Bow making tutorial

The leftovers have been eaten and Thanksgiving is a sweet memory.  I don’t think anyone went away hungry especially me, the scales told me that this morning.  Also my jeans feel a little snug around the waist.  How can one day of feasting do that to a person? It looks like I have my work cut out for me this week to do some damage control.  :o(
What a lovely day we had though with friends and family.  And of course the Patriot’s won their game so that was the frosting on the cake!  I do insist that all televisions be turned off while we eat.  Nothing annoys me any more then having a tv blaring during a meal, especially when I have spent the last three days getting it ready.  I did not win any popularity contest on that one but they all survived! heehee! 


I have wrapped most of my Christmas shopping except for the bows so decided to get started on that last night and it seemed a good time to do a tutorial.  My mother in law taught me how to make bows many, many years ago and it has served me well all these years.  She has been gone for a long time and I still miss her, she was an amazing woman.


First you put your ribbon around the gift package and tie it.


Next take the ribbon and make a circle noting the size of the package and making the circle accordingly.  You don’t want a bow that is too big or too small for the package.  Just eyeball this.

I loop at least six loops, a couple more if the ribbon is thin but it’s best to use a heavier ribbon and imperative to use the kind with the wire in the edges.

Next flatten the ribbon and fold in half.  Make sure your halves are the same length.

 
Cut your notches, you will need heavy scissors to cut through the layers and the wire.


At this point you can take a piece of the matching ribbon and cut about a five inch strip of the wire and tie it tightly around the notches OR you can lay it on the ribbon you tied around the package and tie it.  If you want to save the ribbon for another time you have to tie it with a piece of the ribbon with the wire in it other wise when you open the gift the ribbon with come apart.

Next you start pulling out the loops from the inside out and twist them around a bit.



When you get all the loops outs shape your bow the way you like it making it look puffy and pretty.  Very easy but practice a bit with some inexpensive ribbon.  I get all my ribbon on sale or at Sam’s Club.

 


Have fun!

Colleen at Lucky Duck Dreams is having a fun give away of some vintage 90's Christmas fabric.  Go on over and throw your hat in the ring!!! It closes the 30th so hurry! If you are anything like me you have lots of patterns you'd like to do and this would be a fun collection of fabric to use.

Happy Thanksgiving

 

 

Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our Thanksgiving. ~W.T.Purkiser

It’s the day before Thanksgiving and already the kitchen smells heavenly.  I love the smell of the onions and celery simmering on the stove and this year I used different bread and it’s delicious for stuffing.  It’s  Freihofer’s country potato bread and I will never go back to using just plain white bread again.

I made two batches of rolls yesterday that have to sit in the refrigerator over night and I checked them this morning and one batch doesn’t seem to have risen for some unknown reason so I guess I will have to mix up another batch.  I like making bread though so I don’t mind getting my hands in the dough dish again.

The turkey is still thawing plus I have a small fresh one that I am going to cook today so that I have extra for people to take home with them.  There’s nothing like a nice turkey sandwich with some stuffing in it the day after Thanksgiving!

There’s nothing like a bowl of yogurt and fresh raspberries for breakfast in the morning either.  Doesn’t that look just yummy?

The turkeys are out back looking for a hand out so I guess I will try to get a few pictures of them.  They love the wildlife feed that I get at the feed store.  Sometimes there are about 30 of them.  Getting a picture of them is like herding cats, they don’t cooperate!

Miss T made a cake for her Grampie the other day when here and it is really nice for the holidays.  It’s eggnog cake and the Hubs loves eggnog.

Eggnog Cake

1 package yellow cake mix

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

2 extra large eggs lightly beaten

1  1/2 cups eggnog

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2 tablespoons rum optional (She didn’t put this in as I don’t have any)

Preheat oven 350*

Butter and flour a Bundt pan. VERY IMPORTANT!!!

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, beat for 4 minutes on medium speed.

Pour into prepared pan for 45-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean

Cool 5 minutes and then invert onto a cooling rack and cool completely.  Dust with powdered sugar.

I’m going to try a new sweet potato recipe this year that I found in Taste of Home magazine.  If you don’t get their magazine you should, they have the best recipes. I have been getting their magazine for years.

Mallow-topped Sweet Potatoes

6 cups hot sweet potatoes (without milk or butter)

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter softened

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1 1/2 t vanilla

3/4 t ground allspice

1/2 t salt

1/4 nutmeg

18 large marshmallows

In large bowl beat the sweet potatoes, milk, butter, brown sugar,egg,cinnamon,vanilla,allspice,salt,nutmeg until smooth.

Transfer to a greased shallow 2  1/2 qt. baking dish

Bake uncovered at 325* for 40-45 minutes or until heated through.  Top around sides with marshmallows and bake for 5-10 minutes more or until the marshmallows just begin to puff and brown.  10-12 servings.

I love all things Snoopy.

 

So Happy Thanksgiving to you all, you have enriched my life and I hope to meet all of you someday!  xoxoxo

Give thanks

 

I can’t believe it is Thanksgiving week.  Before we know it Christmas will be right on our door steps.  I love the Thanksgiving holiday.  It is much more low key then Christmas and you really have time to think about all the things you are thankful for.  I have given my list many times over the last four years so won’t bore you with it again, but the list gets longer each year not shorter.  I think as we get a little long in the tooth we realize just how much we do have to be thankful for, not that young folks aren’t but older folks have more history under their belt so’s to speak.
This morning in church we had a special speaker from Kenya that is a pastor, college professor and runs an orphanage the later being his primary endeavor.  They have over 400 youngsters in their orphanage to feed, clothe, love and care for.  Aids has ravaged that country leaving more orphans then can be possibly cared for so they turn into street kids and don’t have a lot to be thankful for this year.  I hope you all will join me, and I know you will, and take a few moments before the Thanksgiving feast that we all will be enjoying and say a prayer for these many youngsters that are living without the simplest of necessities in life.  Thank you!


I have been trying to finish up some projects in my sewing room.  It seems like I start something, run into a problem, then don’t finish it.  A new day is dawning!  I am going to finish these UFO’s…………hopefully.
I have Miss T’s quilt finished and ready to be sent out to the quilters.  I got the pattern out of a book that my buddy Needled Mom sent me a few months ago.



Here are a few more things I am working on getting finished. These poor pumpkins don’t even have their mouths put on yet.




This one I started last year and ran into a problem and didn’t finish.  One way or another it is going to be finished this year. Even if I have to get creative and finish it other then the way it’s supposed to be as I can’t figure that part out……..

This is another wall hanging that I didn’t finish two years ago.  I worked on that last evening for a few hours and it’s looking better all the time.



This is a new one I saw in a new magazine and liked so started it before I even got the others done…….there is no hope for me…..It’s a quilt with 26 different trees on it.




Also have a new gadget that I have been playing around with.  I love gadgets, I must confess.  Especially when I can figure out how to use them.  This one is very simple, you just pick out your die and fabric and turn the handle and it comes out the other side all cut out.  Easy peasey!









It also will cut out strips to use in your quilts, different patterns like Drunkard’s Path and many, many more.  There is some waste like there is when you fussy cut something but I think it is worth it to have the things come out so nicely.  I dream of projects that I can do with this thing.  And no, no one is paying me to talk about this, I just like it, but I wish they were!  :o)  It is a Go by Accuquilt.  I will be posting the projects I come up with!

Mr. D spent a couple days with us and he delights in whipping me at air hockey. I told him to put his head down while I took the picture in keeping with the no face rule.  :o(   Don’t you love the mural in the play room?  It was done by a friend of mine and I think it is the cutest thing.

 



Guess I will get back down in the sewing room and get some work done while the Hubs, Son and Mr. D are at the Patriot’s game in Boston.  I’m going to watch the game from the comfort of my recliner, a cat in my lap and a bowl of pop corn...ahhhhhhhh…….

Stetson reigns!

 


I may have posted this picture sometime within the close to 500 posts that I have written but decided it would be good to put it in again.  Not just so you could see that I was at one time slim and trim and young but because of the hat I am wearing.  It’s a Stetson and I still have it to this day.  In fact I have all of our Stetson hats from our showing years and they are in just as good shape as they were when we purchased them. 



We loved the years that we were on the show circuit.  Son was just a kid riding in lead line and then walk/trot, the Hubs did the in hand classes and I rode in amateur classes, western and English.  I was in a trail class in the first picture, one of my favorite classes to compete in.  I was riding Joe’s Ginger Snap or Ginger as we called her and she was a lovely mare, they don’t come any better.
The reason for this walk down memory lane was brought on by an e-mail I received recently asking if I would be interested in doing a post on Stetson products.  That was a no brainer as I am so familiar with their products and love them.  The quality is excellent whether it be cowboy boots, cowboy hats,  jeans, shirts, anything you need for the show ring, for pleasure riding, or to look spiffy with a western flair.
The Hubs loves their shirts and there WILL be one under the tree for him at Christmas.  I have already picked it out but can’t put the picture in as he sometimes reads my posts. Let me just say though that the color will match his eyes……….whew……… is it warm in here?
If you want to drool, and I know a lot of you wear  cowboy boots go take a looksy at their assortment.  I love wearing boots with jeans even when I am not riding so I have picked out about 13 pair, hey, Christmas is coming, ya never know!!!


Disclosure:  Stetson paid me a small fee for writing this post but the opinions (and you know I always have one) are mine alone.  :o)

You spent HOW MUCH?

I can’t believe another week has gone by so quickly!  My plan of doing at least two posts per week just didn’t happen this week. I have the best of good intentions but sometimes lift just gets in the way and it’s not always bad. I did lots of fun things this week and here are a few of them.


About once a year my three sisters and I like to take a trip to our state capital and do some Christmas shopping.  It’s usually after Mom has gone back to Florida but if not she goes too. We made our plans and my sister that lives here in town, my niece and I headed out about about 8 in the morning for the hour and 15 minute drive.

It always goes fast when there is someone to talk to and our family is very verbose so there wasn’t a quiet moment.  I let my sister drive as she drives faster then I do. I kind of poke along. We met up at The Christmas Tree Shop which is one of our favorites.





We hit a few bargains and continued on to TJ Maxx another of our favorites.  We do have one here in town but they have different stuff at each locations so we wanted to check it out.



 
Next we went to Sears as my oldest sister needed to get a new washer and dryer.  We were greeted by a very gracious young man that helped her decide which set was best for her needs. He was not pushy at all which was nice.  He probably was a little overwhelmed with the five of us there all talking at the same time but was a good sport and the washer and dryer will be delivered on Tuesday.  :o)
No I was not hitchhiking!


We always like to eat at The Senator when in Augusta. Their food is homemade and delicious with nothing fried in sight. :o)


I always have the chicken pot pie in puff pastry with the cinnamon apples which is to die for.  Our waitress was a hoot and took really good care of us.


We were revived after such a good lunch so off we went to Target.  We hit the jackpot there!  I had my Christmas list with me and found almost everything I was looking for!!  We all came away with things checked off our lists.




It was time to head home after that so they headed west and we headed north.  It’s nice that two of us live near each other and the other two live near each other.  I also have a brother here in town but needless to say he wouldn’t want to go on a shopping trip with his sisters!  :o)  We love spending time together and make a point of getting together whether it be to shop or just visit.
I ran up to see the boys after I got home.  They are doing well at the stable and have settled right in.  Miss T rode Kipper and gave him a good workout which he needs.  He is such an easy keeper, too easy, he gains weight by just looking at his food! Sounds like ME!
                                                  This is from the back looking at the back of the inside arena, the stalls are in the L shape that juts out and goes all along the front.

Looking the other way is the river.  We used to ride down there bareback and take the horses in when we were younger.  Now we are too wimpy.  sigh….

 
Thanksgiving is just around the corner.  I always have so much to be thankful for and today I am thankful that it is my Dad’s 87th birthday!  Happy Birthday Dad!!  xoxoxox