2013 Christmas Past

Well, the holidays have come and gone. So has the stress of putting up and taking down decorations, shopping for or making the right gifts, and all the hustle and bustle that goes with them. It's usually around this 3 day weekend for the MLK holiday that I can begin to start creating and making again without a sense of rush.   I am busy today with a cricut and sewing project to be unveiled in my next post.  This post, however, will show some of the 'stuff' I made for Christmas 2013.

1. For Mom and Dad Standhart

This was the first attempt at using the popular mesh to create a wreath. Hobby Lobby has the best selection and with a 40% coupon, it was even better. I will definitely make another one, the next being one for my house.

You need a large work space for this type of project so I laid everything out on my table in the basement. I started with a metal wreath form and used pipe cleaners to twist and tie the gathers of mesh to the frame. I added some ribbon, then the words in the middles and hot glued the rest of the decorations.









 I hope Mom and Dad are able to use it in Florida for many years to come.












2. For Mom in Law and My Mom

I received many compliments on the square pumpkin light I made for Halloween so I decided to try a couple for Christmas gifts. 

My mother in law loves red. She also like to watch the birds on her many bird feeders. It seemed a natural match to create a square light with a cardinal on it. This was so easy. I cut the cardinal out of red vinyl, adhered it to a square KraftyBlok, added some winter decor , lights and here you go: 

My Mom loves yellow roses; so of course I incorporated them into the lighted block I made her. On both blocks I used a light colored vellum paper as a background. This helped to diffuse the stark sight of the lights inside.  I also added a little bling by using some glue on crystals and beads.

3.  Key fobs for the Siblings, Nieces,  and Nephews

I saw the idea for these key fobs  a long time ago on Pinterest. Finally, a chance to make them for some special people.  I searched the web for just the right fabric and ribbon to match the "likes" of the recipients. I purchased the hardware from Amazon.

 I decided to make these fobs about an inch wide. I was able to find fusible waistband interfacing the size I needed and adhered that to the two fabrics I used. I then sewed the two fabrics together and added the hardware. I love these fobs. It makes it so much easier to carry and find my keys on a day to day basis.

Shannon  and Amanda - flip flops of course;  Lindsey - cows; Austin - soccer of course; Kelly - purple camo; Kim - moose lol; Cody - International Harvester; Rae - Patriots; Lindsay - crayons for the new teacher; For the guys - camo; Donna - starfish and sand dollars; Val and Michelle - floral and chevron; Amanda and Mary, chevron and pink camo.


4. Hugs and Kisses for Donna

My friend Donna's signature always included an XO so I decided to use the Cricut and a recycled candle jar to make a candy "dish" ( not really, but I don't know what you'd call it).  I filled it with Hershey's Hugs and Kisses.

 5. Slaughter Shot Glasses

I'm sure you've seen the mason jar wine glasses and mugs which are all the rage. I decided to add another beverage set to the country glassware.   You can probably guess what these are made from.

If you are from Schoharie County you'll know what the term "slaughter" means. I made these for two former residents who will never outgrow the title. These shot glasses are right up their alley especially now that they've tried the local shine.

6. Aunt Sammy's Pillow

My Aunt Sam who is 83 years young, loves baseball and books. Last year I made her a fleece baseball blanket to keep her warm on the chilly nights in North Carolina and the chilly spring and fall days here in NY.

1. I love all the new designs of Minky Fabrics. They are so soft. I decided to choose red because it is Aunt Sam's favorite color. My daughter used to call her "the lady in red."
2. Choose the letters you want and cut them from paper. Iron a piece of Wonder Under
to the back of the fabric you'll use for the letters. Place the letters backwards.
3. Trace them and cut the letters out. 

4. Flip your cut out letters and peel off the paper backing.
5. Place the letters on the fabric. Use a pressing cloth to cover the letters
on the fabric  and press until secure.
6. Applique letters. 

Finished Pillow! 

She loved the pillow and her new book from Kim. :) 

Phew,  it's been a busy season.  Looking forward to creating some new treasures.

Hope you had a great holiday season and are looking forward to the new year.

No Monkey Business Here

Sunday mornings are great for trying new recipes. Today it was a simple and tasty monkey bread. It was very easy to make.

Ingredients 

4 12-ounce cans regular-size flaky biscuits (such as Pillsbury)

2/3 cup sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

Sweet  Cinnamon Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional, but very tasty)

Directions

·       Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

·       Combine 2/3 cup of sugar and 1 T. cinnamon in a gallon size Ziploc bag or shallow baking dish.

·       Cut biscuits into quarters and cover with cinnamon-sugar.

·       Place the cinnamon-sugar-coated balls in a greased Bundt pan, sprinkling some of the cinnamon-sugar over the balls occasionally while filling the bunt pan.

·       Melt the butter with the remaining 1/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, or in the microwave until sugar and cinnamon dissolves. Add the chopped nuts.

·       Pour the melted butter mixture over the top of the biscuits balls in the Bundt pan.

·       Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top of the bread is golden and caramelized.

·       Remove from the oven and let sit at least 10 minutes.

·       Unmold the Monkey Bread onto a cake plate.

Slice and serve.

Yield: Approximately 12 servings

I think next time I will add pecans to enhance the flavor and texture. 

Enjoy. 

Halloween Additions - Year 2

We've been in a different house now for two years.  Irene stole every last halloween decoration I had so we're slowly building our stash of holiday decor. The big surprise this year is that Rich got into the spirit with his woodworking  and painting skills. I could get used to this kind of help.

Here are four easy projects.  Project one is a simple framed print. Images made from words are the rage these days, so why not an easy one to add to your photo wall or shelves? Neither of which I have, but hope to by the end of winter.


The second project is a team of wooden ghouls created mostly by Rich. I'm sure you can tell how to make them by just looking at the picture. That's what we did.  We had the most fun making Frank. Rich cut the wood and painted, I added the detail of eyes, mouth and scars.  Jack and the Ghost were not to far behind once Frank was done.

Project three is for outdoors. We made a set of three square pumpkins for the entryway stairs. Rich used a 6 X 6 beam, I guess you'd call it, and cut them in different heights. Once the orange paint was dry, I sanded each to give them a worn look. I toyed with mod podging them, but decided against it for now.  Rich cut a tree limbs,cut them into smaller pieces, drilled holes  on top of each block and glued them in. I added the rafia and leaves.  I think they are pretty cool. I plan on leaving them out through Thanksgiving.

Last but not least is my Jack O 'Light.  After I saw this idea, I looked high and low for the glass blocks. I have one old one that was used back in the day for glass walls. My grandfather used to make lamps out of these. I was really disappointed when neither Lowes or Home Depot had them.   I looked online, but , OUCH, they were expensive.

Days after, I took a trip to Hobby Lobby for other project supplies and discovered these blocks on sale for 1/2 price. They are called Krafty Bloks. Needless to say , I bought 4 of them. The holidays are coming up after all.

What I used for this project is one block, a string of lights, ribbon, vellum paper and my handy dandy cricut.

I first cut Jack's face on my cricut from black vinyl. I cut a piece of gold vellum ( I couldn't find orange anywhere) and adhered it to the inside of the glass block. I stuffed in the string of lights and added ribbon and spiders.  I like the vellum paper on the inside, because it helps to diffuse the light from the string of lights inside.

What do you think?  Of course, ideas for each of these came from Pinterest (where else).

Lessons Learned:

1. Prints for frames look nicest printed on photo paper, not your standard cardstock or copy paper.

2. Hot glue works better than wood glue on the wood projects.

3. I experimented with the vellum paper mod podged, glued, and spray glued to the outside of the glass block. I used 6 sheets of paper in the process. I finally decided to put a glue tab on each corner and put the paper on the inside of the block. Looks the best. No bubbles or dried glue streaks to look at.

Have you made any Halloween decorations? I'd love to hear what you have made or your comments about these.

Thanks for visiting.

Happy Halloween Everyone!