Christmas Projects 2010 {notions of sweet things}

It's the last day of November but truthfully, my mind has been on the upcoming Christmas season for quite some time now. I love all the crafty, homespun projects that abound and only ever wish I just had more time to do more! Every year I always vow to get a head start on Christmas and all the things I'd like to accomplish, yet each year it rushes upon me just as quickly as the year before.

Two years ago, I did a little series of Christmas-y/Wintry projects here on the blog every day for a week and it was so fun to do! So I thought I'd start that up again this year but with a little more time in between each post, saving me a bit of holiday sanity. As I mentioned back then, I used to host a little Christmas craft party in years past and I would always try to come up with a new project for us to work on. I'll be featuring a couple of those past, sweet and simple projects that I think are still pretty fun along with a new one or two! We'll see how it goes! I hope you'll join along in the crafty fun!

silver blooms

That first little gold paper flower I made awhile back for a wedding cake topper was the inspiration for making more in various colors. Each flower is cut by hand and finished with cherry red vintage stamen centers. These pretty luxe silver blooms are now available in the shop, a jarful of posies!

good things about winter

Enjoying the beauty of the first big snow of the season... The snow began Saturday morning and was so sticky that it clung to the tree limbs and even the tree trunks, the branches sagging under the heavy weight of white. Normally these thickly coated limbs wouldn't stay this way for long, the snow eventually sliding off and giving way. But even today everything is still cloaked in white. And it is so pretty to look at. Another good thing, feeding the sweet little Chickadees by hand... It's always a bit magical when the first one comes to perch upon my hand, feeling almost weightless...this tiny connection to nature.

Some are hesitant, flitting nearby, while others are bold and happily sit upon my hand.

And the last good thing...more time to stay snug inside, knitting!

Just in time before the snow fell, I finished these cozy gray fingerless gloves.

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Update: Per request, here is the link to the pattern I used for these fingerless gloves. I loosely followed this pattern and made them a bit longer so they'd go up my arm further. It's a pretty quick and simple pattern to follow! :)

tree trimmings and things

Oh yes indeed! It's that time!

Starting to put a few ornaments and other glittery things on the shop shelves...

More soon!
~L

mum's apple pie

Mum came up for a little visit late last week and we hung out and did fun girl things while Hub was away on a business trip. We ate Swedish pancakes at a little cafe, did a bit of antiquing, looked through magazines, and did some crafting too of course. Mum also brought up some pretty red Haralson apples that she had just received from a friend's orchard.

So we (or mostly she) made an apple pie. I've never made a pie. Ever. I make quiche all the time...so I'm pretty good at making my own pie crusts. But I've never filled one with fruit, even though I've always wanted to! So mum eagerly offered to teach me how to make her apple pie. I took a few notes and tried to keep up with her and the things she needed for the recipe as she is quite a skilled, speedy lady in the kitchen!

It really would have taken me about an hour to peel these apples by hand, not to mention slicing them all up too. But before I could even finish cleaning up the counter from the pie crust-making, I turned around and she had deftly peeled and sliced all 5 apples for the pie in just minutes!

We mixed the sliced apples with sugar, flour, and cinnamon and poured them into the waiting pie crust. I made a streusel topping (my own adaptation...mum usually puts a second crust over the top) using melted butter, flour, sugar, and cinnamon.

And about 40 minutes later, voila! My kitchen smelled heavenly and the pie was pure bliss! Is it wrong to have pie for dinner and breakfast the following morning? I think not!
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mum's apple pie

pie crust
1/2 cup butter
1 cup flour
2 Tbsp milk
1/4 tsp salt
Mix together with pastry blender and roll out flat, using extra flour to keep from sticking. Place in pie dish.

apple filling
about 6 cups apple slices
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
Mix apples with sugar, flour, and cinnamon in a big bowl. Pour into pie dish.

streusel
3/4 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 Tbsp melted butter
Mix dry ingredients together, pour butter over, and toss with fork until large chunks form. Cover apples with streusel.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 40-45 minutes. Enjoy!

california {from ocean to desert}

{pacific ocean & torrey pines} {another torrey pines ~ I liked this photo too!} {at the beach, near Oceanside, I think?} {outside 1 of 2 Anthros visited in the same day...and I didn't buy a thing! can you spy Hub and I?} {Rodeo Drive...had to see what this was all about. Okay. Now I have.} {driving through the mountains...Sunrise hwy through Cleveland National Forest} {a glimpse of the desert from the mountains} {crazy big boulder mountains...these were just crazy but the picture does no justice} {hub in the desert...he really wanted to go there and see some cacti, so we did!}

Hub and I were in San Diego and elsewhere last week...my first real visit to California, other than a couple layovers in LA. Honestly I'm not completely in my right mind to write a lot of nice things about California or our trip at the moment. The weather was so-so, the traffic was horrendous, public restrooms were hard to come by, and I'm still battling a bad cold I got there mid-week (hence the clouded view I have right now of our trip). There's nothing worse than being very sick when you're away from home. All you really want is your own cozy bed, right? True, we didn't see the entire state... It is a quite a big state and we were only there for a short time. But in that short time, we did see quite a bit and drove over 500 miles or so. I came to the realization on this trip that the way we like to visit new places is to drive around, explore the surroundings, get out and see things, find good restaurants, etc...rather than visit the typical tourist attractions. Although the good restaurants part didn't matter much to me as nothing tasted quite right. But looking back on my pictures now, after a few days of being home, I realize it is a rather pretty place...aside from all the traffic and crazy driving. Maybe next time I visit I'll have better luck and better health!

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(10/28/10: I meant to post this earlier in the week ~hence the date~but catching up on life and being sick just kept getting in the way! More soon, when I'm feeling better, hopefully!)

next to you my deer {c'est fini!}

hello!

As mentioned in my last post where I was figuring out to how finish my deer topper, I wanted to share what I ended up deciding upon and how I finished it off.

I really liked the contrast of that pretty brown flower-y paper base against the seafoam color of the deer. Little white and pale pink flowers, tiny toadstools, and a few handcut paper leaves in pale pink and brown mingle at their feet. Now in the shop, here.

Today is another sunny day in a row of sunny Fall days and I'm busy working on a custom cake topper order, a sweet pair of foxes...back to work!
Happy creating! ~L

in the studio {figuring things out}

Today in the studio, I've been working on a couple new cake toppers...

like this sweet deer couple above. I loved this seafoam/peppermint colored pair of deer I made previously so much that I just had to create another pair. But now the fun/perplexing part is deliberating on color schemes...I often spend a very long time, looking through my stash of things, drawing inspiration for colors that will complement my deer couple from the pretty papers I have, the season, and all the other fun little doodads (like flowers, mushrooms, ribbons, leaves) that I will incorporate on the cake topper. I lay stuff out (like above) and just see what is really exciting me.
So, once I finish that deer topper, I'll share it with you soon and you can see what I ended up deciding on! But I did finish a little pair of Autumnal Owls in a violet purple color. I was inspired by many of the things in my garden, the foliage, turning from green to hazy shades of purple. Never done purple owls before but thought I'd stretch my boundaries!
They are now in the shop, right here!
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Happy Wednesday!
Go MN Twins!