What are you doing this weekend?

This is how I plan on spending the weekend - being lazy on the couch, browsing through these mags for some new recipes, gift ideas and craft projects for Christmas this year:

It's never too early to start planning!

Clothespin Santas

Here's a quick idea for a handmade package "tie-on". Similar to the way I painted the cinnamon santas, but I used clothespins this time:

They can be used on gift bags, instead of a bow:

and many other ways: to gather a napkin at a place setting, as a place card at the table, to label foods at a buffet, or even clipped to a recipe card (with the ingredients of the actual prepared food attached)

Sharing with: Show And Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home and Show and Tell Saturday @ Be Different, Act Normal

Cinnamon Santas

I like to get a head start on the holidays!

I have already made a woven ribbon pillow, vanilla and 3 different grilling rub mixes.

Today I am sharing the Cinnamon Santas I made:

Instead of putting a traditional bow on some of my Christmas gifts, I made some Santas out of Cinnamon sticks:

I gathered my supplies: paint, brushes, cinnamon sticks and Snow-tex:

I painted the "hats and belts" in red:

I used Snow-tex for the white fur on his hat and belt, and his beard and mustache. If you are not familiar with this, it is a textured paint that dries firm:

I painted flesh faces, rosy cheeks before adding the Snow-tex:

To finish them off, I added eyes and a belt buckle:

Perfect packaging for Apple-Cinnamon Bread!

Sharing with

Thrifty Thursdays at Inspired By Charm

and

Thrifty Thursday at Tales From Bloggeritaville

A Quick Pedestal Tray

While I was visiting Mountain Breaths a few weeks ago, I spied a clever trick she had displayed on her dining table. She took a MacKenzie Childs enamel cup and plate and turned it into a pedestal tray.

I have the large pedestal tray. but sometimes it's just too big for what I want to serve.

A little bit of poster putty holds the plate onto the cup:

And you have a smaller tray:

Thanks for the clever idea Debbie!

Sharing with Met Monday

Mediterranean Grilling Rub

Here's the third grilling rub mix I made for the neighbor's gift baskets:

Recipe:

2t rosemary

2t thyme

2t minced onion

1t minced garlic

1t salt

3/4t dried red bell pepper

I also made Southwest Rub and Double Pepper BBQ Rub

Sharing with

Be Different Act Normal

What do you do with....

an old Pottery Barn vase that has tarnished and you are too lazy to polish it?

Make a quick arrangement of fall leaves, pinecones and feathers!

Sharing with Saturday Spotlight at Craft Envy

Double Pepper BBQ Rub

You probably know by now that I am preparing homemade items to go into food baskets for the neighbors as Christmas presents.

I also made Southwest Rub and these are the ingredients for

Double Pepper BBQ Rub:

As before, I packaged the mix in small baggies:

and I printed the recipes onto little paper bags:

and tied them closed with twine:

Recipe:

1/2c paprika

1T cumin

1T brown sugar

1t chili powder

1T black pepper

1 1/2 t cayenne pepper

1/4 t ground cloves

Mix together and store in baggies

Sharing with

Thrifty Thursday (Tales from Bloggeritaville) and Thrifty Thursdays (Inspired by Charm)

Chicken Soup

For the past few months, every time I prepare fresh vegetables, I have put the stems, ends, leaves, or leftovers into a baggie in the freezer. The bag was full of asparagus, zucchini and yellow squash ends, celery tips and leaves, bits of onion and garlic, leftover corn, spinach and carrot ends.

I put them into a pan with two cups of water, some seasonings and boiled them for an hour or so. I strained the vegetables and had the BEST vegetable stock leftover.

I added fresh carrots, chicken, onion, celery and asparagus to the stock to make a delicious soup:

From now on, this is what I will do with all my leftover veggies!

MMMMMGood!

There's SNOW in the forecast!

In Syracuse we have often seen snow around Halloween time.

This morning I heard that we might have snow flurries on Thursday!

My two rose bushes are still blooming and

I didn't want them to freeze and wilt! So, I picked 2 bouquets!

I will miss fresh flowers in the house all winter, so until spring, this will be it!

Can you tell which milk glass vase is a Fenton?

Home made vanilla...

You should know by now that I am making gift baskets for the neighbors. Along with dried herbs from my garden, an assortment of spice rubs for grilling, candy and cookies, I decided to make vanilla.

I began with vanilla beans:

and vodka:

I cut the vanilla beans in half, sliced them down the middle, to open them and placed them into jars with vodka:

I copied this label from WhipperBerry and printed on fabric and glued it onto a paper bag:

They have to set for a month or two, shaken now and then - simple as that!

Sharing with Met Monday

Wow us Wednesday