Finished projects...of all sorts

First of all thank you all for your glad tidings at Christmastime.
I can't believe this week will ring in the New Year! Where-o-where did '09 go?
I am happy to say I have been getting some projects finished up though.
A couple of them were just for fun holiday projects.
The first was an ornament I saw on a Martha Stewart holiday special and so I dragged my DH to the craft table and actually his turned out better than mine. I thought he was using too much glue but alas I was proven wrong. Anyway here is the finished ornament which is made with string, a balloon, glue and glitter. Messy but fun. The next was a little Christmas scene kit that my mom gave to all the "kids". It's made of craft foam and you just have to glue it together and decorate it. It was a fun little project and now sits in the kitchen window and I will think of mom whenever I look at it.



No, I haven't been goofing off the whole time.....
I have also spent time in the studio and finished up a couple of new pattern designs. One is a scrappy little quilt and will be available in January. It's a great project for helping to whittle down your stash to make room for new fabrics! Here's just a glimpse to tease you.


I have also added a couple of coupons to my webstore. One is a 10% coupon for any of the non-stick applique sheets or grip & grip work surfaces and the other coupon is for a $5.00 discount on my Push-button Prints CD. The CD has numerous design collections that you can print out onto fabric or paper right at home on your inkjet printer. You may recall I used one of the prints on one of my project jars. (the left one)
Well, I need to go get busy if I'm going to have those new patterns ready for you in January.
I hope you are all getting in some quality stitching time as well.

Christmas wishes

Gosh, sorry I haven't been blogging much lately.
I want to make sure to wish you all (y'all) a very Merry Christmas season.
Today is only 3 days from Christmas, (how did that happen?) so, I hope you all finish up your lists and get all your errands run so that you can take the time to rejoice in the meaning and enjoy time (or long phone calls) with your family and friends. Enjoy embracing your old or new holiday traditions and may your days will be filled with blessings.
I have been busy, as I'm sure you have been too.
I dusted off my rubber stamps (oh-oh the D word) and made a few handmade cards for close family.
This year we did something new and even sent some of our cards in the form of e-cards. Yikes, I'm not real sure about doing this. I guess because it's a change from what we've always done and I don't know if people like getting them that way. After all you can't hang them up or put them on a shelf but there are such beautiful cards to choose from and the animations are very cool. Another plus is I don't have to stand in the card isle at the store trying to decide on which cards to buy. It always takes me forever to decide. My DH sends me on my own for this purchase.
I guess another plus is it's eco-friendly, hmmmm
what do you think?
Then it was on to cookie baking! I love making Christmas cookies and yes, I love eating them too :)
So far I have made chocolate brownie cookies with peanut butter morsels, spritz cookies, sugar cookies, ginger snaps and today I am going to make DH's favorite, cream cheese pillows.
It's been quite chilly the last few days so having the oven on is an added bonus. Do you have favorite cookies you make every year?










Merry Christmas to all.

TeuxDeux

Say what?
It's pronounced to-do, as in a to-do list. This is a new computer app that is free and I am loving it.. The site is www.Teuxdeux.com
It's a TeuxDeux (to-do) list on your computer and you type in your list for each day and you can move your items to the next day or even days down the road ( good for us procrastinators). Then the fun part is you can even cross things off the list! *If you get them done of course!
It is easy to use and has a very nice clean look. No more misplaced lists - yippee!
Does this mean I will be more organized? One can only hope.
For some reason dusting always winds up at the bottom of my list LOL
Lucy and Nancy - I'm so happy you enjoyed the ginger snap cookie recipe.

Sad day in Squirrel Town

About 4:00 yesterday I heard a loud bang followed by the power going out.
Well, now we know why the power went out. One of the furry little fox squirrels that frequents our property met his (or her) demise via a whole bunch of electricity. Hubby said it looked like one of the new fox squirrel babies, but not the one in the picture. Needless to say I didn't take any pics of the tragic end. Poor little thing.
On a happier note....this little guy is fine, but it was surely a sad day in Squirrel Town.
I almost threaded up my treadle machine but the power came back on around 8:00ish.

Sweetness squared

OMG, Stitched With Prayer, I am so happy to have made you do a happy dance! I got your e-mail and your prize is on it's way to you. Thanks for the hug, you are sweet.
In fact you were all such sweet and gracious guests.
I wish I could share a cup of tea and the ginger snaps I made with all of you.
I will at least share some sweetness by sharing the recipe with you. As a matter of fact, several of my friends have been after me to give it to them so they will be happy to see this post... and I won't get scolded anymore. LOL
These really are great ginger snaps. I found the recipe in an old Wisconsin Electric Power Company Christmas cookie recipe book that my Mom gave me. There is no year printed anywhere in the book but the photographs on one of the pages show the women in the kitchen wearing high heels!
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha. Don't know about you but I liberated myself from high heels a long time ago.
I used to wear them every day - yikes. Now I can only handle a few hours at best and it has to be for a darn good reason. How about you?
Anyway...here is the coveted recipe....enjoy and share the sweetness.

Ginger snaps
3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground ginger
(extra granulated sugar for rolling)
Cream butter: add sugar gradually. Blend in corn syrup and egg.
Add in dry ingredients and stir together.
Chill a few hours.
Shape into 1 inch balls and roll in sugar. Place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets. Bake @ 375 degrees for about 9-11 minutes. Cookies become crisp when cooled (unless it's really humid out)
Makes about 5 to 6 dozen.

Hint ~ I use the air bake cookie sheets and they turn out really nice on them.

winter giveaway winner

Sorry I made you wait all day.....I couldn't tear myself away from the studio.
Thanks so much to everyone for all the kind comments and I know some new friends will grow from this. Thanks also for the birthday wishes and Happy Birthday wishes to Kate, Linda B and Laurie as well - celebrate!
I wish you all could have won. I don't want anybody to be cold but the lucky winner of this giveaway is...........
Stitched with prayer - congratulations!! At least I know you'll be warm and toasty.
I'll send you an email to get your address so I can get your gift sent right out.
Thanks again and I hope you all (y'all) don't make yourselves strangers. Stop by and say hi and who knows, maybe you'll win the next giveaway.
Thanks again to Quilt Hollow and Splitting Stitches and all of their friends that stopped by.