I spy with my Etsy eye something...
delightful!
Clockwise, starting top left:
Wishing you a magical weekend.
Friday, October 30, 2015
Wednesday, October 28, 2015
Caramel Apples...
Last week my DIL Meghann and I made caramel apples. She had suggested we make them about a month ago, and, finally, the stars aligned and we were able to get together! I'd made them one time before, and it was a total disaster, so I was looking forward to learning from a pro. It wasn't until we were about ready to start that she told me she'd never made them before. {What?!@*!} However, she simply turned to a YouTube video, and we learned all we needed to know. We ended up making 24 of these beauties!
One thing I learned that would have made my first experience a success, is that you need to wash the apples really well -- scrubbing them a bit to get off all the wax that is applied to the outside of them before they are displayed at the store. If you don't get the wax off, your toppings -- especially your caramel -- will slip right off the apple. {Lesson learned.}
We had a variety of toppings. We dipped them all in caramel, let that harden by refrigerating the apples for a little while, then dipped them in white chocolate or dark chocolate. In the photo above, the apple on the left was dipped in caramel, then white chocolate, and, finally, in a cinnamon and brown sugar mixture. It's called an "Apple Pie Caramel Apple." The one on the right was dipped in caramel, then dark chocolate and pecans.
We also used a drizzle method {see photo above}, where the apples were dipped in caramel, and then drizzled with white chocolate and dark chocolate. Sometimes nuts or tiny chocolate chips were added to the drizzle at the top.
Meghann and I talked about our love of family traditions as we were making these and decided that this would have to be a new traditional fall activity that we would keep!
Tuesday, October 27, 2015
Textile Tuesday...
I chose foxes and hares for Textile Tuesday today.
All in cozy flannel fabrics...
All in cozy flannel fabrics...
Clockwise, starting top left:
Friday, October 23, 2015
Friday's Fabulous Finds...
I spy with my Etsy eye...
some cool fall weather.
Clockwise, starting top left:
Wishing you a fabulous fall weekend!
Tuesday, October 20, 2015
Textile Tuesday...
Here are some fabrics for the little swashbucklers in your life...
Clockwise, starting top left:
Aaargh!
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Thankful Thoughts...
What inspired me this week?
I believe our Heavenly Father wants to help us in every aspect of our lives, and I believe if we turn to him with faith he will magnify and enlarge our capabilities.
My husband and one of our sons started a business about two years ago. They are both engineers and both have worked most of their careers in the medical device and kidney dialysis fields designing equipment and managing teams. Since they started their company they have worked tirelessly, and this week they hit a very important milestone that needed to be reached for the company to continue and progress. It was a huge accomplishment. For months my husband and I have prayed that those working on this project would be inspired by Him and be led to success if it was the Lord's will. Over and over again, thoughts and insights would come a step at a time until they reached the goal. I'm grateful for inspiration and guidance that helps us in every facet of our lives.
What moved me this week?
I had a moving spiritual experience during church today -- angels singing, hallelujahs ringing, hands raising, amens praising -- the whole nine yards. When I saw these shoes, I thought I'd died and gone to heaven...
Yup, those are ice cream flats.
Cutest shoes ever. {I especially love the waffle cone look.}
I could hardly concentrate in Sunday School because the teacher was wearing them. I ran up to her after the lesson to find out where she'd gotten them. Two words...
They even have a mini-version...
I'm craving baked goods and ice cream!
Friday, October 16, 2015
"Bugs and Kisses" Halloween Treats
Halloween has changed since I was a kid. Today it takes some serious cash and a degree in costume designing to get your child ready for Halloween night. When I was young one of the most popular things to dress up as was a "hobo." One could throw that costume together in 15 minutes with time to spare. You'd put on last year's too short holey pants, make a black beard on your face, and carry a knapsack made from your dad's cloth handkerchief tied to a pole. I guess that particular costume would be thought of as politically incorrect or, at the least, insensitive these days; however, simple costumes certainly made for a less hectic and a more relaxing holiday.
Speaking of a less hectic holiday, here's a simple idea to give or send your loved ones for Halloween...
I love sending little treats to our kids and grandkids to let them know we are thinking of them...
I saw this idea on Pinterest. I already had the scrapbooking paper and the plastic bags, so it seemed like the perfect idea. I made a document for the tags -- one page is from "Grandma & Grandpa" and the other from "Mom & Dad"...
Click "here" to download this PDF document.
I printed the tags on scrapbooking paper in my printer.
Two toned papers that are not too busy work best.
Since the theme for the tags are "Bugs & Kisses", I purchased some spiders and Hershey's kisses to include in the bags...
For our kiddos with arachnophobia {tee-hee},
I sent a pretty little sticker spider so they wouldn't freak out {too much}...
I mounted the tags on a four inch strip of folded cardstock and stapled them to the 4" x 6.5" plastic zippered bags.
If you are a teacher, friend, student, neighbor, or anyone else and would like to use this idea as treats to give to others, here's another more generic document that doesn't have a signature "from" someone...
You can download this more generic tag,
by clicking here.
Happy Halloween!
Wednesday, October 14, 2015
Luscious Paint Colors...
Last week I was in Virginia visiting my son and his family. It was such a fun week, and I had a lot of time with my two and four year old grandkids during the days while their normally stay-at-home-momma took some classes. During the afternoon while the two year old napped my four year old granddaughter and I crafted. I think I've found someone who loves to craft as much as me. I'd done a bit of pumpkin painting lately, so I thought it might be fun to have her paint some pumpkins. We bought some mini pumpkins at Target and then searched for some acrylic craft paint. Instead, we found these delightful samples pots from Target's Devine Color Collection by Valspar. I'm impressed.
Adorable, eh?
I'd love to say she takes after me,
but she has her mother's talent for color and style stamped all over her!
but she has her mother's talent for color and style stamped all over her!
I really loved the lustre of this paint, and the colors are gorgeous. We used:
Meadow...
Pond...
and Petal...
These beautiful colors certainly put me in the mood to buy some paint brushes and get busy.
I'm picturing a striped wall with all three colors.
Yum.
I'm picturing a striped wall with all three colors.
Yum.
Monday, October 12, 2015
Exterior House Renovation -- Final Update...
It has been a couple of weeks since our house renovations were complete, but "life" happened in between then and now. I've been on the west coast and the east coast in the last two weeks visiting and helping kids, but now I'm home and can update my blog to include the final exterior house renovations we completed in September. You might remember the last blog post about the renovations, where I showed you a before and mid-renovation photo...
Since this mid renovation photo was taken, we've added shutters to our home. In my first blog post about the exterior renovations I mentioned how we made these shutters. I've come to love them! They added so much to the exterior of our home...
We also added new lighting fixtures. For some reason it took me several days to decided on the exterior fixtures. I knew I wanted barn light style for over the garage door, and I found this one on Amazon...
Then I had to find a door fixture that complimented that style. That was the challenge. I finally found one on Overstock.com -- from Capital Lighting Dylan Collection.
One of the most notable things we were able to do for this renovation was to change out the garage door. We moved into our home 24 years ago, and over time garage doors get a lot of wear and tear. Ours was no exception. Putting in this new insulated garage door was a wonderful improvement. We decided on a carriage style with windows. We also chose to get the inserts for the windows {not in the above mid renovation photo}, which add a bit a character. For many homes {ours included} a garage door takes up a large part of the front of the home. We wanted to make it an interesting feature.
I am so happy with the results of this renovation, and I'm grateful the colors turned out how I'd hope they would. Again, here's the before...
And the after photos...
Door & Shutters: Benjamin Moore Hale Navy HC154
Trim: Benjamin Moore China White PM20
Siding: Benjamin Moore Custom Color {below} to match Sandstone Garage Door
542 - 2x (gallon)
Y3 1x 24.0000
S1 1x 8.0000
Friday, October 09, 2015
Friday's Fabulous Finds...
I spy with my Etsy eye some...
soft gray and blushing pink.
Clockwise, starting top left:
Wishing you a wonderful weekend!
Wednesday, October 07, 2015
Fall Table Runner...
I'm always on the lookout for fabric, and I find it in unlikely places. I've mentioned that I make curtains out of tablecloths and pillows out of placemats. Last week I found a dish towel at Hobby Lobby in their Halloween/Fall aisle. I loved the colors and style, so I picked it up {at 40% off}, not necessarily intending to use it as a dish cloth.
Instead, I'm going to use it on my kitchen table in November as a table runner. I paired it with my favorite linen-look muslin and created a very simple pattern...
And I did something that I've never done before. I used one of the hundred decorative stitches on my machine to quilt it...
The stitching isn't perfect, but I like the look of the fallish leafy vines running up and down the rows of fabric. I also put a little dark brown ric-rac in the outside seam to give it a little pizzazz!
{May I interrupt this blog post with this important message.
Take a look at this mum. Gorgeous, isn't it?}
I won't be using this runner for a couple of months, but when I see a little fabric I like, I pick it up because you never know how or when you can use it!
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