My last post — “Christmas Tree Topper” — showed how I made a Christmas-themed monogram for a friend of mine. I did another one, this time an R, for myself. Here it is in all its glory at the top of my Christmas tree.
Nov30
Monthly Archives: November 2014
Nov24
CHRISTMAS MONOGRAM
When I made the cork monogram Z for my friend Carol, I bought two Z’s. I bought the second one because I’d forgotten I’d already purchased one (a brief moment of old-age-ness!). Not knowing any other Z friends, I decided to make the extra Z into something Christmas-y for Carol. This is a true story of crapsmanship — I had many missteps along the way, but in the end, it turned out cute, cute, cute!
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Nov22
CRANBERRY UPSIDE DOWN CAKE
The recipe isn’t mine, but I’m sure it will become a favorite holiday treat for my family. I found it on Pinterest from a site called Simply Recipes. The blog poster’s directions were easy to follow, and the pictures were yummiful (yummy + beautiful). The orange-ish pound cake pairs deliciously with the tart cranberry topping. I’m posting today to give a few hints on how I produced my own yummiful cranberry upside down cake, despite having a tendency toward crapsmanship in my cooking. Read the rest of this entry
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Nov19
SHADOWBOX FOR MEMENTOS
This project was way too easy for crapsmanship to interfere, but my heart is certainly tied up in its telling. The little guy in the shadowbox is Beany Bear. He’s as old as I am (OLD!), and he was my favorite stuffed animal during my youth. He’s not only dear to my heart, but he’s been a favorite with many of my former students. Beany Bear has been the subject of many, many writings I’ve done for students to teach them how to pick a topic, draft, revise, edit, and lots of other writing skills. I write about the time that I was six and getting ready for my first dance recital. My two-year-old sister Laurie was jealous, so she took my mother’s red lipstick and smeared it all over poor Beany Bear.
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Nov15
K CUP RECYCLING
My son and daughter-in-law are building a new house, and they’re going to need lots of greenery for landscaping. I have one of these plants, called an esperanza, in a pot in my backyard, and it’s been prolific with seedpods this fall. To help Robert and Amanda out with spring planting, I thought I’d experiment with growing some of the seeds.
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Nov13
CAMO TREASURE BOX
My grandson Aaron is turning ten this month, and his birthday party is scheduled for this Sunday. Last year, I gave up trying to find him a gift for his birthday, and instead I am now relying on a present of cash. I’m saving his “want” list for Christmas, and who doesn’t like money? But I didn’t want to just give him money with a card in an envelope — how boring! This was my last year’s idea: I taped 30 dollar bills together end-to-end using painters tape on the back.
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Nov11
PINTEREST REORGANIZATION
I don’t know about you, but when I first started Pinterest, I made my board categories very broad. For example, I had a “Yummies” board where I pinned all the food I was interested in — main dishes, drinks, side dishes, appetizers, desserts, and food gift ideas. At first, the board was manageable, but as my board grew in its contents, it became much more difficult to utilize the pins within the category. My “Holidays” board was the same way — too full to use effectively. I had a little bit of time on my hands, so I decided to reorganize those two board in particular.
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Nov9
BOOK-THEMED RECIPES
In my last post, I shared the food we served at a book-themed baby shower for grandma-to-be Martha. Here are three recipes from the shower that are sure-fire hits.
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Nov8
BOOK-THEMED BABY SHOWER
Last Saturday, I co-hosted a baby shower for Martha. Martha is closing in on 80 and will be a first-time grandma. We thought she deserved the best, and since she’s a teacher (yes, she’s still teaching at 75+) and avid book whisperer, we knew we couldn’t go wrong with a children’s-book-themed party. Guests brought books for soon-to-be-born Leighton Lou, and our food all centered around books. The hostesses can’t claim the cake; it came from Wal-Mart.
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Nov6
SUGAR SCRUB
Doesn’t it look tasty? Don’t eat it, though; it’s for the bath. Several weeks ago, I gave a bridal shower for a dear friend’s daughter. My friend Shanne brought a bouquet of roses in memory of her mother — the roses came from a bush of her mom’s, and Shanne wanted her mom to have a presence at Callia’s shower. I saved the petals off the roses and threw the rest away. My hostess gift from Shanne and Callia had a big bunch of dried lavender instead of a bow. I saved it, too, with a plan to make a sugar scrub.
crapsmanship 