our holiday card last year was aptly titled, The Holiday Card That Wasn’t. Click to learn why. You’ll laugh. 
2. Type in or handwrite your heartfelt holiday wishes. 
3. Create your holiday card Artifct. You can add photos, video, and audio. Want to tell an even longer story? Use the “@” symbol when drafting your description to link to other Artifcts you’ve created to share even more details and memories. You can see my 2023 holiday card Artifct here. (Not yet a member? Sign up free to create your holiday card Artifct.)
4. Print your Artifcts’ QR code. Click on the QR code icon in your Artifct to get a printable code that’s unique to your new Artifct.                                                                    dddd
    
   
   
5. Pop your QR code into your card. Or tape it to the back. That’s what we do! Or, if you’re doing this with way more time than I ever allow myself, include the digital QR code in your printed holiday card.
6. Ready. Set. Mail. Spread that holiday cheer! 

Now you can sit back, relax, and wait for the excited, “That's so cool,” texts, calls, and emails to roll in.

We took our family by surprise last year with our Artifcts card, so much so that they no sooner had Thanksgiving than they were already asking us if we were doing it again this year. (Yes, of course we are!)  

Have another tip for making your holiday card come to life? We’d love to hear from you. Contact us at Editor@Artifcts.com.  

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Join us for some holiday fun!

Starting Friday, December 1, we'll publish a daily theme to Artifct as part of our 12 Days of Artifcts. No turtle doves or partridge in a pear tree, but each of the 12 Days of Artifcts offers you the opportunity to take a breath amidst your holiday merriment and chaos. We'll provide the themes, you provide the Artifcts.

No matter your faith or tradition, all are welcome!

New to Artifcts or only have a free account? That's okay! Once you sign up free, you can create your first 5 Artifcts free and see what you think before buying a membership.

And you'll have no excuse for not being ready as we're giving you a head start by sharing with you today the daily themes. Let's have some fun. And remember, if you make any of your 12 Days of Artifcts public, tag them #12DaysofArtifcts for others to easily discover and enjoy. We look forward to Friday, December 1, for the first of the 12 Days of Artifcts!

Psst ... They'll be ANOTHER surprise on Friday, too. Make sure you pop over to Artifcts.com to learn more.

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Reading time: 3 minutes

Ah, holiday menus. There tend to be two camps: “We love to mix in new recipes each year to keep things fresh for the holidays,” and "Why mess with perfection? We serve the same menu every year.” 

It’s certainly easier than ever to find new recipes to keep things interesting, whether you have the New York Times recipes app, look forward to the new Bon Appétit magazine each season, or collect cookbooks. And if you have a diverse crowd to feed or a food-enthusiast crowd joining your table, you may have even more motivation and leeway to mix it up. 

This year, as you plan out your menus, we want to encourage you to add one or two new recipes that are crowd pleasers and brain healthy, too. (And be sure to Artifct them all to easily share and recreate in the future. Bonus points if you include video of key steps or the awesome results!)  

Please don’t get any wild ideas that we are contorting your beloved holiday meals to fit some sort of dietary fad. The reality is that the food we eat on a regular basis is as much a part of our healthcare as is the steps we take in a day. If we can integrate more brain healthy crowd-pleasing recipes into our holiday repertoire, too, why shouldn’t we? 

Holiday Perfect, Brain-Healthy Recipes 

Don’t worry, folks, we did not spin up an Artifcts food test kitchen to create recipes to test on you all. We’ve left the science of food to the people with the training and expertise.  

We turned to Annie Fenn, physician, chef, culinary instructor, science advisor, and author of none other than The Brain Health Kitchen: Preventing Alzheimer’s Through Food. She is the only doctor-meets-chef who is exclusively focused on the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. You can find her on Instagram at @BrainHealthKitchen and via her online community’s Brain Health Kitchen newsletter, too. 

Annie has kindly offered up two recipes, one sweet and one savory, for us to share with you today that we hope are homeruns in your household. Each uses easy-to-find ingredients popularly associated with cool weather holidays spent with family and friends.

PUMPKIN-CRANBERRY MUFFINS

Pleasantly tart and packed with antioxidants, cranberries deserve to be a part of your brain-healthy dietary pattern year-round. It’s best to enjoy them as a whole fruit rather than dried or juiced, since those processes add a lot of sugar. For this tender pumpkin muffin, you’ll use whole fresh or frozen cranberries, which burst as they bake—adding pockets of jammy fruit. These muffins pack in a nice roster of brain- healthy ingredients, from the almond, oat, and flaxseed batter to the sprinkle of pumpkin seeds on top. Excerpted from The Brain Health Kitchen, by Annie Fenn (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2023.

SPINACH AND ARTICHOKE DIP

Typical spinach artichoke dip wears a health halo that comes from having the word spinach in the name. Although it may sound good for you, it is all too often loaded with saturated fat and an excessive amount of sodium in a cheesy base that makes it easy to overindulge. Enter this brain-healthy take on the classic dip, which pairs the spinach—and lots of it— with a creamy, cashew-based sauce. If you love artichokes, you’ll like this version even better than the standard, since the artichoke flavor really shines, and you still get to dip the crispy chips in the hot, creamy dip. Excerpted from The Brain Health Kitchen, by Annie Fenn (Artisan Books). Copyright © 2023. 

And to further help you in all things culinary and introduce some fun new family activities, we’ll be sharing a special Saturday-edition of ARTIcles by Artifcts this weekend. Recipes will be among the topics we'll cover. Stay tuned!

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You may also enjoy these additional ARTIcles by Artifcts:

How to Artifct Those Recipes

The Three Things I Wish My Mother had Artifcted

What's Your Stuffing Style

Inspirational Checklist: Culinary Connections

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© 2023 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Growing up, my father used to embark on a rousing melody of “Over the River and Through the Woods” on just about any family car trip that occurred between Thanksgiving and Christmas. (Or at least that is what it felt like to my five-year-old self.) We knew the words by heart, although not quite as Lydia Maria Child penned them back in 1844 in her original poem by the same title. Her original poem included the refrain “Hurray for Thanksgiving Day,” yet nowadays, the refrain heard at the end is most often, “Hurray for Christmas Day.” 

I have on occasion caught myself singing the same song to my daughter when we embark on a long car trip, although she is not as accommodating as we were back then. Her immediate response is usually, “Mom, you’re embarrassing me.” Right.  

Regardless of whether you’re going over the river and through the woods or flying halfway around the world, the holidays have a way of pulling us home, bringing us back to our roots. There’s no doubt something comforting about the sights, smells, and sounds of being “home.”  

Although I am not going home this holiday season—my family is scattered, and my childhood home is no longer in the family—I did go “home” over the summer. I took my daughter on a whirlwind tour of Cape Cod and had the good fortune to be joined by my co-founder and her daughter for our adventure. (Ellen previously wrote about our experience and ALL THOSE PHOTOS here.) 

For me, it was a trip down memory lane, for them, it was a new and exciting adventure. The Old Dexter Grist Mill was a fun and historically interesting spot; for me it wasn’t just the Grist Mill, but one of our favorite fishing spots growing up. Kayaking the marshes around Sandwich, MA was a unique way to appreciate the diverse marsh ecosystem; for me it was reliving countless afternoons creek jumping and mucking about in marsh boots that always seemed to be two sizes too big.  

I wish I had Artifcts “back in the day” so I could have captured my childhood home and all the memories. I still remember the details, small and large, that made my home “my home.” The butcher block countertops that hugged our kitchen, the white couch we were only allowed to sit on for photos, and yes, even our front door with its cranberry red trim and large granite slab front step.  

For those of you that are going “home” this holiday season—take a moment to remember your roots and capture the sights, sounds, and memories of being home. Artifct your favorite room in the house or maybe even the whole house! Your future self will thank you.  

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© 2022 Artifcts, Inc. All Rights Reserved.