Winter time Decorations

These are a few cost friendly, homemade, winter time decorations that everyone will have a blast making!

Spray-painted Pinecones 

What you will need:

1. About 12 varying size pinecones. (I'm pretty sure everyone has pinecones laying around their yard, but if not just ask a friend or neighbor if you could help clean up their yard by removing any unwanted pinecones. :)

2. One large cardboard box. (Recycled box.)

3. A few cans of spray-paint. (Whatever colors look best with your house)

What to do:

1. Place 3 or 4 pinecones in cardboard box.

2. Spray pinecones with first color. Let dry. Turn pinecones over and spray. Let dry. 

3. Repeat steps 1 & 2 for each color.

Floating Cranberry Centerpiece 

What you need:

1. Vase/ candle holder

2. Candle (White looks best)

3. Cranberries (fresh works best. NOT FROZEN!)

4. Holly-berry leaves/ with berries. (Or any pretty winter leaf.)

5. Water (Amount varies)

What to do:

I think you can figure that out! : ) 

One tip is to wash your cranberries first.

I thought this was quite cute! Very easy! I think all that was used was:
1. Vase
2. Candle
3. Sugar/salt/sand....?
3. Cranberries.

Very pretty and super simple!

 

 

Cinnamon Stick Candle-holders

This is by far my favorite! And while I've never done this I think it's fairly simple.....?
What you need:
1. Candle/with holder
2. Cinnamon Sticks
3. Small ribbon/ twine
4. Hot glue-gun/ with glue sticks
What to do:
1. Glue each individual stick onto candle holder in and upright fashion
2. Repeat step 1 until candle holder has no bare-spots
3. Let dry
4. Tie ribbon on and enjoy!

This is by far the easiest craft! No need to explain!

Vase with acorns. very easy, but pretty! 

 Elegant!

 Same idea as the pinecones! : ) pretty cute!

This is the hardest of the craft projects, but very beautiful! 

Click Here for instructions

If you have craft ideas to share, just leave a comment with a link in it on how to or your own instructions!

If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comment box.

~ Home for the Holidays ~ part 1

Home for the Holidays is a series I will be doing over the next few days, and it will hopefully be insightful on how to make your home inviting, your food yummy, and your house look amazing....enjoy!

Part 1. Planning the food. 

       Everyone knows that the star of the show for Thanksgiving is the turkey; and many people have many questions about the best way to prepare their turkey. While personal preference wins every time, some tips can make the difference between  yummy and yuk!

 

Q: 1.  Should I spend the extra money on an Organic/ Free Range/All Natural turkey?

A:1. I say, YES to Organic!...and this is why. 

  Choosing a free range, organic or heritage turkey is a great start towards having a great Thanksgiving. There are more benefits than disadvantages for choosing an organic turkey. The main disadvantage of an organic turkey is its price, which can sometimes be double the price of a traditional frozen turkey. A turkey (after butchering) is suppose to age for three days for maximum tenderness. The traditional turkey is usually immediately thrown on ice. An organic turkey is free of chemicals, fresh, and taste much better, which makes the extra cost worth it.

Facts about traditional turkeys (aka non-organic)

  A traditional turkey may be super-sized because it is chemically and genetically modified, which may make the turkey drier and less tender. Many traditional turkeys are raised in crowded conditions inside and are placed under heat lamps (No sunshine doesn't make for a very healthy bird). They are usually fed corn-based mash that may be laced with hormones or antibiotics (I was just thinking "Why would I want a bird who had to have antibiotics....that means the bird needed antibiotics in the first place.....it was a sick bird or the other birds around it were sick"). Many turkeys become overweight, which can contribute to broken bones, or cause the turkey to die from a heart a attack. Most of these facts, if not all, go for chickens as well!

  

Facts about Organic turkeys

  Organic turkeys are know to have a better flavor, and to have a lower risk of salmonella. These turkeys are also known to have many health benefits. Organic turkeys spend a great deal of time grazing outside eating a diet that is free of pesticides, hormones and antibiotics. If you want to be certain the turkey you are purchasing is organic, buy it directly from a farmer or health food store that you know and trust. For a turkey to be certified organic, the entire environment from yard to feed has to follow the government standard "all natural" label.

Decorating with pinecones

 Pinecones

I'm always looking for budget friendly craft ideas, and who doesn't have pinecones laying around.

                                                                                                                                                                         

(Top left) Pinecone tree. This is a bit elaborate, but is very pretty.  (Middle right) Turkeycones. This is the one of the funnest crafts to get the kids involved in! Click here for instructions

 (Bottom right) Pinecones wreath, this is a craft that the only limitation is your imagination, and for that reason I would say this is the easiest way to use pinecones How to.

Felt Acorns

Fall is here and we are doing our best to welcome it with an easy craft project.  These felt acorns are perfect for filling a glass jar, working into your table scape, or adorning gifts.  You can probably think of many other uses. 

Felt Acorns

Before you start:

Look for wool felt balls versus felt beads.  The beads for sale are often much harder (intentionally) than balls.  The balls are somewhat malleable and allow for the different shapes you will need to fit various "hat" sizes.

Do not keep your sack of felt balls in plain view if you have a cat.  They love them and you will find yourself searching for them under the sofa.

The felt balls come in many colors.  I chose earthy fall colors for this project, but I could definitely see some of these made with vibrant colors for the holidays.

Get far more acorn hats than you need.  Upon further inspection, some will have flaws that you won't like.  The worst thing that could happen is you have extra for another time.

I especially like it when two hats are attached.  I put all of those aside to use for wrapping gifts.  The ribbon tied right through the joint where they are attached.

Be sure to apply glue liberally.  You don't want it to spill over, but understand that some of it will be absorbed into the felt.  You will get the hang of it very quickly.

(Added Note) you can use felt Here's how! (Not as cute or easy, but you may prefer this method) 

You will need:

• acorn hats
• glue – I used fabri-tac, but I’m sure other glues would do.
• clear filament – thin, very low test fishing line is sufficient.
• tape – masking tape is fine.
• needle threader
• felt balls - I bought 2cm balls, but you can purchase a variety of sizes to fit a variety of hat sizes.
• drill
• 1/16 inch drill bit

 The steps:

1. Using a dry, old toothbrush clean away any excess dirt from your collected acorn hats.  Discard any that appear unusable.
2. To make acorns with hangers continue to step 3.  Otherwise skip to step 10.
3. Turn the acorn hat upside down and brace it on the edge of a block of wood between your fingers.
4. Carefully drill a hole in the center with a 1/16 inch drill bit.  Try to get as close to the stem as possible without drilling through it.  Preserving it will add some extra character to your finished product.
5. Measure and cut lengths of filament 6-7 inches long.
6. Double each filament piece and tie a knot as close to the end as possible.  Make it tight.
7. Insert the needle threader from the outside of the acorn hat going in.
8. Feed the loop end of the tied filament into the needle threader and pull through to the outside of the acorn hat.
9. Secure the knot inside the acorn hat with a tiny piece of tape.
10. Hold a felt ball up to an acorn hat.  Decide if you will need to make it smaller.  If so roll the felt ball between your palms to shape more like a grape.
11. When you have the shape that fits properly liberally apply glue inside the acorn hat.
12. Insert the felt ball and hold for a few seconds.
13. Set on flat surface acorn hat end down to dry.
14. Allow to dry completely before use.

 Here are more pics:
Multi-color
Very detailed
For sale: cheat
Adorable
Unique Earrings!

craft from: Today's Nest
I hope you love this as much as I do!
 

Fall!

     Well, it has been a while since our last post and a lot has happened in the past few months. Now fall is here and so, the Holiday Market 2011 will be here before you know it. The Columbus, MS, Annual Holiday Farmers' Market is always amazing! There are pumpkins, lots of baked goods (just in time for Thanksgiving), crafts (early shopping for presents), and much more! This is a sample list of what we will be selling: honey wheat sandwich bread, Italian herb baguette, biscuits, pumpkin cream-cheese bread, brownies in-a-jar, knitted scarf’s and hats, and much more! So we hope to see ya there! 

 The 4th Annual Holiday Farmers' Market, to be held Saturday, November 19th from 7:00am - 10:00am.  

The hitching lot is located at 2nd Avenue & 2nd Street North Click here for directions

               The baked goods below were made by Simply Sweet...Yum!                             

These are obviously not my flowers, but my flowers look similar!