Happy Birthday Brandon!! Let Baking Season Begin!

Happy Birthday Brandon!!!

It's  my oldest son's birthday (Nov. 10).

Boy, am I getting old or what??

He is 33 today but will always be my first baby ;~)

Each year I make Russian Teacakes,

 his favorite cookie (my sister's and I's too), for him. 

This also kicks off our Holiday Baking Season.

These are truly yummy!!

Russian Tea Cake Cookie Recipe.

Mix:

1 cup butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 1/4 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup finely chopped walnuts


Chill dough.  Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet (cookies do not spread). Bake at 400 degrees til set, but not brown,  about 10-12 minutes. Roll warm tea cakes in powdered sugar. Cool. Roll in powdered sugar again. Makes about 4 dozen tea cakes.

 

Enjoy!

The Kitchen Cabinet Project is DONE!!!!!! Met Monday & Mosaic Monday

I'm linking up with Mary @ Little Red House for Mosaic Monday

and Susan @ for Between Naps on the Porch too!


 I decided to make a mosaic with Tags that I've made. Since the Kitchen Cabinet Project" was completed I've had a bit more time for other things,seems I've gone from Mod Podge covered to glitter covered.I made a ton of Holiday Hang Tags for my stores on eBay and Esty,you get a sneak peek! 

Yes! The "Kitchen Cabinet Project" I mentioned here and here is DONE!

I am so relieved excited that they are finally finished.

About half way through I was starting to wonder "What the heck am I doing?!"

I'm sure you remember that painting directly on them was not possible.

They were in worse shape than I thought.

I knew they were messed up around the edges....

But I didn't realize they also had little bubble/bumps throughout

 

 

So after much scraping.....

 

And sanding.....

 

They were finally smooth enough....

 

for the next step.....

which involved...

you guessed it! more Mod Podge!!

So this was my idea....

I didn't want to copy what I did with the Bathroom Cabinets

And I've always wanted painted white kitchen cabinets...

not the pristine new looking type, but older looking cabinets with tons of coats of paint on them. You know the ones that have all that character!

Since the cabinets couldn't take paint directly.....

I decided to cover them in fabric then paint them.

I was on my way out the door to purchase fabric when

my light bulb finally flickered. 

I don't need to buy it, I have lots of sheets stored in the garage!

Whenever I see decent sheets at a yard sale I pick them up.

They are nice big pieces of fabric that come in handy for so many projects..yup like this one ;~)

So I proceeded to cover all my cabinets...

Once dry I moved onto the next step...
paint!

I decided to paint the inside to...

The insides look so much nicer painted

At last they were all painted, after many, many coats.
I installed drawer pulls and cabinet knobs and even little felt corners
for the doors.

OK Here we go...the big reveal!
but we must have some before pictures....

Now the After

I truly am in LOVE with them!

They are perfectly imperfect.

There are boo boos here and there that gives them character...

like they've been around for a long while.

I added about 4-5 coats of Mod Podge over the paint,

so clean up is a breeze!

The kitchen has been painted, the cabinets are done,

next is to recover the kitchen benches.

I think those may just wait until after the Holidays....

we'll see.

:~)

Fertilizer Friday! 11/06/09

It's Fertilizer Friday! Where does the week go?

Please join our hostess Tootsie @ Tootsie Time and see everyone's blooms!

This time of the year, holiday time, brings back lots of memories.

Not just of the holidays themselves but of other times with family.

I'm sharing a couple of my Mom's plants this week.

Mom passed a few years ago and I still miss her terribly.

She was a tremendous gardener.

She could stick anything in the ground and it would grow.

She had fantastic gardens.

Two plants come to mind when I think of them.

In the back of the house was a huge Bird of Paradise.

 

When she was alive she kept it trimmed and maintained.

It had the most gorgeous unusual blooms.

 

I am so glad I took these pictures.

The current tenant has cut it down and removed it.

The other plant is a Cecil Brunner Rose.

It is in the front driveway.

When it is in bloom you immediatley smell it when you step out of the car.

It covers itself in pink blooms and is simply amazing!

Thanks for allowing me to take a short walk down Memory Lane.

I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.

Kreativ Blogger Award

What a surprise this morning to find out I was given the Kreativ Blogger Award by my blogging friend Linda@Coastal Charm!

Thank you so much Linda!

I love the way she decorates, and usually with a bargain she found.

Please be sure to visit her blog and see just how creative she is.

This is truly an honor and now it is my turn to pass it on to 7 creative friends.

The rules of the Kreativ Award ask that I name 7 things about me that you may not know...so here they are:

1. My favorite color is purple.

2. I have 4 children. 33,30,22,18.
3. I have one older sister.
4. My favorite season is Spring.
5. My husband and I just celebrated our 35th Anniversary.
6. I'm a popcorn-a-holic, I eat a bowl a day.

7. I can wiggle my ears and nose.

The 7 people that I would like to pass this award on to are:

Blogger seems to be having issues with the "link" feature...grrrr

1. Kate @ http://thekublers.blogspot.com/
2. Deb@ http://debsprimitivecountrykitchen.blogspot.com/
3. Marydon@ http://blushingroseboutique.blogspot.com/
4. Edie@ http://lifeongrace.blogspot.com/
5. Mary@ http://dearlittleredhouse.blogspot.com/
6. Leslie@ http://funkyjunqueyardsalefinds.blogspot.com/
7. Tootsie http://www.tootsietime.com/

And here are the "official' rules of the Kreativ Blogger award:


1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
3. Link to the person person who nominated you for this award.
4. Name 7 things about yourself that people may not know.
5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Blogs.
6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
7. Leave a comment on each.


Thank you so much Linda!

Mosaic Monday ~ Dragonflys

It's Mosaic Monday time again over at Little Red House

Mary is our wonderful Hostess. Be sure to pop over and see everyone's Mosaics!

I decided to make a mosiac with my favorite winged dragon.

As you can imagine I have tons of images, photos and pictures of dragonflys.

I used these that were in more Fall colors.

Hope you enjoy them :~)

AB4B Launch

It's the beginning of the month and
that means a new Age Before Beauty Launch over on eBay.

This month's theme is "Christmas Tree".
Special items have been made for the launch
and will be listed today and tomorrow,
so be sure to keep checking back!!

I wasn't sure I would be able to participate
since every waking free moment is spent on
 (*said in Booming voice*) "The Kitchen Cabinet Project"! LOL

But I whitled away a few hours last Sunday
and was able to make a few things to list.

This is the little Christmas Tree I found and showed in this post.
I already had the ceramic "bucket" from last year.
I placed foam inside and glued the tree to it.
I then glued little bunches of berries to the tree. 
(these had fallen off some berry picks I bought
and were at the bottom of the bag)
Since the front of the "bucket" says *Let It Snow*
I thought a dusting of snow was appropriate,
so I used spray adhesive on it and crystal glitter.
Now it's ready to find a new home!
Perfect for the desk top ;~)

Next I grabbed some glass votive cups,
these are from Glade.
I just love their scent "Angel Whispers"!
After the candle is gone I wash the glass well and save for a future project.
I came across these Holiday Trees and thought they would be perfect for the launch. I glued the images onto the cups,
covered the cups with Mod Podge then pressed my Spice Mix onto them.
Tie a strip of homespun and they're ready.
I include a tea light for each one.

And lastly, I never showed this crocheted chain from a garage sale, I think I was too embarassed!
It was a dingy white with gold flecks.
It had been startched so the links hold their shape.
I new I could figure something out.
Aha! the bulb went on!
I sprayed it with the adhesive and rolled in around in my spice mixture.
I did this about 4-5 times. I wanted it really crusty.
I was surprised when I was done at just how much it resembles a rusty chain!
Just what my primitve friends would love!
It's about 4' long and would look great a prim themed tree.

Those are my launch items.

You need to pop over to eBay and see what these wonderfly talented ladies have made.

You just may find a Christmas gift or two!

AB4B Launch

Check out Oodlekadoodle Primitives Birthday Giveaway !!

Click here to go to Oodlekadoodle Primitives Giveaway!!

Big Celebration Giveaway!!! Goodies galore!!

It's a Giveaway!!

****Make sure you read what you have to do to be elegible for the Giveaway!!

SOME HAVE NOT DONE THIS....