Zucchini Bread on a crazy day....

Hi everyone!!  It is Monday yet again...we are joining in with Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday

-AND (!!!)-

with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

So, the weekend started really great - visits to family and friends, creative time with the kiddos....come Sunday afternoon, it got downright crazy.

It all started just as we got the cookbook out...

And consulted our favorite recipe for Zucchini Bread....

Last summer for a bumper crop of Zucchini, so plenty ended up shredded and put up for the winter. 

And on Sunday, into the microwave it went to defrost for Zucchini Bread....a recipe from Ms. Crocker that is soooo good, even my kids will eat it!!

However, just as the microwave finished however, it came to my attention that there was a growing puddle of water under the fridge....and then after a dash to the bathroom, we saw that that floor was soaked....and then after flinging ourselves at high speeds down to the basement, we found that it was raining.

Raining!

So, long story very short....the washer malfunctioned, hence soaking a good portion of my house, which in turn allowed for the zucchini to finish defrosting...Glass half full, right? ;)

And after 3 additional hours, all was mixed up and into the oven it went!

All ready for holiday gifting!

For more organized and less crazy holiday crafting and fun, head on over to Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living and Emily's at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

I will see you there!

    

A Handmade Holiday & Craft♥Advent - with fabulous pairing!

Hi everyone!!  It is Monday yet again...but I am excited to be joining in with Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday

-AND (!!!)-

with Emily at The Nest for Craft♥Advent - Day 5!

Each year, we gift a bundle of goodies to our families to be enjoyed with the holidays.  And since the celebrations are nearly upon us...Sunday was all about these edible creations :)

One of my favorite goodies to make are some of the most simple.  And...you can never go wrong with chocolate and pretzels - a most fabulous pairing!

To start, I set up a mock double boiler out of a sauce pan, a Pyrex measuring cup, and a canning ring for which the glass to stand upon.  Don't want to burn that chocolate!!

After a few minutes, the chocolate was melted and had taken on a glossy sheen.

And then, it was time to bring in the salty friends!!

The key to this fun is to keep the chocolate warm.  Don't boil and don't cool...just a nice even kneel.

Then, it is all about the dip and twist :)

I don't know about you...but they look delicious to me!

The pretzel twists get a different treatment....a recipe for a delicious bite of fun that I learned from of a friend this past summer.

First, a generous dollap of chocolate goes into the center of each...

And then...we add the M&M's

Then...the only step left to do is to bag them up!  And, of course, hope my little ones don't find and eat them all up!!  :)

For more fun, head on over to Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living and Emily's at The Nest for Craft♥Advent.

I will see you there!

    

A little holiday decorating!

Hi everyone!!  Once again, I am early...but here we go!  Onward to join in with Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday!!

And this week - we are all about holiday decorating!

We have never really gotten into decorating the outside of the abode for the holidays, but this year, we are making an exception.



Along with little fairy lights, we used the trimmings of a fir tree at the border of our property to gather fragrant boughs.  They were twined up with the bindings of the last bales of hay (upcycling as its best ;)  ) to secure to the plant hangers attached to the porch columns.

And, to top it all off - an older and unused pillowcase was taken apart and used for decorative bows.  I am loving the plaid :)

For more fun in the Handmade Holiday venue, head on over the Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living.  I will see you there!

Handmade holiday...just a bit early....

OK....I am a bit early, but....it is the week of Thanksgiving....and the holidays are nearly on the doorstep....and I just couldn't wait anymore.

So, here I am - early...and joining in with Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday!!

I actually have some projects to share!  Now that the emerald shawl is complete, I am moving towards two other projects - a second shawl, to gift to another close family member, and the felted slippers I have been planning for over a month.

The projects are moving along faster, with the shawl in a fishnet stitch, and the slippers crafting up in a bulky yarn.  My only issue is that I ran out of yarn for the slippers before I was finished!  Back to the yarn store we must go!

For more fun in the Handmade Holiday venue, head on over the Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living.  I will see you there!

A Handmade Holiday, and a new Etsy friend!

Happy Monday everyone!  This day is back again, made sweeter by the opportunity to join in with Tonya at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday.

The weekend was busy, but a great kind of busy.  I was able to tackle much of the home chores, and put in a great amount work on the emerald shawl.  And in less then 2 months, it will be traveling to its new home in the rush of holiday giving.

Next up is another shawl for a different family member - this time in a teal.  I haven't quite decided on the stitch and pattern to use, but I know it will soon come to me.

I also wanted to take a moment in this post to share an Etsy vendor I have recently visited.  The artist is Samantha, and she brings such joy and whimsy to her craft, I find it impossible not to feel a delightful lifting of the heart at just viewing her creations.  She is fairly new to the Etsy marketplace, so I wanted to share her site here so that others of similiar mind and heart might enjoy her creations as well.   Her site is Justsama at Etsy- please visit and enjoy :)

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Handmade Holiday Monday!

And, for other Handmade Holiday fun, stop on by at Tonya's site Plain and Joyful Living - I will see you there!

A handmade holiday....the count down is on!

So....now that it is November, the Christmas commercials have taken over the television, and you can tell....the count down is on!!

The days until the holidays are ticking away.  And I am realizing that I need to bring my focus to the larger items that I am planning to gift, so that I can be certain they will be ready for their new homes... 

Therefore, on this great day, I am psyched to be joining in with Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday!!

The large project that I am speaking of is the emerald woolen shawl I am working on.  The pattern is coming to me more naturally, the more that I work on it, and I am already thinking about trying in again after this shawl is complete, in a different fiber.  Something with a bit more shine, perhaps? :)

For more fun in the Handmade Holiday venue, head on over the Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living.  I will see you there!

A Handmade Holiday....on Halloween!

Happy Halloween! 

I gotta say, this is one of our most favorite holidays of the year...and as a added bonus, my baby turns 6 years old today.  I wonder if he still qualifies as my baby....

But anyways... on this great day, I am psyched to be joining in with Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living, for the Handmade Holiday!!

So, last week was completely crazy with work outside of the home, so I didn't get too much done, but I did manage to finish work on my first Virginia Rose (my very first attempt towards crocheted lace).  I am planning to do several more, and then connect them to be a small table topper.

In addition, I am nearly finished with a hat, crocheted from a very soft dark gray fiber.  Once complete, I will be using the excess fiber for a pair of matching mittens.

For more fun in the Handmade Holiday venue, head on over the Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living.  I will see you there!

A Handmade Holiday in October...

We are joining in with Tanya at Plain and Joyful Living for the Handmade Holiday with crisp October morning.  And I do mean crisp - frost is glittering on the grass, and windshields may need a solid defrosting this morning!

But hey, it does start to bring rise to a holiday spirit - and snow is even on this week's forcast!

It has been a great week for crafting on our little corner of Vermont.  I have been continuing to work on the green shawl that I will be gifting come Christmas, but its growth has been slow.  The pattern is much more intricate than others I have worked on, and I need to keep a constant eye on the instructions.  Definitely not a project for when the kiddos are raising a ruckus.

I have continued to work on felting and am really excited on how it is turning out.  This week I took on a small project, that is actually part of a fall birthday gift, but is good practice for the slippers I have planning.

Using some left over woolen yarn from a past venture, I crocheted this little bag and flower.  Once complete, they dove to a hot washer until shunk and felted to a near solid fiber.  It will be used to hold the birthday gift (which, sadly, is not handcrafted), but I am excited that I was able to craft a little keepcake instead of spending a few dollars on a paper gift bag that would eventually end up in the recycling. 

This week, I am planning to do a little fiber shopping to get what I need for slippers, and also find some crochet thread to try my hand at some Irish lace.  It should be a busy handcrafting week!

For more great ideas for a Handmade Holiday, stop on over at Tonya's site, Plain and Joyful Living.  I will see you there!

Planning for handmade...

Joining in with Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living today, for the Handmade Holiday.

And I am psyched to say that this prep has begun for us in our little corner of Vermont.

Meaning....I have finally finished untangling the crazy mess of yarn that I tumbled into.And, after re-evaluating the pattern I picked out for the shawl, I have jumped in and am running forward.  I do worry a bit that the fiber I am using isn't quite delicate enough for the pattern, but I am crossing my fingers that it will turn out OK.  I think that the color will be perfect for the recipient, so I really hope it works out....

This week, I intend to continue this shawl and also stop by a local store to find some yarn to use in felting slippers.

For more handmade holiday news, head on over to Tonya's site at Plain and Joyful Living.  I will see you there!

A start to the handmade season....

So, I am pretty excited over the idea of a Handmade Holiday....and am so happy that Tonya over at Plain and Joyful Living is hosting it again this year!

But I am still in the brainstorming stage....

I have determined that I will be making a shawl for a family member - and using the green yarn I picked up in Maine. 

I am currently working very hard to actually move it from a skein to a ball...;)  It looked so easy, but now, well...it looks like my cat attacked it...let's just say that I am enjoying the meditative properties of untangling this web...

I was blessed with some time with just me and my son this weekend (my was daughter off to a friend house on Saturday - she was SO excited!!) and this made a trip to the library much for managable.  So... I cleared them out of crochet and knitting books.  Well, not totally....I must have left a few, at least.

In particular, I checked out the "Encyclopedia of Crochet" by Donna Kooler.  This pattern on page 180 looks like a winner for the shawl I have in mind - I don't normally follow patterns, but for this project, I want to give it a try...

Outside of this shawl, I have not made any solid moves towards putting together handmade holiday gifts, but I have been gathering ideas....

My daughter has requested a stuffed cat for holidays - a red one to be exact.  I am looking forward to learning how to do that. 

In addition, I have been working on felting lately, and would love to get a good enough handle on the art so that I can make slippers for some extended family members....so far, I have made myself a part of slippers that are lovely, but a bit on the small side, and then a gray pair that, unfortunately, were not made from pure wool and did not felt...  :(

So, I am just at the beginning of this holiday prep process, but I am excited.  With the help of Tonya's blog at Plain and Joyful Living, I am started early and am looking forward to seeing everyone elses ideas as well.

For other ideas (and inspiration!) check Tonya's blog for the Monday Handmade Holiday postings.  That's where I am heading!!

A handmade holiday - hurray!

So...I am super excited.

I just learned yesterday that one of my most favorite blogs will be hosting a Handmade Holiday again.  They did this for 2010, but being disorganized, and not having a blog, I didn't participate.

But this year - I will!  I am so excited!!

You can find all of the details right here.  A huge thanks for Tonya for doing this again for 2011 :)