The Handmade Gifts I Couldn't Show Earlier

It's safe to show these now.

The kids have opened there's and

 my friend is on the road to come here.

I made T this necklace. My first time stamping metal.

Not bad huh?

U R LOVED on the top washer

XOXOXOXO around the entire bottom washer.

Strung on waxed linen with an adjustable slip knot

For M I made this Scrabble tile necklace.

My first time using/making anything with Scrabble tiles.

The bails were very easy to use and

 I used E6000 to make sure they would stay put.

Akoma is a symbol of love, patience and endurance

and is one of the Adinkra symbols

from Ghana which is depicted by the image of a heart.

According to Agbo,

when a person is said to "have a heart in his stomach,"

that person is very tolerant.

A friend of mine LOVES Butterflies.

I embellished the outside of a glass candle holder with different types of lace.

Found a pretty Butterfly on line.

 I didn't want one side plain so I printed two out.

Once cut out they were glued together.

After the glue was dry,

I trimmed around the edges anywhere it was uneven,

then went around the edges with a black marker to cover any white and make it all blend.

I bent the wings up and hot glued it on.

She loves the beach too and each time she visits we go.

Always looking for "Jewels" (beach glass) we take our bags a scavenge the shore.

I added a layer of "Jewels" in the bottom

and placed a battery tea light on top.

I also made her a Butterfly Garland.

First time making a garland of any sort too.

I dug through my stash for a map of California.

I cut out a butterfly that included Santa Cruz

and one for Monterey.

Not only are those the beaches we've visited,

but have been in their lighthouses also.

You can even see Pacific Grove ^ where all the Monarchs come to overwinter.

We've been there for that too.

She's visiting in Jan. so hoping we can catch them again before they migrate.

Merry Christmas to ALL!

And I just want to say to each and everyone of you

that you have been a blessing to me

this year.

With all your kindness, support and even a shoulder or two,

 I so appreciate your friendship.

 Spend time with your friends and family

making wonderful new memories.

May all your

come true ♥

Be careful with your fun new gifts,

or

Wishing all of you out there in blog land the most

Magical Memorable Merry Christmas ever!

XOXOXOXOXOXOXO

It You See A Fat Man........

IF YOU SEE A FAT MAN ...

Who's jolly and cute,

 

Wearing a beard and

a red flannel suit,

 

And if he is chuckling

and laughing away,

 

While flying around

in a miniature sleigh,

With eight tiny reindeer

to pull him along,

 

Then let's face it...

 

Your eggnog's too strong!

 

Victorian Scrapbook Images

Holiday Baking with Some Knock Offs

OK OK I finally got off my bottom and did some baking.

I was waiting for it to rain. Why?

Because that's when I enjoying baking.

BUT the weather wasn't cooperating and it's getting pretty close to Christmas so....

But let me digress for a minute.

We went for a visit to B & T's for a doggie play date with Lily last weekend

and came home with lots and lots of Pecans from her parents tree!

Yippee!!!! 

How awesome is that!

Thank you so much L & J!!!

I have already shelled ALL of them!

OK on to the baking...

I made 4 loaves of Zucchini Bread and 3 loaves of Banana Bread

This is my fave recipe for the Banana Bread

Only I didn't check to see if I had enough Bisquick ----

I didn't :(

I didn't feel like going to the store,

but remembered I had a recipe of Knock off Bisquick.

I dug it out made it and used it in place of Bisquick.

It worked perfectly! Yay!

I don't plan on buying Bisquick anymore because this is so much cheaper!

Here's the recipe should you happen to run out...

Homemade Bisquick Mix

5 cups flour

1/4 cup baking powder

2 Tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter or margarine

Mix together flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.

Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly.

Store in an airtight container for up to 6 weeks or in the freezer for longer storage

Makes approx. 6 cups.

Use for any recipes as you would Bisquick.

I've also made 2 batches of Rice Krispy Treats, a double batch of Rocky Road,

white chocolate fudge with pecans and chocolate fudge with walnuts.

I also have a knock off recipe for Sweetened Condensed Milk.

I haven't tried it but in case you happen to run out here it is.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 cup instant nonfat dry milk

2/3 cup sugar

3 Tablespoons melted margarine

1/3 cup boiling water

Combine all ingredients in blender or food processor (it can be done by hand).

Blend until very smooth. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

Makes 1 1/4 cups equal to a 14 oz can of commercial sweetened condensed milk.

For fat free, leave out the margarine.

2 batches of Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies

and 3 batches of Chocolate Leftover Cookies.

Why are they called "leftover" cookies?

Because I threw in what ever was leftover from the rest, LOL

Some chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, pecans, walnuts, oatmeal,

I think there may have been a few stray marshmallows in there too ;)

Whew!

I'm baked out!

I'll see how I feel tomorrow whether I'll do more baking or not.

If only it would rain.....

During the Holidays Remember........

A glass of wine

To my friends who enjoy a glass of wine..

And those who don't and are always

Seen with a bottle of water in their hand.

As Ben Franklin said:

In wine there is wisdom,

In beer there is freedom,

In water there is bacteria.

In a number of carefully controlled trials,

Scientists have demonstrated that if we drink

1 litre of water each day,

At the end of the year we would have absorbed

More than 1 kilo of Escherichia coli, (E. Coli) - bacteria

Found in feces.

In other words, we are consuming 1 kilo of poop.

However,

We do NOT run that risk when drinking wine & beer

(or tequila, rum, whiskey or other liquor)

Because alcohol has to go through a purification process

Of boiling, filtering and/or fermenting.

Remember:

Water = Poop,

Wine = Health

Therefore, it's better to drink wine and talk stupid,

Than to drink water and be full of Shit..

There is no need to thank me for this valuable information:

I'm doing it as a public service