Just a little something

It is so fun what just a little something added can do for the simplest of gifts.

Finished Plates

Here are the last of the plates drying from the sealer. It has to be 70˚ to 80˚ to use this spray and so we dashed out and my daughter finished these up while the weather was soooo nice. It was a good excuse to be outside too.

These photos were all taken with her phone but you can see how pretty they are. Friends stopped by and when we explained how they are made her eyes lit up and she turned to him and started carrying on about paisley dishes. I think we may have a new crafting buddy!

That's my story

I believe that cookies, homemade cookies, make you feel better. Comfort food at it's best. After hurricane Ike we would sit in the evening and munch on homemade cookies that I had baked right before it hit and it made us feel better. It felt like things would be fine. So today I baked a big batch of chocolate oatmeal cookies so that if the power does go out from tonight's ice storm I can huddle under the blankets and eat cookies and know that everything will be alright. Yeah, that's my story and I am sticking to it. You can accuse me of just wanting an excuse to indulge if you want but I am sticking to my story!

Oh, and there are only half a dozen on the platter as I promised Darlene I would take a photo of the flamingo platter that I found in the back of the pie safe as I was digging out recipes. Ha, that is a whole 'nuther story. I am in the throes of sorting and organizing all of those recipes I have 'saved to try one day'!

First Socks

I finished the first pair of socks today. Aren't these fun?

Since this was my first time to use a sock loom I expected a learning curve, especially since I gave up hand knitting as too painfully slow for me.

Even with the loom it was slow going but not difficult to learn.

I have learned that the best time to experiment is often in the beginning when you are not expecting perfection anyway so I tried different styles of cuffs and different methods of doing the knit stitch to find what works best for me. At the same time I am 'learning' about the sizing of these socks.

I have yarn to make a pair in shades of red using the same type of yarn so that is next on my list of projects. I suspect yarn types will affect the sizing to some degree so that will be a future experiment.

Cherry Snowmen

These little snowmen looked so cute in the pictures.

But when I made them they look like they have been sitting in the sun too long!

But even if they look more like the ghosts of Snowmen past,

they were still really good to eat!

Finished in time for Christmas Giving

I just finished the last afghan to be given for Christmas.

This is the one from the Bernat CAL.

It will be going to my daughter as the colors should compliment her house.

And this one is going to my granddaughter for her bedroom.

She however, knows I was working on it as I wanted her approval on the colors.

More holiday crafting

Today my daughter was back to work on more plates.

She made real progress and hopes to finish next time she comes over.

While she did that I worked on making some 'natural' ornaments for her tree using walnuts and glitter. This was another easy project!

I look forward to seeing her tree.

Snow Ornaments

Here are photos of the snow ornaments I mentioned in the last post.

I am afraid between the reflections and the heavy sun blocking screens they are a bit difficult to see.

These were so easy and fun to make.

The ones we saw in the store were filled with small Styrofoam balls

but I chose to use some plastic pellets left over from stuffing toys.

Just pour in a small amount and replace the top.

Then using a metallic marking pen 'paint' snowflakes on the outside.

I chose blue to match my kitchen and to show up better.

If you were to put these on a tree silver or gold would probably show up well and be quite stunning. I tried writing on my test ornament but quickly discovered that is much more difficult that it looks to get good results.

Snowman updates

I had debated adding arms to the snowman tree topper but it took me a while to decide that he definitely needed them and then to find something appropriate to use.

And the bottle cap snowmen just seemed bare without a scarf so had to update them as well. I think I am now happy with this tree.

Next will be some ornaments for the kitchen...

Cowboy Christmas

The cinnamon ornaments were dry enough to hang today so up they went.

And now the tree is complete. Or should I say, ready for presents?