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Monday, December 30, 2013

CHRISTMAS 2013 MEMORIES

Monday, December 30, 2013

CHRISTMAS 2013 MEMORIES

Well I can't believe it's already come and gone!  Last week was a whirlwind of fun.  I'm still taking some time away from the blog this week, but I wanted to share some Christmas photos, mostly for my benefit! We started the week before with concerts and parties.  First, my little percussionist's Middle School band concert- and then our last elementary school Christmas party ever! We always host our family after our church's Christmas Eve service, and of course I forgot to take any pictures that evening.  I did get a good night time photo of the tree, though. Christmas Morning at our house- Next we headed out to Ray's parents' house. Nonnie always does some sort of Christmas play with all of the grandkids, and this year it was the ABC's of Christmas. And, they all participate in a craft every year, regardless of how old they've become.  This year they made light bulb snowmen ornaments. The next day we snapped ...
Tuesday, December 24, 2013

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS...

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

FROM OUR FAMILY TO YOURS...

May your Christmas be full of grace and peace because of the Father's Gift to us, Jesus Christ.  Thank you for your ever-present support and encouragement.  I'll see you sometime around the New Year!    In the beginning was  the Word, and the Word was  with God, and  the Word was God.   He was in the beginning with God.     All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.     In Him was life, and the life was  the Light of men.     The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. And  the Word  became flesh, and  dwelt among us, and  we saw His glory, glory as of  the only begotten from the Father, full of  grace and  truth. -John 1:1-5, 14 (NASV) O come, O come Emmanuel! ...
Monday, December 23, 2013

THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG...

Monday, December 23, 2013

THE STOCKINGS WERE HUNG...

Good Morning Friends!  It's almost here...are you ready?  I'm not quite, but we're close. Just popping in today to share our fun new stockings with you.  I've always used my red tartan plaid, but this year they just didn't fit in. I've never made stockings before, but I just used the old ones to trace around, put the right sides together, and stitched them up.  Then, I used some fur that I had on hand for the cuff on the top. The fabric is Premier Prints "Togo", and has been discontinued most places online, but I found some at a fabric store in Dallas a few months ago.  It's the same piece I used as a runner on my Christmas Dining Room table , and hopefully I'll get around to making some pillows from it sometime soon too! The kids' stockings will never change...I spent hours and hours making them, although I don't think Emily got hers until probably her 3rd Christmas.  Poor second child.  :) I hope you're war...
Saturday, December 21, 2013

EASY TOFFEE AND A CHRISTMAS TOUR LINK PARTY

Saturday, December 21, 2013

EASY TOFFEE AND A CHRISTMAS TOUR LINK PARTY

I intended to post this yesterday, but I know you all are just as busy as I am, and I chose to finish up some shopping rather than working on the computer. I spent Thursday evening cooking up a big batch of toffee to include with our teacher and neighbor gifts.  Years ago when I was teaching, one of my co-teachers would make us this amazing toffee each Christmas, and she was kind enough to share the recipe.  I've been making it almost every Christmas since! Ingredients: 2 cups butter (I used a mix of salted & unsalted, I don't know that it matters.) 2 cups sugar 1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp. water 8-10 Hershey bars, or one bag chocolate chips chopped pecans Speaking of pecans, have I ever showed you my cheater way to "chop" pecans?  I pour them in a plastic bag and pound them with something heavy, usually a ladle.  Works like a charm, it's fast, and there's no mess to clean up! You will also need a candy thermometer.  I just picked a new one up a...
Wednesday, December 18, 2013

SUNBURST MIRROR ORNAMENTS AND MY CHRISTMAS TREE

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

SUNBURST MIRROR ORNAMENTS AND MY CHRISTMAS TREE

First of all, let me say a big ol' THANK YOU for all of your sweet comments on my Christmas Home Tours!  I'm still working my way through responding to your comments, but know that your encouragement is very much appreciated. After seeing Jen's sunburst ornaments here , I knew that I had to have some for my tree this year too.  She gave a great tutorial, but I made mine a little differently so I thought I'd share that with you today.  They are super simple, and only cost around $1 each! Here's what you'll need: unfinished wooden disc (Hobby Lobby), round craft mirrors, craft sticks, wooden skewers, gold spray paint, ribbon, and hot glue.  I used the plastic/cork coasters for a different one later in this post. I started by hot-gluing my craft sticks to the back of the wooden disc.  They were all random...no measuring or too much thought needed!  On some I used all craft sticks, and on some I mixed the wooden skewers (cut in half) with them. Aft...
Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Duck the Halls!

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

Duck the Halls!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Duck Brand provided by ShurTech Brands, LLC for SocialSpark . All opinions are 100% mine. Most of us know that Duck® Tape projects are all the rage, but have you seen the Duck Brand® Holiday Tape designs?  They are so much fun for young and old crafters and the project options are almost limitless. Over the weekend I played around with 4 holiday designs, and came up with some super easy projects to share to help you Duck the Halls ! I made 5 Duck® Tape projects with just a few common supplies: Holiday Duck® Brand Tape, simple cording, ribbon, or jute, wooden skewers, and assorted gift bags. 1) Duck® Tape Pennant Bunting:  Cut your cord, ribbon, or jute to the desired length.  Then, simply cut a length of tape about 10" long.  Center your cord in the middle of the adhesive side and fold sides to stick together over the rope. Cut the swallow-tail ends, and that's it!  If you want your piec...