Vacation Bound....

We are heading out to Cancun today for a week..I am so excited, it has been so cold here seeing the sun will make me so happy.  So needless to day I will be out for a week...But will be back soon, I am working on somethings to share so stay tuned...Have a great week..;-)

Love of Felt..

Have you ever been blog hopping for a couple of hours and you see something you really like and now you can't find it????  UUGGHH!!! I found this great tutorial to make these little felt rosettes and now I can't remember which blog it is.  So if this looks familular or you know of someone that makes something like this..I would love you forever if you could send it to me..I wanted to give this person credit for showing me how to make these..

They are so easy and fun to make and I would post link, Oh yeah. that's right I CAN'T remember where I saw it..

Lovely Rosettes..

 

I have been seeing these pretty little Rosettes all over the stores and on blogs...I love them.  I wanted to make some myself but didn't really know where to go.  A fellow blogger referred me to this tutorial by Mandipidy.

It is a great tutorial very easy and straight forward.  SO..I decided to give it a try and this is what I came up with..I made two necklaces..it was so much fun..the possibilities are endless.

Then I took cut the bottom part of my daughters long sleeve t-shirt that didn't fit her anymore and added some little rosettes to it and came up with this...she loved it..

Go out and try it..you can add them to t-shirts, head bands, lampshades ( I saw this somewhere it was really cute).  Have fun be creative..

National Popcorn Day!!

Did you know that it is National Popcorn day??  I didn't either until yesterday, is in honor of the All American snack, I thought I would post a couple of recipes..Enjoy.

I have great memories of making popcorn balls with my grandma when I was little, so in honor of my grandma here is a popcorn ball recipe.

Ingredients!

2 cups Sweet and Salty Glazed and Roasted Almond Pieces
2 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup water
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
18 cup popped corn, lightly salted
4 tablespoons butter for hands
plastic wrap and ribbon

Directions

In an extra large mixing bowl, toss together nuts and popcorn.  Set aside.
In a medium saucepan over high heat, bring sugar, water, syrup, vinegar and salt to 260 degrees F (hard-ball stage) on a candy thermometer.  Stir in vanilla.  Pour hot mixture over popcorn and nuts, tossing gently to coat.  When mixture is cool enough to handle, rub hands with room temperature butter and form popcorn into 4 inch balls. Place on waxed paper until cool.  Wrap in clear plastic wrap and tie with a decorative ribbon.
Note:  Use caution when handling hot syrup.  Syrup stays especially hot on nuts.

I also LOVE Caramel Corn, this has become a family favorite..

 

Yumskie Caramel Corn..

   When my girls were little we made it all the time.  I have a couple of different recipes but really like this one.  I got it off All Recipes

 

1 C sugar
1 C dark brown sugar (packed)
1 C butter
1 C light corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
3 - 4 bags buttered, salted microwave popcorn (we use 3 bags because we like to go a little light on the popcorn and heavy on the caramel)

Put some sheets of foil on your counter to cover a space about about 2.5ft x 2.5 ft Spray the foil with cooking spray.

Pop the popcorn and place in a very large bowl. Transfer by handfuls to ANOTHER very large bowl, letting the popcorn nubs drop to the bottom. (This step is critical - you don't want any nubs in your caramel corn!)

Now place the other ingredients in a large, heavy pan with high sides. Cook over med - med high heat, stirring occasionally, until the caramel almost reaches the Firm Ball stage (about 240-245 degrees on a candy thermometer). Pour over the popcorn and combine with a LONG wooden spoon so you don't burn your hands.

Pour the caramel yummy goodness out onto the foil, and let it cool as long as you can stand it. Then share it with someone you love or keep it to yourself..;-)!

All things of Beauty..

 This is a re-post...I miss the beach and would love to be there today

I love the beach, it's a place for restoration of body and mind.  I tend to loose myself from everyday thoughts for a few days.  I am always looking at things to bring into my created items. In my collecting of shells and sea glass, I started to think of each item.  Where did it first come from, did it come from the other side of the world  first; did it travel with the storm all this way to come to this beach so that I could find it and use it in my new necklace.  God is that good in my life, he presents things in ways we might not of thought of before.  One thing that came to my mind is that these shells, starfish and even sea glass all started out whole.  They all had beauty of their own, but are now on this beach at my feet, some broken some whole.  But in all of their brokenness there is some beauty left to them. A beauty that will be different from one person to another..as one person walks over this broken shell another persons bends down and pick up. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder ;-)

My husband loves to take pictures, below are a few he took..from his point of view.  Enjoy!

Crafty time..

I  starting the Soul Restoration journey today.

WOW!  I have already started to cry through this process...it is about delving deep into your soul but using art to heal and create. It is amazing!  I started getting my things together in my little blue room/craft room.  Here are a few messy pictures...Please don't judge by the mess...;-)

Have to have your cup of tea and water ready...

These are some of the items we got in our kits.

A view from behind my desk...yep it's a mess, you should of seen me today trying to get my paints out and paint the front of that black journal there on the desk, it's a tight space...I will put pics of that up later.

Another view, from the side of my desk..there is paint, stamps, paper, and different adhesives in the bins.

This is just a couple boxes of paper I have collected, I also have a few older wallpaper books.  They are perfect for using in your altered journals for different textures etc..Love these, so many opportunities.

I made this necklace while I was waiting for my journal to dry, I have seen so many of them on other blogs and love their little personality, I thought I would give it a try, and here you go, this is what I came up with.

It's funky and fun....my favorite..

Thank you for letting me share my space, now time to get back to my little black journal that is now yellow and turquoise...with some other little embellishments...more on that later.

Book Writing Help!!

I can't believe I am putting this into motion. It was laid on my heart about two yrs ago. I remember the day so specifically, I was walking down our hallway and all of a sudden I had this laid on my heart to write a children's picture book. REALLY! ME, why me, I don't know how to write, never written anything exciting in my life...
Lord ,why would you want me to do this???????? Ok, yes I am questioning God, not right I know, but sure don't understand this one...

I have NO idea where to begin, I need YOUR help...Has anyone written a children's book (targeted to 3-8yr olds)?  If you have, where do I start, where do you find an illustrator that will match with what you have in your head?  Who will publish...Oh man so many questions HELP!!!. 

I already have the character he is a Boxer Dog named Bud a  day in his life..

If you have any suggestions please let me know. I surely would appreciate it..

Thank you so much,

Sherry