Pinterest 365 – Day 39 – Elegant Candle Holder

elegantvotiveholdersI mentioned yesterday that I was responsible for dessert at the Pinterest party on Saturday.  My mom and I were also in charge of picking and teaching something from Pinterest.  We chose candle holders made with frosted glass paint and rubber bands.

The tutorial used tall tumblers and white paint, but we chose to use wine glasses and frosted paint.  The end result was really stunning.  I made one as my sample and one at the party, but I have since done a third one for my mantel.  I needed some height and candle light and these fit the bill.

100_4424I found the glasses at the dollar store, had the rubber bands in my office supplies and some left over painter’s tape from a painting job.  You first tape off the areas you don’t want to paint; I didn’t want to paint the stem or the base.  Then you just start fitting rubber bands around the glass in all kinds of configurations until you’re happy with what you have.  It’s important to make sure the bands are flat and not twisted because the paint will pool and leave ridges where you will want straight edges.

100_4428You than take you spray paint and start spraying.  This particular paint goes on clear and I made the mistake of thinking that I didn’t shake the can long enough so I continued to spray on a very thick layer.  That resulted in a LOT of pooling and subsequent scraping later.  The glass still looked good, but I think I wasted a bit of paint.  You actually only have to spray a thin layer and the paint frosts as it dries.  Really cool.

100_4425100_4429Wait until the paint is dry then take off the tape and rubber bands and voila, you have an elegant candle holder.  Really fun and easy and great result.

Grace

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“I don’t really like it when you use spray paint so I am wearing my bandana to cover my nose.  Only problem is I can’t get it over my nose.  I will need your help.”

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A Month of Challenges – Day 8 (December 8)

Today was such a good day.  It started with selling a Sockee Poo Dog Poop Bag Holder and a couple of catnip toys from my Etsy shop, having friends over for a Pinterest party, finding a steal of a deal on fleece for dog beds and is ending with two extra doggie friends staying over.  My kind of bliss.

  • 100_4406My December Daily journal entry will be about my blissful day.
  • This picture is my entry for the iHeartFaces Photo Challenge.  Today’s topic was “shopping”.  It’s hard to see from the receipt, but I got $64 worth of dog paw fleece blankets for $7.71!  These are gonna make some cute dog beds.
  • 100_4394For “Journal Your Christmas”, today’s journal prompt is about documenting memories of Christmas trees.  The tree we had growing up was a little fake table top that my Nanna and Da gave to my folks when I was a baby and my favorite ornament was a blue angel with yellow hair.  Currently I am in love with our wall tree.
  • while you were sleeping25 Christmas movies.  Mike and I watched “While You Were Sleeping”.  I love the scene where Lucy goes over to her fake fiance’s house to spend Christmas with his family while he is in a coma and they surprise her with a Christmas gift and a stocking with her name on it.  Always makes me cry.

Until tomorrow,

Grace

 

 

 

 

 

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“Hey we already have dog beds.  Why are you making more?  Are we expecting company?”

Posted in Christmas, Christmas movies, December Daily, Dogs, Paper Crafting, Scrapbooking | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pinterest 365 – Day 38 – Chocolate Covered Cherry Mice

Chocolate MiceI, along with 5 other friends, had a Pinterest party today and I was responsible for the dessert.  When I discovered these mice, I thought they would be a fun dessert, and a great combination of flavors: chocolate and cherries.

 

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They were really easy to make and tasted really good.  Now I know they were small, but they went fast.  Something tells me they liked them :-).

Grace

 

 

 

ellie 8

“Mice?  Remember when I almost caught that mouse in the yard?  That was a good day.”

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A Month of Challenges – Day 7 (December 7)

One whole week of December has passed.  The time goes by so fast and the days are packed with such richness that it’s hard to remember everything.  So glad I’m writing some of it down.

  • My December Daily picture and journal entry will be about celebrating with good friends.
  • 100_4358This picture is my entry for the iHeartFaces Photo Challenge.  Today’s topic was “the view from here”.  Here is my dining room table and the view is mainly our tree, but mostly the completed decorating.  Feeling very festive and it’s only Dec 7th.
  • For “Journal Your Christmas”, today’s journal prompt is about being present and not overcomplicating the season.  A suggestion was made to take a moment and just write a quick list, in the moment, of where I find myself.  Here’s my list:Right Now…Seeing… two cute pooches curled up asleep in their new beds.
    Hearing…Christmas music by Enya.  So soothing.
    Smelling…cinnamon, nutmeg and oranges.  My stove potpourri hard at work.
    Tasting…egg nog with a sprinkle of nutmeg.
    Feeling…very blessed.
  • santa clause25 Christmas movies.  Mike and I watched “The Santa Clause”.  Released 18 years ago, this is an oldie, but a goodie.

Until tomorrow,  Grace

 

 

 

100_4280“Woody and I have been working on a ‘Right Now…’ list also.  Want to hear it?  Thought you did.  Okay, here goes…

Seeing… our leashes hanging on the leash
hook.  They should be on us.
Hearing… the pitter-patter of little squirrel feet on the roof.
Smelling… everything!
Tasting… nothing right now, but we’d like to be tasting one of those doggie treats you keep in our cookie jar.
Feeling… like you’re not going to give us a treat because it’s too late.”

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Pinterest 365 – Day 37 – Pumpkin Creme Brulee

Pumpkin BruleeCrème Brulee is my favorite all time dessert and when you add pumpkin to that, well, let’s just say I didn’t think my all time favorite could get any better, but it did.  I made this dessert today to celebrate the birthdays of a couple of friends.  We had lunch together and I surprised them with this yummy dessert.  Over at the “Love and olive oil” blog, they did a wonderful job describing the process along with beautiful pictures.  Crème brulee or any custard are desserts that you need to pay attention to or they can turn on you.  When you get it right, though, there’s nothing better.

My introduction to this decadent dessert began six years ago when Mike announced that he would like Crème Brulee for his 40th birthday.  So I dug out my recipe books and started to learn how to make this.  I was intimidated, but not deterred.  Oh, and I had to make it for 25 people!  Luckily it’s a dessert you can make ahead and just wow people with the sugar shell at the very last minute.  I found enough ramekins (love saying that word) and made a couple of test batches.  I got reaalllly good at separating yolks!  It’s a surprisingly easy dessert, but like I said, you do need to pay attention or it can go horribly wrong.

100_4346100_4347100_4348100_4349100_4352100_4355I followed the instructions (I did substitute vanilla extract for the vanilla bean) and it worked out great.Up until today I had only ever made the original recipe, but after today I will be making different flavors.  The sugar shell is still the best!  Grace

 

 

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“You know my birthday’s coming up in a few days.  Well, 16 to be exact.  You haven’t asked me what kind of dessert I want yet.  When do you think  you will be doing that?”

Posted in Homemade, Pinterest, Pumpkins, Recipes | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Pinterest 365 – Day 36 – Christmas Potpourri

After yesterday’s Pinterest craft, I needed an easy one today.  So I cut up an orange, combined it with a handful of whole cloves and some cinnamon sticks, and boiled it over low heat in a saucepan of water.  Christmas potpourri!

Holiday PotpourriThe actual recipe from the MakeItDo blog also has 1/2 cup of fresh cranberries, but my store didn’t carry them.  I will make it again with cranberries when I locate a bag, but for today our potpourri is sans cranberries.

 

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100_4344I still like how it made the house smell.  Very cozy and warm.  It’s important to not let the water evaporate, but as long as I keep adding water, the concoction will last for quite a while. Grace

 

Woody & Ellie today

 

“We like how it smells also.  Is it something we can eat?”

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A Month of Challenges – Day 6 (December 6)

Today I spent the day cleaning and tidying up after the crazy decorating yesterday.  There has been such a whirlwind of activity lately that I find myself not taking time to appreciate the days.  Need to slow down and focus on the important stuff.

  • My December Daily picture and journal entry will be a photo of my Santa collection and the story of how I came to have such a collection.
  • 100_4273This picture is my entry for the iHeartFaces Photo Challenge.  Today’s topic was “A burst of red”.  One of our neighbors has a couple of redwoods in their front yard and they always decorate with ornaments.  I found this really striking this morning on our walk.
  • 100_4339For “Journal Your Christmas”, today’s journal prompt is about remembering what is truly important this Christmas.  This prompt came at a great time.  The decorating, gift giving, and extra activities are fun, but rest and reflection is incredibly valuable as well.  As I unpacked my nativity set, I came across a piece my mom gave me years ago and it brought tears to my eyes.  A wonderful reminder of focusing on the truly important.
  • 12 Dogs25 Christmas movies.  Mike and I watched “The 12 Dogs of Christmas”.  All I can say is if they ever need someone to direct a musical of “The 12 Days of Christmas” using dogs, I’m your gal!  That’s 78 dogs for those doing the math.

Until tomorrow,  Grace

 

 

100_4323“You know Ellie and I are okay with a few dogs for the occasional visit, but 78!  Do you know how long it would take you to make that many dog beds?”

Posted in Christmas, Christmas movies, December Daily, Decorating, Dogs, Paper Crafting, Scrapbooking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

A Month of Challenges – Day 5 (December 5)

Today Mike helped me pull out the bulk of our Christmas decorations from storage and I was able to get 90% of it done.  The rest is just adjustments and finishing touches.

  • My December Daily picture and journal entry will be a picture of my our living decorated for Christmas and the story of how we dragged all our decorations out of storage and spent the evening watching “Fred Clause” and reminiscing and decorating.  It’s amazing how much you collect over 24 years.
  • 100_4302This picture is my entry for the iHeartFaces Photo Challenge.  Today’s topic was “someone I love”.
  • For “Journal Your Christmas”, today’s journal prompt was about written communication.  Do you send cards, a letter, email, nothing at all?  How do you display what you receive?  We’ve never done a letter and this year I think I’ll put the dogs to work on that project.
  • fred claus25 Christmas movies.  Mike and I watched “Fred Clause”.  My two favorite scenes:  Santa giving Clyde Northcutt his Superman Cape and Slam getting his puppy from Fred.

Until tomorrow,  Grace

 

 

 

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“Now you know I love the new bed, but I still plan to sleep with you at night.  That stays the same.”

Posted in Christmas, Christmas movies, December Daily, DeCluttering, Decorating, Dogs, Paper Crafting, Scrapbooking | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Pinterest 365 – Day 35 – Dog Beds

Christmas came early for Woody and Ellie.  I finally made their dog beds today and they are very happy.  Woody’s bed is blue and Ellie’s is pink, but since they’re not bound by gender restraints 🙂 Woody sleeps in Ellie’s and Ellie in Woody’s.

Dog PillowI must say the tutorial for these beds was excellent.  The Dog Under My Desk blog did a wonderful job of describing each step and having really good pictures to follow.  It only took a couple of hours to make both beds.

 

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100_4313100_4330The bases of both beds are a paw print design and each top is polka dot in pink/brown and blue/brown.  I have to say I’m really pleased with how they turned out.

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Ellie did commandeer Woody’s bed at first, but he eventually got to snuggle in it.  I think he likes it.   He took a long nap in it today.  Grace

 

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“You had me worried for a bit.  I thought I was going to have to knock Woody off his bed, but then you started to make another one.  Whewwww, that was close.”

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A Month of Challenges – Day 4 (December 4)

I continued decorating today, but also took time out to go to the movies with some friends.

  • My December Daily picture and journal entry will be how I went to see the movie, Life of Pi, today.  They stayed really true to the book and did a wonderful job of telling this compelling yet disturbing story.
  • 100_4130This picture is my entry for the iHeartFaces Photo Challenge.  Today’s topic was “shadow play”.  I intended to find some shadows today, but the sun refused to cooperate.  I know I could have worked with lights, but I didn’t have time for that today.  The phase, “me and my shadow” kept rattling around in my head and I ended up posting a picture of “My Shadow”.  This is how she helps me fold laundry.  Yes, I took artistic license today.
  • For “Journal Your Christmas”, today’s journal prompt was about the colors of Christmas.  I think I love them all.  Red and green seem to be traditional, but royal blue and white are striking, while deep purple and burgundy seem regal.  And don’t forget gold and silver.  They are the sparkliest.  As you can tell I have a hard time choosing.
  • elf25 Christmas movies.  Mike and I watched “Elf”.  Now for the next couple of days Mike will spontaneously start humming “Baby It’s Cold Outside” and I will be looking for opportunities to use the phrase, “Cotton-headed ninny muggings”.

Until tomorrow,  Grace

woody9

“I may not follow you around like a shadow, but you know I don’t like to be apart from you.  Ever.”

Posted in Christmas, Christmas movies, December Daily, Decorating, Dogs, Paper Crafting, Scrapbooking | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment