THE HOLIDAY PORCH

I pray that everyone had a blessed and beautiful Thanksgiving. I enjoyed spending quality time with my family over the past few days. My cheeks still hurt from all of the laughs and giggles. We are a family that prays together often and we are in constant reflection of the goodness of the Lord but it's still nice to have a day like Thanksgiving that is set aside to specifically thank and honor God. This is my feeling about Christmas as well. Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I decorated my front porch for Christmas. My favorite part of the decor is the sign that reads "Jesus is the reason for the season". I know that December 25th is not Jesus' actual birth date. If it were up to me and my Homeowners Association wouldn't protest, I would have this sign posted every single day of the year. Why? Everyday and every season is a good time to reflect on the fact that Jesus was born to save us. I know that it is not about just posting a sign in my yard as an attempt to tell others about Jesus (although it is a great conversation starter) but more about the way that I live my life as an example of the love of Christ that will draw others to want to know him too. I'm just so thankful that Jesus loves you & I. In every way that I can think of to show it, I want the whole world to know it. JOHN 3:16, ROMANS 10:9

HAPPY THANKSGIVING

I just wanted to take a moment to wish you all a beautiful and blessed Thanksgiving. If you have breath in your body then you have something to be thankful for. I give God all of the thanks for all of the blessings in my life. Each one of you are a part of my blessings. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hugs

CREATE A PHOOPHIE SILHOUETTE

Hi Lovelies,

As you all know, I've had my head in the books for the last few days. Yesterday after church, I gave myself permission to take a break from studying and do a little bit of crafting. Crafting is like a breath of fresh air for me so now I feel like I can go back to studying again today. I really have to get on my P's and Q's today and tomorrow with the studying because Wednesday evening, I'll need to focus on the Holiday meal preparations.

So what did I craft on my mini-craft break? Well, I decided to work on a handmade Christmas gift for a female friend. I believe handmade gifts can be a nice way to show heartfelt warmth with the love and the time that goes into them. This is a craft you may want to try yourself.

I've always liked cameos and silhouettes. There is something so ultra feminine about them to me. They just scream "LADY or GIRLY GIRL". So I decided to dress up a picture frame with some supplies from my craft bin and then I layered some vintage ephemera underneath a female silhouette that I decorated. I titled the silhouette "Virtuous Woman". I think it is so phoophie and feminine. I hope my friend likes it when she gets it and I also hope she doesn't read my blog or I just spoiled the surprise. LOL

DOLL COLLECTING DIVAS..do you recognize her?

Calling all doll collecting divas. I have been toying with the idea of attempting to do a REBORN. I've never done one before but I love the challenge of tackling a tutorial and trying something new. The only dolls I make are softies (rag dolls). I don't know too much about reborning but I do know that there are many different faces to choose from and that most people start off using Berneguer dolls. I found a picture online of a particular doll face that I just love. Do any of you Dolly Divas happen to know of the artist or mold for this particular face? Do any of you recognize her?

NUTS ABOUT THE HOLIDAYS

The holidays are upon us. Hmmmmm, what could you give to co-workers, your children's teacher or bus driver, the mailman or a neighbor? Over the next few weeks I will randomly post some easy, homemade gift giving ideas. Nothing says thoughtfulness like "homemade". Combine homemade items with something that pleases the tastebuds and you've got a winner. This is a recipe that your recipients will just go NUTS over....unless they are allergic to nuts that is.


SWEET PECANS

1 egg white

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 c. sugar or brown sugar

Dash of vanilla extract

3/4 tsp. salt

2 tbs. water

1 pound pecan halves

Directions:

Preheat oven to 250

Lightly butter baking sheet

Beat egg white until foamy

Mix in cinnamon, sugar, vanilla, salt, water and pecans

Stir until coated

Spread on the baking sheet

Bake for 1 hour and stir every 12 minutes

Put cooled nuts into a glass jar with a lid or holiday tin. Put a bow on the top.

THE UN-GARDEN PARTY

I'm a tad bit disappointed. I was supposed to attend a Garden Club Party of a dear friend but I'm feeling a bit under the weather so I'm not going. I do NOT have a green thumb. My cactus even died so I was really jazzed that I would be learning how to propagate plants and hopefully have my questions answered about all the things that I must be doing wrong.

My backyard is growing big mushrooms though and I'm not even trying to grow them, so does that count as growing plants? Somehow, I don't think so. Anyway, since Huggalulu (the polymer clay girl) can't catch any of my germs (if I have any), we will have to have our own garden party....with the mushrooms of course.

CURLY SHIRLEY GIRLS

When I'm not studying or filling in my looooong TO DO list, I try to take a quick moment to craft. Crafting is something I LOVE to do. It is very calming to me and it leaves me feeling refreshed and better able to focus on the things that I MUST do.

I've been creating little things and stashing them away here and there in hopes that one day very soon I will open a fun little Etsy store. I enjoy things that are vintage, retro, kitschy or classic. I thinks these little Curly Shirley Girls that I created out of polymer clay would fall under the Classic category. As I was in the midst of creating them, I realized that they reminded me a little bit of Shirley Temple. I haven't decided what I will do with them yet. Should I turn them into pins, refrigerator magnets, or something else? I just don't know. What I do know is that they were simply CRAFT-A-LICIOUSLY fun to make.

EASY CROCKPOT CANDY APPLES

This is a fun recipe that I came across. Candy Apples can be eaten whole or sliced up and divided. Either way they are a fun treat for upcoming holdiay parties or even for gift giving. We all know of the the big, expensive Candy Apples sold in confection stores. Why not make your own?

2 (14 ounce) packages of caramels
1/4 cup of water
8 apples
8 sticks
Toppings: mini marshmellows, nuts, candy sprinkles, mini chocolate chips


Grease a strip of wax paper (enough for all of the apples)

Crockpot: combine caramels and water in the crockpot. Cover & cook on high for 1 hour. Stir frequently.

Wash and dry apples. Insert sticks. Turn crockpot on low. Dip apple into crockpot and coat entire surface. Place on greased wax paper to cool. Once caramel sets (tacky to the touch), roll in toppings of your choice. YUM-O!

SCENTS OF THE SEASON

I've had my head in the books lately (studying) but I just had to stop by the blog and share something delightful. The Holiday season is upon us and I wanted to yap about something that it sure to tickle one of your five senses. The sense of smell.

When I was a child, my Mom would create the most wonderful scents at Holiday time. She would core out apples and place any combination of cinnamon, nut meg, brown sugar or red hots in the center with a splash of 7up. She would bake these wonderful apples. Not only did they taste good but they made the whole house smell yummy. She would also take whole oranges, stick cloves into them and sit them near the furnace. The warmth from the furnace would release the beautiful scent all through the house. And lets not even mention the nose ticklers coming from the kitchen with all of the holiday meals cooking and baking going on. These scents bring back such fond memories.

Around this time of the year, I enjoy having my own home smell like the holiday scents that I remember from my childhood. I recently pulled out my beloved, well used potpourri burner. It looks like a teeny-tiny crock pot. I used to burn the potpourri liquids in it until I found these wonderful wax tartlets. Walmart sells the creamiest, most yummy smelling wax tarts that I have ever come upon. They have several Holiday scents. Warm Apple, Vanilla, Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice and Mulled Cider just to name a few. My absolute favorite is the Pumpkin Spice. I love the way it makes the house smell like I am baking a pie and I also love the fact that since there really ISN'T a pie to eat, I can't pack on the extra calories. LOL