Sunday, November 28

New Workshop

A Winter Stories Workshop is being hosted by Kari (of Artsy Mama) and Hope of Paper Relics.

This is a way to journal your Holiday season and learn some new techniques.

Lots of fun.

Friday, October 15

Wizard of Oz Tags Have Arrived!

And they are all so beautiful. Karla Nathan (who does not know who she is by now - one of the top art/craft/decorating bloggers) hosted yet again a wonderful little swap.

Although this swap was a lot of work for her she sure brightened my day.

What detail and care went into each of these tags from many people. The one Karla made even has a (yippee) little Toto charm. I have a little dog named Toto and this is a wonderful little charm.

All the others, who do not have blogs but emails, I shall email you to thank you for the work and beauty you put into these beautiful tags.

But for Karla, I may not have partcipated in anything this year. Her tag swaps were a great creative and inexpensive way to connect with one another.

Thank you so much Karla!

Thursday, February 25

Been awhile and update and a Swap

Gosh do they still even have my blog online I wondered? Yes, still here and joy for there is a swap that I just barely got into which I need right now.

The talented Karla of Karla's Cottage (hubby will insert link later) is hosting a wonderful Alice in Wonderland tag swap.

My precious, most wonderful, constant companion Toto has a seizure disorder. It turns out it was not mycotoxicosis poisoning after all. She has required a lot of monitoring and we made the decision to put her on the medication for this. Talk about emotionally draining, stress eating, financially gobbling, sleepless weeks (they come at night).

Little thought about blogging but then found out about this tag swap. Yes, definintely still reading blogs - so much fun to read about what others are up to and happened upon Karla's swap just in time.

The Alice in Wonderland swap and soon the movie!

Monday, December 14

Cookie and Candy Homemade Decor

The Nesting Place is hosting a big Christmas Tour of Homes.

We decorated our cubboard with totally handmade treats this year and it was quite an achieve'mint'!



Details:

The best kind of real estate invest'mint': A Gingerbread House!



A great embellish'mint' - candy canes with crepe paper on a cupcake stand.



Edible Decor -
A wonderful mint cone - put in with toothpicks on the wrapper ends - you just pluck a mint off to nibble on - very handy.



A tacky wacky fun box. Love making these - truly a trash to treasure craft. This was an old box decoupaged with paper. Have even used the box trash bags come in for this - kids and dogs love these.



Here we have put dog cookies in this box:



A big thanks to The Nester for hosting this huge Holiday Tour of Homes!

Wednesday, December 2

Scrappy Jessi's Third Anuual Cookie Swap

We are glad Scrappy Jessi threw this cookie swap again this year - it is always a lot of fun to check out all the great cookies everyone makes and fantasize of gobbling up all of them.

Yesterday, it was a cold blustery day and me and the dogs were inside - what could be a better time than to make cookie memories for them - especially Chloe as she is the new wee one.



There are many dog cookie recipes and they are great - but call for complicated ingredients and sometimes an egg.

I found the following recipe a basic, simple 'have on hand' ingredients cookie for dogs recipe.

This is posted by Dalyce on eHOW titled: How to Make Peanut Butter Cookies for Dogs

RECIPE

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons oil (I used canola)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup tepid water
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup white floor

You will need: rolling pin, cookie cutters, baking sheets

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Combine oil, peanut butter and water in a medium sized bowl. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead constantly into a firm dough. (This will be thicker than a sugar cookie dough or pie crust.) Use your hands instead of mixer for this, it seems easier and the dough will be very firm.

3. Lightly dust part of your countertop or large cutting board and a rolling pin with dough to keep it from sticking. Roll a 3" ball of dough to about 1/4" thick. Cut the dough with cookie cutter.

4. Arrange cut cookies on a baking sheet. Place in preheated oven.

5. Bake for appoximately 20 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.


This was a quick to mix up batch of cookies.

The dogs loved taking little nibbles of the dough (this was doable as no raw eggs in batter).



The cookies are firm and warm when out of the oven, but they turn into a harder cookie. The dogs enjoy hard crunchy cookies.

These cookies are 100% Dog Approved! All of the dogs loved these - would make a great gift for a dog. Thank you Dalyce for tasty dog cookie recipe.



And thank you Jessi for hosting this wonderful cookie swap!

Now off to visit the other yummy cookie posts...

Friday, October 23

Candace’s Mad Hatter's Tea Party

Chocolate, pumpkin hats and lemon balm tea
Must be Candace’s Mad Hatters Party Tea!



We will sit and chat
About this and that
Then wait and watch for
The wild cheshire cat



A Baker’s chocolate for us to eat
Sweetened, of course, my, what a treat!



Pompadorish pumpkin hats there’ll be,



So tie one on and drink your tea.
Hardy har har and tea hee hee.

Candace hosted a real Mad Hatter's Tea Party along with the Mad Hatter's Tea Blogparty with some fun, dressed up friends. And has a wonderful authentic tea menu she is serving. Thank you for hosting this Candace!

Friday, October 16

Hello There Dearies,

Do come in...truly glad to welcome some of you from Vanessa's A Fanciful Twist Halloween Blogparty...

Here we are in a (six degrees of Kevin Bacon way) close relations’ fabulous kitchen.



I have been cooking up a storm working on recipes from the “Mrs. Lovett’s Secret Recipes Collection” and everyone, well, they just ‘love it’! It does take a bit of effort to ‘catch’ her truly secret yet tasty ingredient.

Little known but actual fact – many true crime buffs will tell you there really was a Barber of Feet Street and his creative cooking companion in London’s history coinciding along with lots of tasty pies with many missing people – I mean people missing - in the vicinity of the barber shop. It took ages for the lax and lazy police to figure out this wily couples’ ways and means. Many an officer themselves gorged on the infamous meat pies.

Ahh, here you have caught me slaving over a hot stove making my special stew (the secret really is in the sauce). You need a Basil, some Manwich and well a helping foot ... er hand.



Trust me, don’t be shy, take a bite - it really does taste like chicken!



What’s that? You are a vegetarian -
Not to worry, I have for those of you ‘going green’ (and by the way green humans do look so fresh) my soylent green sandwiches. And these are jam packed with only the freshest raw soylent green. Not any rationing going on here – I have my own private supply – so dig right in, there is plenty more. I know other hostesses will be absolutely green with envy – they shouldn't be because now my dinner plans can truly involve them.



Check out my finger food and tarts – what beauties . They were always so eager to lend a helping hand.



Everyone, wait your turn, don’t rush the tray loaded with The Tasty Toes, that's right toes not toads! And what goes so well with these but a well aged hand-crafted cheese. We are considering going into the gourmet cheese business – but we have only toed around with the idea so far.



Well have so enjoyed having all of you delightful ladies for dinner and careful, do watch your heads on the way out!

Gals I will get to your blogs - what a blogparty blast! All of these (other than the plastic foot and real creme cheese sandwiches) are made of that old fashioned flour dough craft clay. You just shape your flour dough and lightly bake then paint with food coloring. There are some recipes for edible sculpted bread fingers.

And: there is a theory based on some extensive research that there really was a man and lady selling the meat pies made of people in old London. Eeeek.