Two Happy Hour Treats...

The mini Grilled Cheese sandwiches were made with Hawaiian Sweet Rolls, each roll sliced in 3 pieces:

These make the perfect Happy Hour snack!

And of course a glass of bubbly makes everything taste better!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This idea is also fun for the season!  I bought mini pumpkins at Walmart:

I filled the bottom with assorted nuts, and then added cheeses, grapes, tomaotoes, crackers, melon and a few sweets!

Anything goes!

We enjoy our afternoon snacks, happy hours, "pick me ups" and appetizers.

Thanks for stopping by, Patti

Vampire Shooters....

These shooters make for a mini drink for afternoon Happy Hour!

To prepare 4 Vampire Shooters:

2 oz cucumber vodka

2 basil leaves, tear each in half

4-6 oz V-8 or tomato juice

a few drops of hot sauce

a tsp lemon juice

Add ripped basil leaves to vodka and let sit for a few hours.  Remove leaves and discard.  Add vodka to juice and add hot sauce and lemon juice.  Stir and divide into 4 shot glasses

This was a last minute Happy Hour snack when friends popped in:  a little Boursin Cheese and crackers and 4 Vampire Shooters!

While the cat's away, the mice will play:

Just another fun way to pull together a quick happy hour!

Thanks for stopping by, Patti

Cowboy Pumpkin

Here's a simple craft:

Take a cheap foam pumpkin (this one is from the Dollar Tree)....and a bandana (mine was from Hobby Lobby)

I popped off the stem of the pumpkin and set it aside....

....I trimmed the bandana into a circle to cut down on bulk...

....and tucked the fabric into the hole of the pumpkin...working on alternating sides...

...a pencil helped to force in the last bit of fabric:

and then I glued the stem back on top!

Here is one I made a few years ago with a "fat quarter fabric" and a real pumpkin stem:

Thanks for stopping by, Patti

Sheet Pan Broccoli and Chicken Casserole

This was a last minute casserole I made for dinner.  I am always saving recipes and often forget about them, BUT this time I had leftover chicken and decided to try:

SHEET PAN BROCCOLI and CHICKEN CASSEROLE 

Luckily, I had all the ingredients on hand and into the oven it went:

It was easy to assemble and we both liked it!

Thanks for stopping by, Patti

Do it Over Designers - Free to $5

I am joining Ann, from Apple Street Cottage, for Do It Over Designers, where we transform something that needs a makeover!  All of the participants are listed at the bottom of this post. Make sure you hop around for "cheap" recycling inspiration!

Our task this month was to recycle something that cost 

"FREE to $5". 

I chose "FREE".

This is something that we always throw away: 

SPICE CONTAINERS!

They can be used as vases for mini blooms....

.....that are too little for typical vases:

....or can hold markers or pens....

....portion out snacks....

...or wrap a mini gift, like earrings or a gift card....

This is a really old spice jar - check out the price!

29¢

You can even use cans as vases:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Let's see what others recycled, spending less than $5:

Purple Hues & Me

Sum of Their Stories

Vintage Style Gal

The Apple Street Cottage

Birdz of a Feather

Exquisitely Unremarkable

Little Vintage Cottage

Modern on Monticello

Pandora’s Box. you are here!

Thanks for stopping by, Patti

How to turn a paper napkin into fabric....

I needed four little gift bags for a gathering of friends and planned on filling them with candy.  I didn't want the traditional paper bags but rather something seasonal and pretty.

I have so many paper napkins, but I knew if I tried to use them as gift wrap they would wrinkle and tear easily.  

I decided to turn some paper napkins into fabric!!

And it worked!  A sturdy bag filled with fall candy treats!

I began with a pair of napkins and light weight fusible interfacing:

I removed the backing layer of the napkins and tossed it away:

I ironed each napkin to remove the fold creases:

I cut the interfacing the exact size of each napkin....trimming it as close to the edge as possible

I ironed the fusible interfacing onto the back of each napkin - pressing both sides!

I then sewed the two pieces together on 3 sides to create a "bag".

I cut each bottom corner to reduce bulk and turned it right side out....

...and created a bag:

I filled the bag with candy and it was as sturdy as expected!

Now to make 3 more..... I pulled these out of my napkin stash and made three different bags:

Fun and easy to make - and they can be reused over and over!

Thanks for stopping by, Patti