Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Fourth of July Pretzels


Possibly the easiest dessert you can make.  Fit for ANY celebration!  The perfect combination of sweet and salty! Place on your next dessert table or give as a delicious party favor.  All you need are pretzel rods, candy melts and sprinkles (colors to fit your celebration).  Fill small buckets and line them down the center of your table to make a fun and eatable centerpiece!
Place a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet.  Melt the candy.  I chose to coat the pretzels in white first.  TIP:  If your candy melts don’t get loose enough to dip into add a little shortening that will loosen the candy and make it easier to coat your pretzels.  The key to coating the pretzel without the candy dripping everywhere is in the temperature of the candy.  Not too hot and not too cold.  Once the candy is the right consistency it’s time to dip.  I put mine in a bowl and used a spoon to drizzle and coat the pretzel.  Swirl the pretzel to let any extra candy drip off and tap on the side of the bowl.  Add sprinkles immediately.  For adding sprinkles I put my sprinkle container into a larger bowl and spooned the sprinkles over the pretzel making sure to keep twisting it around.  That helps cool off the candy and stop it from dripping so much into your sprinkles.  Let the extra sprinkles fall into the larger bowl.  (Place finished pretzel on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.)  Once there is enough sprinkles in the bottom use some of those sprinkles on the your pretzels too.  If you choose to drizzle on your pretzels melt the candy melts the same as you did with the white.  Put melted candy into squeeze bottles.  TIP: Only melt one color at a time.  Drizzle over pretzels and melt your next color….

Fourth of July Fun


Fireworks Fans



These festive, easy-to-make fans are ideal for last-minute Fourth of July entertaining.
Martha Stewart Living Television
These festive, easy-to-make fans are ideal for last-minute Fourth of July entertaining. You can cluster a group of them in a bowl to create a celebratory centerpiece or place one on each place setting as a colorful and cooling party favor. Although Martha uses 8-by-15-inch paper for her fans, you can adjust the dimensions to your desired size; simply use paper that's as wide as you'd like your fan to be and about twice as long.
Tools and MaterialsPaper
Bone folder
Scissors
Stapler
Staples
Paper glue
Wooden sticks or bamboo skewers
Waxed twine (optional)
Fireworks Fan How-To1. Accordion-fold the paper, starting on a short side. (It's up to you how wide to make the folds; Martha's are about 1 inch wide.) Make a 45-degree diagonal cut at each end, then staple the folded paper in the center. (The staple should be perpendicular to the folds.) Glue one side. Open the fan so that the edges of one side meet. Glue the edges together, and hold the edges in place with a binder clip. (You should now have a partially opened fan.)
2. To create handles, position wooden sticks or bamboo skewers to the remaining sides, placing them inside the last folds; make sure the points are facing inward. Glue them in place, and attach binder clips while the glue dries. To keep the fan open, tie the handles together with waxed twine.

Fourth Of July


Love this table setting I found on Pinterest.

Monday, April 15, 2013

My New Favorite Blog


This is my new favorite blog. Check it out. It is amazing. You will love it!      dearlillieblog.blogspot.com

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Happy Easter

Hope everyone has a wonderful Easter. The weather in Northern California has been gorgeous. Perfect for an Easter Egg Hunt.

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Hobbit House


                               I wish I had this little Hobbit house in my backyard! It is adorable...

Monday, February 18, 2013

What A Hoot

I have to go look for some rocks and give this a try! Be sure to use good, fine-tipped markers.(found it on Pinterest)

Monday, January 7, 2013

My Next Hutch


I have a brown hutch that I will be painting "white" with "Annie Sloan chalk paint". Hopefully it will look this cute when completed. Check out all the paint colors from Annie Sloan. Its really great paint.

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Light Balls


What a great idea! I did not read the directions on this but I assume you either glue or poke the ends into a styrofoam ball. I think they even spray painted the ball first to match the colors of the lights. ( Except for the white one) I think they are really neat looking.

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

DIY Icicle Trim



Icicle Trim

You might expect to find a decoration like this at Jack Frost's holiday bash, but any kid can make this frosty frill. All you need is tissue paper. Fold one sheet in half lengthwise, then make five-inch wide accordion folds. Along one short end, draw drippy icicles. Cut out. If you need more pieces, cut a fresh straight edge, then draw and cut out more icicles. Layer white tissue over blue, and attach with double-sided tape.

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Thanksgiving Pie Crusts


These are some unique pie crust ideas from Martha Stewart. I wish Martha would come over to my house someday.

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Halloween Eggs


These little eggs look "spooktacular". Directions are on the Martha Stewart web site! Have Fun...

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

October Again


It's my favorite time of year again. These witch's are really great. They are probably cut out of plywood and then painted black. Found them on Pinterest. I love the grass in front of them.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Watermelon Treats


 These are so cute! All you need to do is find a Rice Krispie treat recipe, divide mixture and add some all natural red and green food color, form it all together in a round cake pan,cut out triangles, add chocolate covered sunflower seeds and stick them on a cute little stick before they harden. Think I will make some today!

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

Scarecrow Mix


This mix would make a great gift. Add a vintage tag and a homemade bow. Click on the link to see my Halloween blog.





Monday, August 6, 2012

Balloon Button Bowl


Glue buttons to a balloon. Let dry. Pop it! There you go.

Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Candle Holder Paint Project


Saw these on "Pinterest". Glue and food coloring painted on clear glass. Who'd of guessed that this would be the result? I think they are gorgeous.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Monday, June 4, 2012

Cute Paper Mache Ideas

 Here are some cute ideas using paper mache. I love the kitty.
 Summertime is a great time for a paper mache project because it dries a little faster this time of year!

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Diaper Cake


My niece just had a beautiful "baby shower" and was given this "diaper cake" during the festivities. Her sister-in-law made it for her and I thought it was just gorgeous. She did a great job!

Sunday, May 6, 2012

Spring Is Here


These flowers say it all so I think I will just be quiet and listen.

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Crochet a Vase

Here's an idea I saw at Country Living. Take a doily and wrap it around a vase. You might need to stitch a little here and there to tightened it down in spots. Very elegant.....

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Crafty Easter Eggs


These are pretty easy to make. Keep your leaves and greenery tight against the egg with an old nylon. Tie it off and soak in dyes made with food coloring or beets, red cabbage or onion skins. Let dry and take off the nylon and leaves. See what you can find in your yard and be creative...........

Bathroom Gift Basket


I put this together for my "best friends" Birthday. My favorite item is the "heart shaped" soap. It smells wonderful...

Paper Mache Nests


O.K.  These are a snap to make. Cover a bowl tightly with plastic wrap and turn upside down. Dip torn paper (plain, colored, printed, etc.) into mixture of equal parts clear glue and water. Lay on bowl. Place a few pieces of dry torn paper over finished project before glue drys for a nest effect. Let project dry completely and pull plastic off bowl.

Make them any size you like and fill them with eggs, sprouted rye grass, candy etc.

5x7 Folded Card

Blurred Edge 5x7 folded card
Go with Shutterfly Christmas cards this holiday. Satisfaction guaranteed.
View the entire collection of cards.


Monday, March 26, 2012

Paper Flowers

Saw these flowers with instructions at Martha Stewart.http://www.marthastewart.com/269341/crepe-paper-roses
They are fun to make. They can be purchased already made at Amble Through Bramble.

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Easter Crafts

Martha Stewart always shows us how to make the cutest crafts. Instructions are on her web site! Enjoy...




Found this cute "wire" Easter basket while "antique shopping".

Monday, February 13, 2012

How Sweet It Is

I was about to make some "white" sugar cookies until I found this "chocolate" sugar cookie recipe. Yum!

Monday, February 6, 2012

Ladybug, Ladybug

My favorite insect is probably the ladybug. I wish there were more of them. I always get very excited whenever I see one. I love the their red color and their little black dots.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

Too Cute to Eat

It's almost time to get ready for Valentine's Day. The piping on the big heart cookie looks so delicate. That must take a lot of practice. Yummy...

Saturday, December 31, 2011

Welcome 2012

SANY0413
Ran errands today with this happy greeting on my rear window!
Wishing everyone a wonderful and prosperous year!
See you next year!

Tuesday, December 20, 2011

Guest Room Makeover

 My husband and I tore out the old carpet and installed the new floor. I found the bedspread at Walmart, the green pillow at T.J.Max, the rug is from Target and the paint color is Home Depot.
I found the little bed stand on the right at Ross. The stain glass hanging in front of the window was from Marshal's. I love the wall color in this room. Very soothing.

Monday, December 19, 2011

Homemade Gift Baskets

I filled this basket full of canning supplies.( jars, lids, labels, pectin etc.) I included a fake little tree, some small boxes of chocolates and a checkered dish cloth. Wrapped some wired ribbon around it and a sprig of fake holly. It was fun to put it together!