2010 Calendar Cuteness

This is 2010 calendar, not 2009-so don't get confused.

I bought the pdf for this cute little calendar from SparklePower's etsy shop. They took copies of vintage floral fabric and designed this calendar. I love it, I'm sure, because I'm obsessed with the vintage sheets. And I can print it as many times as I want. I printed these on cardstock and cut them out using my rotary cutter and clear ruler. (That must be why my blade is dull!) Then I clipped the corners with my corner cutter (duh-what else would I use?). Finally I punched holes in the top. It did kind of take a while. But still, I might give one of these along with some Christmas gifts.

Ahem-and if you receive one and don't really like it-just humor me, kay?

Why I'm messing with this when I have dirty dishes stacked half way to the ceiling-I'll never know.

Tonight we turn the clocks back. An extra hour of sleep-YAY!☺

Happy Halloween!

Have a "spooktacular" day!☺

A pillow from repurposed materials

My sister, Kim, had given me her old curtains (which I had made for her a couple years ago), a sheet, and a pillow sham and asked me to stitch up 2 valances and a plastic bag holder. Then yesterday-she asked if I had any red material left and if I did, could make her a small pillow.

Why, yes I did have material left and yes, I will make you a small pillow, Kimmie!

I had a Christmas pillow that I must have gotten at Goodwill really cheapo and it was in like-new condition-so I used it. (On a side note-The pillow says Noel-so therefore I started humming The First Noel. I hum constantly now-and I never did before. I'm thinking humming must come with age. Dawnie told me she hums too-so I guess I'm not the only one.)

Anyhow-I used the Goodwill pillow and took the red fabric (previously curtains) and made a case, folded the end in and stitched some darts to close it-then tada-a new pillow. Then I made some more frayed rosettes to embellished it. I made them from scraps from my stash and a scrap from Kim's sheet.

Repurposing-I love it!♥

Frayed rosettes

I finally finished my sister Kim's plastic bag holder. She had given me a sheet to use at the beginning of the month and I just finished last night. She painted her kitchen yellow and is accenting in pyrex bowl colors-yellow, red, green, and blue-I believe.
I embellished with these frayed rosettes, which I love. They were easy and fun to make. Except when I burned my finger with the hot glue gun. (They call it "hot" glue for a reason.) I followed this tutorial from Made by the Mama Monster blog. Hope you like it, Kim.

Now I must go and do some of my sister's laundry and puppysit the new puppy!

Have a great day!☺

Making me happy

These pillow cases. (It doesn't take much, does it?)☺
And doesn't everybody have a pink ladder outside their bedroom door? (It saves me from dragging it up two flights of stairs everytime I need to change a lightbulb or get in the "attic". I bought this at a yardsale for 4 dollars years ago and I painted it this pinkish color-it was just too gray for my taste!)

A gratitude wrap for me

made myself a gratitude wrap from my stash of "vintage" sheets and a piece of muslin. When it comes right down to it-I love these prints as well as any material.

On our sewing day on Saturday-Dawnie and I decided to do the binding using the French fold method. It involves some hand sewing-but we don't mind. You got your hand sewing done yet, Dawnie?

I really love this little gratitude wrap-even if I never really use it-I'll enjoy just looking at it.

Punxsutawney Phil sighting

Breaking news..........

***Celebrity sighting***

The most famous groundhog in the world, Punxsutawney Phil, was caught on deer cam in the woods near our house!

Corners

The light was coming in so prettily, so I took some pics. Heaven knows I need light for a nice pic.

Don't click on the pics to see the dust.

Now, I said don't-you don't listen very well!☻

Beer bread

I got a hankering for beer bread today- so I made some! Not that I need anymore carbs in my diet or anything. But I can't help it-I'm a carboholic!

I just ate both end pieces spread with a little butter and tea. Well-I drank the tea-I didn't spread the tea. You know what I mean. Mmm mmm good.

Here's the recipe if you desire to make it-

::Beer Bread

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3 cups all purpose flour

4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

(these above 3 ingredients=3 cups self-rising flour)

3 Tablespoons sugar

1-12 oz. can of beer

Mix above ingredients and pour in a greased bread pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (I actually only baked it about 25 minutes before the adding the butter). Take out of oven and pour 1/2 stick melted butter over top. Bake another 15 minutes. Cool for a few minutes then loosen sides if needed and dump bread onto cooling rack.

Enjoy now-ya hear!☺

Stove top apple crisp

(This is what was left after supper.)

I have quite a few apples here to use up, so earlier this week I made apple crisp. It turned out pretty good, so today I thought I'd make apple sauce for the first time in my life. I figured it would be easy and it was, but when it was done I decided I wanted something sweet and crunchy on top-you know-like crisp. I had no desire to turn on my oven, so I thought I'd tried it on the stove top in a skillet. I almost burned it- but caught it just in time. It was really good-almost like granola.

I realize most people know how to make applesauce and apple crisp, but just in case.....

::Holly's Chunky Applesauce-

Throw a bunch of cut up peeled apples in a sauce pan with a little (maybe 1/4 cup) of water. Add cinnamon and sugar (brown or white) to taste. Cook covered on low-medium heat until mushy (about 1/2 an hour). Mash with potato masher.

::Holly's Stovetop Crisp-

Melt a stick of real butter (I only used 3/4 stick today-cause I'm healthy like that) in a skillet. Add 1 cup oatmeal, 1 cup flour, 1 cup brown sugar (I used a little less flour and sugar today). Stir over low-medium heat for oh-10 minutes, give or take a few. Stir it often-so you don't almost burn it like me.

Serve applesauce and crisp together. It's good over ice cream too.

***Hubby had two cheeseburgers and applesauce/crisp/ice cream for supper.***

It's a (gratitude) wrap!

My friend Dawnie asked me to try to think of something handmade for Christmas gifts for her sons' teachers. I thought about it for a while and I thought about Soulemama's gratitude wrap. I think it came to me because Dawnie loves stationary and office supplies. I asked her if she liked the idea and she did!

So last night I made one for a dry run. It wasn't that hard-so we are going to have a sewing day soon and make a few.

This is funny because I had ordered my Secret Sister a personalized tablet, pen, sticky notes, and address labels a couple weeks ago and now I can give her this gratitude wrap with these inside.

Thanks, Dawnie-I have a lot of gratitude towards you, cause I never intended to make one of these!

It's a wrap!☺

Invasion of the Asian beetles!

Oh yes-today is the day-the day the "Asian beetles" invade homes in my neck of the woods.

Normally, I call these bugs "ladybugs" but my mom always corrects me because they are officially "Asian beetles". They are larger and orange, with or without spots-as opposed to the prettier petite, red with black spots ladybug.

It seems like every year on a warm October day-they swarm in by the hundreds. And become pains in the butt. They get in your food, your drinks, your hair, your mouth. The little buggers will crawl up the leg of your pants and bite you every once in a while.

Oh and they omit this not so lovely odor when they are disturbed too much. Soon I'll be smelling that lovely smell every time I start my vacuum cleaner. Yeehaw!

Oh Asian beetle-just like the stink(y) bug-I love to hate you. I also wonder why on God's green earth He put you here-but I know it's for a reason. I know it could be worse.

Now excuse me-I must go rev up my vacuum!☻

I made a little video today

I should have been doing other things today-but I made a little video instead. It's not perfect but-man, I spent enough time on it. My computer doesn't have sound either. Can you hear the music?

This is my daughter, niece and nephew in case you didn't know.

Trip down Halloween Memory Lane-Part 2

Trip down Halloween Memory Lane

I made some Febreeze today...

The recipe for homemade Febreeze is here.

It doesn't happen very often-but when I get the house cleaned up really good-I like to go around and spray Febreeze on the 21 year old carpets and stinky doggy's bed. The stuff is expensive, so when I saw the homemade recipe, I decided to get all domestic and make my own.

It's just 25 oz. of water with 2-4 tablespoons of fabric softener added to it. Gayle at The Grocery Cart Challenge makes her own fabric softener too, with-get this-cheap hair conditioner, vinegar and water. I haven't tried that yet-but someday I may have to.

***Check out the yard of Christmas material in the background that I bought at a quilt shop yesterday with Dawnie***

Russian Friendship Tea

I saw a recipe for Russian Friendship Tea on The Grocery Cart Challenge blog. (I really like this blog.) Anyhow I thought it sounded good, so I thought I'd try it. I didn't know what an envelope of sweetened lemonade was (I'm wondering if it meant unsweetened-like koolaid, but whatever)-so I used 1/2 a cup of sweetened Country Time Lemonade. My cloves and allspice are pretty old-so I didn't use those-I just added extra cinnamon, but I think cloves and allspice would be great in this.

This was not cheap to make-Tang is expensive-at least at my store. This drink smells wonderful-very Christmasy. Orange and spice go really well together. It tastes good too, but it's pretty sweet.

I like hot drinks and this one will be good every now and then. With buttered toast! Nummy, nummy!☺

Snow, glorious snow!

And all is right with the world.☺

Fall is pretty and t.m.i.

Aren't the leaves pretty? This is the view from our front door. Pretty, pretty, pretty!☺

Now here's the t.m.i. (that's too much information, in case you didn't know).

I had a routine doctor's appointment today. Yes-THAT kind of doctor. Fun, fun. My doc has a great bedside manner, so it's bearable. He's awesome.

But as if I weren't nervous enough, I was snapping pictures when I was left alone. Then I hurried up and stowed my camera in my purse. La, la, la, la, la......

Done, done stick a fork..........never mind. Good riddance for another year (or so)!☻

Ahhhhhh-yeah-that's better. Much better.☺

Homemade tomato juice

This is water, salt, and tomato paste.
This is tomato juice.

My husband and I love tomato juice. You know at restaurants, how for breakfast they'll ask you if you want oj, grapefruit juice, or tomato juice? Well, even when I was little, I would pick tomato juice. And my maternal grandmother always had those little cans of Campbell's tomato juice in her fridge and I would always have one when I went there. Also, when I was a teenager I couldn't wait to get my own apartment and I would have glycerin soap and little cans of Campbell's tomato juice there and life would be perfect!

So now that I've proclaimed my love for tomato juice, I'll get to my point. Hubby likes to drink beer and tomato juice. Yesterday,he came up from the basement after work, with a beer and opened the fridge and I knew what he was looking for. Oops, I finished the tomato juice the night before. (And I buy the big bottles at the dollar store-I'm too cheap to buy Campbells!) Sorry dear!

Well-little did I know we did have tomato juice in our house-in the form of tomato paste. I was looking at a new to me blog this morning called The Grocery Cart Challenge and I saw the words "homemade tomato juice" which lead me to here. So I thought I'd try it out, and man, I was not disappointed. It's every bit as good or even better than store bought.

Take a 6 oz. can of tomato paste and spoon the paste in a pitcher, then add 1/2 teaspoon of salt (I added about a 1 teaspoon, because we like salt), fill your empty can with water and dump it in pitcher 4 times and stir well. Then stick a fork in yourself, because you are done! I got to thinking about it and this is probably exactly the same way Campbells and others make theirs-tomato paste, salt and water.

So there's my recipe for the month-homemade tomato juice.

Now poor Larry can have his beer and tomato juice when he gets home from work tonight!☺

New orange mug and stuff

Here's my breakfast-tea in my new to me orange mug and multigrain Cheerios. This is healthy compared to what I usually eat.

Why I'm on the computer, I'll never know.

I should be:

::giving the dog his pills

::lifting 100 pound dog to his feet, so he can go outside

::putting on make-up

::pulling up hair

::taking my own pills

::gathering cleaning stuff

::gathering food to take with me

::getting out the door so I can-go to town to get a bunch of stuff for my broken down jeep, get some breakfast food for the kid and lunch bucket stuff for the husband, and head to my lovely cousin's house to clean.

Have to take the kid's Mustang-that'll be fun-not.

***Ahhh cars-they're a necessary evil-that's what my preacher says and I agree!***

Have a great day-I'm gonna try.☺

Thanks Martha!

When I was unloading my new sewing machine, I found this postcard from Martha. I just need to make a copy of my receipt, send it in, and I can get a free year of Martha. But, I read the fine print, and saw I can opt for $14.95 instead. Since I'm already receiving a free year of Martha, I think I'll will opt for the $14.95. Perhaps, I'll come across a free subscription again.

Thanks, Martha, for this little, unexpected but pleasant bonus!☺

The end of the fall decorating

I went into the woods to get some pine cones and leaves. I wanted acorns too-but all I found were a few tops. Darn those squirrels.

I don't usually go into the woods-I should do it more often-because, boy, is it pretty there. I wish I would have taken my camera.

Anyhow, here is the end of my fall decorating. Some pottery, jars, apples, leaves, pine cones, and fake berries.

It's not much, but I don't feel like doing anymore. I'm good to go till December 1st.

Happy fall, y'all!☺

Fall decorating

This is the extent of my fall decorating. Not much. A few pumpkins, a little scarecrow, a metal turkey, ceramic leaf candy dish, a couple thingys I grabbed from my potpourri before I tossed it last year, etcetera.

At Goodwill last year I found a batch of fabric squares with all different fabrics. I sewed them together and made this little runner. It looks fallish to me.

I thought about going to the dollar store and buying a bunch of different pumkins and such to decorate the top of my cabinet. But I think I'll try to gather a bunch of pine cones and maybe acorns and whatever I can find in the woods. Less money and I can toss them off my deck when I'm done with them! No storage.☺ Yippeeeeeeee!!!!

I vant to suck your blood!!!

I'm not wasting time-nope, not me!

New old quilt

I pulled the loveseat over towards the door to try to get some light for a photo of my new old quilt. It's a dark, windy, chilly day!

My new old quilt is made from mostly polyester, I think, and tattered in places-but I love it just the same. I especially like the red with white dots material, and just look at that embroidery!

Right now it's home will be the back of my loveseat so I can enjoy this work of art. Maybe later it will get folded and displayed on one of my chairs in my bedroom-but it's not going in the closet-never in the closet!

Thank you, Jessie. I love it!☺

Another towel rug

This one's for Jessie. She got a wild hare and decided to paint her bathroom. I told her I'd make her a towel rug, since she liked mine.

Her's is much bigger than mine, and I washed her's after I made it. Wow-the rough edges of towel strips really frayed.

It's pretty wonky and has some fraying, but I do like it.

Hope you like it, Jessie!☺ If you don't, I'll understand.☻

***Attention all NieNie fans-she'll be on Oprah on Wednesday!***

15 cent school chair

I went on a little thrifting trip with my friend, Jessie, yesterday. We stopped at a different Goodwill than I usually shop at. This little school chair was originally marked $7.99, but it never got sold, so therefore became 15 cents. Okay-I'll take it.

At first I was going to paint it, but then I thought the pencil and paint marks tell a story, so I decided to let it go natural-at least for now.

I scooched over my little book shelf and made room for it in my bedroom. I'll sit pretties and books on it.

Speaking of pretties-see the baby afghan on the bottom. My paternal grandmother made and gave that to me well before I was a mother. But why, why, why didn't I get a photo of my baby with it? I guess I was too busy to worry about such things then. Oh well-at least I have it and can enjoy looking at the beauty of it now.

I think I appreciate things like this much more now, than I used to.

Jessie and I also went to Walmart and she bought some towels and I'm making her a towel rug. Stayed tuned! Don't go anywhere, I'll be right back.☺

Ahhhhh-the rainbow cake!

We saw this beauty on Mckmama's blog. And my sister took on the grand task of making it for Jess's birthday. With one. round. pan. Yeah-It took about 5 hours. But it was worth it-just look at this beaut! It was so much fun to eat! It was delicious too!

I have to admit-I was probably the most excited about this.

Thanks, Jodie, for making this fun cake for me Jess!

Here's the baker (Jodie) and the decorator and birthday girl (Jess)!

*****ALSO*****

Check out my new trick !

Create animated gif

Oh deer(cam)!

Run, run as fast as you can-unless you want to become bologna!!!

***Can you tell I got nothin' (to blog about)?***