Hope you have a hauntingly wonderful day!!
Until next time. . .
Sunday, October 31, 2010
Friday, October 29, 2010
A "Monster" of a Good Day Today!
Happy Friday everyone!! We had dress up day at work today for Halloween. I didn't participate last year but decided at the last minute (like on Tuesday of this week) to give it a go this year. We also do a Spooky Snack Day with finger foods and I am always required to bring my Monster Cheeseball. I have shared this recipe with y'all in the past but I am going to post it again here so if you need a quick and tasty, not to mention way too cute, appetizer for this weekend, here ya go!!
Ranch Cheeseball
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese (I let mine soften on the counter for about 30 minutes before I make this. This makes the cheese easier to work with.)
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese (The amount is up to you. A little or a lot ~ both work just fine!)
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (I use my hands, it's much easier!)
Shape into a ball. Cover with shredded cheese, chopped dried beef, chives, or whatever you desire! Top with a cherry or green olive. Refrigerate. The longer this is refrigerated, the better the flavors meld. Serve with crackers.
To make my Monster, I made the basic recipe and then I spread whipped cream cheese all over it. I then took two Dorito chips and placed them on the sides for his ears. I used two small slices of a green pepper for his eye brows and two small triangles of red pepper for his eyes. I usually use green olives for his eyes, but I didn't have any so I improvised. For his nose, I used a pepperoncini and for his mouth I used another slice of the red pepper. For his hair, I used some of the shredded cheese that I mixed in to make my cheeseball. Shredded red cabbage or lettuce would work well for this too. Here's a pic of my monster friend:
I dressed as a Dalmatian puppy for work today. I took a white sweat suit and cut out different sizes of black felt "spots" and hot glued them all over the sweat suit. I used a regular plastic head band and made me some ears and hot glued them on. Then I painted my face with a black spotted eye, black puppy nose and mouth. I fixed my office up as a doghouse and I made peanut butter cookies which I cut out with a dog bone cookie cutter, striped them with some pale orange icing and topped with sprinkles. I individually wrapped each one and tied them up with orange curly ribbon and a dog bone tag that read: "Happy Halloween from Donna's Doghouse!" I put them in a real dog food bowl and handed them out to all the trick or treaters (co-workers) that stopped by my "doghouse". They were a big hit!
What made today even better was the fact that I won a $50 prize for the most creative costume! That was really exciting! All the employees got to vote for the most creative, ugliest costume, prettiest costume and best decorated department. It was a really fun day!
I'm super excited about tomorrow. A friend and I are going to have a "girl's day out". We are going to a Women's Expo and then to Cracker Barrel for lunch! I can't wait!! And now I have an extra $50 to spend. Woohoo!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Halloween!
Until next time. . .
Ranch Cheeseball
2 8 oz. packages cream cheese (I let mine soften on the counter for about 30 minutes before I make this. This makes the cheese easier to work with.)
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese (The amount is up to you. A little or a lot ~ both work just fine!)
1 package Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing mix
Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. (I use my hands, it's much easier!)
Shape into a ball. Cover with shredded cheese, chopped dried beef, chives, or whatever you desire! Top with a cherry or green olive. Refrigerate. The longer this is refrigerated, the better the flavors meld. Serve with crackers.
To make my Monster, I made the basic recipe and then I spread whipped cream cheese all over it. I then took two Dorito chips and placed them on the sides for his ears. I used two small slices of a green pepper for his eye brows and two small triangles of red pepper for his eyes. I usually use green olives for his eyes, but I didn't have any so I improvised. For his nose, I used a pepperoncini and for his mouth I used another slice of the red pepper. For his hair, I used some of the shredded cheese that I mixed in to make my cheeseball. Shredded red cabbage or lettuce would work well for this too. Here's a pic of my monster friend:
I dressed as a Dalmatian puppy for work today. I took a white sweat suit and cut out different sizes of black felt "spots" and hot glued them all over the sweat suit. I used a regular plastic head band and made me some ears and hot glued them on. Then I painted my face with a black spotted eye, black puppy nose and mouth. I fixed my office up as a doghouse and I made peanut butter cookies which I cut out with a dog bone cookie cutter, striped them with some pale orange icing and topped with sprinkles. I individually wrapped each one and tied them up with orange curly ribbon and a dog bone tag that read: "Happy Halloween from Donna's Doghouse!" I put them in a real dog food bowl and handed them out to all the trick or treaters (co-workers) that stopped by my "doghouse". They were a big hit!
What made today even better was the fact that I won a $50 prize for the most creative costume! That was really exciting! All the employees got to vote for the most creative, ugliest costume, prettiest costume and best decorated department. It was a really fun day!
I'm super excited about tomorrow. A friend and I are going to have a "girl's day out". We are going to a Women's Expo and then to Cracker Barrel for lunch! I can't wait!! And now I have an extra $50 to spend. Woohoo!!
I hope everyone has a great weekend and a Happy Halloween!
Until next time. . .
Monday, October 25, 2010
Let It Snow!!
No, no, I promise I have not lost my mind! What little there is of it left, that is!! Hubby and I worked on more yard art over the weekend. If you remember, we did wooden pumpkin signs for the yard that were such a big hit this season. I've had several people ask me for a snowman as well, so we got to work! I drew out the pattern myself, hubby cut them out and I painted them. I am pleased with how he turned out:
We'll see how well these little guys do! They aren't the least bit "prim", but prim isn't in big demand in this neck of the woods, so I'm hoping these will be a big hit. I'll let y'all know how it goes.
I hope everyone has a great Monday! I'm off to work!
Until next time. . .
We'll see how well these little guys do! They aren't the least bit "prim", but prim isn't in big demand in this neck of the woods, so I'm hoping these will be a big hit. I'll let y'all know how it goes.
I hope everyone has a great Monday! I'm off to work!
Until next time. . .
Sunday, October 24, 2010
I need some help!!
Good Sunday evening! I hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend! Mine has been busy, but good. Got a lot of crafting and household stuff done! Yay!!
I need some help from y'all. I am trying to find some dried Sweet Annie to purchase and other than E-bay, I am having no luck finding any around here where I live. Since I don't do E-bay, I'm in a pickle!! Does anyone reading this sell Sweet Annie or know someone here in blogland who does, and if so, could you please direct me to them? Thanks in advance for all your help.
The hubby and I started on our wooden snowmen today. Our wooden lawn pumpkins were such a big hit, we decided to give a snowman a go! I have had several people where I work ask me about them so I bit the bullet and drew me out a pattern and off we went. I think they are going to turn out well. I will be sharing a pic of them with y'all later this week along with a couple of good recipes and some more crafts I've created over this weekend.
I hope everyone has a fabulous week!
Until next time. . .
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Tasty Tuesday ~ Gingersnap Dip!
Here's a quick and easy dip that would be great for an appetizer at your next family get together or for a fall bridal shower or baby shower.
Gingersnap Dip
1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Mix all ingredients together. Chill. Serve with gingersnap cookies and fresh apple slices.
That's it! Can't get much easier than that, right?
I hope everyone has a fantastic Tuesday!
Until next time. . .
Gingersnap Dip
1 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
1 cup powdered sugar
1 8 oz. tub Cool Whip
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Mix all ingredients together. Chill. Serve with gingersnap cookies and fresh apple slices.
That's it! Can't get much easier than that, right?
I hope everyone has a fantastic Tuesday!
Until next time. . .
Monday, October 18, 2010
Made for Monday
I don't know about y'all, but I've seen enough pumpkins for this season and I'm ready to move on to Christmas! Now don't get me wrong, I love to see how everyone is decorating their homes for fall and Halloween and I get some great ideas and inspirations from everyone. I love me some eye candy!! But, I guess after crafting pumpkins for the last month, I'm just a bit burnt out on them! So I decided this weekend to move on to some Christmas stuff.
I'm sure everyone has seen these little battery operated candles that are starting to make their appearance in every Dollar Tree around!
Yeah, I know. BORING!!!! But I decided there has to be something that can be done to these little "beauties" to make them more prim and exciting! So I gathered up some supplies I had laying around: the ever present Mod Podge, some cinnamon, scraps of homespun fabric, and pip berry and rusty star picks. Then I got to work!
First, I took my candle apart. Sorry, but I didn't take any pics of these steps. Seems like once I get started on a project, I just get involved and forget about the camera! Anyway, I poured some Mod Podge onto a foam paper plate and mixed in some cinnamon until I had a textured mess! Then I just painted this globby mixture onto my candle parts and let it dry. Once it was dried, I took some brown craft paint and painted over it. Then I reassembled my candle. I love how it turned out! It gives the candle a really neat textured look and feel:
Next, I just took my pip berry pick and wrapped it around the base of my candle. I guess you could use some hot glue to secure it a bit better, but I didn't do that since it stayed in place just fine. Then I took a scrap of homespun and tied a cute little bow around it. Here's the finished product:
Cute, huh? I tried to take a picture without the flash, but I have a crappy camera and they all came out blurry. I want to try to do some of the silicone bulbs to make it look even more prim, but I haven't had time to attempt that yet.
Well, that's it for me for now. I've got to get my hiney out the door or I'm gonna be late for work! Y'all have a great Monday!
Until next time. . .
I'm sure everyone has seen these little battery operated candles that are starting to make their appearance in every Dollar Tree around!
Yeah, I know. BORING!!!! But I decided there has to be something that can be done to these little "beauties" to make them more prim and exciting! So I gathered up some supplies I had laying around: the ever present Mod Podge, some cinnamon, scraps of homespun fabric, and pip berry and rusty star picks. Then I got to work!
First, I took my candle apart. Sorry, but I didn't take any pics of these steps. Seems like once I get started on a project, I just get involved and forget about the camera! Anyway, I poured some Mod Podge onto a foam paper plate and mixed in some cinnamon until I had a textured mess! Then I just painted this globby mixture onto my candle parts and let it dry. Once it was dried, I took some brown craft paint and painted over it. Then I reassembled my candle. I love how it turned out! It gives the candle a really neat textured look and feel:
Next, I just took my pip berry pick and wrapped it around the base of my candle. I guess you could use some hot glue to secure it a bit better, but I didn't do that since it stayed in place just fine. Then I took a scrap of homespun and tied a cute little bow around it. Here's the finished product:
Cute, huh? I tried to take a picture without the flash, but I have a crappy camera and they all came out blurry. I want to try to do some of the silicone bulbs to make it look even more prim, but I haven't had time to attempt that yet.
Well, that's it for me for now. I've got to get my hiney out the door or I'm gonna be late for work! Y'all have a great Monday!
Until next time. . .
Sunday, October 10, 2010
A Gorgeous Fall Day!
Hi all! We are having such wonderful weather here in Virginia this weekend! It's inspired me to get outside and put up some fall decorations! LOL! Weird how summer like weather inspires me for Fall, huh? Oh well, that's just how I roll!
We didn't do a lot of outside decorating. Hubby says he needs to mow the yard at least one more time before the colder temps get here to stay so I had to keep it simple. Here's what we did:
Here's my little garden flag. I still need to get a pot or two of mums and maybe a pumpkin to sit by him. Forgot to get those things while I was out shopping yesterday.
Well, that's it for today. Short and sweet. I've got some laundry to get finished up and I am working on some stuff for a couple of swaps I am doing with some of my Prim Pal Forum friends. I hope everyone has a nice, relaxing Sunday!
Til next time. . .
We didn't do a lot of outside decorating. Hubby says he needs to mow the yard at least one more time before the colder temps get here to stay so I had to keep it simple. Here's what we did:
Here's my little garden flag. I still need to get a pot or two of mums and maybe a pumpkin to sit by him. Forgot to get those things while I was out shopping yesterday.
Well, that's it for today. Short and sweet. I've got some laundry to get finished up and I am working on some stuff for a couple of swaps I am doing with some of my Prim Pal Forum friends. I hope everyone has a nice, relaxing Sunday!
Til next time. . .
Saturday, October 9, 2010
A Huge Thank You and Some Swap Goodies!
Hi everybody! I want to start this post with a huge thank you to each of you who have left me such wonderful and supportive comments on the death of my father-in-law. It has been such an emotionally draining week for us, but things are starting to settle down. You all are such wonderful friends and I thank God for each and every one of you!
The hubby and I had come up with a new craft that we were gonna debut at the craft show. It's a wooden pumpkin cut out of 1/2 inch plywood then put on a stake so that it can be placed outside in the yard. I decided to take one to work to show some of my friends since we didn't get a chance to do the craft show last weekend. Well, it was such a big hit, I actually ended up selling about 25 of these things just to my co-workers! They have gone like hotcakes! Hubby cuts them out for me, then I do all the painting and detail work. I personalize them for free. Here's a couple of pics of some that we did. These pics were taken before we put the stakes on the back of them, but you get the idea!
I participated in a fall themed swap that Char from The Pickled Pepper Patch hosted a while back. Sharon from Starlight Primitives was my swap partner and she sent me a couple of wool felted pillows, two ornies, and a heart shaped pin cushion. Thanks Sharon, you do marvelous work and I love them all! I forgot to take a pic of the package I put together for Sharon, but I included a couple of signs, a fall rag garland along with a matching fabric pumpkin, some candy, rag balls with a small trencher type bowl and fixins, a tart warmer and some Candleberry tarts. I hope she likes everything! Here's a pic of my goodies Sharon sent:
We are having gorgeous weather here in Virginia this weekend with high temps in the upper 70's both days! Which is a good thing, considering I have to fill an order for 12 pumpkins and it's much nicer to be able to paint outside! My son made the honor roll for the first six weeks of school with all A's and B's , so he gets a $20 reward. There will be some shopping at the local video game store sometime this weekend, I'm sure!
Well, gotta run for now and get some chores out of the way and get started painting pumpkins! We are also working on a fall display for our yard today as well, so I'll share pics of that when we get it done. Y'all have a great weekend!
Til next time. . .
The hubby and I had come up with a new craft that we were gonna debut at the craft show. It's a wooden pumpkin cut out of 1/2 inch plywood then put on a stake so that it can be placed outside in the yard. I decided to take one to work to show some of my friends since we didn't get a chance to do the craft show last weekend. Well, it was such a big hit, I actually ended up selling about 25 of these things just to my co-workers! They have gone like hotcakes! Hubby cuts them out for me, then I do all the painting and detail work. I personalize them for free. Here's a couple of pics of some that we did. These pics were taken before we put the stakes on the back of them, but you get the idea!
I participated in a fall themed swap that Char from The Pickled Pepper Patch hosted a while back. Sharon from Starlight Primitives was my swap partner and she sent me a couple of wool felted pillows, two ornies, and a heart shaped pin cushion. Thanks Sharon, you do marvelous work and I love them all! I forgot to take a pic of the package I put together for Sharon, but I included a couple of signs, a fall rag garland along with a matching fabric pumpkin, some candy, rag balls with a small trencher type bowl and fixins, a tart warmer and some Candleberry tarts. I hope she likes everything! Here's a pic of my goodies Sharon sent:
We are having gorgeous weather here in Virginia this weekend with high temps in the upper 70's both days! Which is a good thing, considering I have to fill an order for 12 pumpkins and it's much nicer to be able to paint outside! My son made the honor roll for the first six weeks of school with all A's and B's , so he gets a $20 reward. There will be some shopping at the local video game store sometime this weekend, I'm sure!
Well, gotta run for now and get some chores out of the way and get started painting pumpkins! We are also working on a fall display for our yard today as well, so I'll share pics of that when we get it done. Y'all have a great weekend!
Til next time. . .
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)