I've noticed that over 3,000 visitors have taken the time to stop at my blog..A huge thank you to all of you! An especially big thank you to my daughter for finding the Garden Web for me. I'm thankful for all my friends who helped me change and grow and encouraged my creativity to bloom. You've each left bits and pieces of yourselves with me over the last few years and I can only hope to share all that you've taught me with friends I have yet to meet.
So I think I should celebrate...with a "Thanks Giving" :D
I've looked around at other blogs and what seems to me to be the best gifts are the ones that are packed with lots of things for your creative soul...sort of a "crafty goodness Junk Drawer" !... so I choose to fill a flat-rate box with lots of extras from my own stash to help build up your stash :D I'll try to take photos and post them as I start to fill the box, but there will be lagniappe for the winner. So comment on this post and I'll use a random generator and add the names to it, and let my daughter figure that one out for me! I think I should choose the winner on the 17th, and mail the package so it arrives before Thanksgiving Day.
Everybody enter now and Good Luck!
Kudzu
Friday, November 7, 2008
Now For Something Crafty
I'm pretty disappointed in my tin can luminarias, but that's all my own fault*blush* I should have chosen a design that was simpler and would easily show up at night. At least it smells good...thanks to that huge box of vanilla tea lights I bought for a quarter at a yard sale this summer. There's a spicy apple scent,too. MmmMMMmm :D Perhaps a few more holes and it'll work? Maybe someone can point me in the right direction for some patterns...
Some tamale cans we washed and removed the labels, they're a nice size for this sort of project. Fill them with water and freeze. More than likely the bottom will push itself out. No worries, just drill the holes, or use a hammer and a nail to make the holes, remove the ice, and flip the can over and hammer it back in.
Find a pattern you like and draw it on paper, and cut it to fit the can. Wrap tape around it to hold it on. Packing tape would be best, but I had to use regular tape today. I'd like to have a bird pattern.
As you can see, the pattern I chose isn't working :D LOL I'll try to tweak it tomorrow.
Last year at the clearance sales after Christmas, I bought these little trees that had bells hanging on them. At the time I thought I'd just love to yank the bells off and use them for some little something or other. I painted some with pastel glitter nail polish :D I love how they look! I found them the other day and thought "wow, I can make some teensy little ornaments for these!", so I took them out and painted them both white. Only because I had no more pink spray paint left! One of them should have been pink. ( oh, before I forget, I went to WalMart where they've transformed the Garden Department to a Christmas Wonderland, and saw some sweet little table-top sized pre-lit trees. They come in white, pink or lavender! I'm gettin' me a pink one..I have spoken! Where was I??.....oh!...so I painted them white and here they are. Wish I could solder, and I will learn this, maybe Santa will get me a how-to for Christmas and lots of goodies to go with it.. I'd make some pretty charms for it.
Some tamale cans we washed and removed the labels, they're a nice size for this sort of project. Fill them with water and freeze. More than likely the bottom will push itself out. No worries, just drill the holes, or use a hammer and a nail to make the holes, remove the ice, and flip the can over and hammer it back in.
Find a pattern you like and draw it on paper, and cut it to fit the can. Wrap tape around it to hold it on. Packing tape would be best, but I had to use regular tape today. I'd like to have a bird pattern.
As you can see, the pattern I chose isn't working :D LOL I'll try to tweak it tomorrow.
Last year at the clearance sales after Christmas, I bought these little trees that had bells hanging on them. At the time I thought I'd just love to yank the bells off and use them for some little something or other. I painted some with pastel glitter nail polish :D I love how they look! I found them the other day and thought "wow, I can make some teensy little ornaments for these!", so I took them out and painted them both white. Only because I had no more pink spray paint left! One of them should have been pink. ( oh, before I forget, I went to WalMart where they've transformed the Garden Department to a Christmas Wonderland, and saw some sweet little table-top sized pre-lit trees. They come in white, pink or lavender! I'm gettin' me a pink one..I have spoken! Where was I??.....oh!...so I painted them white and here they are. Wish I could solder, and I will learn this, maybe Santa will get me a how-to for Christmas and lots of goodies to go with it.. I'd make some pretty charms for it.
Comfort Food For A Cold Day
We're so lucky to live here on the Gulf Coast. The weather seldom gets really cold, and if it does it isn't for too long. So when it does get nasty outside, you want something to warm you on the inside.
I found a recipe years and years ago in one of the ladies magazines(of course I can't remember which one now :D ) for a Hamburger Stew that I've made every winter since. It tastes even better the next day, so you could make it ahead of time and eat it a day or two after making. Since I never wrote the recipe down, I'll just tell you how we make it.
Hamburger Stew
2 lbs. ground beef
small bag of potatoes- about 5 lbs. more or less, leave the skins on ( I prefer red skinned) left whole or cut in even sized chunks but you can use any kind of potato, the red skinned ones just look prettier!
2 green bell peppers seeded and cut into strips
2 onions cut into wedges
1 or 2 large cans of tomato sauce
1 or 2 large cans of peeled or diced tomatoes
minced garlic as you like( I use fresh, but dried is good,too)
salt
pepper
In a large pot brown ground beef,put in colander and rinse in hot water to thoroughly drain grease. Return ground beef to large pot and add salt and pepper,wedged onions, bell pepper strips and garlic. Saute a few minutes then add potatoes, tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes. Simmer til potatoes are done. Serve with French bread.
When my kids were younger and friends came over, this was one of the easiest recipes to stretch and feed more people. Just add more potatoes and tomato sauce :D
You can also make this ahead of time and freeze, but leave out the potatoes. When you need it, thaw and simmer with fresh potatoes until tender.
If you like an Italian flavor, use your favorite spaghetti sauce and a can of tomato sauce and a can of peeled or diced tomatoes :D
*************************************
I got the plates cut and nipped and trying to lay them out in a nice pattern. I sat out on the front porch working on it but Uncle Jack was in here crying "mamaaaaa mamaaaaa". Silly dog. I couldn't take it anymore so I came back in so he could see me :D He's really starting to show his age, you can see it in his face, and the way he has such a hard time walking around. It makes me sad sad sad. He's a Golden Retriever and April 10th he will be 7 years old, which doesn't sound too too old, but when he was one he was hit by a truck and has been babied ever since.
I found a recipe years and years ago in one of the ladies magazines(of course I can't remember which one now :D ) for a Hamburger Stew that I've made every winter since. It tastes even better the next day, so you could make it ahead of time and eat it a day or two after making. Since I never wrote the recipe down, I'll just tell you how we make it.
Hamburger Stew
2 lbs. ground beef
small bag of potatoes- about 5 lbs. more or less, leave the skins on ( I prefer red skinned) left whole or cut in even sized chunks but you can use any kind of potato, the red skinned ones just look prettier!
2 green bell peppers seeded and cut into strips
2 onions cut into wedges
1 or 2 large cans of tomato sauce
1 or 2 large cans of peeled or diced tomatoes
minced garlic as you like( I use fresh, but dried is good,too)
salt
pepper
In a large pot brown ground beef,put in colander and rinse in hot water to thoroughly drain grease. Return ground beef to large pot and add salt and pepper,wedged onions, bell pepper strips and garlic. Saute a few minutes then add potatoes, tomato sauce and peeled tomatoes. Simmer til potatoes are done. Serve with French bread.
When my kids were younger and friends came over, this was one of the easiest recipes to stretch and feed more people. Just add more potatoes and tomato sauce :D
You can also make this ahead of time and freeze, but leave out the potatoes. When you need it, thaw and simmer with fresh potatoes until tender.
If you like an Italian flavor, use your favorite spaghetti sauce and a can of tomato sauce and a can of peeled or diced tomatoes :D
*************************************
I got the plates cut and nipped and trying to lay them out in a nice pattern. I sat out on the front porch working on it but Uncle Jack was in here crying "mamaaaaa mamaaaaa". Silly dog. I couldn't take it anymore so I came back in so he could see me :D He's really starting to show his age, you can see it in his face, and the way he has such a hard time walking around. It makes me sad sad sad. He's a Golden Retriever and April 10th he will be 7 years old, which doesn't sound too too old, but when he was one he was hit by a truck and has been babied ever since.
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