This N That

Gee, I haven't blogged in the past week ~ oops! I went through some photos of what I've been doing, and here they are. The high school had their winter band concert last week. I went to see my favorite trumpet player.


Went to the Merry Cary Parade. It's an annual Christmas parade in our town. James and Russ are holding the Cub Scout banner.

Andrew was holding the Boy Scout banner further back in the parade. Sometimes I think there are more people in the parade than watching! It was cold, but not as cold as today.



We had a snow storm come through Chicago. We only got a few inches of snow, but the wind really blew the snow around. Now the bitter cold wind chills have settled in. Perfect to stay indoors where it's warm.

I need to start a few new projects (one's for Valentines), but have been working at my side phone job. They've had a couple projects, and I won't turn it down. The extra $ always comes in hand at this time of year. I also *finally* started my Christmas shopping. Now to get it finished...... :-)

~*~ Laura ~*~

* Snowman finish*

I just finished the snowman! It's my first original design!

It took a few extra coats of paint to get the color right on the hornbook. It was too dark, so I put more barn red paint on, sanded it ,and a light coating of gel stain. Just a hint of mustard paint shows through. I lightly aged the punch needle piece with walnut ink, but didn't use it on the snowman. The snowman already has light color variations, and I didn't want that altered. Sometime the walnut ink will make those variations disappear. It did mute the oatmeal and blue sky colors, though. A simple string of vintage buttons completes the top.

And, yes, I cut my own wood. It's a scary thought. Me and power tools. I bought my own jigsaw and learned how to use it. I'm not great at cutting, but I'm learning. But, the great thing about primitives is that it's not suppose to be perfect! If it's lopsided ~ it's even better! :-)

I'm going to put it on Ebay Sunday night, unless anyone sends an email wanting to buy it. Let's say $45, and free shipping in the US.

We had our first measurable snow today! *** We got about 3 inches or so. It's going to be cold, so it's going to stick around. Makes me want to get some Christmas shopping done (I haven't even started yet!!). I have some lists done, and just need to go. As the kids get older, it's easier to just give the green stuff (cash). But, I have to get a few other goodies, too! I know I have the entire week before Christmas to get stuff done. Some years I'm done shopping before Thanksgiving, but this isn't one of those years.

~*~ Laura ~*~

*** December Snow ***

It's the first of December, and the forecast was for snow flurries. It was snowing more than just flurries this morning, so we got a coating of snow. I'm NOT ready for winter. But, I was ready to punch snowmen. This is the project that I'm currently working on. It all started with the hornbook. I had cut a different shape, but the jigsaw knicked the edge and cut it. I didn't want to throw it out, as the rest was still good. So, I made a couple more cuts to make a rectangular shape with a longer handle. I then took some paper and drew up this snowman to go on the hornbook.

While I was sketching, I drew some blushed cheeks, which I then transferred and punched. It's a blush color, so it's not really pink, and not really peach. It just adds a little something to his face.
Now to add some cording, and paint the wood. I'll go more traditional on this one ~maybe a barn red background, and tan cording to set it off.

I had to run to a different grocery store this week to get whole cloves for a school project. It was worth the drive, as the cloves were a fraction of the price of other stores. While I was there, I stopped into the Goodwill store and found this cute little basket. It easily holds the salt and pepper shakers on my counter. For a whopping 49 cents, I took it home. :-)

This has been a week of things breaking and being repaired. Our old van is getting some engine work. Our mechanic had some problems with the gaskets, but finally got them to seal. But then, it developed another problem which is being worked on. We're hoping to get it back tomorrow or Friday at the latest. Then, last night, our printer cartridge exploded. It had been leaking and leaving streaks all over the sides of paper, but new cartridges are expensive, which is why we didn't replace it. Got a new name brand toner cartridge now. But, I now need to get some Oxy Clean to get the stains out of the carpet. Sigh. Now to learn how to replace the cartridge in our new kitchen faucet. The manufacturer sent me a new one, as the water pressure is really low. I'm hoping this is the last of things breaking for a while. (I can only hope!)

I'm off to paint!

~*~ Laura ~*~

Thanksgiving recap

Thanksgiving week is over, and now it's on to Christmas. My youngest, James, had the entire week off last week due to parent/teacher conferences. My high schoolers still had school on Monday and Tuesday. On Wednesday, I got a call that my mom's oven stopped working, so I was hosting Thanksgiving dinner instead. I had just finished making some desserts, and now needed to clean and make the turkey, etc. One of my favorite desserts was the chocolate truffle ~ yum! Super simple to make:

1 package brownie mix, prepared as directed
3 boxes instant chocolate mousse (in jello/pudding section) prepare as directed
12 oz Cool Whip
2 packages Heath Bits

Break brownies into small pieces. Layer half the brownies, half the mousse, half the Heath Bits, half of the Cool Whip. Repeat. Chill. Can make ahead, but keep ingredients separate. For best results, make the same day as serving.

I split the recipe in half, as it makes a lot. You can adjust the amount of any ingredient. I like less Cool Whip, but lots of mousse!




I also made some apple pie for all my pie lovers.


My bil, sister, niece and dad. (sorry, no photos of my mom or my family!) My youngest niece couldn't come, as she's in college in England. For them, it was just a normal day.

The day after Thanksgiving, I didn't do ANY shopping. (I have to confess, I haven't started Christmas shopping.) Instead, we went to the lighting of the local park with some friends and then for pizza. The park was SO crowded ~ and cold. Behind Andrew and James is a ship created from lights. With displays like this, no wonder it's always crowded!

I'm making another punch needle project, but this time in more muted tones. I'm hoping to get it done in the next couple days. Too many other things to do, like grocery shop, shop for band concert pants and shirt for my son, etc. Speaking of which, I need to run to pick him up now....

~*~ Laura ~*~

There's a giveaway on "The Shabby Chic Cottage" blog. Bella Michele jewelry is giving a gift certificate. Go check it out and enter! Michele is my cousin, and has been stamping jewelry for a home business.
http://theshabbychiccottage.net/

~*~ Laura ~*~

~*~ SNoW ANGeL ~*~

Yet another new piece! I was up early to get the kids off the school. Yep, there was still classes for the high schoolers today. The elementary district was off for parent teacher conferences. So, once the older kids were off to school, I was able to lightly go over the hornbook with some ultra fine steel wool. It looks so old and primitive with the crackles, worn paint, and stain. I glued the punch snow angel to it, tied the hang tag, and added a string of vintage buttons. It's something VERY different for the winter. It will on Ebay tonight.

I have one teen home sick with a stomach bug. I'm hoping no one else catches it for Thanksgiving. I have to make a list of groceries to get so that I can make some dessert to bring for Thanksgiving dinner. I know the stores will be packed tomorrow, so maybe I'll head there tonight. Maybe. We're down to one vehicle today. Our old van is being repaired to keep it going for another few years. It has 146K miles (or is it more?) and still going. I'm hoping it will be the Energizer bunny and keep going, and going, and going. It might be getting rusty, but with 3 teens that will be learning how to drive next year, I don't want anything expensive. I don't know if it will be done today or tomorrow, so we have to share the other van.

I drew up another design for a snowman punch project. I"ll have to edit and and start working on that today.

~*~ Laura ~*~

Work in Progress

I managed to finish the snow angel after running out of floss. I went to Joanns this weekend, and they were out of DMC 3371. So, today I went to Hobby Lobby and they were also out of it. I can understand maybe a cranberry color this time of year, but dark brown? I managed to locate just enough to finish, and am now waiting for the stain to dry on the hornbook.


This one I painted with a base coat of black. Added some crackle medium to see what that does. Topped it with a coat of antique yellow. Sanded it, and then some brown stain. Can't wait to see what it looks like together! I might have to lightly sand a bit of the stain off, just to get it even. But I think the yellow will really set off the angel wings and make the piece "pop". I'm hoping it will be done and listed on Ebay tomorrow. :-)

~*~ Laura ~*~