It's so simple to celebrate

It's so simple to celebrate. All you need is some colored salt or sugar and use a little lime juice and then dip your glass in the colored seasoning - sudden celebration!

With St. Paddy's day just around the corner, it's nice to have some green salt on hand. We use it to rim our margaritas. And suddenly a simple drink can seem like a celebration in a glass.

Happy Friday! Hope you have a wonderful weekend. CHEERS!

Wrap it Up

What do you do when you only have one skein of yarn? I make a collar. It's simple. You knit like you're going to make a scarf only not nearly as long, then you sew a little button on it and WAH-LAH a new collar to dress up any shirt or sweater.

They are fun and inexpensive and it's an easy way to use up some of that yarn that you have sitting around and haven't figured out what to do with it.

Skirting the Issue

I wanted a new skirt but I didn't want to pay $59.00 to get one. So I pulled out one of my favorite skirts and laid it out on some brown fabric to use for a pattern.

This wrinkled gray skirt is one of my favs. So I cut the shape out in the brown fabric. And then I used some green yarn in the waistband so I could sew it inside out and then pull it through easily using the yarn.

Then I stitched the waistband to the main fabric and Wah-lah! I had a new skirt that I paired with some ankle boots and I was pleased for $12.00. Not a bad deal.

SCBWI Scholarship for Annual Conference - Deadline 3.1.14

If you're interested in attending the annual conference but you're running short of money, check out this site. There are forms for you to apply for a scholarship. And do it quickly because the deadline is March 1, 2014.

Good luck! And hope to see you at the conference.

St. Paddy's Day Wreath

I love to celebrate and one way I celebrate is by decorating the house with wreaths. I usually make them myself and it couldn't be simpler to make a wreath than to take a couple of feather boas and wrap them around the form of a wreath and add a few shamrocks and pom-poms. I even added a bow and a garland then I hung the wreath and WAH-LAH home-made merry making for St. Paddy's day.

Do you decorate for St. Paddy's Day too?

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot

This is a sad story about a woman who dies from cancer in October of 1951 but her cells live on throughout time and help others by giving scientists a way to test and research cancer and its growth through her durable cells (HELA). It is really worth reading. But be prepared because it can be very depressing to hear about the way people were treated back in the 1950s. I almost couldn't finish it because of the horrific things I learned. But if you can put that aside and read the story, it is a very educational book. 

Homemade Holiday Pillows

This leprechaun pillow was made from an old tablecloth.

But I also made another one from an old sheet.

All I did was lay the material out on the floor.

Fold it over the pillow and cut the fabric.

Then I marked where I wanted to sew it, with a pink marker.

And I stitched it up.

I added a button to the white pillowcase so I can easily take it off and wash it.

You can see the button at the top of the pillow.

It was sew simple ;D

President's Day

President's Day has been in existence since 1879. It used to be  celebrated every February 22, but was changed to designate the third Monday of every February. It was meant to honor America's first president, George Washington, but now we call it President's Day and view it as a celebration of all American presidents.

I hope you all have a great day!

Happy Valentine's Day

Saint Valentine - Rome said he was imprisoned for performing weddings for soldiers who were forbidden to marry and for ministering to Christians, who were persecuted under the Roman Empire.  According to  legends, he healed the daughter of his jailer, Asterius and before his execution he wrote her a letter signed "Your Valentine" as a farewell.

Sort of a sad story for a celebration of love.

But I want to wish you all a Happy Valentine's Day!

Jacob's Leaving

Jacob's on his way to St. Thomas. He's making a couple stops in North Carolina, Florida and then the islands.

So we had to have a feast and wish him well.

It was a nice night.

Word for Wednesday - guess what it means

Word: Triptych

Do you know what it means?

Take a guess...


Now scroll down to see if you were "write" or wrong.


A little Further...



FURther



FURTHER


triptych:  is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections.

DIY Flooring

It's turning out really pretty. This is the room my hubby has been working on. He took out some walls and surprise, there was no flooring underneath those spots. So he had to build the floor. And this is how he did it.

He pieced some old recycled wood in place but first he had to support it underneath.

It took some math (geometry) and cutting and piecing to get it just right. But like I said, it's really turning out pretty.

Sweetheart

Getting ready for Valentine's Day...? It's easy to make some special treats if you use sugar sheets.

Sugar sheets are simply compressed sugar.

I cut out some shapes and designs from the sugar sheets. The sugar sheets taste pretty good and they come in all colors so they are fun to use to decorate cupcakes and cookies.

I layered sugar sheet designs.

Then I put the designs on cupcakes.

And some I simply rimmed in a little icing.

They are sort of sweet...and they taste good too.

POT PIE

Sometimes it's hard to come up with new things to fix for dinner but I was thinking about those little store-bought potpies and I wanted to try to make one.

I didn't pull up a recipe off the internet or even look at a picture. And this picture is really pretty - mine didn't turn out so perfect but I'm going to keep trying. It's simple enough to make.

I also like to use what I have on hand. In the freezer I had a boxed package of pie dough.

So, I figured, "why not?" and I lined my baking stone pie pan and started to fill it with ingredients.

I started with some left over rice then I topped it with carrots (cut into cubes).

I added some left over pork, chopped dates and apples...

Some green beans

Then I topped it with a few dabs of sour cream.

Then I put a crust on top.

Then I baked the pie at 400 degrees for about 40-50 minutes.

In the last couple of minutes I poured about 3 tablespoons of melted butter over the top to give it a browning agent.

I thought the pie was pretty good but it was a bit dry. My son didn't like the rice in the pie. He said it wasn't what he expected when he cut into the pie.

So I had to try again last night. This time I added mashed potatoes and a couple cans of cream of celery soup instead of rice. It was much better.

But this is a quick easy dinner and it was different than the regular rice and chicken or rice and pork.

Lavender Wreath

First I cut the lavender out of the garden. Then I twined the lavender together to create a wreath.

It takes quite a bit of lavender to make a wreath.

And then with the left over lavender, I made a little bag to hold the lavender...and put it in the bathroom to make the room smell nice.

It didn't cost a thing but it smells so sweet and it even looks pretty.

Valentine's Day Nails

First I painted my nails red

Then I drew hearts on

I thought this was fun for Valentine's Day

Super Bowl Treats

Super Bowl Treats

I made a football cake and Fatina made football strawberries

Super bowl . . . treats.