Cooking and Crafting!

      I wanted to write a post today, in spite of the fact that I am so busy! Of course I'm enjoying every minute of it! The girls will be here tomorrow through the weekend so I doubt I'll have a chance to write a post during that time. I have so many unfinished craft projects started; I don't know which ones to do first! They are all such fun projects! Plus, I keep finding more on the internet and Youtube that I want to make! I think I'll be busy crafting way into next year! I'll show you some things I've got going on right now in the photos below.

      Here in the South, we love dressing instead of stuffing. The only stuffing I'm familiar with is stove-top from the box and I don't like that! I'm sure you ladies in the North have some really good stuffing recipes. I may have to try one some day. But for now, I'll stick to my delicious cornbread dressing. My dressing recipe consists of: cornbread, chicken, broth, salt and pepper, poultry seasoning and/or sage, onions, celery, and a couple cans of cream of chicken soup. I haven't been using the soup much in recent years, but this time I am. I also made a delicious marinated slaw which is tradition (in this family) for Thanksgiving and/or Christmas. I usually don't use cake mixes from a box, but Randy requested an orange cake from a box, so what am I to do but grant his request. At least the icing will be from scratch: cream cheese with orange juice. Of course, my sister is making a lot of food, as is my Mom. There will be deviled eggs, green bean casserole, oh, and April is cooking a ham and making a corn pudding. There will be even more food than I can mention, but you get the idea. 

      Listening to Pandora's Bing Crosby Christmas music really makes everything even more enjoyable. Give them a listen while you work. You'll be inspired to sing along too! I hope you all have a very Happy and safe Thanksgiving season! Til next time, Blessings from Bama!

I finally made an Alabama wreath since our team is #2! I made the A's from cardboard I painted. They feel like real wood!

Oh, these are a lot of fun! I finally figured out that if I print Merry Christmas on a manila folder, it wouldn't be so stark white on the ornaments. Purchasing the ornaments for half price at Hobby Lobby saved me time and money. I was deceived because they weren't all glittered.

I have some pretty Christmas papers to decoupage on this ornament.

Chicken in the pressure cooker. I really enjoy putting the cooker to use. It saves so much time and energy, too!

Sorry about the light, but I wanted you to see how pretty the cornbread is in the Lodge skillet.

Warming after the Cold!

       I am happy to say that once again I am sitting on the front porch in my rocking chair for my daily devotions! My legs and arms are getting tan again! Can you believe it? The front porch is such a warm and sunny place, that I can sit there with shorts and short sleeves when I may have to wear pants elsewhere on the property. I sure am enjoying it because I know the cold will return soon! The country sure has been hit with cold and snow; especially Buffalo, New York! Some one posted a photo on Facebook of an open front door to nothing but a wall of snow! Incredible!

      As I write this, I have been working on a cute ornament! I will post a photo below. It's for a special person I hope to give it to tomorrow. I hope she will like it. I don't know her style, so I'm sharing what I like with her. I am so thankful to be able to make pretty things and share them with others! Although other people's idea of pretty may not be the same as mine.

      We had a great time with the girls this past weekend! Four were here until Sunday and the other two went home Monday night! Wow! The week went by really fast for me! I hope to get the girls Thanksgiving Day or so. They will be here then, so maybe they can spend a night or two. They missed us as much as we missed them. Of course there will be photos below.

      I wanted to share a recipe link with you: http://simpleethrifty.com/copycat-panera-autumn-squash-soup-recipe/ I hope the link works and you get to try this yummy recipe! They have a print button so you can print out the recipe there. May you all stay safe and warm and have a wonderful weekend! Blessings from Bama!

Riley got a kick out of pulling Randy's hair!

It didn't matter that it was cold, they had to ride the golf-cart anyway!

Having fun on the swing-set.

Layla enjoyed swinging Riley.

My Dad looking on; move Chelsey!

Guess what he's pulling!

A hillbilly snow sled! See all the snow? (They pretended.)

Hang on Riley!

Look how pretty and tall Winn is getting!

They love Uncle Randy!

A delicious salad with the Blue Cheese dressing. Can you tell I love pickled beets?

Some flourishes in the making. The are quite tegious to cut out.

Here's the ornament! I did remember to cut a hole for the hanger.

Hey Baby, It's Cold Outside!

      What? We are having January weather in November! It's all but snowed here! I can hardly believe how cold it is for this time of year! But then again, the whole country is being hit with the blast! At least it is supposed to warm up gradually through next week! I usually wear shorts and short sleeves on Thanksgiving Day! (But I am a little on the hot-natured side these days!) We'll see how it warms up by then!

      I am so happy to say that Winterlynn and Riley, along with Yasmine and Layla are coming in today! I wanted to get this post written now, or it would be next week before I could get to it! I have been preparing all kinds of coloring sheets and crafts to do with the girls while they are here! I guess that's the Kindergarten teacher coming out in me. I always enjoyed fun activities with the children in school! Have you ever heard of Dr. Jean? She is the greatest teacher I have ever seen! We did some of her silly songs, Yasmine and Layla, last week and they loved them! We will sing more this weekend too! I just shared something about myself with ya'll that you probably didn't know! What about that!

      My crafting mode has been bumped into high gear lately! I can't say that I've finished anything; just practicing and starting projects. I finally have most of the supplies I need to finish some things I've started. It is such a good feeling to know that I can just keep right on working and not have to stop because of not having the correct ingredients or supplies! There are so many projects being shared that I have a hard time choosing which ones I want to do! Jacky, at Dicky Bird's Nest is an awesome folk-crafter! Check out her blog: http://dickybirdsnest.blogspot.com/2014/11/30-days-of-repurposing-projects-day-12.html There, I hope it works!

      I hope ya'll stay warm and cozy this weekend! Thanks for reading! Blessings from Bama!

What a face! I sure have missed it!

I've missed this sweet face too!

Talk about some good bacon, yum!

I traced the shapes onto the wood and started cutting them out. It's too cold to go out now and finish!

A Panera Bread knock-off, Autumn Squash soup.

The tags are finished with their staining process. I just need to get started decorating them!

Black bean soup cooked entirely in the pressure cooker.

A few color sheets and projects I want the girls to do.

Skylar got me this orchid last year for Christmas. It's about to bloom again!

Sweet Riley with 'Dandy'! She had to sit in his lap the whole time she opened her presents!

     

Happy Friday!

      I just thought I'd pop in and say "Hi!" I am enjoying the cooler weather of 58 today! I have been outside a lot; and even wore shorts this morning as I sat in the rocking chair on the  front porch, for my daily Bible reading. I am getting a tan on my legs and arms while doing this! Who knew? The weather always warms up after a cool spell, then rains, as is predicted for next week. 

      I finished the Fall signs I was working on, and learned what Not to do next time I make them! Unless I watch a tutorial for decoupaging on wood, I'll just use a stencil! Lol! I hope to cut out some candy cane shapes from wood soon, but I'll just paint stripes on them. I hope that won't be hard! The stripes, I mean.

      I had some cloth bags purchased from Hobby Lobby that I was going to decorate for Halloween for the girls, but their Mom wanted them to use their plastic pumpkins instead. I stamped some images on the bags and will show you in the photos below. I think I'll make some; and stain them with tea before decorating them. I want them to have a 'vintage' look. I'm really excited about all the fun things I want to do! There are no shops around here in which to sell handmade crafts. Antique stores cost too much to rent a booth. I am praying about how to display these so others can see them and hopefully purchase things I make. That would really be fun! I know about Etsy, and I may have to go that route; but I'd rather not have to ship things. I may start sharing more on Facebook. If ya'll have any ideas, please let me know!

      I hope ya'll enjoy your beautiful weekend! Blessings from Bama!

Ya'll know how I like to make things myself instead of buying them. Here's a rusting solution for metal when you're trying to get that 'aged' look. Hydrogen peroxide, vinegar, and salt. It works!

These are jingle bells!

I have so, been enjoying my blue-cheese dressing this week! This is pasta salad. So yummy!

Looks better in the photo than in real life.

So many boo-boos on this!

A single cucumber on the voluntary cucumber vine that the cold got.

Bags stenciled with a doily and fabric paint I made with craft paint.

Winterlynn planted sunflower seeds in the pot a few months ago. The sunflowers are a sweet reminder of her.

An ephemera angel I stamped on. I don't like how it turned out, but this was the first one I did.

The angel turned out much better. Like the rusty bell?

This one turned out good too! Do you like the tag I made?

A Few Projects in the Making

      I would love to say that I have finished all the Fall projects and have started on Christmas ones. But that would not be true. It seems I have so many interests that I can't stick to a project long enough to see it to completion! I really want to finish them and I usually do, just not during the season they can be used in. Like I finished a Halloween wreath the day after Halloween! I am going to box them up for next year. Who knows, I may have a booth somewhere by then to sell them in. I would love to do that! Maybe set up at craft fairs and such. We'll have to see how that turns out!

      Yasmine and Layla spent the night and day with us this past Friday and Saturday. They have grown and changed since a few weeks ago. Their vocabulary is increasing as well. I love to hear how they are learning in school! Yasmine can read simple books and count to 110! They have learned a lot in such a short period of time! I do miss Winterlynn and Riley! Riley will be two in a few days! I hope to see her on her birthday! 

      I made a delicious apple cobbler today with apples left over from Ellijay. I didn't get them dehydrated as I had planned, but I think the cobbler is a good choice. I had the oven hot since I was seasoning a Lodge iron skillet I got at an estate sale yesterday. The skillet turned out pretty good. I also made blue cheese dressing! I love blue cheese and had some in the fridge so I looked up a recipe for the dressing and couldn't believe how easy it was to make! Silly me for not thinking of that before now! 

      The air has gotten a lot cooler here this week and the days are really short. I'll be glad when they vote not to change the time anymore! It messes my time outside up and makes me think it is later than it is. I may actually get more done, thinking that way! With the shorter days, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it! That's one reason I was glad to find the iron skillet. I can make a larger pan of cornbread for the dressing! I can hardly wait to cook for Thanksgiving! I've got to think about the menu soon! Hope ya'll are well and enjoying the blog! Keep checking back for more! You never know when I might write a new post! Blessings from Bama!

Still need to Mod Podge this and decorate it. Reckon it will be done before Thanksgiving?

Not finished; but you get the idea.

I've been reading about how to make my own iridescent colors. These turned out pretty! Of course I used the Hobby Lobby coupon.

See how pretty!

I may add more to this next year.

The vase on the left was purchased at the estate sale yesterday. The vase on the right was purchased at a thrift store on our camping trip. They are not collectibles. Randy thinks they were homemade using a pottery wheel. I think ceramics.

The rusty skillet. It shined up nicely. 

It was very cool riding the golf cart Saturday! The sun got in Layla's eyes.

She rode down the driveway like this!

Happy 30th birthday ms. Amber!

Does this look like cardboard?

It is! A piece from a box.

Rafael and Tinkerbell!

The Angel Trumpets were so beautiful this day!