Bundled Christmas Lights

What is it you ask? ;) I bundled Christmas lights in groups of 3, 1, 2, 1, 3, then changed out all the bulbs to dark blue, light blue & white:

Just trying to show you the color pattern:

Sucks that my camera doesn't show how cute the lights are and then makes it even worse when posting it on my blog:

They start out this way:

Our bundled lights on our Maple tree are grouped in 3 white lights to 1 purple light to mimic blossoms:

We made flowers a few years ago after visiting the Botanical Gardens in Bellevue:

A lot of work and haven't made the time to make more since . . . maybe should start that project in the Spring ;)

The Boys make an Elevating Platform

Brady & Keaton built this TV platform with scraps from the rest of our projects with the supervision of Jonathan:

They were not happy to take on this project, but it was good for them ;)
Our Christmas tree took over a lot of space, so we had to push the TV in the corner and couldn't view it from the couch because of its high sides. Now we can watch TV from all angles of the room because it's raised up. Problem solved - hooray for the men (Brady & Keaton would love to hear me call them 'MEN' as they regularly insist they are and I just laugh) in my house!

The thing that made me nervous . . . okay, made me freak out was when I heard the saw being used upstairs by the boys when Jonathan was out in the garage! I know the boys are responsible and old enough . . . but as a mother, would you ever forgive yourself if one of them cut their finger off? NO!

Changed it up

My sister gave a set of candle holders from Partylite for my birthday - I used them as candle holders as my Christmas decorations last year - but this year I was inspired to change it to a more fancy display:

They have small holes on the opposite end where the tea light goes and you can add water and a flower.  So I took small beads and jingle bells and added that to the inside as well as some leaves, berry picks & ribbon - I like it a lot better now ;)

Baby Kissing Balls

I gave my other one away, so I made a few that match my tree colors better - these are baby ones - Jonathan doesn't like it as much =(

I will probably make a bigger one again, but not put it on my tree - just hang it from the ceiling somewhere - I promise not to post that one as there are too many posts for kissing balls as it is . . . an obvious favorite activity ;)

Dining Room Table

Should I focus on something other than Christmas crafts?  We haven't been able to sit at our table for a meal for 5 days!  LoL

I have way too many things going on at once ;)  And yes, there's a table under all that mess!

Snow Baby

I saw these cute Snow Baby ornaments on the Internet and what was my thought? 'I could totally make those' ;) I didn't use baby socks or cut the tops of the hat, I used fleece . . .and I didn't add a mouth either. My embellishment is a snowflake (tough to see) on the left & the eyes are square shaped to look like coal (also tough to see):

Super fun - I made half a dozen for my tree this year. I have to STOP with the ornament making though - my tree is getting very full!

Grapevine Wreath

Love Freecycle to get rid of my stuff - and once in a while I find a treasure for me:

A lady cut her grapevines down and formed them into wreaths and then gave them away - SO nice of her =)  I will post another picture of what it looks like after I embellish it! 

Kissing Ball Ornament

This is the ornament I'm going to give away tonight.  The theme is . . .'these are a few of my favorite things' . . .and by the way, does every ward this year have the same theme in December - is there a web site out there that all the Enrichment Leaders are brainstorming ideas from?

I love flowers and ribbon and crafting.  Look how I hid the knot up where it hangs from, I took apart a flower pedal and hot glued the knot inside the pedals and then the pedals to each other - it looks like a bud now (sorta hard to see).  

I made this from a styrofoam ball, painted it gold (because I was using gold with the pink flowers) and cut pedals off a huge floral stem, added tiny gold balls and ribbon.  I will make a few more for my tree now =)  Mostly because if I didn't buy extra supplies already, I wouldn't be able to give this away - what is up with that?  I need to be more charitable I suppose - hehe

Kissing Ball

I saw a mistletoe Christmas Kissing Ball and loved the idea, so I decided to tackle this craft project on.  I added a few more embellishments than just greenery and ribbon:

I guess they use these at weddings too - although I hadn't ever noticed one before last year.  It is a fun decoration!  So I've been inspired to miniaturize some and make them for my tree - I'm off to Michaels (40% off Michaels) & JoAnn's now (coupons in hand - click on the links and you'll be able to print your own) =)

Christmas Ornament

Have you ever made something for a gift exchange and then didn't want to give it away?

I made this ornament for that exact purpose . . . but am thinking I will have to make something else - I only have one of these flat circular ornaments - maybe just buy some more?

It says Prince of Peace (which is one of my favorite titles for Christ) on it - but you can't see it from the photo.  I used the baby Jesus sleeping and put some straw-like pieces inside the ornament.  Embellished with some jingle bells and ribbon and it really turned out precious!  I really want to keep it - should I?  =)

Cranberry Sauce

I don't even like Cranberry Sauce - but I made this recipe and it is super tasty!  This recipe card is for a swap:

Smooth, sweet and yummy all year long!

Decorated Chandelier

I hung a few brown metallic ball ornaments & ribbon from my chandelier:

It looks cooler 'not so close up' and I'm still playing with the ribbon . . .

Hummingbird in Seattle in December?!

I know, you'll have to use your imagination - but the green fluttery thing is indeed a hummingbird (December 1):

The bigger wild birds scared it away - BUT, I did change out the nectar on Thanksgiving when we saw the 2 other hummingbirds - this one is most likely 1 of those we spotted the other day - so at least the food is fresh and maybe it'll be back (and land on the perch so I can take a clearer photo =)  

Hummingbirds are a few of my favorite things!

Upside Down Christmas Tree

We buy fresh Christmas trees every year - no fake ones for us ;)  We also hang it upside down - it's been our tradition for 4 years now:

Top 10 reasons why:

 1. It's different . . .plus we love the look of it!

 2. Less pine needles fall for some reason - but if they do - much easier to vacuum them up!

 3. Lots of room to move around the tree because the bulky base is on the ceiling.

 4. No spilt water from bumping the tree stand and no refilling it either.

 5. Easier to hang from the ceiling than try to make it straight in the tree stand.

 6. Ornaments hang better.

 7. It spins!  Easier to hang lights, beads and ribbon. 

 8. All the presents fit under the tree.

 9. People always comment . . .and we like the attention ;)

10. Easier to bag up and remove from the house.

Ready for Sunday?

. . .we shop at the store . . .

Asking the kids, 'do you have any homework?' on Saturday didn't include 'or a talk in church' - but I guess it should have! So Sunday morning entailed Keaton writing his talk for Sacrament meeting on Charity, making homemade bread for the sacrament because we forgot to buy it yesterday (even though we remembered 2 minutes before we pulled into the driveway last night after the boy's basketball games) & cupcakes for a birthday in my Primary class! Needless to say, it was a VERY busy morning =) Good thing church starts at 1 pm:

I have one regular sized loaf pan, so I had to make baby loaves too. We ended up with 2 regular size loaves and 16 baby loaves. It is super yummy - I wonder if anyone knew their sacrament bread was homemade?

These cupcakes were decadent - I made a chocolate cake mix and put chocolate chips in the batter - ummmmmm, YUM! I think I'll do that every time now =) The frosting was like ganache - I made up the recipe and then tasted it - I hurried to write it down so I can duplicate it because it is sooooo rich and chocolately! I made 1 big cupcake for the birthday girl:

We had a few cupcakes leftover after class and I gave one to my friend Stephanie at church, as she bit into it, her kids were begging for a bite - she told them 'no' as these were not the sharing type for 'kids' because it was that good. LoL It is true though! But I've never seen Stephanie not share what she had with her kids - that was a first! After one bite, she requested these for her birthday in February. I'll make enough for the kiddos then - haha

And some of us relax after church in ways the others would never be caught doing ;) It looks funnier in person - Brady has his shorts hiked WAY up!

Basketball Jamboree

The boys played two 10-minute games an hour apart - ugh! Still trying to figure out how to take a good motion photo.

Keaton on the far left:

Brady #15 in the middle:

Playing a High School sport is ridiculously expensive! Must have their ASB card purchase of $45 and then $95 playing fee, sports physical $40, shoes $50 (love Nordstrom Rack!), traveling gear $125 . . . then the team goes out to eat after every game (McDonalds or Safeway - which the parents fork over more $ for) AND they charge you $4 a person to watch your kid's games? I was annoyed with that last one =)  Do I secretly wish they'd gotten cut from the team?  I don't know yet ;)

Christmas Wreath

I got out some Christmas stuff today =) This is my favorite wreath - I made it 2 years ago and still love it:

I had the wreath form from the previous year that was on clearance for $3 - what a deal! Everything I added to this wreath was cheap because I waited until they were 50% off at Michaels. The 1st year I made it I was afraid to put it on my front door in case someone wanted to swipe it - funny, huh?

hApPy ThAnKsGiViNg

It was a day of birds ;)  We saw a variety of them today, a few different species of wild birds, woodpeckers, blue jays and TWO hummingbirds!  I haven't seen that many birds in our yard since September.  Did they sense I was cooking their cousin for dinner?

This is our Thanksgiving feast, most of it was prepared from scratch:

If it's in yellow, then it was homemade: brined Turkey, gravy, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, salad, roasted cauliflower, caramelized onions, corn, bread, veggies, dip, salami, cheese, jello, pumpkin pie, ice cream & whipping cream.

Will share recipes, just ask and I'll send it to you!  Everything was yummy - it's all about starting with a great recipe =)

Accordion Tag

I made an accordion tag centerpiece for my Thanksgiving table:

Up close, a lot of fun and a lot of work!

I hope the food gets done on time since I was busy crafting instead of cooking ;)

Thanksgiving Blessings

I am hosting Thanksgiving, so I am in the process of designing some table decorations:

I made these on the computer and glued them onto flat glass marbles.  

Here's the center of the table:

I painted some tiny flower pots for pilgram hats too:

Underneath hides 3 Reeces Peanut Butter Cups:

These were the name settings.

Cornucopia

I made this cornucopia last year, but wasn't blogging then, so here is a photo of it this year:

Is it too whispy?  Looks like it from the photo, but in real life it looks better . . .LoL

The Smile Award

Thank you Fawn for the sweetest compliments, she honored my blog with The Smile Award:

Of course there are the customary rules that go with the award.  The recipients must display the following characteristics:

1.  Must display a cheerful attitude (not necessarily at all times - we are all human after all).

2.  Must love one another.

3.  Must make mistakes.

4.  Must learn from others.

5.  Must be a positive contributor to blog world.

6.  Must love life.

7.  Must love kids or animals.

And furthermore . . . .you know there's always a catch!  Here are the rules for the award:

1. The recipient must link back to the awards creator (http://the babblingsofmere.blogspot.com).

2.  You must post these rule if you receive the award.

3.  You must chose 5 people to receive the award after receiving it yourself.

4.  You must fit the characteristics of the recipient of the award, as posted by Mere.

5.  You must post the characteristics of a recipient.

6.  You must create a post sharing your win with others.

7.  You must thank your giver.

I award these blogs:

Stacy of Six Gray Monkeys - inspired me to start a blog

Kendal of Buckley Blog - for her humor and creative posts

Jessica of Life with Jared & Jess - running with her blog from the moment she started

Desiree of The Lothyan Family - making life's trials a fun read

Cailean of Vite! Cachez-Vous! - for being real & making me laugh

Recipe Card

I am doing 3 different recipe cards for a swap (have to make 6 total) & this is one design:

I already had the girl colored on my computer from the project I did for my sister's kids Christmas Jammies.  So it was only a matter of layout.  I have to make 4 more now. . . 

Sea Foam Candy

I tried this recipe for Sea Foam - it's old fashioned chocolate covered candy - my mom loves it. I made it for Thanksgiving for her. She doesn't remember to read my blog - LoL - so I can post it here before she knows about it:

I used an 8x8 pan to pour it into so the candy would be thick:

It tastes super yummy - fun, fun! This was my first attempt and I'll definitely make this again.

RECIPE:

1 cup Sugar (I used Brown Sugar)

1 cup Dark Corn Syrup (I used Brown Sugar Corn Syrup)

1 tablespoon Vinegar

1 Tablespoon Baking Soda

Cook sugar, corn syrup and vinegar in heavy saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly until sugar dissolves, 3 to 4 minutes. Stop stirring and bring candy to boil and continue cooking without stirring until candy reaches hard-crack stage (300 to 310 degrees on candy thermometer), about 9-10 minutes. Do not overcook. Remove candy from heat and quickly stir in baking soda. Pour into buttered 13- by 9-inch(I poured it in an 8x8 pan to get thicker pieces) baking pan but do not spread (candy wont fill pan). Let candy cool. Melt chocolate (I used 1 cup white chocolate chips & 1 cup semi-sweet) in top of double boiler over simmering water and set aside to cool. Break hardened candy into chunks and dip into melted chocolate. Place on wax paper until firm, about 30 minutes, or refrigerate. Store in airtight container.

. . . . and then Keaton was putting dishes away and 3 glasses fell and broke all over my candy on the counter =( I'm very, VeRy, VERY sad right now . . .

Vintage Card

I made a Vintage card and found awesome free graphics (from Karen) on the web:

I colorized them using burgundy and browns sepia technique.  It says 'May good fortune smile upon you'.  I am going to do a Vintage Christmas ATV (artist trading card) swap and I have to make 6.  That's doable =)  The truth about this card is I spent a lot of time downloading, sizing them, coloring and printing 8 sets out (I wanted a few extra and now I have 8 extra - haha) and then I read my swap a little closer - it was supposed to be Christmas themed - I'm a dork ;)

Bird Bath

Look what Fall did to my bird bath (of course I hadn't touched it in months and I could have chosen not to ignore its condition before this)

Rinsed:

Scrubbed & disinfected:

Painted:

I used this cool spray paint Rust Cap with a hammered finish - I love it again!

I put peanuts in it for the blue jays instead of water. I use shelled, stale (after they get that funny 'old' smell) peanuts - the unshelled ones leave a huge mess from the jays and squirrels. I have a 2nd bird bath, will try and paint that one too so the birds can have water again. The squirrels drink from it as well if I place the bird bath next to something they can climb on to reach it.

Sleepover Food

Brady & Keaton had a few friends stay the night, I made cinnamon rolls:

and strawberries with homemade chocolate ganache, cool whip and homemade granola:

And I wonder why the teenagers want to sleep over ;)  It's cause I feed them!