Monday, December 28, 2020
5 EZ Tips to keep your home feeling like the holidays
Wednesday, December 23, 2020
Vlogmas Day 24 - A Family Wish From Mine to You and Yours
Monday, December 21, 2020
Vlogmas - Day 21 - Cookie Fail
Saturday, December 19, 2020
Friday, December 18, 2020
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Tuesday, December 15, 2020
Monday, December 14, 2020
Sunday, December 13, 2020
Friday, December 11, 2020
Thursday, December 10, 2020
Wednesday, December 9, 2020
Tuesday, December 8, 2020
PUPPY POST - Vlogmas Day 8
Siberian huskies are the cutest puppies ever - aren't they? What do you think? Or do you have a favorite pet puppy?
Well, I think Sofi and Mila are adogable ;D that's why I have to make Christmas stockings for all the pets I love.
And, on Vlogmas Day 1 I made stockings for Sofi and Freya but they were identical and I wanted to put their names on their socks so I did.
I stenciled their names on each of their stockings and if you'd like to see how I did it, check out my Youtube Vlogmas post for Day 8.
And, if you make stockings for your pets, tell me all about it in the comments below.
Happy Hound Days!
Monday, December 7, 2020
Vlogmas Day 7 - Danish Gløgg or Hot Spiced Wine for the Holidays
If you'd like the recipe and instructions on how to make your own perfect cup of Christmas Cheer for the holidays, check out my YouTube Video here.
But, let me tell you a little bit about Gløgg.
Gløgg is commonly served in Scandinavia to celebrate St. Lucia's Day on December 13th and then around the Christmas holiday. It means to "mull". And although the word looks like it would rhyme with our traditional Egg Nog, it doesn't. It sounds more like Gluck than Glog.
Anyway, none of that really matters because it simply tastes wonderful and might be the reason behind the age-old saying that "Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year!" ;D And the impetus behind the Danish word Hyggelig which represents the word for cozy and content rolled together into one word.
Anyway, if you try your hand at this Danish Drink, please let me know what you think of it.
Saturday, December 5, 2020
Christmas Quilt for VLOGMAS Day V
Maybe I should call this a Thanksgiving Quilt because I'm like a kid. I couldn't wait for Christmas to gift this to my sister. I could barely wait to tell her I was making it for her. And, if you take a peek down in the right-hand corner you can see a cross-stitched Christmas stocking that I gifted to my girls. I have the worst time keeping secrets or holding back on gifts. I just love to see the expressions on peoples' faces when they open their presents - and right now, I think we could all use a little more early Christmas joy. Anyway, I had to get a little help from my friends on picking out the pattern to use. So THANKS to everyone who voted on my poll post. This turned out better because of all the input I received from everyone. I'm a novice quilter and as you can see, this is a super simple quilt but I'm hoping it will brighten up a spot in my sister's house over the holidays.
And, if you would like to see my quilting process, check out my YouTube video here on how I made this quilt for my sister. And, while you're over there, check out some of my other Christmas projects on my VLOGMAS list.
If you've been quilting, please share some of your projects with me in the comment section below.
https://youtu.be/lu06g3Kbj3Q
Friday, December 4, 2020
VLOGMAS - Day IV - Scandinavian Christmas Gnomes
I'm currently on a gnome kick. So, I wanted to make some shirts with gnomes but I was a little worried about whether or not the paint would bleed all over the fabric. So, I decided to do a test run with one.
I bought the shirt at JoAnn Craft and Fabric and I had to buy some fabric paint too. I bought the Scribbles Paint, which was super cheap - just the way I like my crafting.
Then I sketched some little wee folk on the plain white tee shirt and went to town painting away.
If you'd like to see more about this project, check out my video here.
And, if you're interested in Vlogmas or any Christmasy Crafting, Baking or Making, check out my other Youtube videos.
And, if you have any questions, comments or helpful tips, please share them in the comments.
Happy Gnome Hunting!
Thursday, December 3, 2020
Christmas Gnomes Come for a Visit
I'm sure you've heard of Elves, but what about Nisse, or Gnomes?
Well, if you've never met one of these cheery little guys, here's an easy way to help bring them into your house for the holidays.
It's a simple craft you can do with your kids or grandkids and what could be more fun that creating your own little helpers to have around the house at Christmas?
If you'd like to see how to make these little fellows, just click on my YouTube link and watch the short little video.
And, if you do make a few of these little wee folk, please let me know because I'd love to see what you did with these little people.
Wednesday, December 2, 2020
Christmas Advent Calendars - An Age Old Tradition
In the United States, we've seen advent calendars before but these aren't your typical American Advent Calendars. These are European Advent Calendars or Danish Designs to be exact.
My Mother-in-Law started me out on this tradition many years ago and it's one of the things I appreciate the most about her. She brought a wonderful holiday tradition into our house and we still practice it about 40 years later.
These are cross-stitched, sewed, or even appliqued designs she perfected as presents for each of us. The kids grew up loving this tradition and they still open the presents every morning during the 24 days of Christmas.
If you'd like to hear more about this Scandinavian tradition, just click on my Youtube Link and read - or watch - all about it :D
And, if you have an Advent Calendar, share your comments in the box below. I'd love to hear how you celebrate Christmas.
Tuesday, December 1, 2020
VLOGMAS 2020!
Welcome to Vlogmas 2020!
If you haven't heard about Vlogmas, let me tell you a little bit about it...
Vlogmas is a way to celebrate the 25 days until Christmas, with Video blogs every day. It's sort of like an elongated version of the 12 Days of Christmas but instead of a song, this is a video celebration of the build up to Christmas.
So, after that longwinded explanation, here's my first-ever Vlogmas post: just click here
https://youtu.be/f9vCaehsh00
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
An Attitude of Gratitude
It's really easy this year to be discouraged, frustrated and angry but at this time of the year it's important to remember all the things we still have to be thankful for. So take a moment ...
And think of all the big and small blessings you have in your life then nurture that attitude of gratitude. It's like watering a garden, with a little effort you'll see beautiful things start to grow.
I want to wish you all a Happy Thanksgiving filled with great food and family. And even if you can't all be together, take time to talk, laugh and remember to nurture an attitude of gratitude.
Monday, November 23, 2020
THANKFUL THOUGHTS
Hope is like a flower
It begins in a small, tentative way...
Then it starts to bud
After a bit, it begins to peek out and show itself
Then it opens up to the world
And with hope, you can't stop it from growing
It soars for the sky and stars . . .
So, remember to be hopeful and nourish your thankful thoughts
Saturday, November 7, 2020
Thursday, October 29, 2020
#DIY Dragon Jack-O-Lantern for Halloween
Have you ever wanted to have a pet dragon? Well, this is one EZ way to do it. Simply create your own.
And it's super simple to do.
First, you need to try to pick out a pumpkin that vaguely has the shape of a dragon head.
After you've selected a pumpkin, start drawing, painting or cutting out the face you envision.
After you've painted/colored or cut the design you want, you begin assembling some thumbtacks to give it the impression of having scales. (I've done this on a previous blogpost for Dragon Eggs).
Then you insert your wings. (If you want to see how I did it, watch this one minute Youtube video)
And in the end, you'll have a fun fairytale character to display in your yard or on your porch.
And, if you make a dragon jack-o-lantern, please let me know because I'd love to see it.
HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Wednesday, October 14, 2020
#DIY - Bake a Fun Halloween Cake
Luke was a good sport humoring his old Mom :D
HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUKE and HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Wednesday, October 7, 2020
Haunted Halloween Gingerbread House
I'm not saying you shouldn't buy this little Trader Joes Haunted House Chocolate Kit but, if you do, you should understand that you might need a little help - at least putting it together. Because you have to hold it until the frosting sets enough to keep the sides from falling down.
Thursday, October 1, 2020
DIY Life-Sized Fairy Garden

I love fairies and fairytales. Who doesn't?
So, with Halloween being limited this year, I thought why not go all out with my decorations. To tell the truth, I go all out with decorations every year ;D





HAPPY HALLOWEEN!
Thursday, September 17, 2020
HALLOWEEN SPIRIT 2020
So, I don't know if you're like me, but I LOVE Halloween. I guess you could say I begin my Halloween Countdown as soon as Labor Day comes on the scene. If I'm really honest, I'm thinking about Halloween as soon as the Easter candy has been eaten. I think up themes for my decorations and begin working on them early in the year. And this year my Halloween them is a Life-Size Fairy Garden. I've been working on Fairies for months.
Here's one I made months ago. Check out my other post down below.
And then I started making my own. (If you’re curious about that, see my post below)
Then I needed some Dragon Eggs. So, I made a few of those.
(If your curious about that, see my post below: DIY Dragons and Dragon Eggs).Of course, I wasn't finished there. I needed a castle.
So I started working on that.

And it took a little while.But I kept working on it.
Saturday, September 12, 2020
DIY Halloween Dragons - Free Pattern and All
I looked on-line but couldn't find one that I liked. I really love dragon wings so that's what I was looking for - some large dragon wings. So, I decided to make it myself. I took a look at some of the dragons on pinterest and then I sketched out my pattern pieces.
My sister thought it looked like a giant turkey :(
Anyway, then I used some duct tape to adhere some pipe cleaners to the inside of the wings to give them some ability to be posed into different positions.
Then I started sewing away.... until I had my dragon all assembled. I also took the belly piece and ribbed it by sewing lines across the belly. I stuffed every other belly slot with cotton balls and then I stuffed the body and wings with batting. Perhaps I overstuffed the wings - but that's the way I like them. Last of all I sewed some beads onto the head, to make some beautiful jewel-toned eyes.
And then my dragon was ready to soar off into the wild blue yonder.
(If you'd like to make one of these, just let me know and I'll email you the pattern pieces - or maybe you can pull them off this post).
And, if you do make a dragon, please share a photo with me. I'd love to see what you do for Halloween.
Friday, September 4, 2020
Halloween is Sneaking Up On US
Is anyone else starting to get ready for Halloween? I can hardly wait. When can I start putting out decorations? I don't want to be one of those people who start celebrating a holiday before it's even here but....
I've been working on so many things. I can't wait to share them all so here are a few of my creations and works in progress.
Okay, my theme this year was inspired by a drawing I made and I'm not an artist but I fell in love with the idea of dragons:
Then I started thinking about Game of Thrones and Dragon Eggs. So I had to make a few...
It's simple to do. All you need is some styrofoam shaped like an egg and some thumb tacks. I tried to use a variety of tacks to give the eggs some dimension.
And I was super happy with how they came out.
Next, I wanted some dragons. So, lucky for me, my sons both have 3D printing skills and so I didn't have to wait long to have some baby dragons to come creeping out of my eggs.
Of course, I had to piece them together and paint them.
And the hardest part was picking the colors.
I made one blue and one green (never said I wasn't a Dr. Obvious). Which one do you like the best? I even used a little glitter to add some more magic to the mixture.
And now, I'm just getting going...
If you love Halloween, like me, keep watching for more of my decorations because I'm planning to go all out this year.