a cherished gift...beaded snowflake

Beaded snowflakes are always lovely regardless of their simplicity. This one has a very special meaning to me. Years ago, my daughter (who had just turned old enough to drive) drove her younger brother to our nearest craft store. Had him dig deep into his pockets and purchase some beads and wire. You see, Christmas was close at hand, and she discovered that he had yet to get me a present. When they got back home, she dug out my old Martha Stewart Living magazines, found the issue with the beaded snowflake instructions, and assisted him in making two of these for me as tree decorations. Needless to say, they were never put away with the rest of the holiday décor that year. They have remained prominently displayed in my kitchen window, hanging on a bamboo cylinder Jeff had made for me to gather my curtains.

You never know when your children will take your breath away…those times always sneak up on you.
I actually found the exact same article that was used to make my beaded snowflakes. It’s online here: http://www.marthastewart.com/article/beaded-snowflakes - From Martha Stewart Living, December/January 1997/1998 (oh, the wonders of the internet… : ))

Works in progress…amber gleam

These tiny bottles have been hanging out on our window ledge for several weeks now, just waiting to be finished. They are the tiniest bottles and have little corks to go with them. Every morning they catch my eye as the sun hits them at just the right angle. I love them so much and haven’t been able to bring myself to paint them. You see, I would like to leave them white, and Jeff would like color on them…

This happens between us occasionally. :) And, when it does, I do nothing…I stall…until an idea blooms in my head that we can both agree on, or Jeff starts to see things my way.
In the meantime, they sit, and every morning they gleam…

just some etsy* finds…

*Etsy—“your place to buy & sell all things handmade” (just in case you didn’t already know)

Today, I’m highlighting some handmade artisans that are on the ‘Etsy D Listers’ team, a team whose purpose is “…to help those that are just starting out ...to learn to promote and gain positive ground with building their Etsy shops…” It has been a great community to be a part of. This is just a small sample of what these talented people have to offer.

gratis gift bags with our bottles…

Our upcycled wine and liquor bottles are accompanied with complimentary handmade gift bags when they are shipped. We use pages from magazines to make these, because their bold, striking images, nice color tones, and quality paper make each bag a one-of-a-kind piece of art, in itself. It’s our way of saying thank you.

A Sunday afternoon ice cream social...

For my mom’s birthday, we had an ice cream buffet for dessert. It was delicious and everyone had tailored bowls of ice cream to their liking. Here are the toppings we set out:

Cherries
Whipped crème
Bananas
Candy bars – chopped
Hard Candy – crushed
M & M’s
Thin Mints – chopped
Oreos – crushed
Pretzels – broken
Walnuts
Coconut flakes
Blueberries – canned
Chocolate chips
Peanut butter chips
…and a favorite was crushed Chick-o-Stick candy (who knew)

We also had two different types of easy, easy to make chocolate sauces.

Peanut Butter Fudge Sauce

Ingredients:
•1 cup corn syrup -- light or dark
•1 cup creamy peanut butter
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Preparation:
In a 2-quart bowl (microwaveable), combine corn syrup, peanut butter, and cream. microwave on HIGH for 1 1/2 minutes, until boiling. Add chocolate chips and stir until melted. Store in the refrigerator; warm up to serve over ice cream. Makes 2 1/2 cups
The recipe was found here at southernfood.about.com

And…

Amaretto Chocolate Sauce

1/2 cup whipping cream
1/2 lb semisweet chocolate chips
1 tbl Amaretto or other coffee liqueur

Pour cream into a glass bowl or 2-cup measure. Microwave on 100% power until tiny bubbles break the surface (1 to 2 minutes).
Stir in chocolate until it is melted and mixture is smooth. If chocolate does not melt completely, microwave on 100% power until it is completely melted (20 to 30 seconds longer).
Stir in liqueur
This recipe was found here at fooddownunder.com

"It's amazing how quickly you recover from misery when someone offers you ice cream."
- Neil Simon, Brighton Beach Memoirs

postings on location: our back porch

Tomorrow's October 1st…Yay! It was around this time, years ago, that my daughter ran breathlessly into the house and exclaimed: “I can smell Halloween!” Here in SW Florida that time is not quite here yet, but today, as if by magic, and to reign in October, our heavy blanket of humidity has been lifted. A fond farewell to mugginess, although I have to admit, I will miss my toadstools…or fairy umbrellas, gnome’s homes….

Who uses snail mail anymore?

...I can't resist when I'm having a party and want to send my invitations in envelopes that will really get the recipient's attention. For me---the party begins with the invites, and when you can send them inside of  unique, handmade envelopes that also matches the theme of your party, it's all the better.

 

We have sent out hand-made envelopes made from recycled magazine paper for years, not just for parties but also for business correspondence, holidays, and whenever a personal note card is needed. The response from people are always positive, some have even kept them as keepsakes.

National Geographic magazines pages are perfect for cards created with letter-size paper folded into fourths (5 ½ x 4 ¼ inches). The images are bold and striking; they travel wonderfully through the mail, and are just the right size for this style of envelope. Thrift stores or EBay are a good place for back issues; the older the issue the more retro your envelopes will look. We don’t bother with adhesive for the flap; we just secure it shut with a return address label.

For different sized envelopes, you can make a template by choosing any size envelope, open it up flat by carefully detaching the flaps---and, you have your own template. Then, chose your paper, trace an outline of your template onto the paper, and use scissors to cut along your outline. Fold and crease the flaps down with a glue stick or glue, just like your envelope which you are modeling from, and leaving the top flap open, of course. :-)

Envelopes can be made from all different types of paper, including cardstock, construction paper, scrapbook paper, vellum, gift wrap, or wallpaper. The ultimate would be sketch or watercolor paper with you own art work on it. In any case, be creative and get noticed with your next invites.