PACHABEL CANON IN D

Christmas Concert

Frannie is first violin this year. She can really "make her violin sing"! Her Dorothy shoes look so cute with this dress.

S.W.A.K.

VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS... (Part Deux)

Speaking of sugarplums, I thought you'd like a see little slide show. Each year Frannie and I put up a second tree - this one is just for us. It stands only 3 feet tall. We put multi-color lights and gumdrop garland on it. The ornaments are either food related or pink or both. We call it our "Sweet Tree". On with the show!

This year's addition. I found her at an estate sale. In a basement. In a crumpled up bag. She's been returned to her place of honor and is happy in her new home. She's very fragile, but oh, so sweet!

Sometimes you find very nice ornaments where you'd least expect it. The red and white stripe candy ornament came from Walmart a few years back. It is glass and quite lovely.

Mmmm... Donuts

I've made quite a few of these birdhouses in different colors. The pink one goes on the Sweet Tree.

Another ornament from Walmart.

The clay cupcake ornament came from Frannie's holiday shop at school. It was a Christmas gift. She knows what I like.

Mmmm... More Donuts

When I was on my own and put up my very first Christmas tree, I purchased a whole bunch of these little red apples at Green's Five and Ten (I believe that is what you would now refer to as a Dollarama). I still use them every year, even though a few have cracked and crackled a bit.

S.W.A.K.

WHILE VISIONS OF SUGARPLUMS...

Okay, so these aren't sugarplums, but I am having visions of them dancing in my head. They are simply super fudgy brownies dipped in chocolate ganache and made festive with some red and white sprinkles. Let me show you how my family likes to eat brownies:

Husband likes the ganache part best, so I save him this.

Son likes his unadulterated, so he doesn't mind enjoying the scraps from the cut out shapes. Sometimes he even gets an entire square in the mix. Can you see how fudgy they are?

Now Frannie is a girl after my own heart. She likes hers refined with a big cup (and I do mean big - this one measures 5-1/2" diameter) of ice cold milk served up holiday style with appropriate reading material on the side. As for the selection, I like to think of Frannie as being well-rounded.

BOTTOMS UP!

SING WE JOYOUS, ALL TOGETHER

Simple banner made from vintage French music sheets and gold beads, glitter, chipboard, card stock, pearl beads and star trimmings.

Close-Up. I even made a little pearl loop on each side for hanging.

FA LA LA, LA LA LA, LA LA LA

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DON WE NOW OUR GAY APPAREL

Dress ornament made from various papers, glitter, tulle, vintage ribbon and sparkly things.

FA LA LA LA LA, LA LA LA LA

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MATTHEW MEAD HOLIDAY - GIVEAWAY

Matthew Mead Holiday is having a $100 Visa Gift Card giveaway (2 winners), but you'd better hurry - ends tonight.

S.W.A.K.

MAKING WHOOPIE

Yep, that's what I've been up to, making whoopie - well, pumpkin whoopie pies to be exact - pumpkin whoopie pies with a fluffy cream cheese filling. I found this recipe on the Martha Stewart website from guest baker Matt Lewis, of Brooklyn's Baked bakery (they even have a video). Let me tell you, they are the moistest, yummiest, finger lickin' whoopie pies I ever did taste. I wanted mine to be smaller, so I portioned the batter out with a 1-1/2" diameter ice cream scoop and baked exactly 14 minutes. I also changed the filling recipe just a tad - instead of 3 cups of 10x sugar, I used 2 cups and 1 cup of marshmallow fluff. This recipe made approximately 48 (2-3 bite) sandwiches. You know a recipe is really good when a group of 10 year old girl scouts beg for seconds! You can get the recipe here. I'm thinking chocolate and peppermint for Christmas - hope I can find a recipe that is just as moist.

By the way, the teacup and saucer in the photo - that is a vintage thrift store find.

S.W.A.K.

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LIONS & TIGERS & BEARS, Oh! MY

On occasion, I have been known to frequent a thrift store or two. I know, a few of you are probably feeling your skin crawl right about now. I'm not one to go looking through racks of used clothing, hey, I don't even like to look through racks of new clothing - I admit that I really don't like to shop at all. On the other hand, if I drive by a thrift store, Goodwill, flea market or estate sale, you'll hear my brakes squeal! It's so much FUN! I usually head straight for the glassware department because my favorite finds are vintage tea cups, and I have found quite a few beauties in the past. But on this one particular day, the sight of my all-time favorite color, robin's egg blue, caught the corner of my eye and when I turned, I did a little gasp because what I spotted was a beautiful pair of brand-spanking new designer shoes in just my size. I quick grabbed those beauties before anyone else could get their hands on them. I slipped one foot in and felt like Cinderella because it fit like a glove. I turned over the other shoe to see the price and lo and behold only a mere $8.00! Woohoo! Sold!

If you like vintage, wait until you see what I found at an estate sale this past weekend.

S.W.A.K.

WALK THIS WAY

Someone couldn't wait until Halloween to show off her new shoes. And this is all it took to make them:

A pair of cast off shoes found at our local thrift shop. These had a pretty good shape and a just right heel. They were brown suede, but I wasn't too worried about that. Frannie's not wearing adult shoes just yet, but these were only a size 5-1/2 - Perfect!

These other supplies I already had on hand. Mod Podge (my very favorite tool - next to the glue gun, of course), red glitter, Folk Art Cardinal Red paint, some sparkly crystal-like things, some vintage red sequins (doesn't everyone have some of those laying around the house?), and an old paintbrush. Oh, yes, I almost forgot about the cardboard. From what Frannie tells me, the original ruby slippers had bows made out of cardboard. So, if it's good enough for MGM, then it's good enough for me.

Frannie wanted to make sure you could see the bow detail.

So let's see - shoes from the thrift shop - $5
Supplies from around the house - $0
The look on Frannie's face when she saw the finished ruby slippers - Priceless!

So, are you a good witch or a bad witch?

S.W.A.K.

GO GRANNY, GO GRANNY, GO GRANNY, GO!

Okay, so it isn't exactly a granny square, but you get the idea. I had a few tidbits of Tahki Cotton Classic leftover and it was just enough to make this scarf (I use this yarn every chance I get - it has such a nice sheen and a great color palette too). I still need to do a little blocking, but we couldn't wait to show off our new fashion accessory (Frannie's 10 and just about to start 5th grade, so we're really into fashion these days).

I just love this. What I mean is that I just love the way the scarf folds up into a nice little package. That's what happens when you join as you go. That's another thing I just love - joining as I go.

I could crochet these blocks forever and ever.

Meow.

S.W.A.K.

RAZZLE DAZZLE

I treated myself this weekend. It was a splurge, but, ohhhhh, worthy every penny. If you could only feel how soft and luxurious it is.

Isn't it dreamy?!!!

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but it is a soft yellow with teeny-tiny silver beads and the tiniest of sequins.This is the pattern. I made my purchase at Westport Yarns. They had a sample made up in a charcoal gray. It was stunning, but I just couldn't draw myself away from the yellow. Oh, how I love yellow. And robin's egg blue. And baby pink. And apple green.

Frannie and I have been lucky this summer. We won giveaways from two blogs.

The first was from Pam Kitty Morning. She is launching a new line of fabric. I love it and you will too! If you like to make potholders, here is the link to a great PKM tutorial.

But the prize was for this - an autographed copy of Cotton Floss from Cinderberry Stitches. This is Natalie Lymer's fist book. It's filled with all kinds of projects and stitchery designs in the fun and colorful Cinderberry style. Thank you Pam Kitty Morning and Natalie. Frannie and I love it!

Our second giveaway prize was received from Pat Sloan.
It is an Aurifil Kit Art - a box filled with 12 spools of 50 wt. Italian cotton in Pat's 12 favorite basic colors. Perfect for machine quilting and applique.
Can you say Mmmmmmmm... two luxuries in one weekend. Thank you Pat.

Oh, what the heck!!! (Do people still say that?) Let's go all out this weekend.

Frannie had her nails done.

Dazzling!

S.W.A.K.

BLACK HORSE AND THE CHERRY TREE

Each year at PF Camp (Personal Fulfillment), Frannie participates in PF Idol. This year's final performance was a dance choreographed to Black Horse And The Cherry Tree. That's Frannie, second on the right side.

Hey, girls - watch how it's done!

During the summer, Frannie has also performed with a violin solo, singing solo and various other dance performances. She's a real entertainer!

Frannie and Cassie
(PF camp friends)

S.W.A.K.